The independent-reporter., 1918-10-10
OVER THE TOP
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
CHAPTER XIV.
Preparing for the eIo Push,


Beginning at seven In the evening 1t
was our duty to patrol all comlnanica-
tion and front-line trenches, making
note Of unusual occurrences, and ar
resting anyone WHO should, 10 Us, ap-
pear To be acting In Il suspicious man
ner. We slept during the day.
Behind the lines there was great ac-
tivity, supplies and ammunition pour
ing In, and long columns Of troops con-
stantly passing. We were preparing
for the big offensive, the forerunner
of the battle of the Sonme or big
Push"
The never-ending stream of men.
supplies ammunition and guns pour
Ing into the front lines made a mighty
spectacle, one that cannot be de
Scribed. 1t has to be witnessed with
your own eyes to appreciate its vast
ness.
At our part of the line the influx Of
supplies never ended 1t looked like
Il huge snake slowly crawling forward,
never a hitch or break, wonderful
tribute to the system and efficiency Of
Great Britain's contemplate little
army of five millions of men.
Huge fifteen-inch guns snaked along
foot by foot, by powerful steam tract
tors. Then long line of -four point
five" batteries, each gun drawn by six
horses, then couple of mine point
two howit2ers pulled by immense
caterpillar engines.
When one of these caterplllars would
pass me with Its mighty monster in
LOW, ii flush of pride would mount to
my face, because | could plainly read
on the name plate, MADE In U. S. A"
and | would remember that If | wore Il
name plate it would also read, "From
the u. S. Az Then | would stop to
think how thin and straggly that
mighty stream would be if all the
Made in U. S A parts of it were
withdrawn
Then would come hundreds of lin
bers and &c S" wagons drawn by
/ sleek, well-fed mules, ridden by sleek,
well-fed men, ever smiling, although
grimy with sweat and covered with the
{ lllt, NllllP uuSt DI the IluTNGlOuSiS
/ well-made French roads.
What a discouraging report the Ger
man nirmen must have taken back to
/ their division commanders, and this
stream is slowly but surely getting big
ger and bigger every day, and the pace
! is always the same. No slower, no
| faster, but ever onward, ever forward.
Three weeks before the big push of
/ July las the battle of the Somme has
! been called-Stnrted. exact duplicates
of the German trenches were dug
about thirty kilos behind our lines.
The layout of the trenches was taken
from airplane photographs submitted
! by the Royal flying corps. The trench
es were correct to the foot; they
showed dugouts, saps, barbed wire de
fenses and danger spots.
Battalions that We're to go over in
the first waves were sent back for
three days to study these trenches, en-
gage in practice attacks and have night
maneuyers. Each man was required to
make II map of the trenches and fin
miiariZe himself with the names and
location of the parts his battalion was
to attack.
In the American army noncommis-
stoned officers are put through course
of map making or rnad Skctching and
during my six years service III. the
United States cavalry | had plenty of
practice in this work, therefore map
NH r,t
lively easy task for me. Each man
had To submit his map to the company
commander to be passed upon, nnd |
WIS lucky enough to have mine select
ed as being sufficiently authentic to use
In the attack.
No photographs or maps are allowed
to leave France, but in this case ii up
pealed to me as II valuable souvenir of
the great war and managed to SNUG
gle il through. At this time it carries
no military Importance as the British
lines. | am happy to say, have since
been advanced beyond this point, SO
In having It In my possession | am not
breaking any regulation or cautions
of the British army.
The whole attack WAS rehenrsed
and rehenrSed until we heartily cursed
the one who had conceived the idea.
The trenches We're named according
to system which made it very simple
for Tommy to find. even in the dark,
any point in the German lines.
These imitation trenches, or trench
models. were we'll guarded from ohser-
vation by numerous allied planes
which constantly circled above them
No German airplane could approach
within observation distance. A r..
stricted area was maintained and nr
civilian was allowed within three
miles, so we felt sure that we had "a
great surprise in store for Fritz.
When we took over the front line
we received an awful shock. The
Germans displayed signboardS over
the top of their trench showing the
nnmes that we had called their
trenches. The signs read "Fuir.'
Pact" Fate" and Fancy" and so
on, according to the code names on
our map, Then to rub II in, they
hoIsted some more signs which read.
Come on, we are ready, stupid Eng
llsh."
1t Is still n mystery to me how they
obtained this knowledge. There had
been no raids or prisoners taken, so