Oxford eagle., 1918-06-06
CHAPTER XIII.
Gas Attacks and SnIes

rriIz, tne Germans sent over ras 7,
uio not catch us unawares. because the
Wino mad been made to order. that is
II was blowing from the German
',ehches toward ours at the rate of
about five miles per hour.
warnings had been passed down .ba
trench to keep a sharp lookout for gas
we mad new man at the periscope.
on this afternoon In question. IVES
sitting on the fire step cleaning nv
rlne. when he called out to me:
Inere's sort Of greenish. yellow
cloud rolling along the ground out in
front. It's coming"
But i waited for no more. rrabb,ns
my bayonet, which was detached from
the rifie, gave the alarm by banging
an empty shell case. which was hang.
ing near the periscope. At the same
instant gongs started ringing down the
trench, the signal for Tommy to don
MS respirator, or smoke helmet. an wa
call II.
Gas travels quickly. SO you must NOT
lose any time; you generally have
aDout eighteen or twenty seconds tn
which to adjust your gas helmet.
a gas helmet Is made of cloth trest-
ed with chemicals. There are two win.
dows. or glass eyes. In II. through which
you can see. Inside there is a rubber
covered tube, which goes In the month
fou breathe through your nose: the
gas, passing through the cloth helrpe,
is neutralized by the action of the
chemicals. The foul air ia exhsIed
through the tube In the mouth. this
tube being so constructed that II pre-
vents the inhaling of the outside air or
gas. One helmet is good for five hours
OF the strongest gas. Each Tommy
carries two Of them slung around his
shoulder In waterproof canvas bag.
de must wear this bag at all times.
even while sleeping. To change a de-
Iectlve helmet, you take out the new
one. hold your breath. pull the old one
on, placing the new one over your
mead, tucking In the loose ends under
the collar of your tunic.
For a minute, pandemonium reigned
In our trench-Tommies adjusting
their helmets. bombers running here
and there, and men turning out Of the
dugouts with fixed bayonets, TO man
the fire step.
he-enforcements were pouring out of
the communication trenches.
Our guns crew were busy mounting
the machine gun on the parapet and
bringing up extra ammunition from
the Jiugout.
German gas is heavier than air and
soon fills the trenches and dugouts
where IL has been known TO lurk for
two or three days. until the air is puri-
fed by means OF large chemical spray
ers.
We had TO work quickly, as Fritz
generally follows the gas with an In
fantry attack.
company man on our right was
too slow In getting on his helmet; he
sank to the ground. clutching at his
throat, and after few spasmOdiC
twistings Went West (died). II was
horrible TO see him die, but We were
powerless TO help him. In the corner
of traverse, a little. muddy cur dog
one OF the company's pets. was lyins
dead, with his paws over his nose.
It's the animals that suffer the most
the horses. mules. cattle. dogs. cats
and rats-they having no helmets tO
save them. Tommy does not sympa-
thize with rats in a gas attack.
AT times gas has been known to
travel. with dire results. fifteen miles
behind the lines.
A gas. or smoke helmet. as IL II
called, at the best is vile-smellins
thing, and II is not long before one gets
a violent headache from wearing H.
Our eighteen-pounders were burst
ing In No Mans Land. In an effort. by
the artillery, TO disperse the gas
clouds.
The fire step was lined with crouch
ing men. bayonets fixed. and bombs
near at hand 10 repel the expected at
tack.
Our artillery had put a barrage Of
curtain fire ON the German lines. 10 Try
and break up their attack and KEEP
back re-enforcements.
trained my machine gun ON theii
trench and Its bullets were raking the
parapet.