American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-07-30

In having II In my possession l am not
breaking any regulation or cautions
OF the British army.
The whole attack was rehearsed
and rehearsed until we heartily cursed
the n who had conceived the idea.
The trenches were named according
to a system which made II very simple
for Tommy to find, even In the dark.
any point in the German lines.
These imitation trenches, or trench
models, were well guarded from obser-
walton by numerous allied planes
which constantly cIrcled above them.
No German airplane could approach
within observation distance. A re-
stricted area was maintained and no
civilian vas 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 s~ignboards yer
the top of their trench showing the
names that we had called their
trenches. The signs read -Fair."
Fact" "Fate." and Fancy" and so
on. according to the code names on
our map. Then to rub 1t in, they
hoisted some more signs which read,
Come on. we are ready, stupid Eng
lIsh."
II is still a mystery to me how they
obtained this knowledge. There had
been no raids or prisoners taken, so
1t must have been the work Of spies
In our own lines.
Three or four days before the big
push we tried to shatter Fritz's nerves
by feint attacks. and partially suc-
ceeded as the official reports OF July
1 show.
Although we were constantly bonn
harding their lines day and night, still
we fooled the Germans several times.
This was accomplished by throwing
an intense barrage into his lines
then using smoke shells we would put
a curtain of white smoke across No
Mans Land, completely obstructing
his view Of our trenches, and
would raise our curtain Of fire
as If in an actual attack. All
uOMn UuI Lltulnto lnE Altn WnuAA
shout and cheer, and Fritz would turn
loose with m%achine-gun. rifle, and
shrapnel fire, thinking we were COM
ing over.
After three or four Of these dummy
attacks his nerves must have been
near the breaking point.
On June "a. 1916. at 9:40 In the
/, morning our runs opened up. and hell
was let loose. The din was terrific, a
/, constant bOOm-bOOm-boom in your ear.
AT night the sky was a red glare.
Our bombardment had lasted about
two hours when Fritz started reply
= ing. Although we were sending over
= ten shells to his one, our casualties
4 were heavy. There was a constant
= stream of stretchers coming out of the
communication trenches and buriaI
f parties were a common sight.
e In the dugouts the noise of the guns
almost hurt. You had the same sensa
i ton as when riding on the subway yOl
enter the tube under the river gOinl
e TO EroOklyn-a sort of pressure on tn
ear drums, and the ground constant.
trembling.
The roads behind the trenches wer'
It very dangerous because BOche shrap
X mel was constantly bursting over them
1t We avoided these dangerous spots b,
crossing through open fields.
The destruction in the German line
q was awful and 1 really felt sorry 70
u them because l realized how they mus
% be clicking it.
" From our front-line trench, ever
now and again. we could hear shar
d" whistle blasts in the German trenches
These blasts were the signals 70
- stretcher bearers, and meant tn
- w%ounding or killing of some German
the service of his fatherland.
Atwell and I had a tough time Of i
patrolling the different trenches a
night, but after awhile got used to it.
/. My old outfit, the machine gun con
N pany, was stationed in huge elephar
40 dugouts about -four hundred yards b.
IL hind the frOnt-line trench-they WEI
in reserve. Occasionally l would sto
in their dugout and have a confab wit
~ nv former mates. Although we trie
is to be Jolly. still, there was a lurkln
O. feeling of impending disaster. Fac
man was wondering, If, after Il
no slogan, "Over the top with the best
{. luck" had been sounded, would he sti
of be alive or would he be lying "sOm
AZ where in France" In an old dilapidat'
os house, the walls of which were SCARE
no w1h machine-gun bullets, No. 3 Sc
ton of the machine gun company hi
on its quarters. The company's cooks pr
cd pared the meals in this billet. On q
n fifth evening Of the b-Ombardment
German elght-inch shell registered
To- direct hit on the billet and wiped o
ten men who were asleep in the su
in posedly bomb-proof cellar. They we