The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-03-30

: Blighty."
we went clean through them with
butt and bayonet into another lot,
and went through them too. I never
saw anything like it for sheer kill
ing"
A German Man Trap
Another wounded soldier, a Cana
dian, who was a trained sniper and
observer told me the story of a Hun
retirement and a trap they left for
the incautious.
I'VE had moved forward a good
bit after the first fortnight of new
advance, and we were holding an old
Fritz trench as our first line he be-
gan.
lone night I saw what looked like
big flares going up, some way behind
the German line. When my officer
came along 1 reported this to him.I
guess they're clearing out" he said.
I'll tell the Colonel
Next morning three platoons were
sent forward to investigate, and as
there was no resistance, the whole of
that part of the line moved forward.
IL Wd6 d VII VI d sui PA anu ONOAy
body was more or less muddled for q
time. No Mans Land was swarm
ing mass Of bombers, Lewis gunners,
artillery observers, pioneers and ev-
cry other branch of the service.
IT went across, and just as I got
there 1 noticed in the German front
line one of their duck-boards cut clean
in two. A man went up and put his
foot on it, and Immediately about five
yards of the trench went up with a
huge bang, wounding several 1t was
new kind of man-trap. After that
we found a few more of the same
sort in the communication trenches,
so an officer made US explode them
with heavy stones. We found there
were just two bombs under most of
them. Our infantry got forward
about half mile, and 1 was sent back
with a message to the gunners.
II was just getting back to our
old front line when a 90 burst very
close
He saw the flash, and woke UP in
the hospital, deaf and dumb, but with
out scratch. He got his speech
back more or less in three days, but
as you might judge he was still SIAM
mering bit.
Sport and War
| Many of the Prussian officers who
were taken prisoners in the charnel
house of - were amazed that our
troops could laugh and jest while
hunting in the broken battered and
dangerous area.
One, a Prussian Guards officer, was
extremely offensive in his criticism Of
English flippancy and the inability
lc" Britain to regard war seriously"
I still remember that Hun Colonel
H took everything, including himself,
so seriously that often he would for
get and shout out orders to his con-
querors as though we were his obedi-
ent Fritzies But never mind, he soon
got over that.
He had a terrible charge which
he wanted to have registered official
ly-Uh, these efficient super Huns
they must have everything done Off
cially, and according to tape measure
His chief complaint, it appeared
was to the "craze for Sort and
foolish levity'' of our troos, and
when this charge was examined in de-
tail it was found that some of the lads
involved in the fighting at - had
so far forgotten war and its horrors as
to laugh and make jests with each
other.
The Junker Colonel was puzzled and
angry. 1--WE should not allow oul
men to act like that" he said. "Wal
is serious business" If the poor Hur
had thought of it earlier he would
have saved millions of lives, including
Fritzies.
My ten days up-2O days in all
I reported to my regimental head
J quarters, and asked for my company
assignment. OF course it was not G
. surprise to me when 1 learned thai
while 1 was doing time" at the Field
hospital. my company had been ere
! formed" several times. This was 6
terrible blow to me, nut you know, i
is all in the game. So by luck 1 wa:
assigned to one of the North County
| Regiments, which is Familiarity known
as the "Kilties." But the Fritzies cal
them "Skirted Devils"
And was I pleased to join the boy!
from the old country?
You bet 1 was!
) How the Scrap Began
The terrors of the Huns! That!
: what the kilties are. Perhaps I coulC
: tell you the reason why, and perhaps
couldn't.
At any rate, the fact remains, an(
: if you like I'll give you one or TIVE
= stories to illustrate it.
Well, about the kilties. Here's
strange episode, and a true one, which
has never been related, so far as
l know.
On one occasion when we we're set
S tied down in the trenches at - ant
3 things had been going their humdrun
round for days, we got word-no mat
Y ter how-that Fritz was assembling Il
f some strength to attack us. He didn'
want much on this occasion, only tn
!, small salient that we occupied rathe
= close to his lines, but small though
Y was, it had more value for us thai
t for him, and we were determined t
n hold it.
!, In fact we had to.
!, CoIonel's Clever Ruse
n I've said we had got word of tn
attach, but the bother of the thin
|, was that we had not a moment t
summon assistance. We would hav
|, to look after ourselves for a time, a
s least. and from all we could gathe
t it would be stiff job.
d But as events turned out, that at
d tack never came off after all. or rath
: err never developed, and IL you guess
l =