Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-01-14

would only be local affair-an at
, tempt to GUST us from our salient, which
was too near him to be comfortable.
; or preliminary to y little raid.
"Wc were ready for 1t, anyway. and
Fritz, can assure you. :ot the sur
Prise OF his life before the business
, finished.
when tho hideous stuff was first
sent out, the wind favored Fritz all
right, and we got out of the way as
fast as we could.
We were very much on tho qui yivc
however. for the wind seemed variable.
and we knew that tho Huns would
have bit of task getting near us.
owing to the bad nature of the ground.
sure enough. Just what we antici-
pated happened A breeze blew the
gas down TO the right; we wero on,
IN Jihy' but. instead OF showing
ourselves, We played possum-and
waited.
FIND THAT DEAD MEN
ARE VERY MUCH ALIVE:
|i'ritS came over all light, expecting.
no doubt to find the trench ready Tor
occupation. or at any rate IT'S inmate.
all out with his filthy vapor we
couid have raked the lot with n ma
chine gun. but instead. wc lay o,iie,
just 10 confirm him in his opinion that
We haa all euccumbed. and also 10
collar few of him If We could
1t took 4 bit of doing, / can tell
YOU waiting there 10 be attacked. Bu,
FritH appeared at last right atov Of
inc parapct-and then things happcurI
IL was as pretty Il scrap as ever
you saw. Fritz had expected to see
only dead men,
instead. he found US all very much
Of A Ia
the parapet and pitched into the Hum.
like furies. What generally happcus
In these hand-to hand encounters nan
pcned once again
The Germans were bested, thorough.
~ ana quite number OF them wore
captured. Those who tried 10 run fof
II never reached their lines. That w.H
the second party who failed TO r.ti..n
and report what they had done
The dead men had won Il victory.
When the push itself came not lon.:
after we made a pretty clean sweep
OF that quarter Of the line. I'm no,
suggesting for moment that il WAS
because these two parties failed so
dismaily TO get any OF US that things
Went badly for the GermanS in ,hut
. sector, but tho fact remains that We
were able TO give them a terrible hand
ling, first from our big guns. and then
"hen We got amongst them ourselves
j
ado' SAID my American friend proudly
/ The Germans. who. no doubt. hnc,y
1 the hummocks and Swamps as we'll as
VIC aid. and who had been daily and
/ nightly expecting US over had urc-
] pared a hot reception for us. but that
Z reception never matcrializcd. We had
/ no diilcultE in asccrtainins the extent
OF their preparations. nor had We any
/ dlHlcu!ty III finding out why IL didn';
come OF.
When We were going across that
wretchcd bit Of ground, the machines
gun showers We looked for were y.--
/ Feeble and SDasm cd;c. We had an lido,
/ why. and We discovered We were rirb,
/ III our idea when we got to the Hun
Ucnchcs and on to our objectiyc TN.
4 "ho!c area, thanks 10 our final bonn,
/ haFdincnt was wrecked beyond bclior
our Gunners had seen to that. and 10
/ tween the time they had finished with
u ana We wore ready to advance, Fritz
had never an opportunity 10 taE,
breath. We simply pcgged on, our
new claim, as ii We're. and sent ,ha
| former holders OF it-thosc who w.r,
let'--haek 20 join the lost patrol and
gas parties"
Yes, sir. Tho field hospital was no
place for yours truly while so mani
tame and wild Frltzies were NM.
! prowlinE.' took OFF the bandarcs
from the bum leg aud performed a
searching autopGy. Then I addressed
I myself in this wise: That WAS :, prct,,.
nEiy wound YOU had on that !cf. To-.
iof yours. bu, it is all well now. Yol
MAKE your cNrort report TO til. doctor
/ ON his ncNt visit TO the ward and SOC
that he nuts his o. X. on IT,"
>" prepared my report and when
lnc young chap-"ho looked like a con-
/ sclenti"uS cbIcctor- aDpcarcd i'm our
ward. put tho same IN his hand and
stood ~ attention. We'll, tina, li;,le
phSsicai!y unfit looking hioiic had tho
nerve TO tell me that /; would take
another ten days for my leg 10 he IN
condition for the front
~ sun makes me boiling mad 10
think that he considered himself "a bet,
ter Judge Than !, To decide on the con-
dition of my own leg, the leg whi.,
WAS part OF my owuSelf. lie gave /,
Jn?t one look and said Ton Gay. NOR.
and tina; mad Ia settle the whole cor.
trovcrsy
Wen had 10 loaf about in the hos.
niial wards for ten days moro. evc,
though 40 many Frit2ics we're .tiu
loose awaiting my return
ESCAPES BEING LONESOME
on HEARING; or FRITZ
so naturally became a sort or nm
Official hospital attendant. The wound
E" Wcr. arriving and departing by
'i''"HaHHS' - a. man was seriously
wounded hut not so bad tina, hi, rn
/. moThi would hc fatal he would u.
tagged for "Blighty." If he was slight
~ wounded he would be tnk.,, car. m
at the field hospital and if a man was
IN total casualty" they took care of
nm until he passed away
We'll. though miles away from tho
/ 'front.', yet daily heard Of tho doinc1
! or tritz, enough not TO be so vcrv
lonesome for his Erinning face. Ana
besides you must remember that each
day new Germans were being passed
back to the Tommies to the capcs
behind the line. whore they could be
/ kept out OF mischief.
H.. one night an Australian snrcc,rt
was brought 60 our ward who wos
pretty badly done up
RE looked as though he had earned
ms Eiighty' tag. but the moor fellow
lie did not live long
This is what he told mo whom s;,
tlhs heslde his cot, asked him how
Tlt| mad been behaving himself lately.
Relating his experiences of ONO,
hshting, he said he was in tho scran
AT -. II saw one of our bripados
get into bit of a mess al -
nc remarked. st looked as If III,
i fritZies mad surrounded u.s. and had
got busy with machine rims W. -,