The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1918-07-05
NO SLEEP WHILE BIG GUNS ROAR
lied" Jenney Writes Of Real War
Experiences in France.

( Experiences in France.
/ Dr. Il. d. Jenney has received from
his brother Edward, an ambulance
driver in France. letter in which the
writer relates some OF his experience
in the actual war zone The letter.
which was written on May 81, is as
follows:
IAN day and all night the guns
have been ponding away with a fierce
ness ] have never experienced before.
! am up on front post duty for four
days and already my ear drums are
nearly broken from the conclusion
caused by the many batteries that
ha-e been in action. The guns are
lined along the roads and camou.
faged among clumps OF bushes and
trees in the fields. They are of all
sizes from the 75m. to the 1858. A
battery of the 155's is located just
one hundred yards away and the
noise they make is terrific. shaking
the building to such an extent that it
is impossible to sleep.
I'VE have already moved out quar-
tiers from one end of the little vii
lage to another, for the first place was
in direct line OF the German shells in.
tended for the batteries, but often
falling short and landing in our vici-
nifty. The second location is more
to one side and the arrives" or in.
coming shells land in the fields to
the right OF us
Already we have become to Ger
tain extent accustomed to the vagar
les of the bombardment and are able
to distinguish the gas shells BY the
terrific whistle they make while on
the way and the fainter report that
follows the explosion, although as yet
no gas to amount to anything has
been sent over.
"Aeroplane activity Is quite FIRE
quent and already we have seen sew
eral German planes come tumbling tC
the earth. All night long the hum Of
the plane motors can be heard ant
the boche plane can be distinguished
by the tune OF its motor which seem.
to buzz and hesitate and to then buz.
again. Added to the noise created
by the motors is the occasional put
put-put OF the machine guns located
in the trees and which go into actor
Immediately an enemy plane is hearC
overhead.
''No longer are there many reserve
line trenches, barbed wire entangle
menis and comfortable caves an,
dugouts. The fighting is now mostl,
in the open and al the more danger
GUS for us ambulance men We &,
forward to front post through shade,
roads whore here and there a shell
has burst through the foliage. Onl
this morning made the trip and ha,
to move a tree before | could go on
| 1.-THE blesses we are getting nov
are in a much worse condition thai
any We have carried before. All ar
'couche' cases and some are, indeed
terrible to behold had one poo
fellow this morning whose face wa
completely smashed. arms swathe
in bandages and big compress band
age over his chest and abdomen
| Poor devil, he will be lucky II h
lives and more so IT he doesn't.
Last night was returning to tn
front along a road lanked on bot
sides by French batteries The &c,
mans began bombarding the road an
the shells landed on both sides OF tn
highway, bu luckily not in Il. Eve
shlapnel was breaking but furthe
away In the fields to the right.
Here on this front different metl
DDS for our work are used Six can
and six men are sent to the first al
hospital. for stay Of four days. whe
| they are relieved by six other cal
aud their drivers. no longer do W
have two front advanced posts whei
one could stay for twenty.four hou
nj stretch Instead we have thrt
' posts to which We send car whe