The Aberdeen weekly. [volume] (Aberdeen, Miss.) 1878-1933, 1918-05-17

| 10 TWO L got nervous whiting for on
guns to open up. could not take IN
: eyes from my watch. crouche'
against the porapet and strained m.
muscles in q deathlike grip upon m,
rife. AZ the hands on my watcl
showed two o'clock binding red Oar
lighted up the sky In our rear. thei
thunder. tntermixed with . sharp. whis
Ting sound In tho air over our heads
The shells from our guns we're speed
Ing on their way toward the German
lines. With one accord the meE
sprang UP on the fre step and looket
over the top In the direction Of thu
German trenches. A line Of bursting
shells lighted up No Mans Land. The
din was terrific and the ground tre1n
bled. Then. high above our heads We
could hear a signing moan. Our big
boys behind the line had opened uI
and OPS and 15-inch shells commenced
dropping into the German lines. The
fash Of the guns behind the lines the
scream OF the shells through the air
and the flare OF them. bursting. was a
spectacle that put Pains greatest dis
play into the shade. The constant
pup, pup. Of German machine guns and
an occasional rattle OF rifle firing gave
me the impression Of a huge audience
applauding the work OF the batteries.
Our 1S-pounders were destroying the
German barbed wire, while the heavier
stuff was demolishing their trenches
and bashing in dugouts or funk holes.
Then Fritz got busy.
Their shells went screaming over
head, aimed in the direction of the
flares from our batteries. Trench NOR
tars started dropping "Minnies" in
our front line. We clicked several cas-
ualties. Then they suddenly ceased.
Our artillery had tapped or silenced
/ them.
During the bOmbardment you could
| almost read newspaper in our trench
Sometimes In the flare of q Shell-burSt
mans body would be siIhouetted
against the parados of the trench and
1T appeared like husa monster. You
could hardly hear yourself think When
an order was to be passed down the
trench you had to yell it, using your
hands as funnel into the ear Of the
man sitting next to you on the fire step.
In about twenty minutes a generous
rum issue was doled out. After drink
ing the rum, which tasted like varnish
and sent shudder through your
frame. you wondered why they made
you wait until the lifting of the bar
rage before going over. At ten min
utes to four word was passed down,
'Ten minutes to gO!' Ten minutes
to live! We were shivering all over
My legs felt as if they were asleep.
Then word was passed down: First
wave get on and near the scaling lad
ders.'
These were small wooden ladders
which we had placed against the para
the lifting of the barrage. Ladders of
death" we called them, and vertically
they were.
Before n charge Tommy is the pO-
litest of men. There is never any push
ing or crowding to be first up these
ladders. We crouched around the base
of the ladders waiting for the word
TO go over. l was sick and faint. and
was putting away at an unlighted fag
Then came the word, Three minutes
to go; upon the lifting of the barrage
and on the blast Of the whistles, over
the top with the best o. luck and give
them hell" The famous phrase Of
the western front. The Jonah phrase |
Of the western front To Tommy it |
means if you are lucky enough to come |
back you will be minus an arm or q |
leg. Tommy hates to be wished the |
best of luck; SO. when peace is de-
II it ever is, and you meet a
Tommy on the street. just wish him the
best Of luck and duck the brick that |
follows.
1 glanced again ut my wrist watch.
We all wore them and you could hardly |
call us ''sissies" for doing so. 1t was a
minute to four. I could see the hand
move to the twelve. then a dead ST.
lence. 1t hurt. Everyone looked up
to see what had happened. but not for
long. Sharp whistle blasts rang out
along the trench. and with a cheer the
men scrambled UP the ladders. The
bullets were cracking overhead. and
q machine gun would rip
and tear the top Of the sandbag para
pet. How got ND that ladder I will
never know. The FIRST ten feet out In
'front.' was agony. Then we passed
'uHVu8u AoOC0 IN QUIZ U0LOcU wire.
Knew 1 was running. but could feel no
notion below the waist. Patches on
he ground seemed to noat to the rear
Is II were on q treadmill and seem
.ry was rushing past me. The Ger
mans had put = barrage OF shrapnel
lcross No Mans Land. and you could
lear the pieces slap the ground about
r0u. /,
After I had passed our barbed wire
md gotten into No Mans Land a
Tommy about fifteen feet to my right .
ront turned around and looking In my .
Erection. put his hand to his mouth
nd yelled something which could not
make out on account Of the noise from
he bursting she1l& Then he coughed. {
tumbled. pitched howard and lay still. I
lis body seemed - boat to the rear
4 me. ! could hear sharp cracks In ,
NJ MIR ahn"f me-. These were caused