Mexico weekly ledger., 1918-05-02
What Our Boys
Learn in France

Reciprocal News Service
LONDON. (By Mail.) - The fol-
lowing is a graphic description Of the
work American soldiers have TO learn
in France; il is told by 4 British Tom
my who is here in a hospital:
Il got this packet in a raid on the
Germans lines. II was a good little
show-tOOk you back to the finish Of
the Somme. We used 10 have a raid
every other night thea. | like a raid
better than a push, though Of course
a push is more useful. What | mean
is this, you get good and close to the
Gerries in a raid-right in amongst
them-and you sometimes can get to
grips with them. In a push they're
too keen on getting away to let you
right in amongst them. You get bits
Of their line, though, in a push, and l
suppose that's the game right
enough.
"0ur officer was a first-class chap
in a raid. He was a great big man,
not fat, but hellish powerful. l bet
he weighed fifteen stone if he weigh
ed a pound, and it was all big bone
and hard muscle. 1t gave you a tick
lie in the throat to go after him. He
used to go into the raid with a re-
volver and two knuckle-dusters. If
he got close enough to use his fists,
God help the Gerry that he hit. He
used to grunt as he hit, you know,
'Auch!-Biffp and over they would
go. 1t was a bit of all right watch
iLg him. Of course, no one German
against him, but the
wonder was how he escaped being
chopped out; they used to go for him
so much in punches.
swell, this was the officer that
took US out on the raid that night.
It was in a bit of the line we took
in the last push we did, and the Ger
mans hadn't been able to put up much
wire. What there was had been flat
tended out by the T. NJ. BIS.
Trench Mortar Work
at was a good little 7. M. Battery
we had in that bit of the line. The
officer in charge of them was a
Yorkshireman - one Of those keen
chaps that are always on the job.
He didn't belong to our Regiment, but
he'd have been a credit to US if he
had. He damned it into the Ger
ries the whole day, and of course it
meant that they hit back. They
strafed us with five-nines, and that
was a bit deadly; still, 1 suppose
you've got to take that as it comes.
Anyhow, this T. M. B. officer was a
pretty fair dodger. He would give
the German trenches two bombs and
the wire one. They thought he was
after their blood, l expect, and all the
time it was the wire he was at. He
blew two or three clean paths through
the wire. He was a workman, a jour-
neymen at his job, that T. M. B. Of
ficer.
The Raid /
"We knew that the Gerries would be
out mending their line that night,
putting up wire and that. So our Of
ficers arranged that the raid was to
come off as soon as it was dark. 1t
was very well done . The T. M. B.
officer kept banging away till the
dark was just coming on, then he
started to cut down the firing a bit
and let them have bursts at odd times.
Half an hour, a burst, ten minutes,
another, fifteen minutes, another with
odd bombs in between. The Gerries
must have been wondering their
heads off. 1t must have been just
after seven when we crept out, while
the mortars blew wei a few bombs,
natural-like.
eve were out for the usual thing,
sheer devilment in the German line; |
damage dug-outs, take prisoners and
generally kick up He'll. Our big Of
ficer led the way, as usual. l had a
couple of bombs, though Pm a bayo-
net man, but bombs a handy thing
to have about you. We nipped into
the German lines and found a pretty
good wind-up among them. There was
a bit of Kamerading' and a bit of
fight, too. 1t was a strong point in
the German line, with two or three
machine gun emplacements. One of
the machine guns started to play on
US and l let drive with the bomb into
the post. When we rushed it and
landed into a bunch with a bit of
fight in them. There was a tidy mix
up them, and l engaged a fellow with
the bayonet. He fired at me and got
me in the side, just as I made a point
at him. Whether it was being hit or
if l slipped / don't know, but l got
him in the shoulder, when l meant to
get his chest. He did the 'Kamerad'
act, and l took him prisoner. He talk
ed good English, too.
Light Duty" for Wounded