The Washington herald., 1918-02-23
CHAPTER XVI.
Battery ID 23S

II $40
The day after this 1 received the
glad tidings that 1 would occupy the
machine-gunners' dugout right near
the advanced artillery observation
post. This dugout was a roomy af-
fair, dry as tinder, and real cots in 1t.
These cots had been made by r. E.'s
who had previously occupied the dug
out. 1 was the first to enter and
promptly made a sign board with my
name and number on it and suspend
ed 1t from the foot of the most COM
Portable cot therein.
In the trenches, it is always first
come, first served" and this is lived
up to by all.
Two r. F. A. men CRoyal Field Ar
tillery) from the nearby observation
post were allowed the privilege of
stopping in this dugout while off duty.
One Of these men, Bombadier WIZ
son by name, who belonged to Bat
terry D 23S, seemed to take a liking to
me, and returned this feeling.
In two days time We were pretty
chummy. and he told me how his bat
terry in the early days of the war had
put over a stunt on Old Pepper, and
had gotten away with it.
1 will endeavor to give the story as
far as my memory will permit in his
own words:
II came out with the first expedi-
tiOnary force, and like all the rest,
thought we would have the enemy
licked in Jig time. and be able to eat
Christmas dinner at home. Well, so
far, I have eaten two Christmas din
ners in the trenches, and am liable to
eat two more, the way things are
pointing. That is, if Fritz don't drop
a 'whizz-bang' on me, and send me to
Blighty. Sometimes 1 wish 1 would
get hit. because it's no great picnic
out here, and twenty-five months of
it makes you fed up.
It's fairly cushy now compared to
what it used to be, although 1 admit
this trench is a trifle rough. Now,
we send over five shells to their one.
We are getting our own back. but in
the early days it was different. Then
you had to take everything without
a reply. In fact, we would get TWEEN
ty shells in return for every one we
sent over. Fritz seemed to enjoy It,
but We British didn't, We were the
sufferers. Just one casualty after an
other. Sometimes whole platoons
would disappear, especially when a
Jack Johnson plunked into theis
middle. 1t got So bad that a fellow.
when writing home. wouldn't ask for
he was afraid he wouldn't be there
to receive them.
After the drive to Paris was turn
ed back, trench warfare started. Our
general grabbed a map, drew n PEN
oil lfrn on1 u0fI- mic
here; then he went back to his tea,
and Tommy armed himself with a
pick and shovel. and started digging.
He's been digging ever since.
"Of course we dug those trenches at
night, but it was hot work what with
rifle and machine-gun fire. The
stretcher-bearers worked harder than
the diggers.
Those trenches, bloomin' bitches.
call them, were a nightmare. They
were only about five feet deep, and
you used to get the backache from
bending down. 1t wasn't exactly safe
to stand up either, because as soon
as your napper showed over the top
a bullet would bounce off it, or else
come so close 1t would make your
hair stand.
I'VE used to fill sandbags and stick
them on top of the parapet to make
it higher, but no use, they would be
there about an hour, and then Fritz
would turn loose and blow them to
bits. Ny neck used to be sore from
ducking shells and bullets.
Where my battery was stationed, a
hasty trench had been dug, which
the boys nicknamed Suicide Ditch
and believe me, Yank, this was the
original Suicide Ditch All the 9TH
ers are limitations.
when a fellow went into that
trench 1t was an even gamble that he
would come out on a stretcher. At
one time. a Scotch battalion held it,
and when they heard the betting was
even money that they'd come out on
stretchers they grabbed all the bets
in sight. Like a lot of bally idiots
several of the battery men fell for
their game, and put up real money.
The Jocks suffered a lot of casual
ties. and the prospects looked bright
for the battery men to collect some
easy money. So when the battalion
was relieved, the gamblers lined up
Several Jocks got their money for
emerging safely, but the ones who
clicked 1t weren't there TO pay. The