Gunnison news-champion., 1918-04-19

Dead sodiss Everywhere.
Boys. Tn sorry. but orders have just
been received cancelling all leave. II
you had been three hours earlier you
would have gotten away. Just stay In
that train. as 1t Is going back. Rationsl
will be Issued to you for your returns
journey to your respective statIons.,
Reastly rotten. know" Then he left.
A dead silence resulted. Then men.
started to curse. threw their rifles on
the floor Of the car; others snid moth
ing. seemed to be stupe6ed. while some
had the tears running down their
cheeks It was = bitter dIsappolntmentl
TO all. B
How we blinded at the engineer ofl
that train; It was all his fault (so We
reasoned) why hadn't he speeded up .
little or been on time. then we would
have gotten of before the order ar
rivedi Now 1t was no Blighty for %.
That return journey was misery toI
~; Just can't describe It.
When we got back to rest billets. w.
found that our brigade was In theI
trenches (another agreeable sufpgise)l
and that an attack was contemplated.
Seventeen Of the forty-one win never
get another chance to 60 on leave
thsy were killed In ths attack. Just
think II that train had been on time.
those seventeen would still be alive.
hate to tell you how ! was kiddcd
By the boys when I got back. but It was
good and plenty.
Our machine gun company took over
their part Of the line at se-en O'Clock.
the night after returned from ny
near leave.
At $3.50 the following morning three
waves went over and captured the nrst
and second German trenches. Ths
machine gunners went over with The
fourth wave to consolidate the cap
tured line Or dig in.r % Tommy calls
Il
Crossing No Mans Land without
clicking any casualties. We came to
the German trench and mounted cur
guns on the parados Of Same.
! never saw such mess In my hfo
punches Of twisted barbed wire lying
about. shell holes everywhers, trsneA
al bashed IN, parapets eone. and dad
bodies. why. that ditch WAS full Il
them, theirs end oufA Il was regu.
lar morgue. 6ome were nsAngle0 hoE.
ribly from our shell nrs, while othses
we're wholly o. partly buried II ths
mud, the result Of shsll explosioos eav.
Ing in the walls Of the trench. One
dead German was lying on his back.
with rifle sticking straight up In the
air, the bayonet Of which was buried
to the,hilt IN his chest. Across hls fest
lay dead English soldier With bull
let hole In his forehead. This Tommy
must have been killed just % ~ ran
his bayonet through the German.
Rifles and equipment were scattered
about. and occasionally . steel helmet
could be seen sticking ont Of the mud.
At one, point Just IN the entrance to-
. communication trench. was . stretch
/ ct. On this stretcher . German was
lying with q white bandage around hieH
/ knee, near to him lay one Of the
sfretcher.bearers, the red cross on his
arm covered with mud and. his helmet
nlled with blood and brains. Close by
sitting up against the wall Of tht
trench. with head resting ON his chest
4 was the other stretcher-bearef. HI
seemed to be alive. the posture WAS q
natural and easy: but when 90
closer could zee large. Jagged hol.
In his temple. The three must hav'a
been killed By the same shell-burut.
The dugouts were all snaahed II m
knocked about, big square-cuf timber
spllntered Into bita, walls caved u m
| entrances choke6
Tommy. after taking Z treheA lnofn
to hls sorrow that tka hafdogE pnxt &
he work b 10 hold lt
| In cur cAse this peovo0 . ~ -
4 h 0esnan artilleey ~ m1e1l
Ig1ns I'D - tape1 (rAnG11) ~ ~
/, .ik was woeth yoB ~ - oDg1e -
l'o11f n tnolnn1 III
n Dsa't 49, ~ : GI1n6o - III
4 Gus1ana uelS - 60 ~ s
lWEo e1Dc11 - ~ - &
/ - pse1o = : - = r.