Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-08-21

over the command and do the Job
right" But now they mean not only
that but keep up your courage, and
60 to it." One man will say it to
another sometimes when he thinks the
first man is getting downhearted, but
more often, if he is a Limey, he will
start kidding him.
Our men. of course, did not say
Garry on" and in fact they did not
have any expression in French that
meant exactly the same thing. But
they used to cheer each other along,
all right, and they passed along the
command when it was necessary, too.
I wonder what expression the Ameri-
can troops will use. (You notice
do not call them SammiesD
I took my turn at listening post with
the rest Of them, of course. A listen
ing post is any good position .out in
No Mans Land, and is always held by
two men. Their Job is to keep a live
ear on Fritz and in case they hear any
thing that sounds very much like an
attack one man runs back to his lines
and the other stays to hold back the
Boches as long as he can. You can
figure for yourself which is the most
healthful Job.
As many times as I went on listen
ing-post duty I never did get to feel
ing homelike there exactly. You have
to lie very still, of course, as Fritz Is
listening, too, and a move may mean
bullet in the ribs. So, lying on the
ground with hardly a change Of posi-
ton, the whole lower part of my body
would go to sleep before 1 had been
at the post very long. I used to brag
lot about how fast I could run, so
suited me all right. But every time
I got to a listening post and started
to think about what I would do If
Fritz should come over and wondered
how good a runner he was, I took a
long breath and said, EJECT, do your
duty" And I was strong on duty.
After had done my stunt In the
front-line and reserve trenches went
back with my company to billets, but
had only been there for a day or two
before was detached and detailed to
the artillery position to the right of us,
where both the British and French
had mounted naval guns. There were
guns Of all calibers there, both naval
and field pieces. and I got good look
at the famous 1885," which are the
best guns in the world, in my estima-
ton, and the one thing that saved
Verdun.
The '75's. fired 80 shots a minute,
where the best the German guns could
do was six. The American three-inch
field piece let's go six times a minute,
too. The French government owns the
secret Of the mechanism that made
this rapid fire possible. When the first
'75's" began to roar, the Germans
knew the French had found a new
weapon, so they were very anxious to
get one Of the guns and learn the
secret.
Shortly afterward they captured
eight guns by mass attack in which,
the allies claim, there were 1000 Ger.
man troops killed. The Boches studied
the guns and tried to turn out pieces
like them at the Krupp factory. But
somehow they could not get it. Their
Imitation "75's'' would only fire flv1
shots very rapidly and then "cough"-
puff, puff, puff, with nothing coming
out. The destructive power of the
"75's" Is enormous. These guns have
saved the lives Of thousands of poilus
and Tommies and it is largely due to
them that the French are now able to
beat Fritz at his own game and give
back shell for shetland then some.
| Ito be cOntinued).