Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-04-01
OVER THE TOP
BY
ARTHUR GUY EAIPEY,
An American Boy Who Went.
Copyright. 1917. by Arthur Guy Emp.y.'


Copyright. 1917. by Arthur Guy E,npey,
Ia our rear were four strctcher
bearers and Il corporal of the II. y.
NJ. -. carrying u pouch containing medi-
cines and first-a!d appliances. Kind
OF a grim reminder to US that our cX-
petition was not going TO DO exactly Il
picnic. The order OF things was re-
rcrscd. In civilian life the doctors gem
orally come first. with the undcrtakcrs
tasE!nE in the rear and then the in
surancc man, but in our case, the un-
d.rtakcrs were leading. with the doc
tors trailing behind. minus the insur-
ance adjuster.
The presence Of the Il. A. NJ. G. men
did not seem to disturb the raiders,
because many a joke. made in an UNI
dcrtouc, was passed along the winding
column as 10 who would be first &c
take a ride on one OF the strctchers
This was generally followed by wish
th;tt. II you were to be the one. the
wound would be Il "cushy Blighty
one
The stretcher bearers. no doubt. we're
hoping ;hat. If they did have to carry
any one TO the rear he would be small
and light. Perhaps they looked at me
when wishing. because 1 could feel an
uncomfortable. boring sensation be-
tween my shoulder blades
Going up this trench, about every
sixty yards or so We would pass a
lonely sentry. who In a whisper would
wish Us The best O luck, mates" we
would blind at him under our brea,hs:
that JONAH phrase 10 Us sounded very
oininous.
Without any casualties tho minstrc!
troop arrived in Suicide Ditch, the
front-llnc trench. Previously a wiring
party o! the Royal Engineers had cut
a lane through our harbed wire to
enable Us 10 get out into no mans
land"
Crawling through this lane our party
or twenty took UP AN extended order
formation about one yard apart. We
/ had 4 tap code arranged Tor our move
ineniS while in mo mans land" be-
cause for various reasons il is not safe
&c carry on heated conversation a
few yards III front OF Fri;z's lines.
The officer vas on the right of the line,
while was on the extreme left, Two
taps from the right would be passed
down the line until | received them,
I then would send back one tap Tho
/ oihcer, III receiving this one tap. would
know that his order had gone down
+ the whole line. had been understood,
ana that the party was ready to obey
7 the two-tap signal Two taps meant
mat wc We're 10 crawl forward slowly
and believe me. very sIowly--for five
yards. and then halt to await further
INSTRUCTIONS Three taps meant. when
YOU arrived within striking distance
/ Of the German trench, rush IL and in
Nict many casualties as POSSIBLE
secure couple OF prisoners. and then
back TO your own lines with the speed
clutch open. Four taps meant. Il have
! gotten YOU into a position from which
! IL is impossible fer me TO eXtricate
you. so YOU are OH your own"
/ The star shells from the German
lines were falling in front OF US. there
fore we were safe. After about twenty
minutes We entered the star shell zone.
y star shell from the Gcru.a.
fell about five yards in the rear and
to the right OF me: we Rugged the
ground and held our breath until it
burned out. The smoke from the star
she'll Travelled along the ground and
crossed over the middle OF our line.
some Tommy snee2ed The smoke had
gotten up his nose. We Crouched on
The ground, cursing the offender under
our breath and waited the vollcy that
generally ensues when the Germans
have heard noise in mo mans land"
Nothing happened We received two
taps, and crawlcd forward slowly for
i've yards: no doubt the officer believed
what Old Pepper had said: PERSONALLY
| believe that that part of the German
trench is Uuoccupicd." By being care
full and remaining motionlcss when the
star shells fell behind us. we reached
Z the German barbed wire without mis-
/ hap. Then the fun began. I was
scared stiff. as it is ticklish work cut
ting your way through wire when
about thirty feet in front OF YOU there
is line of Boches looking out into
I mo mans land" with their rifles lying
/ across the parapet, straining every
sense To hear what is going on
/ in no mans land; because at night
. "A
T his name and number on il will come
hurting through the air. aimed in the
direction OF Berlin. The man on the
right. ono man IN the center and myself
i on the extreme left were equipped with
/ wire cutters. These are insulated with
/ soft rubber. not because the German
/ wires are charged with electricity but
/ to prevent the cutters rubbing against
the harh"d wire stakes. which arc of
iron. and making q noise which may
warn the Inmates Of the trench that
some ON" * Gcttn" fresh in their front
yard. There IS only one way TO cut n
harhcd wire without noise. and through
costly eNner!enc" Tommy has hccome
an cxDert in doing this. You must
grasp The wire about two inches from
tho stake in your right hand and cut
between the stalk" and your mana.
n YOU cut a wire irpron"riy. Il loud
twana Viii ring out on the night like
Trio swapping of a banjo string Per
haps this noise can he heard only for
fifty or scvcnty-hvc yards. bu, in
rommy's mind i: makes loud noise
in Berlin.
We had cat lane about halfway
through the wire when. down the CEN
ter OF our line. twang, went an i'm
properly cut wire. We crouched down
cursing under our breath. trembling
al! over, our knees laccrat-d from. the
strands o: tho cut harbed wire on the
ground, waiting fer u challenge and
The inevitable volley of rifle fire
N"thnf; happened. suppose the fell
low who cut the barhed wire improper-
~ he one who had sncczcd about
half an hour previously. What we
wished him would never make his new
year = happy one.
The officer. in my opinion, at the
noise of the wire should have given the
four-tHp signal which meant "O1