The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1918-12-27
WHEN THE CLOCK
STRUCK ELEVEN
=
AT THE FRONT
A Graphic Story of the End
from ''The Stars and =
Stripes

nA E~~o
THE AMERICANS
HELD A 77-MILE LINE
Even the Germans Troops
Were Glad 1t Was
All Over
On the stroke of II the cannon
stopped, the rifles dropped from the
shoulders, the machine guns grew
still. There followed a strange, un-
believable silence as though the world
had died. It lasted but moment,
lasted for the space that a breath is
held. Then came such an uproar of
relief and jubilance, such footing of
horns, shrieking of whistles, such an
, overture from the bands and trains
and church bells, such a shouting Of
voices as the earth is not likely to
hear again in our day and generation.
When night fell on the battlefield
the clamor of the celebration waxed
rather than waned. Darkness? There
was none. Rockets and ceaseless
fountain of star shells made the lines
streak of glorious brilliance across
the face of startled France, while, by
the light of fires, the front and all it's
dancing, boasting, singing peoples
was as clearly visible as though the
! sun sat high in the heavens.
The man from Mars, coming to
earth on the morning of November
II, 1918, would have been hard put
to it to say which army had won, for,
| if anything, the greater celebration,
the more startling outburst, came not
| from the American but from the Ger
man side. At least he could have
said-that man from Mars-to which
side the suspension of hostilites had
come as the greater relief.
The news began to spread across
! the front shortly after the sun rose.
There was more OF less of san effort
to sent it forward only through mill
tary channels, to have the corps re-
port it calmly by wire to the divisions,
the divisions to the brigades, the bri-
gades to the regiments, the regiments
to the battslions, and so on down to
Et 37ttlfe be atttternost squad, quite as though
| this were an ordinary order and moth
/ ing to get excited about,
There was the effort But it did
not work very we'll phe word was
sped on the Kind of wireless that man
knew many centuries before Marconi
came on earth. 1t spread like a cur
rent of electricity along the shivery
mess lines, hopping up and down and
shifting and scuffling as they waited
for the morning coffee 1t spread
along the chains of singing road
members, along the creeping columns
of camions. Driver called it to driver
and runners tossed the word ovel
their shoulders as they hurried by
Now and again fleet of motorcycles
would whizz along through the heavy
mist.
"The guelre will be fnee at II
o'clock. Finee la guerre."
You could hear it called out agair
and again.
what time?"
eleven o'clock"
A pause.
"Say, you, what time is it now?'
They took it a little incredulously
at first That was old stuff, tha
! rumor
! They had heard it again and agair
| during the past fortnight.
"Well, the captain says it's So"
Hell, who's he? I'll wait til
Foch comes and tells me himself"
Why, the preceding Thursday nigh
that was the night the ENJOYS cam,
over from the Spa-news that wha
the doughboy seems to prefer calling
the" arstimice" had been signet
spread like the Spanish flu fron
Grandpre to the Meuse.
Il That night the flares infamed th
, skies, the rockets streaked the night
:. Bands burst into long-supressed mu
, ;sic, and the headlights twinkled al
!. ialong the road. 1t did not last long
, this little unhidden furry, and ther
; was much scolding; but, as matte
: of fact, nothing much more demoral
, izing to the enemy could well hav
been staged than this spectacle of tn
First American Army celebratin
. something he had not heard.
All along the II miles held by th
Americans the firing continued, litel
ally, unto the eleventh hour At on
minute before 1, when million eye
!, I.were glued to the slow-creeping n1ir
ute hands Of million watches, til
roar of the guns was a thing to max
t the old earth tremble At one poi,
l. lit was where the Yankee divisio
IS visiting, at the time, with a Frene
e Icorps,w was having brisk morning ba
n tie to the east of the Meuse, ma
rs stationed at one battery stood with
" handkerchief in his uplifted hand, h
eyes fixed on his watch 1t was OF