Norwich bulletin., 1918-03-19
MEN WHO CAME BACK
Second Battle of Ypres. By Major T. w. Anderson. 3rd Battali- ion, Toronto Regiment.

ion, Toronto Regiment.
 From five o'clock a furious bonn bardment had been going on-the sec ond battle of Ypres beginning. We were in our billets awaiting our turn to go into the trenches. We heard the roar of wagons and horses outside and when we looked out it seemed as if the whole world were on the move, all in the wrong direction. Trans ports, artillery, limbers, infantry, ref ugees, all in confusion-but no Britt ish among them-and the report was being shouted through the streets that the Germans had broken through. Then the order came to stand to" and within an hour we were on our way to the trenches. At eleven O. clock we were there, in the midst of | the most terrible stselI fire, that simply l beggars description. The battalion lay for a long time in the ditch on either side of the road and then half of us were moved over behind some
 earthworks: the remainder were push
 ed forward. The morning light came, and endorsements came up, and to
 see them cross the open was a terri ble sight. They just dropped in their track like rabbits. and when the bat Etalion moved on the ground was thick with dead and wounded. Some of our
 boys did good work under fire taking
 in wounded
 Shortly after this we moved out un- der heavy rife fro to advanced trenches. During this rush I lost one man from my platoon. We establish ed ourselves in the trench as best we could and waited, every minute ex- pecting to charge or reinforce AS it happened, only a portion of our men
 were used for this purpose and few of those came back. The rest of the bat
 talion were attacking and counter-at- ftacking.
 In the trench we were continually ! under the most hellish shell fire. At , one time the Germans put ninety-on
 Jack Johnsons" in and near our
 trench in about twenty minutes. They were trying to ges us and the barn ) ill our rear where our dressing sta ; ton, wounded, staff and ammunition stores were. They finally succeeded Half a million rounds went up in ths fire. We were in these trenches foul ! days and four nights. During tha ) time I did not close my eyes. While in the trenches We suffered somewhat from the German gases } but had no casualties. I had my mel ) cover their mouths and noses with we B | handkerchiefs for two hours, The ef
 feet of the gas on the eyes was bad 2 causing smarting and tears. If, 8 ? that time, we had been required t shoot, we would have been of little O 2 no use.
 t had many narrow escapes. wa : buried up to my waist in earth afte X a Jack Johnson had burst aheu 6 four feet from me. On another oe : casion I was lying in the bottom Q y the trench when, for some reason, ! f1,- kAA g spot where I lay a chunk of shel T lwhizzed in, half the size of one's fist
 lit would have gone through my stom aeh.
 . On another occasion I was sittin
 Ibaelz to back with another man an d he was shot through the shoulder no a one inch from me.
 h When we got back from the trenehe ell had another narrow escape, Tn a Germans began to shell the village. y Twas standing in the door of heus s when Jack Johnson" fell in th ' road in front of me, so I went 0 q down the street to pack my things. a
 lit looked like moving day for mi " When my man and were putting n s things together in the house where d was Inflicted another shell hit th' g house and hurled few cobble stone 3, through the window, so we proInptl a left. I recovered my stuff later.
 After our division was so cut U
 and mixed up that 1t was no longer =. fighting unit saw the British eharg ! and when they got near the enemy
 trench the Germans threw down the
 arms, came out of their trenches. mf
 cur men and surrendered.
 IL The British generals all agree ths
 this second battle of Ypres was th
 worst and most nerve racking bon
 ibardment of the war since the battl < of Mons. They say Neuve Chappell " tbe former battle of Ypres, or tt v battles of the Marne and Aisne wei Inot in it for artillery fire. The trou ai hle was we were on an acute salien V and got it from all sides.
 N Right through we lost heavily. Ot ss hattalions alone lest over half the fighting men. and were left with abol 70 ten or ewelveS officers out of thirt Y The other battalicns are all alik " some worse. Out of the twelve thou a- sand infantry I believe only five thor IS sand were left, the remainder eth. fe killed, wounded or missing. We ha e remnants of the Prussian guard U et against us.
 n The boys had 1t in 9 joking va Id that the slogan of Berlin at that tin sd was God punish Canada" Ve Copyrighted by the British Canadia Recruiting Mission.