The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1918-08-08

tlOn ana frOnt-ltn0 UehCneS' mohtne
note Of unusual occurrences. and ar
resting anyone who should. to us. ap
pear to be acting in a suspicious man
ner. We slept during the day.
Behind the lines there was great &C
tivity. supplies and ammunition pOuf.
ing In. and long columns Of troops con.
| stantly passing. We were preparing
for the big offensive, the forerunner
| Of the battle Of the Somme or big
| Push"
The neyer-endlng stream Of men,
supplies, ammunition and guns pour
Ing into tho front lines made mighty
spectacle, one that cannot be de-
scribed. 1t has to be witnessed with
your own eyes to appreciate it's vast
ness.
At our part Of the line the influx Of
supplies never ended. 1t looked like
huge snake slowly crawling forward.
never hitch or break, wonderful
tribute to the sy.aem and efficiency Of
Great Brltain's "contemptible little
army" Of five millions Of men.
Huge ffteen-inch guns snaked along,
foot by foot. by powerful steam tract
tors. Then long line Of -four poin,
five batteries, each gun drawn by six
horses, then couple Of "nine point
two" howitzers pulled by immense
caterpillar engines.
When one Of these caterpillars would
pass me with Its mighty monster in
tow. flush Of pride would mount to
my face, because I could plainly read
on the name plate, "AInde in U. S. A." ,"
and would remember that if wore a
name plate 1t would also read, "From
the q. S. A." Then l would stop to
think how thin and straggly that
mighty stream would be If all the
"Made In U. S. A." parts Of 1t were
withdrawn.
Then would come hundreds OF linn
bers and &c. S." wagons drawn by
sleek, well-fed mules, ridden by sleek,
wcll-frd men, ever smiling. although
grimy with sweat and covered with the
fine white dust Of the marrelously
wellnade French roads.
What dscournging report the Ger
man airmen must have taken back to
their division commanders, and this
stream is slowly but surely getting big
ger and bigger every day. and the pace
is always the same. No slower, no
faster, but ever onward, ever forward.
Three weeks before the big push Of
July las the battle of the Somme has
been cnllcd-startcd, exact duplicates
of the German trenches were dug
about thirty kilos behind our lines
The layout of the trenches was taken
from airplune photographs submitted
by the Royal flying corps. The trench,
as We're correct to the foot; they
showed dugoutS, snpS, barbed wire de-
lenses and danger spots.
Battnlions that were to go over in
the first waves were sent back for
three days to study these trenches. en-
gage in practice attacks and have night
mancuvcrs. Each man was required to
make Il map Of the trenches and fa-
mliarize himself with the names and
location OF the parts his battalion was
| to attack.
In the American army nOnCOminiS-
stoned officers are put through course
Of map making or road sketchng, and
during my six years service In the
United States cavalry | had plenty Of
practice in this work, therefore map
ping these trenches was compara-
lively easy task for me. Each man
had to submit his map to the company
commander to be passed upon, and
was lucky enough to have mine select
ed as being sufficiently authentic to use
in the attack.
No photographs or maps are allowed
to leave France, but in this case 1t ap.
pealcd to me as valuable souvenir OF
the great war and | managed to snug.
gle it through. AT this time 1t carries
no military Importance rs the British
lines. ] am happy to say, have since
been advanced beyond this point, so
in having it in my possession am not
breaking any regulation or cautions
of the British army.
The whole attack was rehearsed
ana rehcnrSed Until we heartily cursed
the one who had conceived the idea
The trenches were named according
10 system which made it very simple
for Tommy to find, even In the dark,
any point in the German lines.
These imitation trenches, or trench
models, were well guarded from Obser-
vation by numerous allied planes
which constantly Emcd above them.
NO German nirpiane could approach
within observation distance. A re-
strlcted area was maintained and no
civilian was allowed within three
miles, SO we felt sure that we had o