American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-05-28

" the letters reached their destination
It would mean that the writer had been
killed.
These letters were turned over to
the captain with instructions to mail
same In the event of the writer's being
killed. Some Of the men made out
their Wills in their pay books, under
the caption, "Will and Last Testa-
ment."
Then the nerve-racking wait COM
menced. Every now and then I would
and was surprised to see how fast the
minutes passed by. About five minutes
to two l got nervous waiting for our
guns to open up. l could not take my
eyes from my watch. / crouched
against the parapet and strained my
muscles In a deathlike grip upon my
rife. AS the hands on my watch
showed two o'clock a binding red fare
lighted up the sky In our rear, then
thunder, iRtermixed with a sharp, whis-
Ting sound In the air over our heads.
The shells from our guns were speed
ing on their way toward the German
lines. With one accord the men
sprang up on the fire step and looked
over the top In the direction of the
German trenches. A line Of bursting
shells lighted up No Mans Land. The
din was terrific and the ground trem-
bled. Then, high above our heads we
could hear a signing oan Our big
boys behind the line had opened up
and CPS and 15-inch shells commenced
dropping into the German lines. The
flash of the guns behind the lines, the
scream of the shells through the air,
and the flare Of them, bursting, was a
spectacle that put Pains greatest dis
play into the shade. The constant
pup, pup, of German machine guns and
In occasional rattle of rifle firing gave
me the impression of a huge audience
a%pplauding the work of the batteries.
Our 1S-pounders were destroying the
German barbed wire, while the heavier
stuff was demolishing their trenches
and bashing in dugOuts or funk holes.
Then Fritz got busy.
Their shells went screaming over
head, aimed in the direction Of the
flares from our batteries. Trench NOR
tars started dropping "Minnies" in
our front line. We clicked several cas-
ualties. Then they suddenly ceased.
Our artillery had tapped or silenced
them.
During the bombardment you could
almost read a newspaper In our trench.
Sometimes in the flare Of a shell-burst
a mans body would be ~silhouetted
against the parados of the trench and
it appeared like a huge monster. You
could hardly hear yourself think. When
an order was to be passed down the
trench you had to yell 1t, using your
hands as a funnel into the ear Of the
man sitting next to you on the fire step
In about twenty minutes a generous
rum issue was doled out. After drink
ing the rum, which tasted like varnisl
and sent a shudder through you
frame, you wondered why they mad
you wait until the lifting of the bar
rage before going over. At ten min
utes to four word was passed down
'Ten minutes to gol" Ten minute
to Hvel We were ~shivering all over
My legs felt as If they were asleep
Then word was passed down: 'Firs
wave get on and near the scaling lad
ders."
These were small wooden ladder
which we had placed against the para
pet to enable us to go over the top Of
the lifting of the barrage. Ladders o
death" we called them, and veritabl,
they were.
Before a charge Tommy is the pc
litest of men. There is never any push
ing or %crowdlng to be first up thes
ladders. We crouched around the bas
Of the ladders waiting for the wor
to go over. 1 was sick and faint, an
was putting away at an unlighted fae
/, Then came the word, 'Three minute
to go; upon the lifting of the barrag
and on the blast Of the whistles, Owe
the top with the best o. luck and Civ
them hell" The famous phrase O
, the western front. The Jonah phras
of the western front. To Tommy
means If you are lucky enough to com
, DbCh gOu Will Dc mluuS du arm VI
: leg. Tommy hates to be wished tn
, best of luck; so, when peace is d,
clRred, II 1t yer is, and you meet
: Tommy or the street. just wish him tn
best of luck and duck the brick this
follows.
! I glanced again at my wrist watcl
We all wore them and you could hardl
! call us "sissies" for doing so. 1t was
minute to four. 1 could see the han
move to the twelve, then a dead S
: lence. 1t hurt. Everyone looked U
q to see what had happened, but not fC
q long. Sharp whistle blasts rang OF
> along the trench, and with a cheer tn
a men scrambled up the ladders. tn
. bullets were cracking overhead, an
J occasionally a machine gun would ri
. and tear the top of the sandbag par
pet. How l got up that ladder l wi
never know. The first ten feet out
front was opOnv Than We naSSe