Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-09-10
No Wonder Germany Quit
BY MAJOR FRANK G. MAHIN
OF the Army Recruiting Station

We're rarin' to go, used to be
echoed down the long column of
footsore, weary men, stretching
away an unknown distance into the
darkness. And L say advisedly an
unknown distance, for there might
be twenty or thirty miles of dough-
boys strung out behind, a solid col
umn of fours. Perhaps you have
noticed how the infantry back from
France march. There is a uniform
swing and cadence, a rhythmic thud
to the hobnailed shoes that is thrill
ling, the marching of veterans.
They got that swinging cadence net
by much drill, but by much night
marching, marching with tremen-
dous packs, crowded elbow to ell
bow, exhausted, lame, sleepy, in
stinctively,s subconsciously keeping
! in step because it was easier to
march in time than out of time. In
pitch-b black darkness there was
nothing to look at. nothing to dis
tract your attention, so, half asleep,
heads down, they tramped. To stop
and watch a column of veterans
pass in the night was an experience
never to be forgotten. First would
come the thud, thud, thud of thou
sands of hobnailed shoes on a ma
cadam road, all in perfect time, as
though they were marching at atten-
ton. Suddenly out of the darkness
would loom u solid mass of black,
| startling in its sense and feel CT
irresistible power. 1t gave you a
feeling that if a wall blocked the
road it would be brushed out of the
way as though it were a cobwGb.
Thud, thud, the mighty mass would
stream by, without a creak, without
n clink of metal, nor a word nor a
flicker of light, nothing but the
never ending thud of feet. So steady
was this rhythm that there would
! not be a variation of ten seconds to
| the kilometer one way or the other
| all night long, up hill or down dale.
Twelve minutes and thirty seconds
Accounted for each kilometer until
| four had been passed, when simul-
Itaneously, as far as you could hear,
whistles would blow, the tramping
of feet would change to a scufiling
and then silence. Twenty or thirty
thousand men were sitting by the
roadside resting. Nine minutes
would pass and again the whistles
would blow, again you would hear
the great beast scuffiing, again the
echoing call would go out We're
rarin' to CO. and at the end of ten
minutes from the halt, away the
mass would go with it's stunning,
brain -paralyZing thud, thud. To-
wards morning, when acute exhaus-
ton would begin to set in, the sing
ers would tune up, and rollicking
choruses would be banded back and
forth from company to company,
every man trying his best to deceive
himself and everyone else into
thinking he was as fresh as a daisy.
If anyone quit and tried to fall out,
he had a mighty unpleasant time.
Yellow would be one of the mild
est epithets hurled at him. One
morning, just as it was getting gray
in the east and we were winding up
twenty-nine kilometer hike for the
night, we passed a colonel and all
his staff, who had stopped to see
how we We're making it. He
stopped on a bank. To hear that
column you would think they were
| a Oh SCIOOlbOyS OIL lO1
picnic, the singing, whistling, yells
laughter, and soforth, absolutely
drowned out the thud of feet. But
in the gray dawn you could see the
faces, and what faces of agony they
were, utter exhaustion stamped on
every face. but also a look of grin,
determination. The colonel on his
bank aroused much curiosity and
more than one decidedly fresh re-
mark, but all were mild compared
with what came to pass as little
red haired Irishman, Pat Judge
came along. When he saw TIE
colonel he cooked his head on. one
side and sized him up, then as he
passed he sung out in a stentoriar
voice, Sure, Colonel, and is the pui,
horse tired, the puir baste. Bedad
if he is, just bring him down in the
road and we will carry him on oui
packs till he is rested The colone
lust smiled. and Pat roared out
We're rarin' to CO. and passed or
into the gloom. That is the spirit
the morale. that made writer's say
n spirit of the Crusaders pervade.
the A. F. f. but If you asked any
ldoughboy if that were true he would
lust laugh and answer 1t was moth.
i'm but determination to get 6
nasty ioh over and done with a.
quick as ever it could be DONE"