The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1919-04-04
A CHAPTER OF WAR HISTORY.


A CHAPTER OF WAR HISTORY
The following is a description OF
the turning back of the Huns from
Paris, as taken from a dairy kept
daily by Private Durward V. Smith
of the 5th Field Artillery, 1st Divis.
ion:
On the 5th day of July our posi-
ton, located at Montidier, just outside
OF little town by the name of Rou-
quencourt on main road This was
continually shelled. At the four cor
ners our gun positions were located
on the left side of the road dug in the
bank and well eamouflaged. We were
ready to start firing about 8 o'clock
on the morning Of the 5th and we fir
ed for eight hours. We sure did put
over some gas, and the Dutch put some
over in return but soon the gas got
the best of them and they suffered
great losses.
On the evening of the 7th. we start
ed on journey, which was never ex-
celled by any army, or part of army
over here, in this war. If you follow
me now. you will see our route:
We headed for Paris and we camped
near Veauvia. When we were three
days out we camped in a woods. and
there it started to rain, which makes
in,
ing which was done here was done in
the air. A balloon or so came down on
both sides of the line. The next day
we walked from nine in the evening
until ten the next day, and no chow
until noon, and started on our journey
again at 2 o'clock, to Paris, we
thought. The next day we walked AZ
kilometers, and my feet were black
and blistered. I thought I certainly
would die, and nearly all of this time
we were chowing on monkey meat, as
we called Argentina corn beef. We
are some distance from the front yet.
The next day we started walking
again and this time it was for p
hours steady with only two hours
rest and one meal. Now this date is
the 18th and we are nearly dead for
the want of sleep, but | volunteered
to break on our piece. which is to be
pulled by trucks. 1t is job to strad-
die the carriage over rough roads for
16 hours, and I was nearly dead for
sleep. The rest of the battery got three
hours sleep. On the way we passed $50
small English tanks and much French
cavalry.
After having ridden for the 16 hours
and stin more dead for sleep | arrived
at our destination. 1t was raining and
rs dark as thunder The three brakes
and myself got together and we looked
in and around the buildings and found
that We were in farmyard or dorry,
which had been shelled pretty badly.
In one corner of the shed was a large
pile of barbed wire. We rolled in be-
hind this with gaunt stomachs and
went to sleep and slept the sleep of
the dead. When I awakened l looked
out and was little frightened as /
saw about 20 Germans in front of the
door. | thought that the place was
captured, but I was mistaken. Our
battery had been in position for sew
eral hours and dinner was ready. The
Germans were prisoners that had been
forced to bring in the American
wounded. Our. line advanced two kilo-
meters that day This all happened at
Scissors.
Two of us visited the front line and
could see the long lines of the troops
and cavalry, also tanks going over
the next ridge. The country is nearly
level here. although there were many
deep valleys. We advanced eleven
more kilometers the second day. I
went to the front the day we advanc-
ed seven kilometers and on the way
up we were chased by many Dutch
planes but We escaped the bombs, al
though many were killed as the roads
were blocked solid with traffic.
Now 1t is the Goth of July and we
have moved up seven more kilometers.
We now are in big field near cross
road. The ground here is strewn with
hundreds of dead Huns, horses and
vehicles. We sure gave the ammuni-
tion dumps here a good mauling over.
The shells are coming in now boom,
boom, boom
Today a shell came in just across
the road from us and killed six of our
men and wounded five. Two died in the
hospital soon after arriving. About ten
minutes later another shell came In
and we got most of it. We were dig
ging in and another fellow and my
self came into a trench. While set
ting here smoking a gas she'll came
in and we got most of it. We then
gave the gas alarm and donned our
masks. About thirty minutes later the
captain called me. l was acting as gas
corporal at that time and asked me to
test for gas. AS it was, | could hardly
see from the gas I got before putting
on my mask, and when l removed II
the blood gushed from beneath the
mask and down my neck. The captain
had me lay down for an hour until
the ambulance came, but we gas pa
tients had chance to leave on an
ammunition truck. We then went to
Chateaurew, French hospital This
is hospital where great many of
the gas patients go to.
The place where we were to entrain
was bombed terribly. The track was
blown up so badly that it made the
train late. There were stretcher car
riers at this station by the hundred