Carthage courier. (Carthage, Tenn.) 1913-current, 1919-02-20

OSeODSE LIZ 4S4oS having OScH Ut
dered to report to the commanding
regional officer, Royal Army Medical
Corps of the British army, was sent
with my unit to a place called La
Very, a small village approximately
thirty miles in a southernly direction
E. of the Gobain Woods, where the
Germans were pushing heavily against
the British. The British troops COM
prised such regiments as the Fifth
Kings Royal Rife, Lancashire Fusiliers
Northumberland Yeomanry and sever
al regiments of the. Royal Field Ar
tillery.
These were all volunteer organiza-
5ions and were brought to France
after Kitchener's contemplate little
army" of $4,000 had either been killed
or wounded and most of whom had
either gone West" or, to "Blighty"
as cripples for the rest of their days
These new organizations were opposed
by the Kaiser's crack troops, such as
the Prussian Guards, Bavarians, ETC.,
and they were driving the British be-
fore them; yet these volunteers, who
had been clerks and lay people of all
kinds in civilian life, took heavy toll
of Germans who were drilled to the
minute how to handle the rife. The
per centage ran approximately in the
neighborhood of 48 per cent killed and
wounded on the German side, while
the British were only losing about "a
per cent killed and wounded. The
British commander had decided to
make stand and wait for reinforce
ments, and Fate must have been in
their favor, or, the Almighty was with
them, for they held the Germans at
bay for three days. During that time,
became friendly with family by the
name of Revaud, consisting of moth
err, Mrs. Cevise Revaud, her child and
her aged parents, who had come to
live with her when her husband was
called to the French colors. The old
people were sad and grieved over the
destruction of their country, but the
young mother appeared to be gay, and
encouraged her parents in every way
possible; but behind her smiles was
sad, sore heart. She had had no news
from her husband in several weeks
and, before that time, she received
news weekly. She could speak En-
glish fairly well, having been ladY's
maid in England for several years;
and, after her marriage, had come
back to live in France with her hus
band. Here Fate played another inn
portant roll, and / never saw her
sweet, smiling face again in life. At
the dawn of the following day, the
Germans opened up a heavy cannon
aiding, and my unit was relieved and
ordered from the rest billets to the
first line dressing and receiving sta
tions and we were kept busy for the
next twenty-four hours, taking care
of the wounded and sending back into
line of action the slightly wounded,
- oil on ICl "
wounded The Germans would come in
massed formation, shoulder to should
err in our direction to be moved down
by the deadly fire of machine guns and
rifle fire of these young volunteers,
and at dusk of the first day of this
engagement, mo Mans Land" was
strewn with the grayish, green uni
form of the German soldiers, while
in our own trenches were brave men
old and young, fighting for world
freedom, and who had made the SUI
preme sacrifice, and the wounded were
waiting in line to be dressed, and sent
to the rear as their wounds justified.
These English doctors were very
strict, but sympathetic. In some cas-
es, when the wounded men did not re-
alize the extent of their wounds, they
would beg to be left in the line Of
". II
their "Chum" or "Matie" and they
wanted to take toll for his life, and
actually cried when denied the. pri-
vilige. The British finally were driv-
en- out of the first, second and third
lines to a distance of eight miles
south. The population of the village
had been previously warned to get
their belongings, and move south, and
a goodly number were. too late, and
amongst them, the Revaud family.
We often wondered what had become
of them. In due time the much de-
layed and long looked for reinforce
ments came and winter quarters were
established as a preliminary for ces-
sation of fighting, on account OF the
bad weather conditions. Some seven
days went by and the command sud
denly received orders and to our
amaZement at dawn one morning our
artillery was letting down a lombard
ment of the enemy's trenches. This
proved to be fake attack by the Brl-
fish, as a preliminary bombardment
which always preceded the famous
British Curtain of Fire" Observers
in the British Flying Corps were in
the air noting the effect of the artil-
lery fire, and it must have been eff
fective LaVery had fallen to the
Germans when they drove the British
before them, and had been in their
hands seven days, and being on the
edge of the Gobain Woods, it was
valuable for timber for various war
purposes, and of strategic value to the
British Word was passed down the
trenches that night that breakfast the
following morning would be at 3:15
a. m. which consisted of Canned
Willie, lizard Tack" and Black
WASH" and at a. m. they were go
ing over the top. In every instance
this makes the men like high-spirit
ed horses and these men, taken from
civilian life, were equally as anxious
to go over, as the experienced fighter
and old timers. You would see them
- :, - - L.. - IL 4lci,- r-iAos