diff options
Diffstat (limited to 'old/68962-h/68962-h.htm')
| -rw-r--r-- | old/68962-h/68962-h.htm | 4643 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 4643 deletions
diff --git a/old/68962-h/68962-h.htm b/old/68962-h/68962-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 9b5e6dd..0000000 --- a/old/68962-h/68962-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4643 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - Best O’ Luck, by Alexander McClintock, D. C. M.—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - -body {margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%;} - - h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both;} - -p {margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; - text-indent: 1.5em;} - -.no-indent {text-indent: 0;} - -.p4b {margin-bottom: 4em;} - -hr {width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both;} - -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - -hr.r50 {width: 50%; margin-top: 3em; margin-bottom: 3em; margin-left: 25%; margin-right: 25%;} - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -table {margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto;} - -.tdtr {text-align: right; - vertical-align: top;} -.tdbr {text-align: right; - vertical-align: bottom;} -.tdc {text-align: center;} -.tdl {text-align: left;} - -.ph1 {text-align: center; - margin-top: .51em; - margin-bottom: .49em; - font-size: xx-large; - font-weight: bold; - text-indent: 0;} - -.ph2 {text-align: center; - margin-top: .51em; - margin-bottom: .49em; - font-size: x-large; - font-weight: bold; - text-indent: 0;} - -.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ - /* visibility: hidden; */ - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} /* page numbers */ - -.blockquot {margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%;} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} - -.smaller {font-size: 85%;} - -/* Images */ - -img {max-width: 100%; - height: auto;} - -.figcenter {margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%;} - -/* Footnotes */ - -.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 1.0em;} - -.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} - -.fnanchor {vertical-align: super; - font-size: .8em; - text-decoration: none;} - -/* Poetry */ -.poetry-container {text-align: center;} -.poetry {text-align: left; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} -/* uncomment the next line for centered poetry in browsers */ -.poetry {display: inline-block;} -.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} -.poetry .verse {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;} -/* large inline blocks don't split well on paged devices */ -@media print { .poetry {display: block;} } -.x-ebookmaker .poetry {display: block;} - -/* Transcriber's notes */ -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - padding:0.5em; - margin-bottom:5em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; - margin-left: 20%; - margin-right: 20%;} - -.x-ebookmaker-drop .hide {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - -.x-ebookmaker .hide {display: none; visibility: hidden;} - -.x-ebookmaker .figcenter {width:100%} - -.x-ebookmaker .transnote {margin-left: 2%; margin-right: 2%; - page-break-before: always;} - -/* Poetry indents */ -.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3em;} -.poetry .indent2 {text-indent: -2em;} - - </style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Best o' luck, by Alexander McClintock</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Best o' luck</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>How a fighting Kentuckian won the thanks of Britain's King</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Alexander McClintock</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 10, 2022 [eBook #68962]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: D A Alexander and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by University of California libraries)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEST O' LUCK ***</div> - -<div class="figcenter hide" style="width: 35%"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="Cover" /> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph1">BEST O’ LUCK</p></div> - -<p class="center no-indent">BY ALEXANDER McCLINTOCK, D. C. M.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="blockquot"><p>“The Distinguished Conduct Medal has been -awarded to Sergeant Alexander McClintock of -the Canadian Overseas Forces for conspicuous -gallantry in action. He displayed great courage -and determination during a raid against the -enemy’s trenches. Later he rescued several -wounded men at great personal risk.”</p> - -<p class="right"><i>Extract from official communication<br /> -from the Canadian War Office to the<br /> -British Consul General in New York.</i></p></div></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h1>BEST O’ LUCK</h1></div> - -<p class="ph2 center no-indent">HOW A FIGHTING KENTUCKIAN<br /> -WON THE THANKS OF BRITAIN’S KING</p> - -<hr class="r50" /> - -<p class="center no-indent"><span class="smaller">BY</span><br /> -ALEXANDER McCLINTOCK, D. C. M.</p> - -<p class="center no-indent p4b">Late Sergeant, 87th Battalion, Canadian Grenadier Guards<br /> -Now member of U. S. A. Reserve Corps</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 150px;"> -<img src="images/i_title.jpg" width="150" alt="Publishers Logo" -title="" /></div> - -<hr class="r50" /> - -<p class="center no-indent">NEW YORK<br /> -GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center no-indent">COPYRIGHT, 1917,<br /> -BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA</p></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center no-indent">TO MY MOTHER<br /> -MAUDE JOHNSON McCLINTOCK</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2 nobreak">CONTENTS</p></div> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="3" summary="CONTENTS"> - -<tr><td class="tdc"><small>CHAPTER</small></td> -<td class="tdl"> </td> -<td class="tdc"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdtr">I</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Training for the War</span></td> -<td class="tdbr"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdtr">II</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">The Bombing Raid</span></td> -<td class="tdbr"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdtr">III</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">“Over the Top and Give ’em Hell</span>”</td> -<td class="tdbr"><a href="#Page_75">75</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdtr">IV</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Shifted to the Somme</span></td> -<td class="tdbr"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdtr">V</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">Wounded in Action</span></td> -<td class="tdbr"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="tdtr">VI</td> -<td class="tdl"><span class="smcap">A Visit from the King</span></td> -<td class="tdbr"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span></p> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph1 nobreak" id="BEST_O_LUCK">BEST O’ LUCK</p></div> -<h2>CHAPTER I<br /> -<span class="smaller">TRAINING FOR THE WAR</span></h2></div> - -<p>I don’t lay claim to being much of a -writer, and up ’till now I never felt the -call to write anything about my experiences -with the Canadian troops in Belgium and -France, because I realized that a great many -other men had seen quite as much as I, and -could beat me telling about it. Of course, I -believed that my experience was worth relating, and -I thought that the matter published -in the newspapers by professional -writers sort of missed the essentials and -lacked the spirit of the “ditches” in a good -many ways despite its excellent literary -style, but I didn’t see any reason why it was -up to me to make an effort as a war historian, -until now.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p> - -<p>Now, there is a reason, as I look at it.</p> - -<p>I believe I can show the two or three millions -of my fellow countrymen who will be -“out there” before this war is over what -they are going to be up against, and what -they ought to prepare for, personally and -individually.</p> - -<p>That is as far as I am going to go in the -way of excuse, explanation, or comment. -The rest of my story is a simple relation -of facts and occurrences in the -order in which they came to my notice -and happened to me. It may start off a -little slowly and jerkily, just as we did—not -knowing what was coming to us. I’d like -to add that it got quite hot enough to suit -me later—several times. Therefore, as my -effort is going to be to carry you right along -with me in this account of my experiences, -don’t be impatient if nothing very important -seems to happen at first. I felt a little -ennui myself at the beginning. But that was -certainly one thing that didn’t annoy me -later.</p> - -<p>In the latter part of October, 1915, I decided<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span> -that the United States ought to be -fighting along with England and France on -account of the way Belgium had been -treated, if for no other reason. As there -seemed to be a considerable division of opinion -on this point among the people at home, -I came to the conclusion that any man who -was free, white, and twenty-one and felt as -I did, ought to go over and get into it single-handed -on the side where his convictions led -him, if there wasn’t some particular reason -why he couldn’t. Therefore, I said good-by -to my parents and friends in Lexington, -and started for New York with the idea of -sailing for France, and joining the Foreign -Legion of the French Army.</p> - -<p>A couple of nights after I got to New York -I fell into conversation in the Knickerbocker -bar with a chap who was in the reinforcement -company of Princess Pat’s regiment of -the Canadian forces. After my talk with -him, I decided to go up to Canada and look -things over. I arrived at the Windsor Hotel, in -Montreal, at eight o’clock in the -morning, a couple of days later, and at ten -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span>o’clock the same morning I was sworn in as -a private in the Canadian Grenadier -Guards, Eighty-seventh Overseas Battalion, -Lieut.-Col. F. S. Meighen, Commanding.</p> - -<p>They were just getting under way making -soldiers out of the troops I enlisted -with, and discipline was quite lax. They -at once gave me a week’s leave to come -down to New York, and settle up some -personal affairs, and I overstayed it five -days. All that my company commander -said to me when I got back was that I -seemed to have picked up Canadian habits -very quickly. At a review one day in our -training camp, I heard a Major say:</p> - -<p>“Boys, for God’s sake don’t call me Harry -or spit in the ranks. Here comes the General!”</p> - -<p>We found out eventually that there was a -reason for the slackness of discipline. The -trouble was that men would enlist to get -$1.10 a day without working for it, and -would desert as soon as any one made it unpleasant -for them. Our officers knew what -they were about. Conditions changed instantly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span> -we went on ship-board. Discipline -tightened up on us like a tie-rope on a colt.</p> - -<p>We trained in a sort of casual, easy way -in Canada from November 4th to the following -April. We had a good deal of trouble -keeping our battalion up to strength, and -I was sent out several times with other “non-coms” -on a recruiting detail.</p> - -<p>Aside from desertions, there were reasons -why we couldn’t keep our quota. -The weeding out of the physically unfit -brought surprising and extensive results. -Men who appeared at first amply -able to stand “the game” were unable to -keep up when the screw was turned. Then, -also, our regiment stuck to a high physical -standard. Every man must be five feet ten, -or over. Many of our candidates failed on -the perpendicular requirement only. However, -we were not confined to the ordinary -rule in Canada, that recruits must come -from the home military district of the battalion. -We were permitted to recruit -throughout the Dominion, and thus we -gathered quite a cosmopolitan crowd. The -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span>only other unit given this privilege of Dominion-wide -recruiting was the P. P. C. -L. I. (Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light -Infantry), the first regiment to go overseas -from Canada, composed largely of veterans -of the South African and other colonial -wars. We felt a certain emulation -about this veteran business and voiced it in -our recruiting appeals. We assured our prospective -“rookies” that we were just as first-class -as any of them. On most of our recruiting -trips we took a certain corporal with us -who had seen service in France with a Montreal -regiment and had been invalided home. -He was our star speaker. He would mount a -box or other improvised stand and describe -in his simple, soldierly way the splendid -achievements of the comrades who had gone -over ahead of us, and the opportunities for -glory and distinction awaiting any brave man -who joined with us. When he described -his experiences there was a note of compelling -eloquence and patriotic fervor in -his remarks which sometimes aroused the -greatest enthusiasm. Often he was cheered -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span>as a hero and carried on men’s shoulders -from the stand, while recruits came forward -in flocks and women weepingly bade them -go on and do their duty. I learned, afterwards -that this corporal had been a cook, -had never been within twenty miles of the -frontline, and had been invalided home for -varicocele veins. He served us well; but -there was a man who was misplaced, in vocation -and geography. He should have been -in politics in Kentucky.</p> - -<p>While we were in the training camp at St. -Johns, I made the acquaintance of a young -Canadian who became my “pal.” He was -Campbell Macfarlane, nephew of George -Macfarlane, the actor who is so well known -on the American musical stage. He was a -sergeant. When I first knew him, he was -one of the most delightful and amusing -young fellows you could imagine.</p> - -<p>The war changed him entirely, He became -extremely quiet and seemed to be -borne down with the sense of the terrible -things which he saw. He never lost the -good-fellowship which was inherent in him, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span>and was always ready to do anything to -oblige one, but he formed the habit of sitting -alone and silent, for hours at a time, -just thinking. It seemed as if he had a premonition -about himself, though he never -showed fear and never spoke of the dangers -we were going into, as the other fellows did. -He was killed in the Somme action in which -I was wounded.</p> - -<p>I’m not much on metaphysics and it is -difficult for me to express the thought I -would convey here. I can just say, as I -would if I were talking to a pal, that I have -often wondered what the intangible mental -or moral quality is that makes men think -and act so differently to one another when -confronted by the imminent prospect of sudden -death. Is it a question of will power—of -imagination, or the lack of it—of something -that you can call merely physical courage—or -what? Take the case of Macfarlane: -In action he was as brave as they make -them, but, as I have said before, the prospect -of sudden death and the presence of death -and suffering around him changed him utterly.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span> -From a cheerful, happy lad he was -transformed into an old man, silent, gloomy -and absent-minded except for momentary -flashes of his old spirit which became less -and less frequent as the time for his own end -drew nearer.</p> - -<p>There was another chap with us from a -little town in Northern Ontario. While in -Canada and England he was utterly worthless; -always in trouble for being absent without -leave, drunk, late on parade, or something -else. I think he must, at one time or another, -have been charged with every offense -possible under the K. R. & O. (King’s Regulations -and Orders). On route marches he -was constantly “falling out.” I told him, -one day when I was in command of a platoon, -that he ought to join the Royal Flying -Corps. Then he would only have to fall out -once. He said that he considered this a very -good joke and asked me if I could think of -anything funny in connection with being absent -without leave—which he was, that -night. In France, this chap was worth ten -ordinary men. He was always cheerful, always<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span> -willing and prompt in obeying orders, -ready to tackle unhesitatingly the most unpleasant -or the most risky duty, and the hotter -it was the better he liked it. He came -out laughing and unscathed from a dozen -tight places where it didn’t seem possible -for him to escape. To use a much-worn -phrase, he seemed to bear a charmed life. -I’ll wager my last cent that he never gets an -“R. I. P.”—which they put on the cross -above a soldier’s grave, and which the Tommies -call “Rise If Possible.” Then there -was a certain sergeant who was the best instructor -in physical training and bayonet -fighting in our brigade and who was as fine -and dashing a soldier in physique and carriage -as you ever could see. When he got -under fire he simply went to pieces. On our -first bombing raid he turned and ran back -into our own barbed wire, and when he was -caught there acted like a madman. He was -given another chance but flunked worse than -ever. I don’t think he was a plain -coward. There was merely something -wrong with his nervous system. He just -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span>didn’t have the “viscera.” Now he -is back of the lines, instructing, and will -never be sent to the trenches again. We had -an officer, also, who was a man of the greatest -courage, so far as sticking where he belonged -and keeping his men going ahead -might be concerned, but every time he heard -a big shell coming over he was seized with -a violent fit of vomiting. I don’t know what -makes men brave or cowardly in action, and -I wouldn’t undertake to say which quality -a man might show until I saw him in action, -but I do know this: If a man isn’t frightened -when he goes under fire, it’s because he lacks -intelligence. He simply must be frightened -if he has the ordinary human attributes. -But if he has what we call physical courage -he goes on with the rest of them. Then if -he has extraordinary courage he may go on -where the rest of them won’t go. I should -say that the greatest fear the ordinary man -has in going into action is the fear that he -will show that he is afraid—not to his officers, -or to the Germans, or to the folks back -home, but to his mates; to the men with -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>whom he has laughed and scoffed at danger.</p> - -<p>It’s the elbow-to-elbow influence that carries -men up to face machine guns and gas. -A heroic battalion may be made up of units -of potential cowards.</p> - -<p>At the time when Macfarlane was given -his stripes, I also was made a sergeant on -account of the fact that I had been at school -in the Virginia Military Institute. That is, -I was an acting sergeant. It was explained -to me that my appointment would have to -be confirmed in England, and then reconfirmed -after three months’ service in France. -Under the regulations of the Canadian -forces, a non-commissioned officer, after -final confirmation in his grade, can be reduced -to the ranks only by a general court-martial, -though he can escape a court-martial, -when confronted with charges, by reverting -to the ranks at his own request.</p> - -<p>Forty-two hundred of us sailed for England -on the <i>Empress of Britain</i>, sister ship -to the <i>Empress of Ireland</i>, which was sunk -in the St. Lawrence River. The steamer -was, of course, very crowded and uncomfortable,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span> -and the eight-day trip across was -most unpleasant. We had tripe to eat until -we were sick of the sight of it. A sergeant -reported one morning, “eight men and -twenty-two breakfasts, absent.” There were -two other troop ships in our convoy, the -<i>Baltic</i> and the <i>Metagama</i>. A British cruiser -escorted us until we were four hundred -miles off the coast of Ireland; then each ship -picked up a destroyer which had come out -to meet her. At that time, a notice was -posted in the purser’s office informing us -that we were in the war zone, and that -the ship would not stop for anything, -even for a man overboard. That day a soldier -fell off the <i>Metagama</i> with seven hundred -dollars in his pocket, and the ship never -even hesitated. They left him where he had -no chance in the world to spend his money.</p> - -<p>Through my training in the V. M. I., I -was able to read semaphore signals, and I -caught the message from the destroyer -which escorted us. It read:</p> - -<p>“Each ship for herself now. Make a -break!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span></p> - -<p>We beat the other steamers of our convoy -eight hours in getting to the dock in Liverpool, -and, according to what seemed to be -the regular system of our operations at that -time, we were the last to disembark.</p> - -<p>The majority of our fellows had never -been in England before, and they looked on -our travels at that time as a fine lark. Everybody -cheered and laughed when they dusted -off one of those little toy trains and brought -it up to take us away in it. After we were -aboard of it, we proceeded at the dizzy rate -of about four miles an hour, and our regular -company humorist—no company is complete -without one—suggested that they were -afraid, if they went any faster, they might -run off of the island before they could stop. -We were taken to Bramshott camp, in -Hampshire, twelve miles from the Aldershott -School of Command. The next day -we were given “King’s leave”—eight days -with free transportation anywhere in the -British Isles. It is the invariable custom -to give this sort of leave to all colonial troops -immediately upon their arrival in England. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span>However, in our case, Ireland was barred. -Just at that time, Ireland was no place for -a newly arrived Canadian looking for sport.</p> - -<p>Our men followed the ordinary rule of -soldiers on leave. About seventy-five per -cent. of them wired in for extensions and -more money. About seventy-four per cent. -received peremptorily unfavorable replies. -The excuses and explanations which came -in kept our officers interested and amused -for some days. One man—who got leave—sent -in a telegram which is now framed and -hung on the wall of a certain battalion orderley’s -room. He telegraphed:</p> - -<p>“No one dead. No one ill. Got plenty -of money. Just having a good time. Please -grant extension.”</p> - -<p>After our leave, they really began to make -soldiers of us. We thought our training in -Canada had amounted to something. We -found out that we might as well have been -playing croquet. We learned more the first -week of our actual training in England than -we did from November to April in Canada. -I make this statement without fear that any -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span>officer or man of the Canadian forces alive -to-day will disagree with me, and I submit -it for the thoughtful consideration of the -gentlemen who believe that our own armies -can be prepared for service here at home.</p> - -<p>The sort of thing that the President is up -against at Washington is fairly exemplified -in what the press despatches mention as “objections -on technical grounds” of the -“younger officers of the war college,” to the -recommendations which General Pershing -has made as to the reorganization of the -units of our army for service in Europe.</p> - -<p>The extent of the reorganization which -must be made in pursuance of General -Pershing’s recommendations is not apparent -to most people. Even our best informed -militia officers do not know how fundamentally -different the organization of European -armies is to that which has existed in -our own army since the days when it was -established to suit conditions of the Civil -War. But the officers of our regular army -realize what the reorganization would -mean and some of them rise to oppose it for -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>fear it may jeopardize their seniority or -promotion or importance. But they’ll have -to come to it. The Unites States army can -not operate successfully in France unless its -units are convenient and similar multiples -to those in the French and British armies. -It would lead to endless confusion and difficulty -if we kept the regiment as our field -unit while our allies have the battalion as -their field unit.</p> - -<p>There are but unimportant differences in -the unit organization of the French, British -and Canadian forces. The British plan of -organization is an examplar of all, and it is -what we must have in our army. There is -no such thing in the British army as an -established regimental strength. A battalion -numbers 1,500 men, but there is no limit -to the number of battalions which a regiment -may have. The battalion is the field -unit. There are regiments in the British -army which have seven battalions in the -field. Each battalion is commanded by a -lieutenant-colonel. All full colonels either -do staff duty or act as brigaders. There -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>are five companies of 250 men each in every -battalion. That is, there are four regular -companies of 250 men each, and a headquarters -company of approximately that -strength. Each company is commanded by -a major, with a captain as second in command, -and four lieutenants as platoon commanders. -There are no second lieutenants -in the Canadian forces, though -there are in the British and French. The -senior major of the battalion commands -the headquarters company, which includes -the transport, quartermaster’s staff, -paymaster’s department (a paymaster and -four clerks), and the headquarters staff (a -captain adjutant and his non-commissioned -staff). Each battalion has, in addition to -its full company strength, the following -“sections” of from 30 to 75 men each, and -each commanded by a lieutenant: bombers, -scouts and snipers, machine gunners and signallers. -There is also a section of stretcher-bearers, -under the direct command of the -battalion surgeon, who ranks as a major. -In the United States army a battalion is commanded<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span> -by a major. It consists merely of -four companies of 112 men each, with a captain -and two lieutenants to each company.</p> - -<p>As I have said, a British or French battalion -has four ordinary companies of 250 -men each and the headquarters company -of special forces approximating that number -of men. Instead of one major it has six, -including the surgeon. It has seven captains, -including the paymaster, the adjutant -and the quartermaster. It has twenty lieutenants, -including the commanders of special -“sections.” You can imagine what confusion -would be likely to occur in substituting -a United States force for a French or -English force, with these differences of -organization existing.</p> - -<p>In this war, every man has got to be a -specialist. He’s got to know one thing better -than anybody else except those who have -had intensive instruction in the same branch. -And besides that, he’s got to have effective -general knowledge of all the specialties in -which his fellow soldiers have been particularly -trained. I can illustrate this. Immediately<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span> -upon our return from first leave in -England, we were divided into sections for -training in eight specialties. They were: -Bombing, sniping, scouting, machine-gun -fighting, signalling, trench mortar operation, -bayonet fighting, and stretcher-bearing. -I was selected for special training in -bombing, probably because I was supposed, -as an American and a baseball player, to be -expert in throwing. With the other men -picked for training in the same specialty, I -was sent to Aldershott, and there, for three -weeks, twelve hours a day, I threw bombs, -studied bombs, read about bombs, took -bombs to pieces and put them together -again, and did practically everything else -that you would do with a bomb, except -eat it.</p> - -<p>Then I was ordered back along with the -other men who had gained this intimate -acquaintance with the bomb family, and -we were put to work teaching the entire -battalion all that we had learned. When -we were not teaching, we were under instruction -ourselves by the men who had -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span>taken special training in other branches. -Also, at certain periods of the day, we had -physical training and rifle practice. Up to -the time of our arrival in England, intensive -training had been merely a fine phrase -with us. During our stay there, it was a -definite and overpowering fact. Day and -night we trained and day and night it rained. -At nine o’clock, we would fall into our -bunks in huts which held from a half to a -whole platoon—from thirty to sixty men—and -drop into exhausted sleep, only to turn -out at 5 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> to give a sudden imitation -of what we would do to the Germans if -they sneaked up on us before breakfast in -six inches of mud. Toward the last, when -we thought we had been driven to the limit, -they told us that we were to have a period -of real, intensive training to harden us for -actual fighting. They sent us four imperial -drill sergeants from the British Grenadier -Guards, the senior foot regiment of the -British army, and the one with which we -were affiliated.</p> - -<p>It would be quite unavailing for me to -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>attempt to describe these drill sergeants. -The British drill sergeant is an institution -which can be understood only through personal -and close contact. If he thinks a -major-general is wrong, he’ll tell him so on -the spot in the most emphatic way, but without -ever violating a single sacred tradition -of the service. The sergeants, who took us -in charge to put the real polish on our -training, had all seen from twenty to twenty-five -years of service. They had all been -through the battles of Mons and the Marne, -and they had all been wounded. They were -perfect examples of a type. One of them -ordered all of our commissioned officers, -from the colonel down, to turn out for rifle -drill one day, and put them through the -manual of arms while the soldiers of the -battalion stood around, looking on.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen,” said he, in the midst of -the drill, “when I see you handle your -rifles I feel like falling on my knees -and thanking God that we’ve got a -navy.”</p> - -<p>On June 2d, after the third battle of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span>Ypres, while Macfarlane and I were sitting -wearily on our bunks during an odd hour -in the afternoon when nobody had thought -of anything for us to do, a soldier came in -with a message from headquarters which -put a sudden stop to the discussion we were -having about the possibility of getting leave -to go up to London. The message was that -the First, Second and Third divisions of the -Canadians had lost forty per cent. of their -men in the third fight at Ypres and that -three hundred volunteers were wanted from -each of our battalions to fill up the gaps.</p> - -<p>“Forty per cent.,” said Macfarlane, getting -up quickly. “My God, think of it! -Well, I’m off to tell ’em I’ll go.”</p> - -<p>I told him I was with him, and we started -for headquarters, expecting to be received -with applause and pointed out as heroic examples. -We couldn’t even get up to give in -our names. The whole battalion had gone -ahead of us. They heard about it first. That -was the spirit of the Canadians. It was -about this time that a story went ’round concerning -an English colonel who had been -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span>called upon to furnish volunteers from his -outfit to replace casualties. He backed his -regiment up against a barrack wall and said:</p> - -<p>“Now, all who don’t want to volunteer, -step three paces to the rear.”</p> - -<p>In our battalion, sergeants and even officers -offered to go as privates. Our volunteers -went at once, and we were re-enforced -up to strength by drafts from the Fifth -Canadian division, which was then forming -in England.</p> - -<p>In July, when we were being kept on the -rifle ranges most of the time, all leave was -stopped, and we were ordered to hold ourselves -in readiness to go overseas. In the -latter part of the month, we started. We -sailed from Southampton to Havre on a big -transport, escorted all the way by destroyers. -As we landed, we got our first sight of the -harvest of war. A big hospital on the quay -was filled with wounded men. We had -twenty-four hours in what they called a -“rest camp.” We slept on cobble stones in -shacks which were so utterly comfortless -that it would be an insult to a Kentucky -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span>thoroughbred to call them stables. Then we -were on the way to the Belgian town of -Poperinghe, which is one hundred and fifty -miles from Havre and was, at that time, the -rail head of the Ypres salient. We made the -trip in box cars which were marked in -French: “Eight horses or forty men,” and -we had to draw straws to decide who should -lie down.</p> - -<p>We got into Poperinghe at 7 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, -and the scouts had led us into the front -trenches at two the next morning. Our position -was to the left of St. Eloi and was known -as “The Island,” because it had no support -on either side. On the left, were the Yser -Canal and the bluff which forms its bank. -On the right were three hundred yards of -battered-down trenches which had been rebuilt -twice and blown in again each time by -the German guns. For some reason, which -I never quite understood, the Germans -were able to drop what seemed a tolerably -large proportion of the output of the Krupp -works on this particular spot whenever they -wanted to. Our high command had concluded<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span> -that it was untenable, and so we, on -one side of it, and the British on the other, -had to just keep it scouted and protect our -separate flanks. Another name they had -for that position was the “Bird Cage.” That -was because the first fellows who moved into -it made themselves nice and comfy and put -up wire nettings to prevent any one from -tossing bombs in on them. Thus, when the -Germans stirred up the spot with an accurate -shower of “whiz-bangs” and “coal-boxes,” -the same being thirteen-pounders -and six-inch shells, that wire netting presented -a spectacle of utter inadequacy which -hasn’t been equalled in this war.</p> - -<p>They called the position which we were -assigned to defend “The Graveyard of Canada.” -That was because of the fearful -losses of the Canadians here in the second -battle of Ypres, from April 21, to June 1, -1915, when the first gas attack in the world’s -history was launched by the Germans, and, -although the French, on the left, and the -British, on the right, fell back, the Canadians -stayed where they were put.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span></p> - -<p>Right here I can mention something -which will give you an idea why descriptions -of this war don’t describe it. During -the first gas attack, the Canadians, choking to -death and falling over each other in a fight -against a new and unheard-of terror in warfare, -found a way—the Lord only knows -who first discovered it and how he happened -to do it—to stay through a gas cloud and -come out alive. It isn’t pretty to think of, -and it’s like many other things in this war -which you can’t even tell of in print, because -simple description would violate the -nice ethics about reading matter for the public -eye, which have grown up in long years -of peace and traditional decency. But this -thing which you can’t describe meant just -the difference between life and death to -many of the Canadians, that first day of the -gas. Official orders: now, tell every soldier -what he is to do with his handkerchief or a -piece of his shirt if he is caught in a gas attack -without his mask.</p> - -<p>The nearest I can come, in print, to telling -you what a soldier is ordered to do in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span>this emergency is to remind you that ammonia -fumes oppose chlorine gas as a neutralizing -agent, and that certain emanations -of the body throw off ammonia fumes.</p> - -<p>Now that I’ve told you how we got from -the Knickerbocker bar and other places to a -situation which was just one hundred and -fifty yards from the entrenched front of the -German army in Belgium, I might as well -add a couple of details about things which -straightway put the fear of God in our -hearts. At daybreak, one of our Fourteenth -platoon men, standing on the firing step, -pushed back his trench helmet and remarked -that he thought it was about time for coffee. -He didn’t get any. A German sharpshooter, -firing the first time that day, got him under -the rim of his helmet, and his career with -the Canadian forces was over right there. -And then, as the dawn broke, we made out -a big painted sign raised above the German -front trench. It read:</p> - -<p class="center no-indent">WELCOME,<br /> -EIGHTY-SEVENTH CANADIANS</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span></p> - -<p>We were a new battalion, we had been less -than seventy-two hours on the continent of -Europe and the Germans were not supposed -to know anything that was going on behind -our lines!</p> - -<p>We learned, afterward, that concealed -telephones in the houses of the Belgian burgomasters -of the villages of Dinkiebusch -and Renninghelst, near our position, gave -communication with the German headquarters -opposite us. One of the duties of a detail -of our men, soon after that, was to stand -these two burgomasters up against a wall -and shoot them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 40-43]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER II<br /> -<span class="smaller">THE BOMBING RAID</span></h2></div> - -<p>When we took our position in the front -line trenches in Belgium, we relieved the -Twenty-sixth Canadian Battalion. The -Twenty-sixth belonged to the Second division, -and had seen real service during the -battle of Hooge and in what is now termed -the third battle of Ypres, which occurred in -June, 1916. The organization was made up -almost exclusively of French Canadians -from Quebec, and it was as fine a fighting -force as we had shown the Fritzes, despite -the fact that men of their race, as developments -have proved, are not strongly loyal -to Canada and Britain. Individually, the -men of this French Canadian battalion were -splendid soldiers and the organization could -be criticized on one score only. In the heat -of action it could not be kept in control. On -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span>one occasion when it went in, in broad daylight, -to relieve another battalion, the men -didn’t stop at the fire trench. They went -right on “over the top,” without orders, and, -as a result, were badly cut up. Time and -again the men of this battalion crossed “No -Man’s Land” at night, without orders and -without even asking consent, just to have a -scrimmage with “the beloved enemy.” -Once, when ordered to take two lines of -trenches, they did so in the most soldierly -fashion, but, seeing red, kept on going as -if their orders were to continue to Berlin. -On this occasion they charged right into -their barrage fire and lost scores of their -men, struck down by British shells. It has -been said often of all the Canadians that -they go the limit, without hesitation. There -was a time when the “Bing Boys”—the -Canadians were so called because this title -of a London musical comedy was suggested -by the fact that their commander was General -Byng—were ordered to take no prisoners, -this order being issued after two of their -men were found crucified. A Canadian private,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span> -having penetrated a German trench -with an attacking party, encountered a German -who threw up his hands and said: -“Mercy, Kamerade. I have a wife and five -children at home.”</p> - -<p>“You’re mistaken,” replied the Canadian. -“You have a widow and five orphans at -home.”</p> - -<p>And, very shortly, he had.</p> - -<p>Scouts from the Twenty-sixth battalion -had come back to the villages of Dinkiebusch -and Renninghelst to tell us how glad -they were to see us and to show us the way -in. As we proceeded overland, before -reaching the communication trenches at the -front, these scouts paid us the hospitable attentions -due strangers. That is, one of them -leading a platoon would say:</p> - -<p>“Next two hundred yards in machine gun -range. Keep quiet, don’t run, and be ready -to drop quick if you are warned.”</p> - -<p>There was one scout to each platoon, and -we followed him, single file, most of the -time along roads or well-worn paths, but -sometimes through thickets and ragged -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span>fields. Every now and then the scout would -yell at us to drop, and down we’d go on our -stomachs while, away off in the distance we -could hear the “put-put” of machine guns—the -first sound of hostile firing that had ever -reached our ears.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right,” said the scout. “They -haven’t seen us or got track of us. They’re -just firing on suspicion.”</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, when our various platoons -had all got into the front reserve trenches, at -about two hours after midnight, we learned -that the first blood of our battalion had been -spilled. Two men had been wounded, -though neither fatally. Our own stretcher-bearers -took our wounded back to the field -hospital at Dinkiebusch. The men of the -Twenty-sixth battalion spent the rest of the -night instructing us and then left us to hold -the position. We were as nervous as a lot -of cats, and it seemed to me that the Germans -must certainly know that they could -come over and walk right through us, but, -outside of a few casualties from sniping, -such as the one that befell the Fourteenth -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span>platoon man, which I have told about, nothing -very alarming happened the first day -and night, and by that time we had got -steady on our job. We held the position for -twenty-six days, which was the longest period -that any Canadian or British organization -had ever remained in a front-line trench.</p> - -<p>In none of the stories I’ve read, have I -ever seen trench fighting, as it was then carried -on in Belgium, adequately described. -You see, you can’t get much of an idea about -a thing like that, making a quick tour of the -trenches under official direction and escort, -as the newspaper and magazine writers do. -I couldn’t undertake to tell anything worth -while about the big issues of the war, but I -can describe how soldiers have to learn to -fight in the trenches—and I think a good -many of our young fellows have that to -learn, now. “Over there,” they don’t talk of -peace or even of to-morrow. They just sit -back and take it.</p> - -<p>We always held the fire trench as lightly -as possible, because it is a demonstrated fact -that the front ditch cannot be successfully -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span>defended in a determined attack. The thing -to do is to be ready to jump onto the enemy -as soon as he has got into your front trench -and is fighting on ground that you know and -he doesn’t and knock so many kinds of tar -out of him that he’ll have to pull his freight -for a spot that isn’t so warm. That system -worked first rate for us.</p> - -<p>During the day, we had only a very few -men in the fire trench. If an attack is coming -in daylight, there’s always plenty of -time to get ready for it. At night, we kept -prepared for trouble all the time. We had -a night sentry on each firing step and a man -sitting at his feet to watch him and know if -he was secretly sniped. Then we had a sentry -in each “bay” of the trench to take messages.</p> - -<p>Orders didn’t permit the man on the firing -step or the man watching him to leave post -on any excuse whatever, during their two-hour -“spell” of duty. Hanging on a string, -at the elbow of each sentry on the fire-step -was a siren whistle or an empty shell case -and bit of iron with which to hammer on it. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span>This—siren or improvised gong—was for -the purpose of spreading the alarm in case -of a gas attack. Also we had sentries in “listening -posts,” at various points from twenty -to fifty yards out in “No Man’s Land.” -These men blackened their faces before they -went “over the top,” and then lay in shell -holes or natural hollows. There were always -two of them, a bayonet man and a -bomber. From the listening post a wire ran -back to the fire trench to be used in signaling. -In the trench, a man sat with this wire -wrapped around his hand. One pull meant -“All O. K.,” two pulls, “I’m coming in,” -three pulls, “Enemy in sight,” and four -pulls, “Sound gas alarm.” The fire step in -a trench is a shelf on which soldiers stand -so that they may aim their rifles between the -sand bags which form the parapet.</p> - -<p>In addition to these men, we had patrols -and scouts out in “No Man’s Land” the -greater part of the night, with orders to gain -any information possible which might be of -value to battalion, brigade, division or general -headquarters. They reported on the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span>conditions of the Germans’ barbed wire, the -location of machine guns and other little -things like that which might be of interest -to some commanding officer, twenty miles -back. Also, they were ordered to make -every effort to capture any of the enemy’s -scouts or patrols, so that we could get information -from them. One of the interesting -moments in this work came when a star shell -caught you out in an open spot. If you -moved you were gone. I’ve seen men stand -on one foot for the thirty seconds during -which a star shell will burn. Then, when -scouts or patrols met in “No Man’s Land” -they always had to fight it out with bayonets. -One single shot would be the signal for artillery -fire and would mean the almost instant -annihilation of the men on both sides -of the fight. Under the necessities of this -war, many of our men have been killed -by our own shell fire.</p> - -<p>At a little before daybreak came “stand-to,” -when everybody got buttoned up and -ready for business, because, at that hour, -most attacks begin and also that was one of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span>the two regular times for a dose of “morning -and evening hate,” otherwise a good lively -fifteen minutes of shell fire. We had some -casualties every morning and evening, and -the stretcher-bearers used to get ready for -them as a matter of course. For fifteen -minutes at dawn and dusk, the Germans -used to send over “whiz-bangs,” “coal-boxes” -and “minniewurfers” (shells from -trench mortars) in such a generous way that -it looked as if they liked to shoot ’em off, -whether they hit anything or not. You -could always hear the “heavy stuff” coming, -and we paid little attention to it as it was -used in efforts to reach the batteries, back of -our lines. The poor old town of Dinkiebusch -got the full benefit of it. When a -shell would shriek its way over, some one -would say: “There goes the express for Dinkiebusch,” -and a couple of seconds later, -when some prominent landmark of Dinkiebusch -would disintegrate to the accompaniment -of a loud detonation, some one else -would remark:</p> - -<p>“Train’s arrived!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span></p> - -<p>The scouts who inhabited “No Man’s -Land” by night became snipers by day. -Different units had different systems of utilizing -these specialists. The British and -the French usually left their scouts and snipers -in one locality so that they might come -to know every hummock and hollow and -tree-stump of the limited landscape which -absorbed their unending attention. The -Canadians, up to the time when I left -France, invariably took their scouts and -snipers along when they moved from one -section of the line to another. This system -was criticized as having the disadvantage of -compelling the men to learn new territory -while opposing enemy scouts familiar -with every inch of the ground. As to the -contention on this point, I could not undertake -to decide, but it seemed to me that our -system had, at least, the advantage of keeping -the men more alert and less likely to -grow careless. Some of our snipers acquired -reputations for a high degree of skill -and there was always a fascination for me -in watching them work. We always had -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span>two snipers to each trench section. They -would stand almost motionless on the fire -steps for hours at a time, searching every -inch of the German front trench and the surrounding -territory with telescopes. They -always swathed their heads with sand bags, -looking like huge, grotesque turbans, as this -made the finest kind of an “assimilation covering.” -It would take a most alert German -to pick out a man’s head, so covered, among -all the tens of thousands of sand bags which -lined our parapet. The snipers always used -special rifles with telescopic sights, and they -made most extraordinary shots. Some of -them who had been huntsmen in the Canadian -big woods were marvellous marksmen. -Frequently one of them would continue for -several days giving special attention to a -spot where a German had shown the top of -his head for a moment. If the German ever -showed again, at that particular spot, he -was usually done for. A yell or some little -commotion in the German trenches, following -the sniper’s quick shot would tell the -story to us. Then the sniper would receive -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>general congratulations. There is a first -warning to every man going into the -trenches. It is: “Fear God and keep your -head down.”</p> - -<p>Our rations in the trenches were, on the -whole, excellent. There were no delicacies -and the food was not over plentiful, but it -was good. The system appeared to have the -purpose of keeping us like bulldogs before -a fight—with enough to live on but hungry -all the time. Our food consisted principally -of bacon, beans, beef, bully-beef, hard -tack, jam and tea. Occasionally we had a -few potatoes, and, when we were taken back -for a few days’ rest, we got a good many -things which difficulty of transport excluded -from the front trenches. It was possible, -sometimes, to beg, borrow or even steal eggs -and fresh bread and coffee.</p> - -<p>All of our provisions came up to the front -line in sand bags, a fact easily recognizable -when you tasted them. There is supposed -to be an intention to segregate the various -foods, in transport, but it must be admitted -that they taste more or less of each other, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span>and that the characteristic sand-bag flavor -distinguishes all of them from mere, ordinary -foods which have not made a venturesome -journey. As many of the sand bags -have been originally used for containing -brown sugar, the flavor is more easily recognized -than actually unpleasant. When we -got down to the Somme, the food supply was -much less satisfactory—principally because -of transport difficulties. At times, even in -the rear, we could get fresh meat only twice -a week, and were compelled to live the rest -of the time on bully-beef stew, which resembles -terrapin to the extent that it is a liquid -with mysterious lumps in it. In the front -trenches, on the Somme, all we had were the -“iron rations” which we were able to carry -in with us. These consisted of bully-beef, -hard tack, jam and tea. The supply of these -foods which each man carries is termed -“emergency rations,” and the ordinary rule -is that the emergency ration must not be -touched until the man has been forty-eight -hours without food, and then only by permission -of an officer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span></p> - -<p>One of the great discoveries of this war -is that hard tack makes an excellent fuel, -burning like coke and giving off no smoke. -We usually saved enough hard tack to form -a modest escort, stomachward, for our jam, -and used the rest to boil our tea. Until one -has been in the trenches he cannot realize -what a useful article of diet jam is. It is -undoubtedly nutritious and one doesn’t tire -of it, even though there seem to be but two -varieties now existing in any considerable -quantities—plum and apple. Once upon a -time a hero of the “ditches” discovered that -his tin contained strawberry jam, but there -was such a rush when he announced it that -he didn’t get any of it.</p> - -<p>There was, of course, a very good reason -for the shortness and uncertainty of the food -supply on the Somme. All communication -with the front line was practically overland, -the communication trenches having been -blown in. Ration parties, bringing in food, -frequently suffered heavy casualties. Yet -they kept tenaciously and courageously doing -their best for us. Occasionally they even -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span>brought up hot soup in huge, improvised -thermos bottles made from petrol tins -wrapped in straw and sand bags, but this was -very rarely attempted, and not with much -success. You could sum up the food situation -briefly. It was good—when you got it.</p> - -<p>It may be fitting, at this time, to pay a -tribute to the soldier’s most invaluable -friend, the sand bag. The sand bag, like the -rest of us, did not start life in a military -capacity, but since joining the army it has -fulfilled its duty nobly. Primarily, sand -bags are used in making a parapet for a -trench or a roof for a dug-out, but there are -a hundred other uses to which they have -been adapted, without hesitation and possibly -without sufficient gratitude for their -ready adaptability. Some of these uses may -surprise you. Soldiers strain their tea -through them, wrap them around their legs -for protection against cold and mud, swab -their rifles with them to keep them clean, -use them for bed sacks, kit bags and ration -bags. The first thing a man does when he -enters a trench or reaches a new position -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span>which is to be held is to feel in his belt, if -he is a private, or to yell for some one else -to feel in his belt, if he is an officer, for a -sand bag. Each soldier is supposed to have -five tucked beneath his belt whenever he -starts to do anything out of the ordinary. -When you’ve got hold of the first one, in a -new position, under fire, you commence filling -it as fast as the Germans and your own -ineptitude will permit, and the sooner that -bag is filled and placed, the more likely you -are to continue in a state of health and good -spirits. Sand bags are never filled with -sand, because there is never any sand to put -into them. Anything that you can put in -with a shovel will do.</p> - -<p>About the only amusement we had during -our long stay in the front trenches in Belgium, -was to sit with our backs against the -rear wall and shoot at the rats running along -the parapet. Poor Macfarlane, with a flash -of the old humor which he had before the -war, told a “rookie” that the trench rats -were so big that he saw one of them trying -on his great-coat. They used to run over -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span>our faces when we were sleeping in our dug-outs, -and I’ve seen them in ravenous swarms, -burrowing into the shallow graves of the -dead. Many soldiers’ legs are scarred to the -knees with bites.</p> - -<p>The one thing of which we constantly -lived in fear was a gas attack. I used to -awaken in the middle of the night, in a cold -sweat, dreaming that I heard the clatter and -whistle-blowing all along the line which -meant that the gas was coming. And, -finally, I really did hear the terrifying -sound, just at a moment when it couldn’t -have sounded worse. I was in charge of the -nightly ration detail, sent back about ten -miles to the point of nearest approach of the -transport lorries, to carry in rations, ammunition -and sand bags to the front trenches. -We had a lot of trouble, returning with our -loads. Passing a point which was called -“Shrapnel Corner” because the Germans -had precise range on it, we were caught -in machine-gun fire and had to lie on our -stomachs for twenty minutes, during which -we lost one man, wounded. I sent him back -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span>and went on with my party only to run into -another machine-gun shower a half-mile -further on. While we were lying down to -escape this, a concealed British battery of -five-inch guns, about which we knew nothing, -opened up right over our heads. It -shook us up and scared us so that some of -our party were now worse off than the man -who had been hit and carried to the rear. -We finally got together and went on. When -we were about a mile behind the reserve -trench, stumbling in the dark through the -last and most dangerous path overland, we -heard a lone siren whistle followed by a -wave of metallic hammering and wild tooting -which seemed to spread over all of Belgium -a mile ahead of us. All any of us -could say was:</p> - -<p>“Gas!”</p> - -<p>All you could see in the dark was a collection -of white and frightened faces. -Every trembling finger seemed awkward as -a thumb as we got out our gas masks and -helmets and put them on, following directions -as nearly as we could. I ordered the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span>men to sit still and sent two forward to notify -me from headquarters when the gas -alarm was over. They lost their way and -were not found for two days. We sat there -for an hour, and then I ventured to take my -mask off. As nothing happened, I ordered -the men to do the same. When we got into -the trenches with our packs, we found that -the gas alarm had been one of Fritz’s jokes. -The first sirens had been sounded in the German -lines, and there hadn’t been any gas.</p> - -<p>Our men evened things up with the Germans, -however, the next night. Some of our -scouts crawled clear up to the German -barbed wire, ten yards in front of the enemy -fire trench, tied empty jam-tins to the barricade -and then, after attaching light telephone -wires to the barbed strands, crawled -back to our trenches. When they started -pulling the telephone wires the empty tins -made a clatter right under Fritz’s nose. -Immediately the Germans opened up with -all their machine-gun and rifle fire, began -bombing the spot from which the noise came -and sent up “S. O. S.” signals for artillery -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span>fire along a mile of their line. They fired -a ten-thousand-dollar salute and lost a -night’s sleep over the noise made by the discarded -containers of five shillings’ worth of -jam. It was a good tonic for the Tommies.</p> - -<p>A few days after this, a very young officer -passed me in a trench while I was sitting -on a fire-step, writing a letter. I noticed -that he had the red tabs of a staff officer on -his uniform, but I paid no more attention -to him than that. No compliments such as -salutes to officers are paid in the trenches. -After he had passed, one of the men asked -me if I didn’t know who he was. I said I -didn’t.</p> - -<p>“Why you d——d fool,” he said, “that’s -the Prince of Wales.”</p> - -<p>When the little prince came back, I stood -to salute him. He returned the salute with -a grave smile and passed on. He was quite -alone, and I was told afterward, that he -made these trips through the trenches just -to show the men that he did not consider -himself better than any other soldier. The -heir of England was certainly taking nearly -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span>the same chance of losing his inheritance -that we were.</p> - -<p>After we had been on the front line fifteen -days, we received orders to make a bombing -raid. Sixty volunteers were asked for, and -the whole battalion offered. I was lucky—or -unlucky—enough to be among the sixty -who were chosen. I want to tell you in detail -about this bombing raid, so that you -can understand what a thing may really -amount to that gets only three lines, or perhaps -nothing at all, in the official dispatches. -And, besides that, it may help some of the -young men who read this, to know something, -a little later, about bombing.</p> - -<p>The sixty of us chosen to execute the raid -were taken twenty miles to the rear for a -week’s instruction practice. Having only a -slight idea of what we were going to try to -do, we felt very jolly about the whole enterprise, -starting off. We were camped in an -old barn, with several special instruction -officers in charge. We had oral instruction, -the first day, while sappers dug and built -an exact duplicate of the section of the German<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span> -trenches which we were to raid. That -is, it was exact except for a few details. -Certain “skeleton trenches,” in the practice -section, were dug simply to fool the German -aviators. If a photograph, taken back to -German headquarters, had shown an exact -duplicate of a German trench section, suspicion -might have been aroused and our plans -revealed. We were constantly warned about -the skeleton trenches and told to remember -that they did not exist in the German section -where we were to operate. Meanwhile, our -practice section was changed a little, several -times, because aerial photographs showed -that the Germans had been renovating and -making some additions to the trenches in -which we were to have our frolic with them.</p> - -<p>We had oral instruction, mostly, during -the day, because we didn’t dare let the German -aviators see us practicing a bomb raid. -All night long, sometimes until two or three -o’clock in the morning, we rehearsed that -raid, just as carefully as a company of star -actors would rehearse a play. At first there -was a disposition to have sport out of it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span></p> - -<p>“Well,” some chap would say, rolling into -the hay all tired out, “I got killed six times -to-night. S’pose it’ll be several times more -to-morrow night.”</p> - -<p>One man insisted that he had discovered, -in one of our aerial photographs, a German -burying money, and he carefully examined -each new picture so that he could be sure to -find the dough and dig it up. The -grave and serious manner of our officers, -however; the exhaustive care with which we -were drilled and, more than all, the approach -of the time when we were “to go -over the top,” soon drove sport out of our -minds, and I can say for myself that the very -thought of the undertaking, as the fatal -night drew near, sent shivers up and down -my spine.</p> - -<p>A bombing raid—something originated in -warfare by the Canadians—is not intended -for the purpose of holding ground, but to -gain information, to do as much damage as -possible, and to keep the enemy in a state of -nervousness. In this particular raid, the -chief object was to gain information. Our -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span>high command wanted to know what troops -were opposite us and what troops had been -there. We were expected to get this information -from prisoners and from buttons and -papers off of the Germans we might kill. -It was believed that troops were being relieved -from the big tent show, up at the -Somme, and sent to our side show in Belgium -for rest. Also, it was suspected that -artillery was being withdrawn for the -Somme. Especially, we were anxious to -bring back prisoners.</p> - -<p>In civilized war, a prisoner can be compelled -to tell only his name, rank and religion. -But this is not a civilized war, and -there are ways of making prisoners talk. -One of the most effective ways—quite humane—is -to tie a prisoner fast, head and -foot, and then tickle his bare feet with a -feather. More severe measures have frequently -been used—the water cure, for instance—but -I’m bound to say that nearly all -the German prisoners I saw were quite loquacious -and willing to talk, and the accuracy -of their information, when later confirmed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span> -by raids, was surprising. The iron -discipline, which turns them into mere children -in the presence of their officers seemed -to make them subservient and obedient to -the officers who commanded us. In this -way, the system worked against the Fatherland. -I mean, of course, in the cases of privates. -Captured German officers, especially -Prussians, were a nasty lot. We -never tried to get information from them -for we knew they would lie, happily and -intelligently.</p> - -<p>At last came the night when we were to -go “over the top,” across “No Man’s Land,” -and have a frolic with Fritz in his own -bailiwick. I am endeavoring to be as accurate -and truthful as possible in these -stories of my soldiering, and I am therefore -compelled to say that there wasn’t a man in -the sixty who didn’t show the strain in his -pallor and nervousness. Under orders, we -discarded our trench helmets and substituted -knitted skull caps or mess tin covers. -Then we blackened our hands and faces -with ashes from a camp fire. After -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span>this they loaded us into motor trucks and -took us up to “Shrapnel Corner,” from -which point we went in on foot. Just before -we left, a staff officer came along and gave -us a little talk.</p> - -<p>“This is the first time you men have been -tested,” he said. “You’re Canadians. I -needn’t say anything more to you. They’re -going to be popping them off at a great rate -while you’re on your way across. Remember -that you’d better not stand up straight -because our shells will be going over just -six and a half feet from the ground—where -it’s level. If you stand up straight you’re -likely to be hit in the head, but don’t let that -worry you because if you do get hit in the -head you won’t know it. So why in hell -worry about it?” That was his farewell. -He jumped on his horse and rode off.</p> - -<p>The point we were to attack had been selected -long before by our scouts. It was not, -as you might suppose, the weakest point in -the German line. It was on the contrary, -the strongest. It was considered that the -moral effect of cleaning up a weak point -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span>would be comparatively small, whereas to -break in at the strongest point would be -something really worth while. And, if we -were to take chances, it really wouldn’t pay -to hesitate about degrees. The section we -were to raid had a frontage of one hundred -and fifty yards and a depth of two hundred -yards. It had been explained to us that we -were to be supported by a “box barrage,” or -curtain fire from our artillery, to last exactly -twenty-six minutes. That is, for twenty-six -minutes from the time when we started -“over the top,” our artillery, several miles -back, would drop a “curtain” of shells all -around the edges of that one hundred and -fifty yard by two hundred yard section. We -were to have fifteen minutes in which to do -our work. Any man not out at the end of -the fifteen minutes would necessarily be -caught in our own fire as our artillery would -then change from a “box” to pour a straight -curtain fire, covering all of the spot of our -operations.</p> - -<p>Our officers set their watches very carefully -with those of the artillery officers, before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span> -we went forward to the front trenches. -We reached the front at 11 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span>, and -not until our arrival there were we informed -of the “zero hour”—the time when the attack -was to be made. The hour of twelve-ten -had been selected. The waiting from -eleven o’clock until that time was simply an -agony. Some of our men sat stupid and -inert. Others kept talking constantly about -the most inconsequential matters. One man -undertook to tell a funny story. No one listened -to it, and the laugh at the end was -emaciated and ghastly. The inaction was -driving us all into a state of funk. I could -actually feel my nerve oozing out at my finger -tips, and, if we had had to wait fifteen -minutes longer, I shouldn’t have been able -to climb out of the trench.</p> - -<p>About half an hour before we were to go -over, every man had his eye up the trench -for we knew “the rummies” were coming -that way. The rum gang serves out a stiff -shot of Jamaica just before an attack, and -it would be a real exhibition of temperance -to see a man refuse. There were no prohibitionists<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span> -in our set. Whether or not we got -our full ration depended on whether the sergeant -in charge was drunk or sober. After -the shot began to work, one man next to me -pounded my leg and hollered in my ear:</p> - -<p>“I say. Why all this red tape? Let’s go -over now.”</p> - -<p>That noggin’ of rum is a life saver.</p> - -<p>When the hour approached for us to start, -the artillery fire was so heavy that orders -had to be shouted into ears, from man to -man. The bombardment was, of course, -along a couple of miles of front, so that the -Germans would not know where to expect -us. At twelve o’clock exactly they began -pulling down a section of the parapet so that -we wouldn’t have to climb over it, and we -were off.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 72-75]</span></p> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III<br /> -<span class="smaller">“OVER THE TOP AND GIVE ’EM HELL”</span></h2></div> - -<p>As we climbed out of the shelter of our -trenches for my first—and, perhaps, my last, -I thought—adventure in “No Man’s Land,” -the word was passed:</p> - -<p>“Over the top and give ’em hell!”</p> - -<p>That is the British Tommies’ battle cry -as they charge the enemy and it has often -sounded up and down those long lines in -western France as the British, Canadian, -and Australian soldiers go out to the fight -and the death.</p> - -<p>We were divided into six parties of ten -men, each party having separate duties to -perform. We crouched forward, moving -slowly in single file, stumbling into shell -holes and over dead men—some very long -dead—and managing to keep in touch with -each other though the machine-gun bullets -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>began to drop men almost immediately. -Once we were started, we were neither fearful, -nor rattled. We had been drilled so -long and so carefully that each man knew -just what he was to do and he kept right on -doing it unless he got hit. To me, it seemed -the ground was moving back under me. -The first ten yards were the toughest. The -thing was perfectly organized. Our last -party of ten was composed of signallers. -They were paying out wires and carrying -telephones to be used during the fifteen -minutes of our stay in the German trenches -in communicating with our battalion headquarters. -A telephone code had been arranged, -using the names of our commanding -officers as symbols. “Rexford 1” meant, -“First prisoners being sent back”; “Rexford -2” meant, “Our first wounded being sent -over”; “Rexford 3” meant, “We have entered -German trench.” The code was very -complete and the signallers had been drilled -in it for a week. In case the telephone wires -were cut, the signallers were to send messages -back by the use of rifle grenades. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span>These are rifle projectiles which carry little -metal cylinders to contain written messages, -and which burst into flame when they strike -the earth, so that they can be easily found at -night. The officer in charge of the signallers -was to remain at the point of entrance, -with his eyes on his watch. It was his duty -to sound a warning signal five minutes before -the end of our time in the German -trenches.</p> - -<p>The leader of every party of ten also had -a whistle with which to repeat the warning -blast and then the final blast, when each man -was to drop everything and get back of our -artillery fire. We were not to leave any -dead or wounded in the German trench, on -account of the information which the Germans -might thus obtain. Before starting on -the raid, we had removed all marks from -our persons, including even our identification -discs. Except for the signallers, each -party of ten was similarly organized. First, -there were two bayonet men, each with an -electric flash light attached to his rifle so as -to give light for the direction of a bayonet -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span>thrust and controlled by a button at the left-hand -grasp of the rifle. Besides his rifle, each -of these men carried six or eight Mills No. -5 hand grenades, weighing from a pound -and five ounces to a pound and seven ounces -each. These grenades are shaped like turkey -eggs, but slightly larger. Upon withdrawing -the firing pin, a lever sets a four-second -fuse going. One of these grenades -will clean out anything living in a ten-foot -trench section. It will also kill the man -throwing it, if he holds it more than four -seconds, after he has pulled the pin. The -third man of each ten was an expert bomb -thrower, equipped as lightly as possible to -give him freedom of action. He carried a -few bombs, himself, but the main supply -was carried by a fourth man who was not to -throw any unless the third man became a -casualty, in which case number four was to -take his place. The third man also carried a -knob-kerrie—a heavy bludgeon to be used -in whacking an enemy over the head. The -kind we used was made by fastening a heavy -steel nut on a stout stick of wood—a very -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span>business-like contrivance. The fourth man, -or bomb carrier, besides having a large supply -of Mills grenades, had smoke bombs, to -be used in smoking the Germans out of dug-outs -and, later, if necessary, in covering our -retreat, and also fumite bombs. The latter -are very dangerous to handle. They contain -a mixture of petrol and phosphorous, -and weigh three pounds each. On exploding -they release a liquid fire which will burn -through steel.</p> - -<p>The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth in -line, were called utility men. They were to -take the places of any of the first four who -might become casualties. In addition, they -carried two Stokes-gun bombs, each. These -weigh nine pounds apiece, have six-second -fuses, and can be used in wrecking dug-outs. -The ninth and tenth men were sappers, carrying -slabs of gun-cotton and several hundred -yards of instantaneous fuse. This explosive -is used in demolishing machine-gun -emplacements and mine saps. The sappers -were to lay their charges while we were at -work in the trenches, and explode them as -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>soon as our party was far enough out on the -return journey to be safe from this danger. -In addition to these parties of ten, there -were three of us who carried bombs and had -orders to keep near the three officers, to take -the place of any one of them that might go -down, and meanwhile to use our own judgment -about helping the jolly old party -along. I was one of the three.</p> - -<p>In addition to the raiding party, proper, -there was a relay all across “No Man’s -Land,” at ten paces interval, making a human -chain to show us our way back, to assist -the wounded and, in case of opportunity or -necessity, to re-enforce us. They were ordered -not to leave their positions when we -began to come back, until the last man of -our party had been accounted for. The final -section of our entourage was composed of -twelve stretcher-bearers, who had been specially -trained with us, so that they would be -familiar with the trench section which we -were to raid.</p> - -<p>There were two things which made it possible -for our raiding party to get started -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span>across “No Man’s Land.” One was the momentary -quickening of the blood which follows -a big and unaccustomed dose of rum, -and the other was a sort of subconscious, mechanical -confidence in our undertaking, -which was a result of the scores of times we -had gone through every pre-arranged movement -in the duplicate German trenches behind -our lines. Without either of those influences, -we simply could not have left shelter -and faced what was before us.</p> - -<p>An intensified bombardment from our -guns began just as soon as we had -climbed “over the top” and were lining up -for the journey across. “Lining up” is not -just a suitable term. We were crawling -about on all fours, just far enough out in -“No Man’s Land” to be under the edge of -the German shell-fire, and taking what shelter -we could in shell-holes while our leaders -picked the way to start across. The extra -heavy bombardment had warned the Germans -that something was about to happen. -They sent up star shells and “S. O. S.” signals, -until there was a glare over the torn -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span>earth like that which you see at the grand -finish of a Pain’s fire-works display, and -meanwhile they sprayed “No Man’s Land” -with streams of machine-gun fire. In the -face of that, we started.</p> - -<p>It would be absurd to say that we were -not frightened. Thinking men could not -help but be afraid. If we were pallid—which -undoubtedly we were—the black -upon our faces hid it, but our fear-struck -voices were not disguised. They trembled -and our teeth chattered.</p> - -<p>We sneaked out, single file, making our -way from shell-hole to shell-hole, nearly all -the time on all fours, crawling quickly over -the flat places between holes. The Germans -had not sighted us, but they were -squirting machine-gun bullets all over the -place like a man watering a lawn with a -garden hose, and they were bound to get -some of us. Behind me, I heard cries of -pain, and groans, but this made little impression -on my benumbed intelligence. -From the mere fact that whatever had -happened had happened to one of the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span>other sections of ten and not to my own, it -seemed, some way or another, no affair to -concern me. Then a man in front of me -doubled up suddenly and rolled into a shell-hole. -That simply made me remember very -clearly that I was not to stop on account of -it. It was some one else’s business to pick -that man up. Next, according to the queer -psychology of battle, I began to lose my -sensation of fear and nervousness. After I -saw a second man go down, I gave my attention -principally to a consideration of the irregularities -of the German parapet ahead of -us, picking out the spot where we were to -enter the trench. It seems silly to say it, -but I seemed to get some sort of satisfaction -out of the realization that we had lost the -percentage which we might be expected to -lose, going over. Now, it seemed, the rest -of us were safe until we should reach the -next phase of our undertaking. I heard directions -given and I gave some myself. My -voice was firm, and I felt almost calm. -Our artillery had so torn up the German -barbed wire that it gave us no -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span>trouble at all. We walked through it with -only a few scratches. When we reached the -low, sand-bag parapet of the enemy trench, -we tossed in a few bombs and followed them -right over as soon as they had exploded. -There wasn’t a German in sight. They were -all in their dug-outs. But we knew pretty -well where every dug-out was located, and -we rushed for the entrances with our bombs. -Everything seemed to be going just as we -had expected it to go. Two Germans ran -plump into me as I round a ditch angle, -with a bomb in my hand. They had their -hands up and each of them yelled:</p> - -<p>“Mercy, Kamarad!”</p> - -<p>I passed them back to be sent to the rear, -and the man who received them from me -chuckled and told them to step lively. The -German trenches were practically just as we -had expected to find them, according to our -sample. They were so nearly similar to the -duplicate section in which we had practiced -that we had no trouble finding our way in -them. I was just thinking that really the -only tough part of the job remaining would -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span>be getting back across “No Man’s Land,” -when it seemed that the whole earth behind -me, rose in the air. For a moment I was -stunned, and half blinded by dirt blown -into my face. When I was able to see, I -discovered that all that lay back of me was -a mass of upturned earth and rock, with here -and there a man shaking himself or scrambling -out of it or lying still.</p> - -<p>Just two minutes after we went into their -trench, the Germans had exploded a mine -under their parapet. I have always believed -that in some way or another they had learned -which spot we were to raid, and had prepared -for us. Whether that’s true or not, -one thing is certain. That mine blew our -organization, as we would say in Kentucky, -“plumb to Hell.” And it killed or disabled -more than half of our party.</p> - -<p>There was much confusion among those -of us who remained on our feet. Some one -gave an order to retire and some one countermanded -it. More Germans came out of -their dug-outs, but, instead of surrendering -as per our original schedule, they threw -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span>bombs amongst us. It became apparent that -we should be killed or captured if we stuck -there and that we shouldn’t get any more -prisoners. I looked at my wrist watch and -saw that there remained but five minutes -more of the time which had been allotted -for our stay in the trench, so I blew my -whistle and started back. I had seen Private -Green (No. 177,250) knocked down -by a bomb in the next trench section, and I -picked him up and carried him out over the -wrecked parapet. I took shelter with him -in the first shell-hole but found that he -was dead and left him there. A few yards -further back toward our line I found Lance -Corporal Glass in a shell-hole, with part of -his hip shot away. He said he thought he -could get back if I helped him, and I started -with him. Private Hunter, who had been -in a neighboring shell-hole came to our assistance, -and between us, Hunter and I got -Glass to our front trench.</p> - -<p>We found them lining up the survivors -of our party for a roll call. That showed -so many missing that Major John Lewis, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span>our company commander, formerly managing-editor -of the <i>Montreal Star</i>, called for -volunteers to go out in “No Man’s Land” -and try to find some of our men. Corporal -Charleson, Private Saunders and I went -out. We brought in two wounded, and we -saw a number of dead, but, on account of -their blackened faces, were unable to identify -them. The scouts, later, brought in -several bodies.</p> - -<p>Of the sixty odd men who had started in -our party, forty-three were found to be casualties—killed, -wounded, or missing. The -missing list was the longest. The names of -these men were marked, “M. B. K.” (missing, -believed killed) on our rolls. I have -learned since that some few of them -have been reported through Switzerland -as prisoners of war in Germany, but -most of them are now officially listed as -dead.</p> - -<p>All of the survivors of the raiding party -were sent twenty miles to the rear at seven -o’clock, and the non-commissioned officers -were ordered to make reports in writing -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span>concerning the entire operation. We recorded, -each in his own way, the ghastly -failure of our first aggressive effort against -the Germans, before we rolled into the hay -in the same old barn where we had been -quartered during the days of preparation for -the raid. I was so dead tired that I soon -fell asleep, but not for long. I never slept -more than an hour at a time for several days -and nights. I would doze off from sheer exhaustion, -and then suddenly find myself sitting -straight up, scared half to death, all -over again.</p> - -<p>There may be soldiers who don’t get -scared when they know they are in danger -or even when people are being killed right -around them, but I’m not one of them. And -I’ve never met any of them yet. I know a -boy who won the Military Medal, in the -battle of the Somme, and I saw him on his -knees before his platoon commander, shamelessly -crying that he was a coward and begging -to be left behind, just when the order to -advance was given.</p> - -<p>Soldiers of our army who read this story -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span>will probably observe one thing in particular, -and that is the importance of bombing -operations in the present style of warfare. -You might say that a feature of this war has -been the renaissance of the grenadier. Only -British reverence for tradition kept the -name of the Grenadiers alive, through a considerable -number of wars. Now, in every -offensive, big or small, the man who has -been trained to throw a bomb thirty yards is -busier and more important than the fellow -with the modern rifle which will shoot a -mile and a half and make a hole through a -house. In a good many surprising ways this -war has carried us back to first principles. -I remember a Crusader’s mace which I once -saw in the British museum that would make -a bang-up knob-kerrie, much better than the -kind with which they arm our Number 4 -men in a raiding party section. It had a -round, iron head with spikes all over it. I -wonder that they haven’t started a factory -to turn them out.</p> - -<p>As I learned during my special training -in England, the use of hand grenades was -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span>first introduced in warfare by the French, in -1667. The British did not use them until ten -years later. After the battle of Waterloo -the hand grenade was counted an obsolete -weapon until the Japanese revived its use in -the war with Russia. The rude grenades -first used by the British in the present war -weighed about eight pounds. To-day, in the -British army, the men who have been -trained to throw grenades—now of lighter -construction and much more efficient and -certain action—are officially known as -“bombers” for this reason: When grenade -fighting came back to its own in this war, -each battalion trained a certain number of -men in the use of grenades, and, naturally, -called them “grenadiers.” The British -Grenadier Guards, the senior foot regiment -in the British Army, made formal complaint -against the use of their time-honored -name in this connection, and British reverence -for tradition did the rest. The -Grenadiers were no longer grenadiers, but -they were undoubtedly the Grenadiers. The -war office issued a formal order that battalion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span> -grenade throwers should be known as -“bombers” and not as “grenadiers.”</p> - -<p>Up to the time when I left France we had -some twenty-seven varieties of grenades, but -most of them were obsolete or ineffective, -and we only made use of seven or eight -sorts. The grenades were divided into two -principal classes, rifle grenades and hand -grenades. The rifle grenades are discharged -from a rifle barrel by means of a blank cartridge. -Each grenade is attached to a slender -rod which is inserted into the bore of -the rifle, and the longer the rod the greater -the range of the grenade. The three principal -rifle grenades are the Mills, the Hales, -and the Newton, the former having a maximum -range of 120 yards, and the latter of -400 yards. A rifle discharging a Mills -grenade may be fired from the shoulder, as -there is no very extraordinary recoil, but in -using the others it is necessary to fasten the -rifle in a stand or plant the butt on the -ground. Practice teaches the soldier how -much elevation to give the rifle for different -ranges. The hand grenades are divided also -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span>into two classes, those which are discharged -by percussion, and those which have -time fuses, with detonators of fulminate of -mercury. The high explosives used are ammonal, -abliste and sabulite, but ammonal is -the much more commonly employed. There -are also smoke bombs, the Mexican or tonite -bomb, the Hales hand grenade, the No. 19 -grenade and the fumite bomb, which contains -white phosphorous, wax and petrol, -and discharges a stream of liquid fire which -will quickly burn out a dug-out and everything -it contains. Hand grenades are always -thrown with a stiff arm, as a bowler -delivers a cricket ball toward the wicket. -They cannot be thrown in the same manner -as a baseball for two reasons. One is that -the snap of the wrist with which a baseball -is sent on its way would be likely to cause -the premature discharge of a percussion -grenade, and the second is that the grenades -weigh so much—from a pound and a half to -ten pounds—that the best arm in the world -couldn’t stand the strain of whipping them -off as a baseball is thrown. I’m talking by -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span>the book about this, because I’ve been a -bomber and a baseball player.</p> - -<p>A bomber, besides knowing all about the -grenades in use in his own army, must have -practical working knowledge concerning -the grenades in use by the enemy. After -we took the Regina trench, on the Somme, -we ran out of grenades at a moment when -a supply was vitally necessary. We found -a lot of the German “egg” bombs, and -through our knowledge of their workings -and our consequent ability to use them -against their original owners we were able -to hold the position.</p> - -<p>An officer or non-commissioned officer in -charge of a bombing detail must know intimately -every man in his command, and have -such discipline that every order will be carried -out with scrupulous exactitude when -the time comes. The leader will have no -time, in action, to prompt his men or even -to see if they are doing what they have been -told to do. When a platoon of infantry is in -action one rifleman more or less makes little -difference, but in bombing operations each -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>man has certain particular work to do and -he must do it, just as it has been planned, in -order to protect himself and his comrades -from disaster. If you can out-throw the -enemy, or if you can make most of the -bombs land with accuracy, you have a wonderful -advantage in an attack. But throwing -wild or throwing short you simply give -confidence to the enemy in his own offensive. -One very good thrower may win an -objective for his squad, while one man who -is faint-hearted or unskilled or “rattled” -may cause the entire squad to be annihilated.</p> - -<p>In the revival of bombing, some tricks -have developed which would be humorous -if the denouements were not festooned with -crepe and accompanied by obituary notations -on muster rolls. There may be something -which might be termed funny on one -end of a bombing-ruse—but not on both -ends of it. Whenever you fool a man with -a bomb, you’re playing a practical joke on -him that he’ll never forget. Even, probably, -he’ll never get a chance to remember it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span></p> - -<p>When the Canadians first introduced -bombing, the bombs were improvised out of -jam tins, the fuses were cut according to the -taste and judgment of the individual -bomber, and, just when the bomb would explode, -was more or less problematical. -Frequently, the Germans have tossed our -bombs back into our trenches before they -went off. That was injurious and irritating. -They can’t do that with a Mills grenade -nor with any of the improved factory-made -bombs, because the men know just how they -are timed and are trained to know just how -to throw them. The Germans used to work -another little bomb trick of their own. -They learned that our scouts and raiders -were all anxious to get a German helmet as -a souvenir. They’d put helmets on the -ground in “No Man’s Land,” or in an advanced -trench with bombs under them. In -several cases, men looking for souvenirs suddenly -became mere memories, themselves. -In several raids, when bombing was new, the -Canadians worked a trick on the Germans -with extensively fatal effect. They tossed -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span>bombs into the German trenches with six-inch -fuses attached. To the Germans they -looked just like the other bombs we had -been using, and, in fact they were—all but -the fuses. Instead of having failed to continue -burning, as the Germans thought, -those fuses had never been lighted. They -were instantaneous fuses. The ignition -spark will travel through instantaneous fuse -at the rate of about thirty yards a second. -A German would pick up one of these -bombs, select the spot where he intended to -blow up a few of us with our own ammonal, -and then light the fuse. After that there had -to be a new man in his place. The bomb -would explode instantly the long fuse was -ignited.</p> - -<p>The next day when I got up after this -disastrous raid, I said to my bunkie:</p> - -<p>“Got a fag?” (Fag is the Tommy’s name -for a cigarette.)</p> - -<p>It’s never, “will you have a fag?” but always, -“have you got a fag?”</p> - -<p>They are the inseparable companions of -the men at the front, and you’ll see the soldiers<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span> -go over the top with an unlit fag in -their lips. Frequently, it is still there when -their work is done.</p> - -<p>As we sat there smoking, my friend said:</p> - -<p>“Something sure raised hell with our calculations.”</p> - -<p>“Like those automatic self-cocking revolvers -did with a Kentucky wedding when -some one made a remark reflecting on the -bride,” I replied.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It may be interesting to note that Corpl. -Glass, Corpl. Charleson and Private (later -Corpl.) Saunders have all since been -“Killed in Action.” Charleson and Saunders -the same morning I was wounded on -the Somme, and Glass, Easter morning at -Vimy Ridge, when the Canadians made -their wonderful attack.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 98-101]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV<br /> -<span class="smaller">SHIFTED TO THE SOMME</span></h2></div> - -<p>A few days after the bombing raid, which -ended so disastrously for us, our battalion -was relieved from duty on the front line, and -the tip we got was that we were to go down -to the big show then taking place on the -Somme. Our relief was a division of Australians. -You see, the sector which we had -held in Belgium was a sort of preparatory -school for the regular fighting over in -France.</p> - -<p>It wasn’t long before we got into what -you might call the Big League contest but, -in the meanwhile, we had a little rest from -battling Fritz and the opportunity to observe -some things which seem to me to be -worth telling about. Those of you who are -exclusively fond of the stirring detail of -war, such as shooting and being shot at and -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span>bombing and bayoneting, need only skip a -little of this. We had an entirely satisfactory -amount of smoke and excitement later.</p> - -<p>As soon as our relief battalion had got in, -we moved back to Renninghelst for a couple -of days rest. We were a pretty contented -and jovial lot—our platoon, especially. We -were all glad to get away from the strain of -holding a front trench, and there were other -advantages. For instance, the alterations of -our muster roll due to casualties, had not -come through battalion headquarters and, -therefore, we had, in our platoon, sixty-three -rum rations, night and morning, and only -sixteen men. There was a Canadian Scot in -our crowd who said that the word which -described the situation was “g-r-r-r-a-nd!”</p> - -<p>There was a good deal of jealousy at that -time between the Canadians and the Australians. -Each had the same force in the -field—four divisions. Either force was bigger -than any other army composed exclusively -of volunteers ever before assembled. -While I belong to the Canadian army and -believe the Canadian overseas forces the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span>finest troops ever led to war, I must say that -I have never seen a body of men so magnificent -in average physique as the Australians. -And some of them were even above the high -average. The man that punched me in the -eye in an “estaminet” in Poperinghe made -up entirely in his own person for the absence -of Les Darcy from the Australian -ranks. I don’t know just how the fight -started between the Australians and us, in -Poperinghe, but I know that it took three -regiments of Imperial troops to stop it. The -most convincing story I heard of the origin -of the battle was told me by one of our men -who said he was there when it began. He -said one of the Australians had carelessly remarked -that the British generals had decided -it was time to get through with the -side-show in Belgium and this was the reason -why they had sent in regular troops like -the Australians to relieve the Canadians.</p> - -<p>Then some sensitive Canadian wished the -Australians luck and hoped they’d finish it -up as well as they had the affair in the Dardanelles. -After that, our two days’ rest was -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span>made up principally of beating it out of -“estaminets” when strategic requirements -suggested a new base, or beating it into -“estaminets” where it looked as if we could -act as efficient re-inforcements. The fight -never stopped for forty-eight hours, and the -only places it didn’t extend to were the -church and the hospitals. I’ll bet, to this -day, that the Belgians who run the “estaminets” -in Poperinghe will duck behind the -bars if you just mention Canada and Australia -in the same breath.</p> - -<p>But I’m bound to say that it was good, -clean fighting. Nobody fired a shot, nobody -pulled a bayonet, and nobody got the -wrong idea about anything. The Australian -heavy-weight champion who landed on me -went right out in the street and saluted one -of our lieutenants. We had just one satisfying -reflection after the fight was over. -The Australian battalion that relieved us -fell heir to the counter attack which the -Germans sent across to even up on our -bombing raid.</p> - -<p>We began our march to the Somme by a -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span>hike to St. Ohmer, one of the early British -headquarters in Europe. Then we stopped -for a week about twenty miles from Calais, -where we underwent a course of intensified -training for open fighting. The infantry -tactics, in which we were drilled, were very -similar to those of the United States army—those -which, in fact, were originated by -the United States troops in the days of Indian -fighting. We covered most of the -ground around Calais on our stomachs in -open order. While it may seem impertinent -for me, a mere non-com., to express an opinion -about the larger affairs of the campaign, -I think I may be excused for saying that -the war didn’t at all take the course which -was expected and hoped for after the fight -on the Somme. Undoubtedly, the Allies expected -to break through the German line. -That is well known now. While we were -being trained near Calais for open warfare, -a very large force of cavalry was being assembled -and prepared for the same purpose. -It was never used.</p> - -<p>That was last August, and the Allies -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span>haven’t broken through yet. Eventually I -believe they will break through, but, in -my opinion, men who are waiting now -to learn if they are to be drawn for -service in our new American army will -be veterans in Europe before the big break -comes, which will wreck the Prussian -hope of success in this war. And if we of -the U. S. A. don’t throw in the weight to -beat the Prussians now, they will not be -beaten, and, in that case, the day will not be -very far distant when we will have to beat -them to save our homes and our nation. War -is a dreadful and inglorious and ill-smelling -and cruel thing. But if we hold back now, -we will be in the logical position of a man -hesitating to go to grips with a savage, -shrieking, spewing maniac who has all but -whipped his proper keepers, and is going -after the on-looker next.</p> - -<p>We got drafts of recruits before we went -on to the Somme, and some of our wounded -men were sent back to England, where we -had left our “Safety-first Battalion.” That -was really the Fifty-first battalion, of the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span>Fourth Division of the Canadian forces, -composed of the physically rejected, men -recovering from wounds, and men injured -in training. The Tommies, however, called -it the “Safety-first,” or “Major Gilday’s -Light Infantry.” Major Gilday was our -battalion surgeon. He was immensely popular, -and he achieved a great name for himself. -He made one realize what a great -personal force a doctor can be and what an -unnecessary and overwrought elaboration -there is in the civil practice of medicine.</p> - -<p>Under Major Gilday’s administration, no -man in our battalion was sick if he could -walk, and, if he couldn’t walk, there was a -reasonable suspicion that he was drunk. -The Major simplified the practice of medicine -to an exact science involving just two -forms of treatment and two remedies—“Number -Nines” and whale oil. Number -Nines were pale, oval pills, which, if they -had been eggs, would have run about eight -to an omelette. They had an internal effect -which could only be defined as dynamic. -After our men had become acquainted with -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span>them through personal experience they -stopped calling them “Number Nines” and -called them “whiz-bangs.” There were only -two possibilities of error under Major Gilday’s -system of simplified medicine. One -was to take a whiz-bang for trench feet, and -the other to use whale oil externally for -some form of digestional hesitancy. And, in -either case, no permanent harm could result, -while the error was as simple of correction -as the command “about face.”</p> - -<p>There was a story among our fellows that -an ambulance had to be called for Major -Gilday, in London, one day, on account of -shock following a remark made to him by -a bobby. The Major asked the policeman -how he could get to the Cavoy Hotel. The -bobby, with the proper bus line in mind, replied: -“Take a number nine, sir.”</p> - -<p>Two weeks and a half after we left Belgium -we arrived at Albert, having marched -all the way. The sight which met our eyes -as we rounded the rock-quarry hill, outside -of Albert, was wonderful beyond description. -I remember how tremendously it impressed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span> -my pal, Macfarlane. He sat by the -roadside and looked ’round over the landscape -as if he were fascinated.</p> - -<p>“Boy,” said he, “we’re at the big show at -last.”</p> - -<p>Poor fellow, it was not only the big show, -but the last performance for him. Within -sight of the spot where he sat, wondering, -he later fell in action and died. The scene, -which so impressed him, gave us all a feeling -of awe. Great shells from a thousand -guns were streaking and criss-crossing -the sky. Without glasses I counted thirty-nine -of our observation balloons. Away off -in the distance I saw one German captive -balloon. The other air-craft were uncountable. -They were everywhere, apparently in -hundreds. There could have been no more -wonderful panoramic picture of war in its -new aspect.</p> - -<p>Our battalion was in and out of the town -of Albert several days waiting for orders. -The battle of Courcelette was then in progress, -and the First, Second and Third Canadian -divisions were holding front positions -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span>at terrible cost. In the first part of October, -1916, we “went in” opposite the famous Regina -trench. The battle-ground was just -miles and miles of debris and shell-holes. -Before we went to our position, the officers -and non-coms. were taken in by scouts to get -the lay of the land. These trips were called -“Cook’s Tours.” On one of them I went -through the town of Poziers twice and -didn’t know it. It had a population of -12,000 before the war. On the spot where -it had stood not even a whole brick was left, -it seemed. Its demolition was complete. -That was an example of the condition of the -whole country over which our forces had -blasted their way for ten miles, since the -previous July. There were not even landmarks -left.</p> - -<p>The town of Albert will always remain -in my memory, and, especially, I shall always -have the mental picture of the cathedral, -with the statue of the Virgin Mary with -the Babe in her arms, apparently about to -topple from the roof. German shells had -carried away so much of the base of the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span>statue that it inclined at an angle of 45 degrees. -The Germans—for some reason -which only they can explain—expended -much ammunition in trying to complete the -destruction of the cathedral, but they did -not succeed and they’ll never do it now. -The superstitious French say that when the -statue falls the war will end. I have a due -regard for sacred things, but if the omen -were to be depended upon I should not regret -to see the fall occur.</p> - -<p>An unfortunate and tragic mishap occurred -just outside of Albert when the -Somme offensive started on July 1. The -signal for the first advance was to be the -touching off of a big mine. Some fifteen -minutes before the mine exploded the Germans -set off one of their own. Two regiments -mistook this for the signal and started -over. They ran simultaneously into their -own barrage and a German fire, and were -simply cut to pieces in as little time, almost, -as it takes to say it.</p> - -<p>The Germans are methodical to such an -extent that at times this usually excellent -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span>quality acts to defeat their own ends. An -illustration of this was presented during the -bombardment of Albert. Every evening at -about six o’clock they would drop thirty -high-explosive shells into the town. When -we heard the first one coming we would dive -for the cellars. Everyone would remain -counting the explosions until the number -had reached thirty. Then everyone -would come up from the cellars and go -about his business. There were never thirty-one -shells and never twenty-nine shells. -The number was always exactly thirty, and -then the high-explosive bombardment was -over. Knowing this, none of us ever got -hurt. Their methodical “evening hate” was -wasted, except for the damage it did to -buildings in the town.</p> - -<p>On the night when we went in to occupy -the positions we were to hold, our scouts, -leading us through the flat desert of destruction, -got completely turned ’round, and -took us back through a trench composed of -shell-holes, connected up, until we ran into -a battalion of another brigade. The place -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span>was dreadful beyond words. The stench of -the dead was sickening. In many places -arms and legs of dead men stuck out of the -trench walls.</p> - -<p>We made a fresh start, after our blunder, -moving in single file and keeping in touch -each with the man ahead of him. We stumbled -along in the darkness through this -awful labyrinth until we ran into some of -our own scouts at 2 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, and found that we -were half-way across “No Man’s Land,” -several hundred yards beyond our front line -and likely to be utterly wiped out in twenty -seconds should the Germans sight us. At -last we reached the proper position, and fifteen -minutes after we got there a whiz-bang -buried me completely. They had to dig me -out. A few minutes later another high-explosive -shell fell in a trench section where -three of our men were stationed. All we -could find after it exploded were one arm -and one leg which we buried. The trenches -were without trench mats, and the mud was -from six inches to three feet deep all -through them. There were no dug-outs; -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span>only miserable “funk holes,” dug where it -was possible to dig them without uncovering -dead men. We remained in this position -four days, from the 17th to the 21st of -October, 1916.</p> - -<p>There were reasons, of course, for the difference -between conditions in Belgium and -on the Somme. On the Somme, we were -constantly preparing for a new advance, and -we were only temporarily established on -ground which we had but recently taken, -after long drumming with big guns. The -trenches were merely shell-holes connected -by ditches. Our old and ubiquitous and useful -friend, the sand bag, was not present in -any capacity, and, therefore, we had no -parapets or dug-outs. The communication -trenches were all blown in and everything -had to come to us overland, with the result -that we never were quite sure when we -should get ammunition, rations, or relief -forces. The most awful thing was that the -soil all about us was filled with freshly-buried -men. If we undertook to cut a trench -or enlarge a funk hole, our spades struck -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span>into human flesh, and the explosion of a big -shell along our line sent decomposed and -dismembered and sickening mementoes of -an earlier fight showering amongst us. We -lived in the muck and stench of “glorious” -war; those of us who lived.</p> - -<p>Here and there, along this line, were the -abandoned dug-outs of the Germans, and we -made what use of them we could, but that -was little. I had orders one day to locate -a dug-out and prepare it for use as battalion -headquarters. When I led a squad in to -clean it up the odor was so overpowering -that we had to wear our gas masks. On -entering, with our flashlights, we first saw -two dead nurses, one standing with her -arm ’round a post, just as she had stood -when gas or concussion killed her. Seated -at a table in the middle of the place was the -body of an old general of the German medical -corps, his head fallen between his hands. -The task of cleaning up was too dreadful -for us. We just tossed in four or five fumite -bombs and beat it out of there. A few hours -later we went into the seared and empty -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>cavern, made the roof safe with new -timbers, and notified battalion headquarters -that the place could be occupied.</p> - -<p>During this time I witnessed a scene -which—with some others—I shall never -forget. An old chaplain of the Canadian -forces came to our trench section seeking the -grave of his son, which had been marked -for him on a rude map by an officer who -had seen the young man’s burial. We managed -to find the spot, and, at the old chaplain’s -request, we exhumed the body. Some -of us suggested to him that he give us the -identification marks and retire out of range -of the shells which were bursting all around -us. We argued that it was unwise for him -to remain unnecessarily in danger, but what -we really intended was that he should be -saved the horror of seeing the pitiful thing -which our spades were about to uncover.</p> - -<p>“I shall remain,” was all he said. “He -was my boy.”</p> - -<p>It proved that we had found the right -body. One of our men tried to clear the -features with his handkerchief, but ended by -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span>spreading the handkerchief over the face. -The old chaplain stood beside the body and -removed his trench helmet, baring his gray -locks to the drizzle of rain that was falling. -Then, while we stood by with bowed heads, -his voice rose amid the noise of bursting -shells, repeating the burial service of the -Church of England. I have never been so -impressed by anything in my life as by that -scene.</p> - -<p>The dead man was a young captain. He -had been married to a lady of Baltimore, -just before the outbreak of the war.</p> - -<p>The philosophy of the British Tommies, -and the Canadians and the Australians on -the Somme was a remarkable reflection of -their fine courage through all that hell. -They go about their work, paying no attention -to the flying death about them.</p> - -<p>“If Fritz has a shell with your name and -number on it,” said a British Tommy to me -one day, “you’re going to get it whether -you’re in the front line or seven miles back. -If he hasn’t, you’re all right.”</p> - -<p>Fine fighters, all. And the Scotch kilties, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span>lovingly called by the Germans, “the women -from hell,” have the respect of all armies. -We saw little of the Poilus, except a few on -leave. All the men were self-sacrificing to -one another in that big melting pot from -which so few ever emerge whole. The only -things it is legitimate to steal in the code of -the trenches are rum and “fags” (cigarettes). -Every other possession is as safe as -if it were under a Yale lock.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 119-121]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V<br /> -<span class="smaller">WOUNDED IN ACTION</span></h2></div> - -<p>Our high command apparently meant to -make a sure thing of the general assault -upon the Regina trench, in which we were -to participate. Twice the order to “go -over the top” was countermanded. The -assault was first planned for October 19th. -Then the date was changed to the 20th. -Finally, at 12:00 noon, of October 21st, we -went. It was the first general assault we had -taken part in, and we were in a highly nervous -state. I’ll admit that.</p> - -<p>It seemed almost certain death to start -over in broad daylight, yet, as it turned out, -the crossing of “No Man’s Land” was accomplished -rather more easily than in our -night raids. Our battalion was on the extreme -right of the line, and that added materially -to our difficulties, first by compelling<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span> -us to advance through mud so deep that -some of our men sank to their hips in it and, -second, by giving us the hottest little spot in -France to hold later.</p> - -<p>I was in charge of the second “wave” or -assault line. This is called the “mopping -up” wave, because the business of the men -composing it is thoroughly to bomb out -a position crossed by the first wave, to -capture or kill all of the enemy remaining, -and to put the trench in a condition to -be defended against a counter attack by -reversing the fire steps and throwing up -parapets.</p> - -<p>While I was with the Canadians, all attacks, -or rather advances, were launched in -four waves, the waves being thirty to fifty -yards apart. A wave, I might explain, is -a line of men in extended order, or about -three paces apart. Our officers were instructed -to maintain their places in the line -and to wear no distinguishing marks which -might enable sharpshooters to pick them off. -Invariably, however, they led the men out -of our trenches. “Come on, boys, let’s go,” -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>they would say, climbing out in advance. It -was bred in them to do that.</p> - -<p>Experience had taught us that it took the -German barrage about a minute and a half -to get going after ours started, and that they -always opened up on our front line trench. -We had a plan to take advantage of this -knowledge. We usually dug an “assembly -trench” some distance in advance of our front -line, and started from it. Thus we were able -to line up between two fires, our shells -bursting ahead of us, and the Germans’ behind -us. All four waves started from the -assembly trench at once, the men of the second, -third and fourth waves falling back to -their proper distances as the advance proceeded. -The first wave worked up to within -thirty to fifty yards of our own barrage and -then the men lay down. At this stage, our -barrage was playing on the enemy front line -trench. After a certain interval, carefully -timed, the gunners, away back of our lines, -elevated their guns enough to carry our barrage -a certain distance back of the enemy -front trench and then our men went in at -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span>the charge, to occupy the enemy trench before -the Germans in the dug-outs could -come out and organize a defense. Unless -serious opposition was met the first wave -went straight through the first trench, leaving -only a few men to guard the dug-out -entrances pending the arrival of the second -wave. The second wave, only a few seconds -behind the first one, proceeded to do the -“mopping up.” Then this wave, in turn, -went forward, leaving only a few men behind -to garrison the captured trench.</p> - -<p>The third and fourth waves went straight -on unless assistance was needed, and rushed -up to the support of the new front line. The -men in these waves were ammunition carriers, -stretcher-bearers and general reenforcements. -Some of them were set to work -at once digging a communication trench to -connect our original front line with our new -support and front lines. When we established -a new front line we never used the -German trench. We had found that the -German artillery always had the range of -that trench down, literally speaking, to an -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span>inch. We always dug a new trench either -in advance of the German trench or in the -rear of it. Our manner of digging a trench -under these circumstances was very simple -and pretty sure to succeed except in an extremely -heavy fire. Each man simply got -as flat to the ground as possible, seeking -whatever cover he might avail himself of, -and began digging toward the man nearest -him. Sand bags were filled with the first -dirt and placed to afford additional cover. -The above system of attack, which is now -well known to the Germans, was, at the time -when I left France, the accepted plan when -two lines of enemy trenches were to be taken. -It has been considerably changed, now, I am -told. If the intention was to take three, four, -five or six lines, the system was changed only -in detail. When four or more lines were to -be taken, two or more battalions were assembled -to operate on the same frontage. The -first battalion took two lines, the second -passed through the first and took two more -lines, and so on. The Russians had been -known to launch an attack in thirty waves.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span></p> -<p>It is interesting to note how every attack, -nowadays, is worked out in advance in the -smallest detail, and how everything is done -on a time schedule. Aerial photographs of -the position they are expected to capture are -furnished to each battalion, and the men are -given the fullest opportunity to study them. -All bombing pits, dug-outs, trench mortar -and machine-gun emplacements are marked -on these photographs. Every man is given -certain work to do and is instructed and re-instructed -until there can be no doubt that -he has a clear knowledge of his orders. But, -besides that, he is made to understand the -scope and purpose and plan of the whole -operation, so that he will know what to do -if he finds himself with no officer to command. -This is one of the great changes -brought about by this war, and it signalizes -the disappearance, probably forever, of a -long-established tradition. It is something -which I think should be well impressed -upon the officers of our new army, about to -enter this great struggle. The day has -passed when the man in the ranks is supposed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span> -merely to obey. He must know what -to do and how to do it. He must think for -himself and “carry on” with the general -plan, if his officers and N. C. O.’s all become -casualties. Sir Douglas Haig said: -“For soldiers in this war, give me business -men with business sense, who are used to -taking initiative.”</p> - -<p>While I was at the front I had opportunity -to observe three distinct types of barrage -fire, the “box,” the “jumping,” and the -“creeping.” The “box,” I have already described -to you, as it is used in a raid. The -“jumping” plays on a certain line for a certain -interval and then jumps to another line. -The officers in command of the advance -know the intervals of time and space and -keep their lines close up to the barrage, moving -with it on the very second. The “creeping” -barrage opens on a certain line and then -creeps ahead at a certain fixed rate of speed, -covering every inch of the ground to be -taken. The men of the advance simply walk -with it, keeping within about thirty yards -of the line on which the shells are falling. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span>Eight-inch shrapnel, and high-explosive -shells were used exclusively by the British -when I was with them in maintaining barrage -fire. The French used their “seventy-fives,” -which are approximately of eight-inch -calibre. Of late, I believe, the British -and French have both added gas shells for -this use, when conditions make it possible. -The Germans, in establishing a barrage, -used their “whiz-bangs,” slightly larger -shells than ours, but they never seemed -to have quite the same skill and certitude -in barrage bombardment that our artillery-men -had.</p> - -<p>To attempt to picture the scene of two -barrage fires, crossing, is quite beyond me. -You see two walls of flame in front of you, -one where your own barrage is playing, and -one where the enemy guns are firing, and -you see two more walls of flame behind you, -one where the enemy barrage is playing, -and one where your own guns are firing. -And amid it all you are deafened by titanic -explosions which have merged into one roar -of thunderous sound, while acrid fumes -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span>choke and blind you. To use a fitting, if not -original phrase, it’s just “Hell with the -lid off.”</p> - -<p>That day on the Somme, our artillery -had given the Germans such a battering -and the curtain fire which our -guns dropped just thirty to forty yards -ahead of us was so powerful that we lost -comparatively few men going over—only -those who were knocked down by shells -which the Germans landed among us -through our barrage. They never caught -us with their machine guns sweeping until -we neared their trenches. Then a good -many of our men began to drop, but we were -in their front trench before they could cut us -up anywhere near completely. Going over, -I was struck by shell fragments on the hand -and leg, but the wounds were not severe -enough to stop me. In fact, I did not know -that I had been wounded until I felt blood -running into my shoe. Then I discovered -the cut in my leg, but saw that it was quite -shallow, and that no artery of importance -had been damaged. So I went on.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span></p> - -<p>I had the familiar feeling of nervousness -and physical shrinking and nausea at the beginning -of this fight, but, by the time we -were half way across “No Man’s Land,” I -had my nerve back. After I had been hit, -I remember feeling relieved that I hadn’t -been hurt enough to keep me from going on -with the men. I’m not trying to make myself -out a hero. I’m just trying to tell you -how an ordinary man’s mind works under -the stress of fighting and the danger of sudden -death. There are some queer things in -the psychology of battle. For instance, -when we had got into the German trench -and were holding it against the most vigorous -counter attacks, the thought which was -persistently uppermost in my mind was that -I had lost the address of a girl in London -along with some papers which I had thrown -away, just before we started over, and which -I should certainly never be able to find -again.</p> - -<p>The Regina trench had been taken and lost -three times by the British. We took it that -day and held it. We went into action with fifteen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span> -hundred men of all ranks and came out -with six hundred. The position, which was -the objective of our battalion, was opposite -to and only twelve hundred yards distant -from the town of Pys, which, if you take the -English meaning of the French sound, was a -highly inappropriate name for that particular -village. During a good many months, -for a good many miles ’round about that -place, there wasn’t any such thing as -“Peace.” From our position, we could see -a church steeple in the town of Baupaume -until the Germans found that our gunners -were using it as a “zero” mark, and blew it -down with explosives.</p> - -<p>I have said that, because we were on the -extreme right of the line, we had the hottest -little spot in France to hold for a while. -You see, we had to institute a double defensive, -as we had the Germans on our front -and on our flank, the whole length of the -trench to the right of us being still held by -the Germans. There we had to form a -“block,” massing our bombers behind a barricade -which was only fifteen yards from the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span>barricade behind which the Germans were -fighting. Our flank and the German flank -were in contact as fiery as that of two live -wire ends. And, meanwhile, the Fritzes -tried to rush us on our front with nine separate -counter attacks. Only one of them got -up close to us, and we went out and stopped -that with the bayonet. Behind our block -barricade, there was the nearest approach to -an actual fighting Hell that I had seen.</p> - -<p>And yet a man who was in the midst of -it from beginning to end, came out without -a scratch. He was a tall chap named Hunter. -For twenty-four hours, without interruption, -he threw German “egg-shell” -bombs from a position at the center of our -barricade. He never stopped except to light -a cigarette or yell for some one to bring him -more bombs from Fritz’s captured storehouse. -He projected a regular curtain of -fire of his own. I’ve no doubt the Germans -reported he was a couple of platoons, working -in alternate reliefs. He was awarded -the D. C. M. for his services in that fight, -and though, as I said, he was unwounded, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span>half the men around him were killed, and -his nerves were in such condition at the end -that he had to be sent back to England.</p> - -<p>One of the great tragedies of the war resulted -from a bit of carelessness when, a -couple of days later, the effort was made to -extend our grip beyond the spot which we -took in that first fight. Plans had been made -for the Forty-fourth Battalion of the Tenth -Canadian Brigade to take by assault the -trench section extending to the right from -the point where we had established the -“block” on our flank. The hour for the attack -had been fixed. Then headquarters -sent out countermanding orders. Something -wasn’t quite ready.</p> - -<p>The orders were sent by runners, as all -confidential orders must be. Telephones -are of little use, now, as both our people -and the Germans have an apparatus which -needs only to be attached to a metal spike -in the ground to “pick up” every telephone -message within a radius of three miles. -When telephones are used now, messages -are ordinarily sent in code. But, for -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span>any vitally important communication which -might cost serious losses, if misunderstood, -old style runners are used, just as they were -in the days when the field telephone was unheard -of. It is the rule to dispatch two or -three runners by different routes so that one, -at least, will be certain to arrive. In the -case of the countermanding of the order for -the Forty-fourth Battalion to assault the -German position on our flank, some officer -at headquarters thought that one messenger -to the Lieut.-Colonel commanding the Forty-fourth -would be sufficient. The messenger -was killed by a chance shot and his message -was undelivered. The Forty-fourth, in -ignorance of change of plan, “went over.” -There was no barrage fire to protect the -force and their valiant effort was simply a -wholesale suicide. Six hundred out of eight -hundred men were on the ground in two and -one-half minutes. The battalion was simply -wiped out. Several officers were court-martialed -as a result of this terrible blunder.</p> - -<p>We had gone into the German trenches at -a little after noon, on Saturday. On Sunday<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span> -night at about 10 <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> we were relieved. -The relief force had to come in overland, -and they had a good many casualties en -route. They found us as comfortable as -bugs in a rug, except for the infernal and -continuous bombing at our flank barricade. -The Germans on our front had concluded -that it was useless to try to drive us out. -About one-fourth of the six hundred of us, -who were still on our feet, were holding the -sentry posts, and the remainder of the six -hundred were having banquets in the German -dug-outs, which were stocked up like -delicatessen shops with sausages, fine canned -foods, champagne and beer. If we had only -had a few ladies with us, we could have had -a real party.</p> - -<p>I got so happily interested in the spread -in our particular dug-out that I forgot about -my wound until some one reminded me that -orders required me to hunt up a dressing -station, and get an anti-tetanus injection. I -went and got it, all right, but an injection -was about the only additional thing I could -have taken at that moment. If I had had to -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span>swallow anything more, it would have been -a matter of difficulty. Tommies like to take -a German trench, because if the Fritzes -have to move quickly, as they usually do, -we always find sausage, beer, and champagne—a -welcome change from bully beef. -I could never learn to like their bread, however.</p> - -<p>After this fight I was sent, with other -slightly wounded men, for a week’s rest at -the casualty station, at Contay. I rejoined -my battalion at the end of the week. From -October 21st to November 18th we were in -and out of the front trenches several times -for duty tours of forty-eight hours each, but -were in no important action. At 6:10 <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span>, -on the morning of November 18th, a bitter -cold day, we “went over” to take the Desire -and also the Desire support trenches. We -started from the left of our old position, and -our advance was between Thieval and Poizers, -opposite to Grandecourt.</p> - -<p>There was the usual artillery preparation -and careful organization for the attack. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span>I was again in charge of the “mopping up” -wave, numbering two hundred men and consisting -mostly of bombers. It may seem -strange to you that a non-commissioned officer -should have so important an assignment, -but, sometimes, in this war, privates have -been in charge of companies, numbering -two hundred and fifty men, and I know of -a case where a lance-corporal was temporarily -in command of an entire battalion. It -happened, on this day that, while I was in -charge of the second wave, I did not go over -with them. At the last moment, I was given -a special duty by Major Lewis, one of -the bravest soldiers I ever knew, as well as -the best beloved man in our battalion. A -messenger came to me from him just as I -was overseeing a fair distribution of the rum -ration, and incidentally getting my own -share. I went to him at once.</p> - -<p>“McClintock,” said he, “I don’t wish to -send you to any special hazard, and, so far -as that goes, we’re all going to get more or -less of a dusting. But I want to put that -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span>machine gun which has been giving us so -much trouble out of action.”</p> - -<p>I knew very well the machine gun he -meant. It was in a concrete emplacement, -walled and roofed, and the devils in charge -of it seemed to be descendants of William -Tell and the prophet Isaiah. They always -knew what was coming and had their gun -accurately trained on it before it came.</p> - -<p>“If you are willing,” said Major Lewis, -“I wish you to select twenty-five men from -the company and go after that gun the minute -the order comes to advance. Use your -own judgment about the men and the plan -for taking the gun position. Will you go?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” I answered. “I’ll go and pick -out the men right away. I think we can -make those fellows shut up shop over there.”</p> - -<p>“Good boy!” he said. “You’ll try, all -right.”</p> - -<p>I started away. He called me back.</p> - -<p>“This is going to be a bit hot, McClintock,” -he said, taking my hand. “I wish you -the best of luck, old fellow—you and the -rest of them.” In the trenches they always -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span>wish you the best of luck when they hand -you a particularly tough job.</p> - -<p>I thanked him and wished him the same. -I never saw him again. He was killed in -action within two hours after our conversation. -Both he and my pal, Macfarlane, -were shot down dead that morning.</p> - -<p>When they called for volunteers to go -with me in discharge of Major Lewis’ order, -the entire company responded. I picked out -twenty-five men, twelve bayonet men and -thirteen bombers. They agreed to my plan -which was to get within twenty-five yards of -the gun emplacement before attacking, to -place no dependence on rifle fire, but to -bomb them out and take the position with -the bayonet. We followed that plan and -took the emplacement quicker than we had -expected to do, but there were only two of -us left when we got there—Private Godsall, -No. 177,063, and myself. All the rest of -the twenty-five were dead or down. The -emplacement had been held by eleven Germans. -Two only were left standing when -we got in.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span></p> - -<p>When we saw the gun had been silenced -and the crew disabled, Godsall and I -worked round to the right about ten yards -from the shell-hole where we had sheltered -ourselves while throwing bombs into the -emplacement, and scaled the German parapet. -Then we rushed the gun position. The -officer who had been in charge was standing -with his back to us, firing with his revolver -down the trench at our men who were coming -over at another point. I reached him -before Godsall and bayoneted him. The -other German who had survived our bombing -threw up his hands and mouthed the -Teutonic slogan of surrender, “Mercy, -Kamerad.” My bayonet had broken off in -the encounter with the German officer, and -I remembered that I had been told always -to pull the trigger after making a bayonet -thrust, as that would usually jar the weapon -loose. In this case, I had forgotten instructions. -I picked up a German rifle with -bayonet fixed, and Godsall and I worked on -down the trench.</p> - -<p>The German, who had surrendered, stood -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span>with his hands held high above his head, -waiting for us to tell him what to do. He -never took his eyes off of us even to look at -his officer, lying at his feet. As we moved -down the trench, he followed us, still holding -his hands up and repeating, “Mercy, -Kamerad!” At the next trench angle we -took five more prisoners, and as Godsall had -been slightly wounded in the arm, I turned -the captives over to him and ordered him to -take them to the rear. Just then the men -of our second wave came over the parapet -like a lot of hurdlers. In five minutes, we -had taken the rest of the Germans in the -trench section prisoners, had reversed the -fire steps, and had turned their own machine -guns against those of their retreating companies -that we could catch sight of.</p> - -<p>As we could do nothing more here, I gave -orders to advance and re-enforce the front -line. Our way led across a field furrowed -with shell-holes and spotted with bursting -shells. Not a man hesitated. We were winning. -That was all we knew or cared to -know. We wanted to make it a certainty for -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span>our fellows who had gone ahead. As we -were proceeding toward the German reserve -trench, I saw four of our men, apparently -unwounded, lying in a shell-hole. I stopped -to ask them what they were doing there. As -I spoke, I held my German rifle and bayonet -at the position of “guard,” the tip of the -bayonet advanced, about shoulder high. I -didn’t get their answer, for, before they -could reply, I felt a sensation as if some one -had thrown a lump of hard clay and struck -me on the hip, and forthwith I tumbled in -on top of the four, almost plunging my bayonet -into one of them, a private named Williams.</p> - -<p>“Well, now you know what’s the matter -with us,” said Williams. “We didn’t fall -in, but we crawled in.”</p> - -<p>They had all been slightly wounded. I -had twenty-two pieces of shrapnel and some -shell fragments imbedded in my left leg between -the hip and the knee. I followed the -usual custom of the soldier who has “got it.” -The first thing I did was to light a “fag” -(cigarette) and the next thing was to investigate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span> -and determine if I was in danger of -bleeding to death. There wasn’t much -doubt about that. Arterial blood was spurting -from two of the wounds, which were revealed -when the other men in the hole -helped me to cut off my breeches. With -their aid, I managed to stop the hemorrhage -by improvising tourniquets with rags and -bayonets. One I placed as high up as possible -on the thigh and the other just below the -knee. Then we all smoked another “fag” -and lay there, listening to the big shells going -over and the shrapnel bursting near us. -It was quite a concert, too. We discussed -what we ought to do, and finally I said:</p> - -<p>“Here; you fellows can walk, and I can’t. -Furthermore, you’re not able to carry me, -because you’ve got about all any of you can -do to navigate alone. It doesn’t look as if -its going to be any better here very soon. -You all proceed to the rear, and, if you can -get some one to come after me, I’ll be -obliged to you.”</p> - -<p>They accepted the proposition, because it -was good advice and, besides, it was orders. -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span>I was their superior officer. And what happened -right after that confirmed me forever -in my early, Kentucky-bred conviction that -there is a great deal in luck. They couldn’t -have travelled more than fifty yards from the -shell-hole when the shriek of a high-explosive -seemed to come right down out of the -sky into my ears, and the detonation, which -instantly followed, shook the slanting sides of -the shell-hole until dirt in dusty little -rivulets came trickling down upon me. -Wounded as I was, I dragged myself up to -the edge of the hole. There was no trace, -anywhere, of the four men who had just left -me. They have never been heard of since. -Their bodies were never found. The big -shell must have fallen right amongst them -and simply blown them to bits.</p> - -<p>It was about a quarter to seven in the -morning when I was hit. I lay in the shell-hole -until two in the afternoon, suffering -more from thirst and cold and hunger than -from pain. At two o’clock, a batch of -sixty prisoners came along under escort. -They were being taken to the rear under<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span> -fire. The artillery bombardment -was still practically undiminished. I -asked for four of the prisoners and made one -of them get out his rubber ground sheet, carried -around his waist. They responded willingly, -and seemed most ready to help me. -I had a revolver (empty) and some bombs -in my pockets, but I had no need to threaten -them. Each of the four took a corner -of the ground sheet and, upon it, they half -carried and half dragged me toward the -rear.</p> - -<p>It was a trip which was not without incident. -Every now and then we would hear -the shriek of an approaching “coal box,” -and then my prisoner stretcher-bearers and -I would tumble in one indiscriminate heap -into the nearest shell-hole. If we did that -once, we did it a half dozen times. After -each dive, the four would patiently reorganize -and arrange the improvised stretcher -again, and we would proceed. Following -every tumble, however, I would have to -tighten my tourniquets, and, despite all I -could do, the hemorrhage from my wound -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span>continued so profuse that I was beginning -to feel very dizzy and weak. On -the way in, I sighted our regimental dressing -station and signed to my four bearers to -carry me toward it. The station was in an -old German dug-out. Major Gilday was at -the door. He laughed when he saw me -with my own special ambulance detail.</p> - -<p>“Well, what do you want?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Most of all,” I said, “I think I want a -drink of rum.”</p> - -<p>He produced it for me instantly.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said he, “my advice to you is to -keep on travelling. You’ve got a fine special -detail there to look after you. Make -’em carry you to Poizers. It’s only five -miles, and you’ll make it all right. I’ve got -this place loaded up full, no stretcher-bearers, -no assistants, no adequate supply -of bandages and medicines, and a lot of -very bad cases. If you want to get out of -here in a week, just keep right on going, -now.”</p> - -<p>As we continued toward the rear, we were -the targets for a number of humorous remarks<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span> -from men coming up to go into the -fight.</p> - -<p>“Give my regards to Blighty, you lucky -beggar,” was the most frequent saying.</p> - -<p>“Bli’ me,” said one Cockney Tommy. -“There goes one o’ th’ Canadians with an -escort from the Kaiser.”</p> - -<p>Another man stopped and asked about my -wound.</p> - -<p>“Good work,” he said. “I’d like to have -a nice clean one like that, myself.”</p> - -<p>I noticed one of the prisoners grinning at -some remark and asked him if he understood -English. He hadn’t spoken to me, though -he had shown the greatest readiness to help -me.</p> - -<p>“Certainly I understand English,” he replied. -“I used to be a waiter at the Knickerbocker -Hotel, in New York.” That -sounded like a voice from home, and I -wanted to hug him. I didn’t. However, I -can say for him he must have been a good -waiter. He gave me good service.</p> - -<p>Of the last stages of my trip to Poizers I -cannot tell anything for I arrived unconscious<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span> -from loss of blood. The last I remember -was that the former waiter, evidently -seeing that I was going out, asked me -to direct him how to reach the field dressing -station at Poizers and whom to ask for -when he got there. I came back to consciousness -in an ambulance on the way to -Albert.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 149-151]</span></p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI<br /> -<span class="smaller">A VISIT FROM THE KING</span></h2></div> - -<p>I was taken from Poizers to Albert in a -Ford ambulance, or, as the Tommies would -say, a “tin Lizzie.” The man who drove this -vehicle would make a good chauffeur for -an adding machine. Apparently, he was -counting the bumps in the road for he didn’t -miss one of them. However, the trip was -only a matter of seven miles, and I was in -fair condition when they lifted me out and -carried me to an operating table in the field -dressing station.</p> - -<p>A chaplain came along and murmured a -little prayer in my ear. I imagine that -would make a man feel very solemn if -he thought there was a chance he was -about to pass out, but I knew I merely had -a leg pretty badly smashed up, and, while -the chaplain was praying, I was wondering -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span>if they would have to cut it off. I figured, -if so, this would handicap my dancing.</p> - -<p>The first formality in a shrapnel case is -the administration of an anti-tetanus inoculation, -and, when it is done, you realize that -they are sure trying to save your life. The -doctor uses a horse-syringe, and the injection -leaves a lump on your chest as big as -a base ball which stays there for forty-eight -hours. After the injection a nurse -fills out a diagnosis blank with a description -of your wounds and a record of your name, -age, regiment, regimental number, religion, -parentage, and previous history as far as she -can discover it without asking questions -which would be positively indelicate. After -all of that, my wounds were given their first -real dressing.</p> - -<p>Immediately after this was done, I was -bundled into another ambulance—this time -a Cadillac—and driven to Contay where the -C. C. S. (casualty clearing station) and railhead -were located. In the ambulance with -me went three other soldiers, an artillery -officer and two privates of infantry. We -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span>were all ticketed off as shrapnel cases, and -probable recoveries, which latter detail is -remarkable, since the most slightly injured -in the four had twelve wounds, and there -were sixty odd shell fragments or shrapnel -balls collectively imbedded in us. The -head nurse told me that I had about twenty -wounds. Afterward her count proved conservative. -More accurate and later returns -showed twenty-two bullets and shell fragments -in my leg.</p> - -<p>We were fairly comfortable in the ambulance, -and I, especially, had great relief -from the fact that the nurse had strapped my -leg in a sling attached to the top of the vehicle. -We smoked cigarettes and chatted -cheerfully, exchanging congratulations on -having got “clean ones,” that is, wounds -probably not fatal. The artillery officer -told me he had been supporting our battalion, -that morning, with one of the “sacrifice -batteries.” A sacrifice battery, I might -explain, is one composed of field pieces -which are emplaced between the front and -support lines, and which, in case of an attack<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span> -or counter attack, are fired at pointblank -range. They call them sacrifice batteries -because some of them are wiped out -every day. This officer said our battalion, -that morning, had been supported by an entire -division of artillery, and that on our -front of four hundred yards the eighteen -pounders, alone, in a curtain fire which -lasted thirty-two minutes, had discharged -fifteen thousand rounds of high-explosive -shells.</p> - -<p>I was impressed by his statement, of -course, but I told him that while this was -an astonishing lot of ammunition, it was even -more surprising to have noticed at close -range, as I did, the number of Germans they -missed. Toward the end of our trip to Contay, -we were much exhausted and pretty -badly shaken up. We were beginning also -to realize that we were by no means out of -the woods, surgically. Our wounds had -merely been dressed. Each of us faced an -extensive and serious operation. We arrived -at Contay, silent and pretty much depressed. -For twenty-four hours in the Contay casualty<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span> -clearing station, they did little except -feed us and take our temperatures hourly. -Then we were put into a hospital train for -Rouen.</p> - -<p>Right here, I would like to tell a little -story about a hospital train leaving Contay -for Rouen—not the one we were on, but one -which had left a few days before. The -train, when it was just ready to depart with -a full quota of wounded men, was attacked -by German aeroplanes from which bombs -were dropped upon it. There is nothing, -apparently, that makes the Germans so fearless -and ferocious as the Red Cross emblem. -On the top of each of the cars in this train -there was a Red Cross big enough to be seen -from miles in the air. The German aviators -accepted them merely as excellent targets. -Their bombs quickly knocked three or four -cars from the rails and killed several of the -helpless wounded men. The rest of the -patients, weak and nervous from recent -shock and injury, some of them half delirious, -and nearly all of them in pain, -were thrown into near-panic. Two of -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span>the nursing sisters in charge of the -train were the coolest individuals present. -They walked calmly up and down its length, -urging the patients to remain quiet, directing -the male attendants how to remove the -wounded men safely from the wrecked cars, -and paying no attention whatever to the -bombs which were still exploding near the -train. I did not have the privilege of witnessing -this scene myself, but I know that I -have accurately described it for the details -were told in an official report when the King -decorated the two sisters with the Royal -Red Cross, for valor in the face of the -enemy.</p> - -<p>The trip from Contay to Rouen was a -nightmare—twenty-six hours travelling one -hundred and fifty miles on a train, which -was forever stopping and starting, its jerky -and uncertain progress meaning to us just -hours and hours of suffering. I do not know -whether this part of the system for the removal -of the wounded has been improved -now. Then, its inconveniences and imperfections -must have been inevitable, for, in -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span>every way afterward, the most thoughtful -and tender care was shown us. In the long -row of huts which compose the British General -Hospital at Rouen, we found ourselves -in what seemed like Paradise.</p> - -<p>In the hut, which constituted the special -ward for leg wounds, I was lifted from the -stretcher on which I had travelled all the -way from Poizers into a comfortable bed -with fresh, clean sheets, and instantly I -found myself surrounded with quiet, -trained, efficient care. I forgot the pain of -my wounds and the dread of the coming operation -when a tray of delicious food was -placed beside my bed and a nurse prepared -me for the enjoyment of it by bathing my -face and hands with scented water.</p> - -<p>On the following morning my leg was -X-rayed and photographed. I told the surgeon -I thought the business of operating -could very well be put off until I had had -about three more square meals, but he -couldn’t see it that way. In the afternoon, -I got my first sickening dose of ether, and -they took the first lot of iron out of me. I -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span>suppose these were just the surface deposits, -for they only got five or six pieces. However, -they continued systematically. I had -five more operations, and every time I came -out of the ether; the row of bullets and shell -scraps at the foot of my bed was a little -longer. After the number had reached -twenty-two, they told me that perhaps there -were a few more in there, but they thought -they’d better let them stay. My wounds had -become septic, and it was necessary to give -all attention to drainage and cure. It was -about this time that everything, for a while, -seemed to become hazy, and my memories -got all queerly mixed up and confused. I -recollect I conceived a violent dislike for a -black dog that appeared from nowhere, now -and then, and began chewing at my leg, and -I believe I gave the nurse a severe talking to -because she insisted on going to look on at -the ball game when she ought to be sitting -by to chase that dog away. And I was perfectly -certain about her being at the ball -game, because I saw her there when I was -playing third base.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span></p> - -<p>It was at this time (on November 28, -1916, ten days after I had been wounded) -that my father, in Lexington, received the -following cablegram from the officer in -charge of the Canadian records, in England:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p class="no-indent">“Sincerely regret to inform you that Sergeant -Alexander McClintock is officially -reported dangerously ill in No. 5 General -Hospital, from gunshot wound in left thigh. -Further particulars supplied when received.”</p></div> - -<p>It appears that, during the time of my adventures -with the black dog and the inattentive -nurse, my temperament had ascended to -the stage when the doctors begin to admit -that another method of treatment might -have been successful. But I didn’t pass out. -The one thing I most regret about my close -call is that my parents, in Lexington, were -in unrelieved suspense about my condition -until I myself sent them a cable from London, -on December 15th. After the first -official message, seemingly prepared almost -as a preface to the announcement of my demise,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span> -my father received no news of me -whatever. And, as I didn’t know that the -official message had gone, I cabled nothing -to him until I was feeling fairly chipper -again. You can’t have wars, though, without -these little misunderstandings.</p> - -<p>If it were possible, I should say something -here which would be fitting and adequate -about the English women who nursed -the twenty-five hundred wounded men in -General Hospital No. 5, at Rouen. But -that power isn’t given me. All I can do is -to fall back upon our most profound American -expression of respect and say that my -hat is off to them. One nurse in the ward -in which I lay had been on her feet for -fifty-six hours, with hardly time even to eat. -She finally fainted from exhaustion, was -carried out of the ward, and was back again -in four hours, assisting at an operation. And -the doctors were doing their bit, too, in living -up to the obligations which they considered -to be theirs. An operating room was -in every ward with five tables in each. After -the fight on the Somme, in which I was -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span>wounded, not a table was vacant any hour -in the twenty-four, for days at a time. Outside -of each room was a long line of stretchers -containing patients next awaiting surgical -attention. And in all that stress, I did -not hear one word of complaint from the -surgeons who stood, hour after hour, using -their skill and training for the petty pay of -English army medical officers.</p> - -<p>On December 5th, I was told I was well -enough to be sent to England and, on the -next day, I went on a hospital train -from Rouen to Havre. Here I was -placed on a hospital ship which every -medical officer in our army ought to -have a chance to inspect. Nothing ingenuity -could contrive for convenience and comfort -was missing. Patients were sent below -decks in elevators, and then placed in swinging -cradles which hung level no matter what -the ship’s motion might be. As soon as I -had been made comfortable in my particular -cradle, I was given a box which had -engraved upon it: “Presented with the compliments -of the Union Castle Line. May -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span>you have a speedy and good recovery.” The -box contained cigarettes, tobacco, and a -pipe.</p> - -<p>When the ship docked at Southampton, -after a run of eight hours across channel, -each patient was asked what part of the -British Isles he would like to be taken to -for the period of his convalescence. I requested -to be taken to London, where, I -thought, there was the best chance of my seeing -Americans who might know me. Say, -I sure made a good guess. I didn’t know -many Americans, but I didn’t need to know -them. They found me and made themselves -acquainted. They brought things, and then -they went out to get more they had forgotten -to bring the first trip. The second day -after I had been installed on a cot in the -King George Hospital, in London, I sent -fifteen hundred cigarettes back to the boys -of our battalion in France out of my surplus -stock. If I had undertaken to eat and drink -and smoke all the things that were brought -to me by Americans, just because I was an -American, I’d be back in that hospital now, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span>only getting fairly started on the job. It’s -some country when you need it.</p> - -<p>The wounded soldier, getting back to -England, doesn’t have a chance to imagine -that his services are not appreciated. The -welcome he receives begins at the railroad -station. All traffic is stopped by the Bobbies -to give the ambulances a clear way -leaving the station. The people stand in -crowds, the men with their hats off, while -the ambulances pass. Women rush out and -throw flowers to the wounded men. Sometimes -there is a cheer, but usually only -silence and words of sympathy.</p> - -<p>The King George Hospital was built to -be a government printing office, and was -nearing completion when the war broke out. -It has been made a Paradise for convalescent -men. The bareness and the sick suggestion -and characteristic smell of the -average hospital are unknown here. There -are soft lights and comfortable beds and -pretty women going about as visitors. -The stage beauties and comedians come and -entertain us. The food is delicious, and the -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span>chief thought of every one seems to be to -show the inmates what a comfortable and -cheery thing it is to be ill among a lot of -real friends. I was there from December -until February, and my recollections of the -stay are so pleasant that sometimes I wish I -was back.</p> - -<p>On the Friday before Christmas there -was a concert in our ward. Among the artists -who entertained us were Fay Compton, -Gertrude Elliott (sister of Maxine Elliott), -George Robie, and other stars of the London -stage. After our protracted stay in the -trenches and our long absence from all the -civilized forms of amusement, the affair -seemed to us the most wonderful show ever -given. And, in some ways, it was. For instance, -in the most entertaining of dramatic -exhibitions, did you ever see the lady artists -go around and reward enthusiastic applause -with kisses? Well that’s what we got. And -I am proud to say that it was Miss Compton -who conferred this honor upon me.</p> - -<p>At about three o’clock on that afternoon, -when we were all having a good time, one -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span>of the orderlies threw open the door of the -ward and announced in a loud voice that -His Majesty, the King, was coming in. We -could not have been more surprised if some -one had thrown in a Mills bomb. Almost -immediately the King walked in, accompanied -by a number of aides. They were all -in service uniforms, the King having -little in his attire to distinguish him -from the others. He walked around, presenting -each patient with a copy of “Queen -Mary’s Gift Book,” an artistic little volume -with pictures and short stories by the most -famous of English artists and writers. -When he neared my bed, he turned to one -of the nurses and inquired:</p> - -<p>“Is this the one?”</p> - -<p>The nurse nodded. He came and sat at -the side of the bed and shook hands with -me. He asked as to what part of the United -States I had come from, how I got my -wounds, and what the nature of them were, -how I was getting along, and what I particularly -wished done for me. I answered -his questions and said that everything I -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span>could possibly wish for had already been -done for me.</p> - -<p>“I thank you,” he said, “for myself and -my people for your services. Our gratitude -cannot be great enough toward men who -have served us as you have.”</p> - -<p>He spoke in a very low voice and with no -assumption of royal dignity. There was -nothing in the least thrilling about the incident, -but there was much apparent sincerity -in the few words.</p> - -<p>After he had gone, one of the nurses asked -me what he had said.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” I said, “George asked me what I -thought about the way the war was being -conducted, and I said I’d drop in and talk -it over with him as soon as I was well -enough to be up.”</p> - -<p>There happened one of the great disappointments -of my life. She didn’t see the -joke. She was English. She gasped and -glared at me, and I think she went out and -reported that I was delirious again.</p> - -<p>Really, I wasn’t much impressed by the -English King. He seemed a pleasant, tired -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span>little man, with a great burden to bear, and -not much of an idea about how to bear it. -He struck me as an individual who would -conscientiously do his best in any situation, -but would never do or say anything with the -slightest suspicion of a punch about it. A few -days after his visit to the hospital, I saw in -the <i>Official London Gazette</i> that I had been -awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. -Official letters from the Canadian headquarters -amplified this information, and a notice -from the British War Office informed me -that the medal awaited me there. I was -told the King knew that the medal had been -awarded to me, when he spoke to me in the -hospital. Despite glowing reports in the -Kentucky press, he didn’t pin it on me. -Probably he didn’t have it with him. Or, -perhaps, he didn’t consider it good form to -hang a D. C. M. on a suit of striped, presentation -pajamas with a prevailing tone of -baby blue.<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span></p> - -<p>While I was in the King George Hospital -I witnessed one of the most wonderful -examples of courage and pluck I had ever -seen. A young Scot, only nineteen years -old, McAuley by name, had had the greater -part of his face blown away. The surgeons -had patched him up in some fashion, but he -was horribly disfigured. He was the brightest, -merriest man in the ward, always joking -and never depressed. His own terrible -misfortune was merely the topic for humorous -comment with him. He seemed to get -positive amusement out of the fact that the -surgeons were always sending for him to do -something more with his face. One day he -was going into the operating room and a -fellow patient asked him what the new operation -was to be.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” he said, “I’m going to have a cabbage -put on in place of a head. It’ll grow -better than the one I have now.”</p> - -<p>Once in a fortnight he would manage to -get leave to absent himself from the hospital -for an hour or two. He never came -back alone. It took a couple of men to -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span>bring him back. On the next morning, he -would say:</p> - -<p>“Well, it was my birthday. A man must -have a few drinks on his birthday.”</p> - -<p>I was discharged from the hospital in the -middle of February and sent to a comfortable -place at Hastings, Sussex, where I -lived until my furlough papers came -through. I had a fine time in London at -the theatres and clubs pending my departure -for home. When my furlough had arrived, -I went to Buxton, Derbyshire, where -the Canadian Discharge Depot was located -and was provided with transportation to -Montreal. I came back to America on the -Canadian Pacific Royal Mail steamer, -<i>Metagama</i>, and the trip was without incident -of any sort. We lay for a time in the -Mersey, awaiting word that our convoy was -ready to see us out of the danger zone, and -a destroyer escorted us four hundred miles -on our way.</p> - -<p>I was informed, before my departure, that -a commission as lieutenant in the Canadian -forces awaited my return from furlough, -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span>and I had every intention of going back to -accept it. But, since I got to America, -things have happened. Now, it’s the army -of Uncle Sam, for mine. I’ve written these -stories to show what we are up against. It’s -going to be a tough game, and a bloody one, -and a sorrowful one for many. But it’s up -to us to save the issue where it’s mostly right -on one side, and all wrong on the other—and -I’m glad we’re in. I’m not willing to quit -soldiering now, but I will be when we get -through with this. When we finish up -with this, there won’t be any necessity for -soldiering. The world will be free of war -for a long, long time—and a God’s mercy, -that. Let me take another man’s eloquent -words for my last ones:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Oh! spacious days of glory and of grieving!</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Oh! sounding hours of lustre and of loss;</div> - <div class="verse indent0">Let us be glad we lived, you still believing</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The God who gave the Cannon gave the Cross.</div> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span></p> </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Let us doubt not, amid these seething passions,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">The lusts of blood and hate our souls abhor:</div> - <div class="verse indent0">The Power that Order out of Chaos fashions</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Smites fiercest in the wrath-red forge of War.</div> - </div> - <div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse indent0">Have faith! Fight on! Amid the battle-hell,</div> - <div class="verse indent2">Love triumphs, Freedom beacons, All is well.</div> - </div> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="center no-indent">(Robert W. Service, “Rhymes of a Red Cross -Man.”)</p> - -<p class="center no-indent">THE END.</p> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2 nobreak"><span class="smcap">Footnotes:</span></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p class="no-indent"><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[A]</a> <span class="no-indent"><span class="smcap">Editor’s Note.</span>—The medal was formally presented to -Sergt. McClintock by the British Consul General, in New -York City, on August 15, 1917.</span></p></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="transnote"><div class="chapter"> -<p class="ph2 nobreak"><span class="smcap">Transcriber’s Notes:</span></p></div> - -<p>On page 43, Dinkeibusch has been changed to Dinkiebusch.</p> - -<p>On pages 46 and 135, casualities has been changed casualties.</p> - -<p>On page 75, through has been changed to though.</p> - -<p>On page 76, smybols has been changed to symbols.</p> - -<p>On page 93, denouments has been changed to denouements.</p> - -<p>On page 122, distinguising has been changed to distinguishing.</p> - -<p>On pages 84, 124, 126, 135 and 146 dugout has been changed to dug-out.</p> - -<p>On page 135, descendents has been changed to descendants.</p> - -<p>On page 135, continous has been changed to continuous.</p> - -<p>Minor silent changes have been made to regularize punctuation; all -other spelling, hyphenation and punctuation have been retained as -typeset.</p></div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEST O' LUCK ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following -the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use -of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for -copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very -easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation -of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project -Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may -do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark -license, especially commercial redistribution. -</div> - -<div style='margin-top:1em; font-size:1.1em; text-align:center'>START: FULL LICENSE</div> -<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE</div> -<div style='text-align:center;font-size:0.9em'>PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person -or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the -Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when -you share it without charge with others. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country other than the United States. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work -on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the -phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: -</div> - -<blockquote> - <div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most - other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions - whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms - of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online - at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you - are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws - of the country where you are located before using this eBook. - </div> -</blockquote> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project -Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg™ License. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format -other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain -Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -provided that: -</div> - -<div style='margin-left:0.7em;'> - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation.” - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ - works. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - </div> - - <div style='text-indent:-0.7em'> - • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. - </div> -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of -the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set -forth in Section 3 below. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right -of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, -Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up -to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website -and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread -public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/">www.gutenberg.org/donate</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate -</div> - -<div style='display:block; font-size:1.1em; margin:1em 0; font-weight:bold'> -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. -</div> - -</div> -</body> -</html> |