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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77797 ***
+
+
+
+
+  TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
+
+  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
+  Small caps in the text is denoted by UPPERCASE.
+
+  Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
+
+
+
+
+                           AMBULANCING ON THE
+                              FRENCH FRONT
+
+[Illustration: ON THE JOB, DAY AND NIGHT.
+
+A picture of the author, one of the first Americans to serve as an
+ambulance man on the French front.]
+
+
+
+
+                             AMBULANCING ON
+                            THE FRENCH FRONT
+
+
+                                   BY
+
+                            EDWARD R. COYLE
+
+
+                             _Illustrated_
+
+
+                             [Illustration]
+
+
+                                NEW YORK
+                       BRITTON PUBLISHING COMPANY
+
+
+
+
+                            Copyright, 1918
+                    BRITTON PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC.
+
+                 Made in U. S. A. All rights reserved.
+
+
+
+
+TO MY MOTHER
+
+
+Whose parting gift was a miniature photograph of her own dear self upon
+which she had inscribed these words:
+
+My only child who is given to the Cause of Liberty and Freedom. May God
+guide him safely so that he may help those who are unfortunate.
+
+                                                    HIS MOTHER’S PRAYER.
+
+
+
+
+AUTHOR’S PREFACE
+
+
+When I went to France there was no thought in my mind that I should
+ever write a book on the subject of my experiences over there. On my
+return, however, many friends besieged me for details of the great war,
+which had come under my observation while serving in the Ambulance
+Corps on the French front. It was easy to infer from the eagerness
+of all that real news was in demand, none seeming to tire of asking
+questions and listening to what I had to say in reply. From these
+impromptu conversations occurring day after day, I began to realize
+how much I had really experienced during my stay abroad. Consequently,
+when urged to write a book for the benefit of the general public, I
+consented on the theory that the more we Americans know about true
+conditions in the War Zone the surer we are to win victory from the
+most ruthless enemy ever known to mankind. I make no pretense of being
+a writer, but I know what I saw and I hope to make myself understood
+on the subject of war as it is to-day on the firing line. Much in the
+way of rumor has passed for fact in America. Propaganda has confused
+the public mind. The more fact that leaks through, not calculated to
+send aid and comfort to the foe, the better for all of us. In this, my
+first attempt at writing, and possibly my last, I intend to give facts.
+Matters that should not be disclosed for military reasons will, of
+course, be reserved for historians of another day.
+
+                                                        EDWARD R. COYLE.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  CHAPTER                                                           PAGE
+
+       I HOW I CAME TO GO                                             15
+
+      II AMBULANCE WORK                                               24
+
+     III SANDRICOURT                                                  31
+
+      IV MEDICAL CARE                                                 43
+
+       V A LESSON I LEARNED                                           49
+
+      VI A VISIT TO PARIS                                             54
+
+     VII “THE FRONT”                                                  61
+
+    VIII MASSING BEFORE VERDUN                                        67
+
+      IX THE SIEGE OF VERDUN                                          77
+
+       X A VISIT TO BACCARAT                                         104
+
+      XI HOMELESS CHILDREN                                           109
+
+     XII AFTERNOON TEA                                               115
+
+    XIII “PETIT POST”                                                122
+
+     XIV BADONVILLER THE MARTYR                                      126
+
+      XV “SNIPERS” AT WORK                                           135
+
+     XVI “KAMERAD!”                                                  141
+
+    XVII THE ART OF CAMOUFLAGE                                       151
+
+   XVIII SPIES AND THEIR WORK                                        159
+
+     XIX LETTERS FROM THE FRONT                                      174
+
+      XX EYES OF THE ARMY                                            190
+
+     XXI ANTI-AIRCRAFT BATTERIES                                     199
+
+    XXII HAND GRENADE WORK                                           205
+
+   XXIII THE AMERICAN Y. M. C. A.                                    215
+
+    XXIV REAR-LINE DIVERSIONS                                        225
+
+     XXV “FOOD WILL WIN THE WAR”                                     229
+
+    XXVI HOMEWARD BOUND                                              235
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+  Picture of Author—_Frontispiece_
+  The Wagon of Mercy Loading Up
+  A Camouflage Road Made to Order
+  A Natural Camouflage Road
+  A “Load-Up and Getaway”—Wounded for the Hospital
+  The Bivouac of the Dead
+  Where the Souls of Men Are Calling
+  A French Gun Much Respected by Fritz
+  German Sacrilege—Christ’s Figure Decapitated
+  Ruins of the Church Containing the Figures
+  Sacked and Burned
+  Badonviller Destroyed by the Germans
+  Sixty Feet from a German Front-Line Trench
+  Trying on the Gas Masks
+  Badonviller Barricaded for Street Fighting
+  Awaiting Orders Behind the Front
+  Bombing the Hun
+  French Infantry En Route to the Trenches
+  A Small “Persuader” at Verdun
+  Field Telephone Station Controlling the Shell Fire
+  Ruins Along the Lorraine Front
+  A Quick Lunch at the Front
+  First Aid Dug-Out—Waiting for a Call
+
+
+
+
+                           AMBULANCING ON THE
+                              FRENCH FRONT
+
+
+
+
+Ambulancing on the French Front
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+HOW I CAME TO GO
+
+
+If you like excitement I’d say take a steamer for France—and join the
+Ambulance Corps on the French front overlooking Verdun. A few steps
+forward to the front-line trenches and you’re in the zone of what the
+lamented Charles Frohman described as “The Great Adventure.”
+
+I was there and I bless my lucky stars that I’m home again for a while
+with a whole skin and a large and growing appetite that I brought back
+with me. I served as an ambulance man, a sort of scene-shifter in the
+wings of the greatest tragedy ever staged. Now, as I write, it is
+running in its fourth year. My duties required me to bring back from
+the battlefield the maimed and dying, and deposit them in places of
+comparative safety. Also to the sheltered huts, further back, where
+first aid could be given.
+
+If anyone had told me, on January 1, 1917, that in less than sixty days
+I would be over there on the French front, taking a minor part in the
+biggest show on earth, I probably would have slammed back at him, “Quit
+your kidding.” Nevertheless, it all happened—I went, and of my own
+volition, joined the Ambulance section of the French Army, and stayed
+in the game until my own country took over that service. Then I came
+home for a visit, having served practically nine months, but I am going
+back soon, this time with Uncle Sam—I have already enlisted.
+
+[Illustration: A Quick Lunch at the Front]
+
+[Illustration: First Aid Dug-Out—Waiting for a Call]
+
+Just how I made up my mind to go in the first place is yet something
+of a mystery. Here I was in New York, holding down a good position at
+generous pay. New York is always entertaining, and at intervals my
+work took me out over the country to other cities, under first-class
+conditions. Therefore, it was not from lack of novelty or interest in
+my own affairs that I went forth in search of trouble.
+
+As I think back upon it I presume I must have talked myself into going.
+Notwithstanding that we, over here, were seemingly out of the war,
+everybody I knew, at home or on my travels, talked war, and I did also.
+
+While dining with a friend one evening in a New York restaurant we got
+into the war talk game rather earnestly. He was sure he would go over
+were it not that he couldn’t possibly pass the test.
+
+“If it was Uncle Sam that was fighting I might try to go anyway,” said
+he.
+
+It was at this point in our conversation that I heard myself say:
+
+“Well, I think I’ll go and help France; she was always good to us.”
+
+My voice sounded strange to my own ears as I said this, and the next
+instant our eyes met. Bing! I realized that I had started something
+down deep within me. Also that a hand reached forth across the table
+which I took into my own. It was the hand of James A. Gilmore,
+“Fighting Jim,” as he is affectionately known to millions of baseball
+fans all over the world.
+
+“Bully for you!” he shouted. “What part of the service will you go in
+for? Army—Navy—Red Cross?” There was a wistful look in his eyes.
+
+“Red Cross, I think.”
+
+I heard myself say this, but, as a matter of fact, I had no thought
+whatever of what I would do. To tell the honest truth, I felt as if I
+had jumped off of the Brooklyn Bridge. Not that the idea frightened me.
+Nothing like that. If I had made a real decision, and I began to feel
+that I had, it didn’t seem to disturb me unduly. There was no reason
+why I shouldn’t go. If there was a reluctant feeling it was on account
+of my Mother—but I knew her too well to believe that she would hold me
+back from such a righteous cause. As to my Father, why he’d boost the
+game. I was sure of that. Anyhow the conviction grew that I had cast
+the die, and by the look on the face of my friend I knew that I had
+committed myself.
+
+For the next half hour I sat quietly munching my food and listening
+the while to my good friend opposite. It was during this time that he
+showed his loyalty to the great cause. I was told to outfit myself
+and spare no expense—he would help foot the bill. A few days later,
+when I was all but on the point of sailing away toward the great
+whirlpool of disaster, he and other good friends presented me with an
+auto-ambulance, fully equipped.
+
+Proud! grateful! I thought I’d drop dead with joy before the day came
+to walk the gangway of the big ship that was to bear me away from
+peace to war.
+
+Recalling my sudden decision to enter the war, on many occasions I have
+asked other Americans why they volunteered. In no instance did any of
+them give a solid reason right off the reel. I believe the answer
+given by a young Philadelphian, who was a member of our party on board
+ship, fairly sums up most cases of volunteer enlistment.
+
+“Damifino,” said he, with a shrug of his well-set shoulders and a merry
+twinkle in his eyes.
+
+Same here—his answer is mine. I don’t know why I went, but I am glad I
+did. I’ve seen things that horrified me—that terrified me. I have been
+within arm’s length of the Grim Reaper many times, but I got used to it
+all. It became a part of the day’s work, but never to the point where I
+failed to shoot the gas into my motor in order to get out of reach of
+the “big ones” that flew my way.
+
+But I’m getting ahead of my story. After making my decision to go I
+did as everyone else had to do—saw Eliot Norton, a New York lawyer
+who contributed his time in passing upon the qualifications of the men
+desiring to enter this branch of service in connection with the Red
+Cross. He seemed glad to have me go; therefore, I soon found myself
+busily engaged in purchasing supplies and equipment generally. I also
+started to “pulling the strings” for my passport. In fact, I went to
+Washington in order to get quick action, so that I could sail on a
+French liner, along with forty other volunteers. My auto was to follow
+on another boat.
+
+On shipboard all hands fraternized at once. It was a gay party
+withal, and democratic in spirit. Big family names didn’t count
+for a cent, much to the relief of the fine fellows who bore them.
+There was a general realization that we were bound on a serious
+mission and that there was no better time possible in which to get
+acquainted. Therefore, the time passed quickly enough on our way to
+the port of Bordeaux, our gateway to Paris. A surprise awaited us
+there—third-class coaches, instead of luxurious Pullmans, to which
+we all were accustomed. Bare wooden seats for an all-night ride were
+not so soft as a feather-bed, but at that we were lucky, for we were
+told that this long ride was usually made in freight cars. It was a
+mighty rocky ride, though. There was compensation in the fact, however,
+that we journeyed through the celebrated Jardin de France, the most
+beautiful landscape in all that beautiful land. But our legs and bodies
+ached, almost unbearably, as we came to the end of the journey.
+
+Arriving in Paris we went straight to headquarters, No. 7 Rue
+Francois Premier, French Headquarters of the American Red Cross in
+Paris. There we signed up for voluntary service with the French Army,
+and then started out to complete our equipment and obtain uniforms.
+Four glorious days followed, for Paris is great, even in war times, and
+we realized that we would not get back there for at least six months.
+
+Then came preliminary training at Sandricourt. This took ten days, and
+from thence we were hurried forward to our Division assignment for
+training near the Eastern front. No use to go into detail concerning
+the red tape necessary to enlistment. It is enough to say that there
+is plenty of it. After every little thing had been attended to I found
+myself tagged for identification as follows:
+
+                                VIII Army
+                                9th Corp
+                              17th Division
+                               French Army
+                            Edward R. Coyle.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+AMBULANCE WORK
+
+
+Ambulance work in the French Army comes under the heading of what is
+known as the Sanitary Service. To each division there is attached a
+Sanitary Section which serves that division only. Although subject
+to the orders of the Staff Officers, it is looked upon as a part of
+the Medical Department, and is directly under the supervision of the
+Medical Staff. The Service, like everything else in the war to-day, has
+undergone radical changes.
+
+In the early days of the war, the Sanitary Section of the French Army
+proved most inefficient. It could not cope with new conditions. Speed
+in conveying the wounded soldier to the proper hospital was vital;
+so also was the transfer of cases from the front-line trenches and
+dressing stations to hospitals where complete service and attention
+could be given. To facilitate development in this all-important work
+took time and careful thought to determine just which course would meet
+the increased demands with greatest efficiency.
+
+While the reorganization was being evolved in the minds of the men
+who had these matters in charge for the French Government, the German
+Armies were most actively engaging the French all along their frontier,
+and it was necessary, for the time being, to meet the situation
+in whatever make-shift way it might be possible until the desired
+perfection in this branch of service could finally be attained.
+
+The French were fortunate with the sanitary sections they had organized
+up to that time and which formed a regular part of their medical
+service in connection with the army. In order to take care of a great
+portion of the extra work that was thrown upon them, it must be
+acknowledged that, with the equipment they had, they carried on the
+work in a wonderful way.
+
+In Paris lived many people who were able to render service to the
+French Government during these days, and among them was Mr. Harjes
+of Morgan & Harjes Company, Bankers. Quick to see the need of expert
+ambulance work in connection with the army, he equipped his own
+automobile and donated it to the French Government.
+
+Through his example other people in Paris were induced to make
+donations of a similar character, and thus, through the generosity of
+a small group of Mr. Harjes’ immediate friends, Sanitary Section, Unit
+Five, was formed and became a permanent and famous feature in ambulance
+work, setting the pace followed later on by the French Government. Mr.
+Harjes became responsible for the efficiency of this service, spending
+most of his time in the field personally conducting the operations,
+and, by his untiring efforts, made it the standard of all other units.
+About this time Mr. Richard Norton also realized the ever-increasing
+demand upon the sanitary section service of the French Army. He got
+into communication with his very close friend, Mr. Arthur Kemp, who
+was at that time residing in England, and induced him to equip his own
+private car and bring it over and enter the work with him. Mr. Norton
+formed Sanitary Section Unit Seven, and himself went into the field as
+its head. He drove one of the cars himself and lived with the boys at
+the front, as also did Mr. Kemp.
+
+The wonderful work that was carried on by the volunteer ambulance
+services quickly attracted the attention of the French authorities.
+Letters written by the boys of these sections, describing in detail
+to friends in America the work they were carrying on, resulted in a
+large number of requests for a chance to serve as volunteers. These
+enthusiasts proposed not only to donate automobiles equipped for
+ambulance work, but also to drive them themselves without cost to the
+French Government. Soon there were enough of these applicants to
+form Sanitary Section Number Eleven, and, at the termination of the
+Volunteer Ambulance Work in October, 1917, these volunteer sections
+constituted the finest and most efficient ambulance service in the
+world.
+
+By this time recognition had been given to this service from all
+corners of the globe, and the American Red Cross now became the
+principal financial support of the service, which enabled it to expand
+into a vitally important factor of the French Army. Equipment and funds
+in abundance were placed at the disposal of the organization.
+
+Eliot Norton, a lawyer in New York City, and a brother of Richard
+Norton, played a large part in the success of that organization. It
+was he who personally supervised the enlistment of men for service in
+France as ambulance drivers. No one was permitted to enter this service
+without having first satisfied Mr. Norton that he would be unafraid,
+under any conditions, to carry the work of the American Red Cross to
+the battlefields of France in a creditable way.
+
+Untiring was his devotion and unerring his judgment. A very high
+official in the Medical Corps in the English Army is quoted as having
+said: “I have never seen a cleaner, more intelligent crowd of boys than
+the ones who are serving with the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps in the
+French Army.”
+
+The organization was now taking on such proportions that it was
+necessary to establish central headquarters. This was done at No. 7
+Rue Francois Premier in Paris. Messrs. Norton, Kemp and Havemeyer were
+compelled to give up the active work in the field and take charge of
+the offices. Other sections were equipped and sent out; section leaders
+and assistants called chef and sous-chef, respectively, were chosen
+from the older men that had been on active duty in the field.
+
+This organization was now continually attracting prominent people
+to it, one of these being Mr. Robert Goelet, who turned over his
+estate at Sandricourt, twenty miles outside of Paris, to be used as a
+cantonment for the American Red Cross, and as a base for training men.
+Twenty automobiles were donated to this section, which became known as
+the “Goelet Section.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+SANDRICOURT
+
+
+Sandricourt, as a base for training and instructions, was a happy
+choice, for it became the stepping-stone to efficiency. It must be
+remembered that all the men who had joined the service were youngsters
+and of good families, and most of them had had some business experience.
+
+In the French Army there is no such thing as luxury, and it is very
+hard for a person who has been used to butter, sugar and cream to
+be deprived of them all at once. In addition to extremely plain
+food, sleeping out of doors was a very necessary preparation for the
+hardships to be endured, when one might be called to sleep in any old
+place and under unknown conditions.
+
+In the meantime, means were found to divert the minds of the weary
+by such activities as military drills, lectures on the care of cars,
+instructions on temporary repairs, and the like. In due time there were
+also established, under Y. M. C. A. supervision, classes in French, a
+working knowledge of which was very necessary, for at the front the men
+had to take orders from doctors, who spoke that language exclusively.
+
+When Sandricourt was first taken over it had to undergo a thorough
+overhauling. Mr. Goelet had not occupied it from the inception of the
+war and, of course, things were in bad shape. The barns, which had been
+used for the housing of cattle and stock, were to form the sleeping
+quarters for the men, and it was necessary to give them a most rigid
+cleaning before they could be occupied.
+
+[Illustration: A French Gun Much Respected by Fritz]
+
+Some of the barns were over a hundred years old and in an awful
+state of repair, but a hundred men of the Ambulance Service were
+dispatched to start the work and they pitched in with such eagerness
+that within four weeks’ time Mr. Goelet himself would hardly have
+recognized the place.
+
+As sections left Sandricourt for the front, others came to take
+their places and carry on the work. During their stay they received
+instructions in preparation for their own departure for the front.
+
+The fatigue work in our service consists of such tasks as carrying
+water, chopping wood for the kitchen, and waiting on table. Everyone
+had to take his turn at these different duties. It was amusing to
+look in on the various groups of inexperienced boys of the different
+fatigues. Many of them had never washed a dish in their lives, but no
+one was exempt, and each day brought different men to duty on different
+fatigues, in accordance with a well-planned schedule.
+
+Details were dispatched each day to help the farmers in the vicinity
+with their work, all of which was good for the appetite, and hardened
+the boys. Army food was so different, it seemed impossible to eat at
+first, but it had the appearance of a banquet at Delmonico’s after one
+had been out on a haystack all day or feeding a thrasher.
+
+Such was Sandricourt, the tempering forge of the ambulance corp—the
+place where everyone got down to bed rock and exchanged luxury for the
+essentials; bloat and fat for muscle, and irregular life for a rigid
+routine. Complaints flew thick and fast at first, but, after all,
+these seeming hardships were mild, indeed, compared with what came
+afterward. When enemy shell fire kept food from coming up, and service
+demanded that men should sleep in their clothes for days at a time in
+preparation for an immediate call, I often wondered if there were not
+a great many fellows who longed for Sandricourt, with its vigorous,
+enforced rules and discipline.
+
+In preparation for the assignment of a section to a division, forty
+men were chosen from Sandricourt and placed under the leadership of
+a chef and sous-chef. Two men on a car and twenty cars constituted a
+section. This section, when completed, would then be sent out to one
+of the large automobile parks located somewhere along the front where
+cars were supplied. Two mechanics were assigned, as well as clerks and
+cooks. There was a French lieutenant who, with the chef, took command
+of the section when all the equipment necessary for field duty was
+supplied. When the section left to join the division it was assigned to
+whatever position that division then occupied.
+
+After arriving at its destination the first thing the section has to
+do is to establish a cantonment. This is generally an old barn or a
+demolished house eight to twelve kilometers behind the line, and it
+must be central to all the portion of the front that the division is to
+occupy. In all instances these quarters are within easy range of the
+enemy cannon, for it would be impractical, for numerous reasons, to
+have this cantonment or field base too far in the rear. The greater
+the distance the greater the time required to answer emergency calls.
+Instant service is the watchword of the ambulance man, for he can never
+tell what a few minutes’ loss or gain may mean in the saving or the
+losing of a life.
+
+Located at different intervals all along the front, just behind the
+first-line trenches, are _abris_, in charge of which there is a
+doctor. When a man is shot or otherwise injured, he is taken to one of
+these dressing stations where he receives his first treatment. If he
+is slightly wounded he is kept there until night, in the event that
+the nature of the terrain does not afford security to an ambulance in
+coming up to take him to the rear. If he is badly wounded he is put in
+a cart and wheeled to the nearest point back of the front line where
+an ambulance can approach without becoming a target for enemy guns. At
+night it is the duty of the ambulance man to advance under the cover of
+darkness up to these dressing stations, and convey all wounded men to
+the hospitals in the rear.
+
+As many cars as there are stations to be served at the front leave the
+cantonment at noon every day for twenty-four hours’ service at the
+front. The remaining cars then become an Emergency Division. All the
+clearing must be done at night. No lights are permitted on cars. This
+prevents them from becoming marks for the enemy guns.
+
+If a road is being shelled it makes passage extremely difficult for
+cars without light. Shell holes are “hell holes” to get out of, not to
+speak of the likelihood of a broken axle. It is often necessary for
+one of the men on the car to get out and walk in front of it with a
+handkerchief behind his back so the man at the wheel can find his way
+along what is left of the road, in and out between the shell holes.
+
+Many of the posts or dressing stations where first treatment is given
+are located as close up as 500 yards from the German front-line
+trenches, which is within easy range of machine guns, so that, during
+the day, it is impossible for the ambulances to approach these advanced
+posts if compelled to go over ground that might be visible to the
+enemy. But at night this can be done with comparative safety.
+
+It is an erroneous idea that the ambulance man goes into “No Man’s
+Land” to pick up the injured. There have been instances of where the
+boys have done this sort of thing, but it is not a part of their
+required work.
+
+This branch of the service is done by the brancardier, or
+stretcher-bearer. In most instances in the French Army this service
+is made up of musicians. The injured are conveyed back through the
+trenches and placed in the waiting cars, which take them to the rear.
+
+The trips to the hospital with emergency cases are sometimes very
+trying to a sensitive driver. A man on a stretcher, shot through the
+abdomen and suffering unbearable agony, shouting “_tout doucement,
+mon Dieu, tout doucement!_” (“Go slow, my God, go slow!”), while
+another man, with both hands off at the wrist, and realizing that
+only a quick trip can save his life, screams “_Viet, Conducteur,
+viet_,” meaning “Fast, driver, fast,” will tax one’s powers and
+sympathy to the limit. Another screams incoherently from sheer pain.
+It is the desire, of course, for the man at the wheel to do each man’s
+bidding, but, under such conditions, the pleadings of the unfortunate
+must be disregarded. This might seem harsh, but when one realizes that
+he is doing his very best, he becomes, after a while, hardened to the
+work and automatically carries out his orders.
+
+Each car, as it goes to the front for its twenty-four hours’ service,
+is allotted food enough for the two men, which they cook on any such
+improvised fireplace as conditions permit; but, of course, during any
+extensive operation, food and sleep are two things that one learns to
+do without.
+
+It is necessary for all forms of motor vehicles in the zone of
+the armies to be supplied with what is known as an _Ordre de
+Mouvement_, which shows just which position of the front each
+must occupy, and what towns and _Post du Succors_ each must
+serve. No one is permitted on the road without this order, and, if
+one is apprehended by a sentinel, the “order” must be produced for
+identification. It’s a case of “show me” or “skedaddle” back for the
+permit.
+
+If he sees fit, the sentinel can send the driver to the rear under
+guard. There is seldom any occasion for this procedure, because every
+man knows it is necessary to have his order and would not think of
+going up front without it.
+
+During the day, when no runs are to be made, the time is spent at the
+post, within easy calling distance in case of emergency. If one happens
+to be stationed where the Boche is shelling, the time is spent in an
+_abri_ or dug-out down underground, and, in all instances, men who
+have gone through these bombardments are very glad that such places
+exist.
+
+In the cantonment the men held in reserve are required to make minor
+repairs to their cars in order to insure their being able to depart
+for the front at a moment’s notice. Otherwise, their time is their own
+and can be spent as they like, provided it is known at the bureau where
+they can be reached in the case of an emergency.
+
+While traversing a road that is under shell fire, it is a very strict
+regulation with the French Government that no car be permitted to stop
+for any reason whatever as long as it is able to run under its own
+power. Irrespective of the fact that it might not have a tire left this
+regulation still holds good and the driver must proceed to a place of
+safety before any consideration can be given to the matter of changing
+tires or stopping for minor repairs.
+
+Whenever a road is being shelled it generally gives the men on the car
+something to think about, and only actual experience under such shell
+fire enables them to become expert in their judgment as to slowing
+down or shooting in the gas when this condition is met with. It is
+not the most pleasant of experiences to be driving along and have a
+shell break alongside of the road and cover everything with mud. But
+all conditions are met in a more or less matter-of-fact way when one
+is continually forced to accept them. Life seems a matter of fate and
+little attention is paid to bursting shells.
+
+As the cars are relieved at the front at the end of twenty-four hours’
+service, they return to the base, making calls at the different
+_Posts du Succor_ on the way back, picking up the _mallade_
+(sick), for everyone carried in ambulances is not always wounded. With
+large armies in the trenches there are a great many cases of sickness
+that must be taken back to the hospitals in the rear for treatment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+MEDICAL CARE
+
+
+When a man is wounded he receives the very best care, for experience
+has taught France that for the conservation of man power this is of
+the highest importance. No matter how slight an injury may be, it is
+mandatory that a man receive the proper medical or surgical treatment,
+for it is the small and seemingly inconsequential wounds that develop
+blood poisoning, which means the amputation of arms and legs or even
+death itself. Consequently, the moment a man is injured he must present
+himself to the doctor for examination, thereby eliminating, as far as
+possible, any chance of complications.
+
+The small percentage of infections in the army is surprising, in view
+of the conditions that exist, which are not always the very cleanest
+and best. These small wounds, to men who live in damp dug-outs, stand
+watch in wet trenches, suffer from irregularity of meals, insufficient
+rest and exposure, are all things that tend to lessen their resisting
+power and render them just that much more susceptible to the
+development of infection.
+
+During the first year of the war the frequency of infection from deep
+wounds was alarmingly high and all efforts of the medical staff to
+cut it down seemed in vain. At this time Doctor Alexis Carrel of the
+Rockefeller Institute, after consultation with some of the heads of the
+French Medical Staff, made a study of this vexing problem and with the
+backing of this wonderful institution with its ample funds, working
+without the red tape that in most instances goes hand in hand with an
+endeavor of this kind, after a surprisingly short time, developed a
+treatment known as Irrigation Intermittent Carrel. The apparatus used
+consists principally of a reservoir or container attached to the bed of
+the injured at the proper elevation to insure a flow of the fluid.
+
+Connected with this and inserted in the wound itself is a rubber tube
+by which the fluid is conducted to the field of injury. At regular,
+determined periods during the day and night the fluid is released from
+the container and allowed to flow through the wound, carrying off
+poisonous matter or arresting any infectious condition.
+
+As it was soon seen that this was the best method for handling deep
+wounds, they set out to perfect the treatment. The fluid used was very
+costly, particularly as such large quantities had to be employed in
+this intermittent irrigation, consequently there followed a great deal
+of experimenting, which, however, did result in the perfection of the
+treatment, but Dr. Carrel went farther. He and his associates compiled
+a chart or card, which recorded the age of the patient, the square
+inches or area of the wound, and such other facts as enabled them,
+through the handling of so many cases, to establish and chart lines of
+healing showing the progress of the wound from day to day in its course
+of treatment, and giving such other information as the proper time of
+closing the wound and the discontinuing of irrigation, etc.
+
+So accurate did this chart work out that it enabled them to control all
+cases by its use. Thus, in the event that a wound had not progressed
+properly in its healing by a certain day to the requirement shown on
+the chart, the deduction was that the case required special treatment
+and so it was immediately given the requisite attention. One can see
+the far-reaching effects from a military viewpoint of such a system.
+
+With these charts to govern them, the doctors at the different base
+hospitals could compute very readily just how many beds in their
+hospitals were occupied by cases of this particular kind and with
+this method of treatment estimate very closely two to three weeks in
+advance how many patients would be released and the number of beds that
+would be available for new cases at any given time.
+
+Still another forward step in military medication is in the treatment
+of burns. I saw in France a man who had been working with powder which
+in some way becoming ignited, burned one side of his face very badly.
+He was taken to the hospital and treated by the new method of spraying
+paraffin over the burn and allowing it to heal from the bottom—a
+method which eliminated all the scar tissue with the result that it was
+almost impossible to tell that he had ever been burned.
+
+We see so many cases in this country of people whose faces are covered
+with scar tissue caused by burns because they had been treated by
+such methods as allowed the air to get at the field of injury,
+causing a scar tissue to form, which nothing will ever remove. But
+by healing from the bottom and developing toward the surface the
+natural functioning of the healthy tissue leaves the exterior
+appearance practically without a blemish. This in itself is a wonderful
+development. For if a person is burned and treatment is necessary,
+there is some consolation in knowing that he will not be forced to
+go through life with hideous scar tissue marrying his
+appearance for the want of proper treatment. In addition to the “M.
+D.,” there is, in each division, the Dental Corps.
+
+[Illustration: German Sacrilege—Christ’s Figure Decapitated]
+
+[Illustration: Ruins of the Church Containing the Figures]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+A LESSON I LEARNED
+
+
+Shortly after leaving for the front there came an order that our
+section was to be inspected by one of the captains from one of the
+large auto parks at the front. This meant that the general cleaning day
+was at hand. Naturally, we all started brushing and polishing motors
+and revolving parts to make as good a showing as possible.
+
+When we were given our cars we were allotted certain equipment in
+tools, extra tires, etc., all of which we had to inventory and sign
+for, as each driver was held responsible for the equipment that was
+distributed. I noticed, while taking stock of what was on our car, a
+little paint brush that looked as if it had the “mange,” but I listed
+one brush and threw it into the tool chest and soon forgot that I had
+ever seen it.
+
+This particular day the happy thought came to me that with the
+assistance of some petrol (kerosene) and my little mangy brush I would
+be able to get at some parts of my car that I could not clean or reach
+by hand. After a few minutes’ search the brush was found and I began
+work. I had not gone very far when I noticed that the few straggly
+brisks that were in the brush when I commenced had disappeared and that
+nothing remained but the handle.
+
+In true American fashion, without any thought, I tossed the handle into
+a rubbish heap and dismissed it from my mind. The boys on the next car
+to me were using a brush in the same manner as I employed mine and were
+getting good results. I said to one of them:
+
+“Have you got another brush?” to which I received a negative answer,
+but one of the boys said: “I saw some little brushes in the Bureau”
+(office). As it was close at hand I walked over and asked one of the
+sergeants on duty for a brush. He asked: “Is there not a brush on your
+car?” I told him that there had been about a quarter of a brush, but
+that when I used it all the brisks had come out of the handle. He then
+demanded the handle.
+
+“Oh! I threw that away,” I replied.
+
+“Well, I’m sorry but you will have to get along without a brush,” said
+he brusquely.
+
+There before me lay a small bundle of brushes; mine was worn out, no
+good for further use to anyone, and discarded, yet I could not have a
+brush. I pressed my point a little farther in a most persuasive style,
+but met with not the slightest encouragement, and I soon saw the reason
+for the refusal.
+
+When a new brush is issued the old one must be turned in. There is
+no trouble in getting new equipment, if needed, but the old must be
+exchanged for the new, even though it were just the handle of a brush.
+Any part of returned equipment that can be used saves just that much
+in the making over of the article. This is the thrift of the thrifty
+French. What American would ever do otherwise than I did? When a thing
+wears out with us it is discarded—but not with them.
+
+Well, I set out at once for the rubbish pile to reclaim the handle that
+I might get a new brush. It so happened that at the time I discarded
+the handle another of our sergeants, standing close by, after I left
+for the Bureau, walked over, picked it up, and put it under the
+cushion on my car. Of course, when I returned the handle was gone. We
+looked high and low but in vain. We finished cleaning our car minus a
+brush. But a day or so later I happened to look under the cushion for
+something and there was the handle. I returned it to the Bureau and the
+sergeant who had picked it up was on duty.
+
+“Well,” said he, “I thought you would be around for a new brush, and
+to get it you would have to turn in the old handle, so I picked it up
+after you left and put it back on the car.”
+
+This was my lesson. Learned early, I never threw anything away after
+that. This regulation held good on everything,—tires, tubes and all.
+If you lost a spare tire enroute, it was your funeral when you needed
+it for a change. Without some part of the old one, you could not
+obtain a new one. It was amusing, in a sense, to note the effect this
+regulation produced when, for example, we would change an inner tube
+on the road. Before we would think of starting again, we would check
+up all the lugs, valves, nuts and caps, for we knew full well we would
+get no new inner tube for the old one unless we turned in all the parts
+when we desired an exchange.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A VISIT TO PARIS
+
+
+To one who visited Paris before the war, Paris of to-day presents a
+strikingly different aspect—and why shouldn’t it? When we stop to
+think that there is hardly a family which has not been deprived of
+some member in the terrible toll of death. The courage of the women
+has been marvelous through it all. To some it has meant the loss of
+a husband and to others, sons, while to countless it has meant both,
+and yet, with this sorrow to bear, they are ever ready to make further
+sacrifices in order that the outcome might be as the dear ones they
+have lost would have had it. Is it any wonder there is sadness in their
+faces? And such a calm sadness it is, too. No hysteria whatsoever,
+never a demonstration, but the look on their faces portrays very
+vividly what is in their hearts. Even the children, who are too small
+to appreciate what their loss has been, absorb from their mothers this
+characteristic composure that is appalling.
+
+In little villages still within reach of the big German guns, one grows
+familiar with the night bombing raids of the Huns. They know that the
+bombs are for the women and children that are left, and at any moment
+may come the knock on the door, the gathering of what few earthly
+belongings they have, and escape into the night before an attack.
+
+I have never seen children like these before, and I never want to
+see any again. Some little tots seven and eight years of age truly
+look like old men and women. They reminded me of the little men of
+the mountains in the story of Rip Van Winkle. They never smile, but
+wear the same emotionless expression at all times. Games seem to be
+unknown to them as they sit around on the doorsteps of their homes
+(where there are homes), and sad is their lot if anything happens to
+their mothers, for no one else in the community has anything for them.
+Everyone has his own to look out for, and it’s hard enough to do that.
+This is why there are so many urchins following the armies. There is no
+one to provide for them. They have to shift for themselves.
+
+The Mont Martre, the artists’ quarters, are familiar to all for the
+frivolity which has always characterized this section of Paris. It now
+bears a close resemblance to a graveyard and it would be very hard for
+anyone to imagine that La Vie Boheme (the life bohemian) ever existed
+here.
+
+The Boulevard Exterior, which before the war was a blaze of white
+lights that seemed to come to life about the time Paris was retiring,
+has taken on the appearance of a main street in one of our country
+towns at 2 a. m. Such places as the Moulin Rouge (Red Mill), Rat-Mort
+(Dead Rat), have long since ceased to operate as centers of life.
+Other familiar places to people who knew Paris before the war and
+had a world-wide reputation are the Latin Quarters and all along the
+Boulevard St. Michel, where the students held forth and where one could
+find almost any form of excitement, all have passed into oblivion like
+a dream. The boys are all with the colors and thousands of them had
+already paid the price.
+
+Paris is very sad. The mailed fist has fallen and left its mark
+everywhere.
+
+To-day the theaters are still running; such places as the Follies
+Bergere, Olympia, Café Ambassadeurs have their evening performances,
+but it is more for the diversion of the men on leave from the front
+than for any other reason. Long will these performances be remembered
+by the men gathered there nights to throw off the thoughts of war. I
+have seen almost every uniform of the Allied armies at these places
+in an evening, the men fraternizing, and absorbing what gaiety there
+was, trying to forget what they had left behind at the front, enjoying
+their leisure as best they could.
+
+But the show is over each night at eleven and once outside the doors
+in the dark streets of cold, sad Paris you find no place to go. With
+dancing unheard of and all cafés closed at that hour, Paris has locked
+itself within doors to brood quietly over the happiness that seems
+forever lost.
+
+Never fear that the French will forget America after this war,—no more
+than America has forgotten the French. I was in Paris on that memorable
+Fourth day of July, 1917, when the first contingent of American Oversea
+forces marched through the city to the music of great military bands,
+which played the martial airs of both France and America. The whole
+population was mad with joy. Persons of all ages, from tiny children to
+men and women old and bent, singing and shouting, surged back and forth.
+
+Every nook and corner along the line of march was occupied. Balconies,
+windows, and even roofs were filled to capacity, and the words, “The
+Americans have come to help us,” were shouted over and over again. Boys
+and girls, carrying small American flags, waved them continuously,
+while their elders looked on through tears of appreciation.
+
+The procession under way, women along the line of march showered
+our boys with roses, and almost immediately a long-stemmed American
+Beauty rose protruded from the muzzle of every Springfield rifle in
+the parade. Some of the men had wreaths around their necks, flowers on
+their broad-brimmed hats and in their belts, while they fairly marched
+upon a bed of roses. No words can express the full significance of this
+parade as it affected the hearts and minds of the war-stricken people
+along the line of march. It will go down in history as the feature of a
+glorious day for two glorious nations.
+
+Here was to be seen the real test of friendship, the concrete proof
+that the greatest of Republics had finally cast its lot with those
+who had helped to make that Republic possible. The whole affair was
+wonderfully inspiring, and the blood rushed through my veins in burning
+gratitude, for those boys marching out there were our boys and I was an
+American like them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+“THE FRONT”
+
+
+The average person in this country has a different idea of what the
+term “Front” means to those who have been “Over there.” “The Front”
+from this point of view consists of a series of long trenches, filled
+with infantry, and their personal equipment, such as barbed-wire, for
+they know that exists, and back of the trenches some cannon; but little
+does the layman know about the component parts necessary to make up
+a “front” and all the branches of service that are utilized, each an
+individual cog in an efficient fighting machine. I shall enumerate some
+of the departments that are not only necessary but vitally essential.
+
+In addition to the countless thousands who labor in the mills,
+factories, foundries and machine shops, there must be supply depots,
+where all this equipment goes for storage when it is completed.
+These are not unlike our warehouses. From the warehouses, supplies
+are requisitioned for the different portions or sectors of the front
+where they may be needed. There are what we might term sub-warehouse
+stations, generally located back of the front near a railroad siding,
+where supplies remain until needed by the army. Here a great number
+of men are required for the clerical work, stock-keeping, loading and
+unloading. After this the material and equipment must be delivered
+to different parts of the battle front. This constitutes another big
+branch of service in which countless auto trucks and men are used,
+known in the French Army as the Camion Service, and most of the success
+of an army in either offensive or defensive operations depends largely
+on this organization and its ability to “deliver the goods.”
+
+Then there are the supply departments for food; for the army has to
+have meals regularly. It is difficult to realize what it means in the
+way of supplies to feed an army. Each section of the front has its base
+of supplies from which the transportation department obtains them.
+This is where the meat is prepared and weighed out to the different
+departments of the army.
+
+Other supplies in food stuff are measured out the same way. After this
+is done, the supplies are transported to the front, or near the front,
+where the field kitchens are located. Here it is again apportioned and
+distributed, for the cooks have just so much with which to feed so
+many. The cooking and serving requires still more men.
+
+Next comes the bakery department. The raw materials are delivered to
+the bakery and the finished product taken away. One can appreciate
+the size of some of these army bakeries when you know that their
+capacity is 180,000 loaves of bread a day. This was the capacity of
+the one from which our bread came, which I visited. When you consider
+the output of such a bakery you realize that a great number of men
+are necessary who don’t fire a shot and yet are a vital factor in a
+military organization.
+
+The telegraphic and telephone departments constitute still another
+important element in the system. They employ a great many men, who are
+continually putting up new equipment and repairing the old, for the
+lines of communication must be ready at any instant, as they control
+the movements of the troops and the fire of the artillery.
+
+Then there are the Dressing Stations with their corps, who attend
+the injured; the brancardiers (stretcher-bearers) and, somewhat
+removed from the first lines are the _Post du Succors_, with
+their attendants and doctors. Still farther to the rear are the base
+hospitals, and after that the Army hospitals, each with its corp of
+doctors, nurses and attendants, to say nothing of the ambulances,
+drivers, laboratories and attendants.
+
+[Illustration: A “Load-up and Getaway”—Wounded for the Hospital]
+
+There are the auto parks along different sections of the front, where
+there are hundreds of mechanics busy on cars of every description
+undergoing repairs of all sorts, for without these what would become of
+the camion service when new parts were needed for the auto truck? What
+would become of the supplies that they convey, and what of the army
+that needed the supplies?
+
+Think of the number of men necessary for the ground work only around
+the hangars to serve, say, 3,000 planes (between 30 and 40 thousand
+men). What a part, for instance, of our soldiers concentrated at
+the Mexican border two years ago would be used up for just this one
+seemingly small branch of the army of to-day.
+
+There are other departments, such as Observation, Dispatch Riders,
+Blacksmiths, Mechanical, Camouflage, Road Gangs, Clerical Forces for
+each division, Horseshoers, Artillery Supply Caissons, which must be
+utilized; for many times guns are located off the roads and the auto
+trucks cannot get through the fields and mud, and so the caissons have
+to be used, as they are horse-drawn.
+
+Last but not least is the very large and important department—that
+of the engineers who make and repair the bridges, railroads, gun
+placements, roadways, and new buildings.
+
+All are most necessary for the success of the army for each has just as
+an important part as the other, and without the thousand upon thousand
+of non-combatant men behind the lines the ones at the front would count
+for naught.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+MASSING BEFORE VERDUN
+
+
+In the month of February, 1916, the German Army initiated a drive
+against the fortress city of Verdun, which in time developed into the
+greatest battle that the world has ever known. The Crown Prince was
+given command of the huge forces concentrated here, and offered the
+opportunity to vindicate himself in the eyes of the people, after
+having signally failed to occupy Paris eighteen months before.
+
+Men, guns, equipment, and every possible aid were at his disposal and
+service, with which to make victory certain. The cost in men killed was
+not to be considered. Vindication after his tremendous blunders was
+a paramount necessity, and to be purchased at any cost. This policy
+became manifest at the very outset by the way he hurled great masses of
+men forward to certain death. It is all now a matter of history.
+
+It has been held by many reliable military authorities that this battle
+was the turning point of the war, for, with everything in his favor,
+the Crown Prince had been unable to win. In the first days of the
+attack on Verdun the success of the Germans was very marked. The reason
+for this partial success is no secret now—France was not prepared.
+Regarding the condition of affairs at Verdun on the day of the attack,
+I have most reliable information from two officers of high rank in the
+French Army.
+
+The Germans had been massing supplies and men before this city for
+weeks, in systematic preparation for the attack. They had artillery and
+shells in plenty. It was not for some time after this concentration had
+been under way that it attracted the attention of the French—so busy
+were they on other fronts adjusting the army as a whole to prevailing
+conditions. When it was discovered that there was undue enemy
+concentration in front of Verdun, steps were at once taken to combat
+it, but it was too late for extensive preparations.
+
+That is why Verdun, supposedly the most formidable fortress in France,
+was gutted and its brave defenders forced back. They were unprepared
+for the onslaughts and masses of a trained and brutal foe. Under the
+conditions it is not surprising that the German Army made such great
+progress.
+
+One of my informants, who is a thoroughly capable military authority,
+told me just in a few words how he viewed the situation at the time and
+how most French officers felt when the German attack was in full swing.
+It was impossible for the French to take the offensive. In the wake of
+their superior artillery fire, vast waves of German infantry came on.
+They arrived in droves and congregated in swarms. As far as could be
+seen in front of the French position the ground was covered with men
+in German uniforms.
+
+They came so fast and so thick it was impossible for the French to kill
+them all, though the slaughter was terrible. Yet on they came, and so
+it was that the French retirement began. Even during the retreat, the
+rear guard continued raking the German masses with machine guns and
+tearing holes in the lines of the oncoming infantry. The French fell
+back to safer ground. These tactics continued throughout the first day,
+the defenders in each instance holding out just as long as it was safe,
+but always having to give ground.
+
+Late in the afternoon my informant, who had been from one point to
+another along the line, reached the town of Verdun itself. There he
+received orders from the General Staff to take all money from the bank
+and proceed with it to Bar Le Duc, far away in the rear. This order, so
+he told me, confirmed his expectations as to what was about to happen.
+Apparently the city was doomed. The Germans were fast closing in on
+the city and defeat was in the air. The injured were pouring in so fast
+it was impossible to attend them or give them quarters. They were laid
+out in cellars, barns, wherever room could be found, until they could
+get attention and be carried to the rear.
+
+In leaving town after obtaining the money the officer started to the
+rear on the main road, but the oncoming traffic was so heavy that
+the road had to be abandoned. Camions, artillery, trucks, wagons and
+men filled the road—all bound for Verdun. As they went by he said
+to himself, “They have come too late.” Unending was this stream of
+supplies, and the order was that nothing was to stop them. If a motor
+refused to run, camion and all were toppled over into the roadside
+ditch and the procession continued uninterrupted. After a few days
+of this unending stream, ever moving up, the ditches on either side
+were filled for miles with every sort of conveyance and all kinds of
+supplies.
+
+Arriving at Bar Le Duc that night he delivered the money and securities
+safely. At dawn orders came to return to Verdun. He and his companion
+officer were more than surprised, for it seemed impossible that the
+city had not fallen, and even then he felt that it would be only a
+question of time and long before they could arrive. But they started
+back as ordered. As they proceeded they expected momentarily to be
+stopped by word that Verdun had fallen—but that word never came.
+
+Much to their joy, upon arriving, they learned that the French
+had delivered a terrific counter attack and that great numbers of
+reinforcements had arrived and had been hurled against the enemy. For
+the immediate present they were holding their own against the Boche.
+Prospects brightened. News came that further reinforcements would
+arrive before night, with supplies in plenty. Things began to look more
+“rosey.” The Germans had captured one position after another, but after
+being checked for a moment the necessary breathing spell was afforded
+to the French.
+
+Although the enemy did continue to hammer away there came a time after
+a while when conditions became equalized between the offense and
+defense. The French forced the Boche to settle down into siege warfare.
+If Verdun was to be taken at all it would have to be by a siege and not
+by storm. Thus did the French wrest victory from defeat, for as each
+day went by without Verdun falling one more dagger was driven into the
+heart of the German campaign.
+
+Each day the French held on brought renewed vigor and determination
+to hold on forever. Every known trick was applied to the situation
+by the enemy. The “nibbling” process netted the Germans a gain here
+and there but always the French exacted heavy toll for such advances.
+Under ordinary conditions the Germans would have given up the Verdun
+job as hopeless, but it is not an ordinary thing to vindicate a Crown
+Prince. The House of Hohenzollern cared not how many men were sent to
+unnecessary death so long as absolute defeat could be obviated.
+
+The great siege of Verdun was well upon its second year when I struck
+French soil, and it was on its scarred front that my work began, and
+where I saw my first battle. It was one of the battles that completed
+the final rolling back that I shall describe, and it was the most
+spectacular event I ever hope to see. The action was on the front
+between Ft. Vaux and Ft. Douaumont, which no doubt all are familiar
+with, on account of the terrific fighting that has never ceased along
+these particular points. Both sides captured and recaptured each
+other’s positions many times, as has been told in detail by the press
+from the viewpoint of many special writers.
+
+When I arrived at Verdun I was immediately ordered up to Flurey. The
+only thing left to mark the remains of this town was a bell tower,
+which had been tumbled over, but some fifteen feet of it still stood
+above the ground. The bell had tumbled into the debris. We were
+quartered in an _abri_ about twenty feet underground. I was at
+once attracted by the unusual _aerial_ activity, there being a
+large number of French and German planes in the air most of the time.
+These I watched with great interest, particularly one Frenchman who was
+jockeying for a position of advantage, from which to attack a two-man
+Boche plane. Finally he dove for it, but missed. At this instant a
+fighting plane came to the aid of the Boches, but the Frenchman, by
+clever manipulation, looped the loop, and soon was on the tail of the
+newcomer. With his machine gun he soon got in the shot that sent the
+Boche plane tumbling to earth.
+
+Then began a battle royal with the two-man machine. The French plane
+was smaller and a great deal faster. It could dodge up and down and
+sideways so quickly that it avoided the machine-gun fire of the big
+flyer. Discouraged, the two-man machine turned tail for home; the
+Frenchman followed. The Germans dived toward their own lines, but a
+well-directed shot hit their gas tank, and to earth they went in a
+cloud of flame and smoke.
+
+The victory was complete for the moment, but disaster came quickly on
+its heels, for when the French plane was almost back in our lines,
+there came swooping down from a cloud another Boche. My heart fluttered
+at the sight, for it was plain that the Frenchman was unaware of the
+new danger. He had slowed up and was leisurely picking his way home.
+There was no way to warn him of his danger. At the last second he must
+have discovered his plight for he seemed to turn, but it was too late.
+The German gun was singing and the next instant saw this brilliant
+aviator tumbling earthward. I shut my eyes and gasped for breath.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE SIEGE OF VERDUN
+
+
+It was now six p.m. and, although the German shells had been coming in
+at regular intervals all day, they increased the intensity of their
+fire now and things were pretty hot, for they were putting lots of big
+ones over. We felt quite secure in our _abri_, and after an hour
+the bombardment ceased.
+
+That night we got little sleep, for the French preparatory fire, in
+view of the big offensive planned for the next day, had increased to
+such violence it sounded like Hell let loose and running wild.
+
+We were up at three a.m., ready to start at break of day. If possible,
+the French fire seemed to increase each moment. So fast were the
+big guns discharging their deadly missiles that it was impossible to
+distinguish one report from another. It was one vast rumble. However,
+we did not get away, as word came that the Boches were putting over gas
+along the road on which we were to travel, and so orders came for us to
+wait. That gave us time to get a good meal tucked away. It is always
+good judgment to eat when one has an opportunity, for the chances are
+that during an attack the rarest thing that one will experience is an
+opportunity to eat.
+
+It was nearly eight o’clock before we got under way. The road over
+which we were going was controlled by Boche batteries back of Pepper
+Hill, and even now we were noticing the shells landing in the roadside
+ahead and behind us. Camions, dead horses and soup kitchens were in
+evidence, toppled over into the ditches, but we were not hampered and
+kept right on going.
+
+In a few minutes we were stopped by a French sentry and warned not to
+try to go ahead as the Boches were shelling the road in advance quite
+heavily. We could hear the shells breaking about half a kilometer
+further on, so we pulled up and stopped here for about thirty minutes.
+There seemed to be a lull at the end of this time, when we again
+started forward, but had not proceeded very far when we came to an
+artillery caisson turned over in a ditch and three horses lying dead in
+the road. Two of the men attached to the caisson had been killed by the
+same shell and were lying at the roadside, partly covered with canvas.
+
+We were held up here for a couple of moments until the Frenchmen pulled
+the last horse that blocked the road out of the way. Five minutes more
+travel brought us to a sharp turn in the road, but just before we
+reached it a shell exploded near us with a sound that convulsed us. A
+quick application of the brakes was necessary, for we found that the
+shell had landed in the road just in front of a camion. The three men
+who were on the camion heard it coming and jumped to safety, but the
+explosion had torn their motor and the front of their car into bits.
+
+It so happened that this truck occupied the very middle of the road
+and it was impossible for us to pass on either side of it. Bang! a
+shell broke at this moment on the hillside about one hundred feet away.
+Hasty examination and inquiry soon convinced us that we would be held
+up here for some time. It appeared like a most uncomfortable place to
+be stuck in, and the developments of the next few moments justified
+the impression. Bang! Bang! two shells exploded one on one side of the
+road and the other just ahead. We decided to turn our car around and
+get away from this spot until the damaged truck was removed. This was
+finally accomplished, but no sooner had we turned than the shells began
+bursting in and around the road in the direction we were traveling.
+
+A Frenchman at this moment pointed out the location of an _abri_
+by the roadside where we were and into which we could crawl until
+the shelling stopped. Ahead of us some two hundred feet the road passed
+through a sort of a cut, where the banks came up on both sides high
+enough partially to protect the car from being damaged, except by a
+direct hit.
+
+[Illustration: The Bivouac of the Dead]
+
+[Illustration: Where the Souls of Men Are Calling]
+
+The _abri_ was a very welcome place and as long as we had started
+for it we lost no time in getting there. We had hardly descended
+the stairs when two Frenchmen came down supporting a third between
+them. I recognized him as one of the men who had been on the camion.
+His trousers were red and the blood was trickling to the floor. His
+clothing was removed at once and a gaping wound was found in his
+stomach. He screamed with agony.
+
+A doctor, who was present, stepped forward at this moment to examine
+the man, but quickly shook his head. We knew that meant the wounded
+soldier did not have a chance. At this instant a shell landed about
+twenty feet from the entrance to our retreat, and the vibration was
+so violent that it almost shook our teeth out. A great deal of loose
+dirt between the beams above our heads fell—some of it into the gaping
+wound of the unfortunate man lying on the floor. I was horrified and
+called the doctor’s attention to the matter, but he said that it was of
+no consequence; the man was doomed.
+
+Naturally I began to feel very nervous, for the place in which we were
+quartered did not impress me as any too safe, being only about fifteen
+feet below the surface, and should a shell land on it I felt that we
+would stay there a long, long time.
+
+And the shells did come, one after another. It appeared that they were
+shooting at the dug-out instead of the road now. The place fairly
+trembled. The doctor fell to his knees and started praying a sort of
+chant—“My God, my God. I have always tried to serve thee well,” etc.
+I must confess that I was not enjoying myself any too well, for I
+remember having picked up an old newspaper which I tried to read, but
+merely turned the pages over and over and whistled nervously, wondering
+where the next one would land.
+
+The doctor turned sharply and addressed me. “You fool, have you
+no reverence, to whistle while a man is praying?” He upbraided me
+severely. Such experiences, together with the agonized cries from
+wounded men screaming with pain, were not pleasant. I expected
+momentarily to see the nose of a Boche 105 come poking through the roof
+and bury us like rats, but Dame Fortune smiled with favor upon us, for
+the expected never came. But the cries of the man who had been so badly
+wounded had now ceased. He had passed away.
+
+After the bombardment lifted we ventured forth, expecting the worst.
+But there was our car, untouched, just where we had left it. A few
+moments’ work by some Frenchmen got the auto truck off to the side
+of the road far enough to enable us to pass. I do not ever remember
+experiencing such profound relief at leaving a place as I was to get
+away from this bend of the road.
+
+Soon we came to where the French cannon were putting over the usual
+preparatory fire before the attack. We parked our car in a sort of a
+gravel pit, which afforded good protection. By this time we had passed
+several large Howitzer batteries, also some large Marine pieces, and
+when these guns would fire we could hear their big shells go screaming
+over our heads on their way to the front. One cannot help wondering how
+any living thing could exist within the confines of such an inferno.
+
+After about ten minutes we came up before a field telegraphic
+headquarters, and adjoining was the telephone exchange for this
+sector of the front. Needless to say, this was a busy place. Here all
+impending movements shaped themselves, and communications from the
+General Staff were relayed to the army both by wire and ’phone. All the
+big guns throwing shells over our heads were controlled by this bureau.
+
+A captain informed us that an attack was to be launched at twelve
+noon sharp. During the time that we were here I noticed undue aerial
+activity on the part of the Germans, for there were some twelve or
+fifteen of their machines in the air over the French lines, and at the
+same time I noticed six observation balloons floating behind their
+lines with lookouts alert. It impressed me as rather irregular that the
+French had not sent up machines to drive the Boche planes back over
+their own lines in such times as these, for it was now ten-thirty,
+and, with an attack coming off at noon, they might gather a lot of
+information regarding the concentrations of the French and take steps
+to counter the move.
+
+Almost at the moment that these thoughts were running through my
+mind the captain was called to the telephone, and after a short time
+returned with the information that the call was an order for the French
+aviators to proceed against the German observation balloons, regardless
+of cost, and to destroy them. I asked if they were going after the
+planes, too, to which he replied:
+
+“No—they are instructed to pay no attention to the aeroplanes until
+they have completed the destruction of the observation balloons. The
+planes are to be left entirely to our anti-aircraft batteries.”
+
+Turning toward the rear, I noticed the result of the orders just
+issued, for one after another of the French planes ascended, until
+I had counted nineteen. All started to maneuver for positions of
+advantage. The battle-planes ascended to elevations where they
+could protect the planes that were going after the balloons. Over
+to the right of our position, within two minutes of each other, the
+anti-aircraft batteries scored direct hits, and brought two Boche
+planes tumbling to earth, while overhead a German attacked a French
+plane and forced it to descend behind our lines.
+
+Time was drawing closer now when we must go forward to take up the
+position we would occupy during the attack. Already the French fire
+was deafening, mingled with the terrible roar of German shells. In
+about twenty minutes we gained the summit of an elevation from which we
+could see the German trenches that were to be attacked, about twelve
+hundred yards in front of us, but considerably lower, excepting one
+slope on the left, where there was a steep incline leading to the top
+of a small hill, on which was located the second line defense of the
+Germans, the first being at the bottom.
+
+We could see very plainly the effect of the French fire, for there
+were shells of all sizes breaking over the German positions—a mass
+of shrapnel explosives. With the aid of powerful glasses I could
+distinguish that while there was some barbed wire standing before the
+German trenches the accuracy of the French artillery had resulted in
+reducing it so much that there would be easy access for the infantry.
+
+At eleven-forty-five exactly there was not a German observation balloon
+in the sky. French aviators were now free to engage the Boche planes.
+In the next few moments two German machines were brought to earth and
+with them one French plane in combat. Immediately thereafter a German
+machine fell in flames, brought down by the aircraft batteries. I could
+not help but think how wonderfully accurate the calculations of the
+Headquarters Staff had been in planning the aerial operations.
+
+Located in pits on the hill on which I stood were the French 75’s,
+about forty pieces all told, that had been placed there the night
+before. Not a single shot had been fired from them. Afterwards I
+learned more in detail the part these guns were to play and the reason
+for their temporary inactivity.
+
+At twelve sharp, as if by magic, out of the ground arose wave upon wave
+of French infantry. So spectacular, and so inspiring, was the sight
+that we stood motionless, our eyes fixed upon the advancing lines of
+blue. For several minutes I did not see a man fall. This was due to
+the fact that the Germans were still in their dug-outs on account of
+the intensity of the French preparatory fire, still falling on their
+position.
+
+This did not last long, however. The curtain fire raised quickly and we
+could observe the shells breaking in the rear of the German front-line
+trenches, instead of on them, as they had been a moment before. The
+same instant German machine-gun fire opened, and, just as the French
+reached the wire in front of the enemy position, I could see blue
+figures falling all along the front, and while the buzz of the machine
+guns was inaudible, due to the terrible din of the cannon, I knew by
+the way the men dropped that the machine guns were doing the mischief.
+
+Notwithstanding the slaughter, more men jumped into the gaps and on
+they swept. They had now reached the parapet of the German front-line
+trench and we could see them fighting with grenades and hand to hand. A
+short while thereafter the supporting columns of the French surged on
+over the first line in an attack upon the secondary defense. Supporting
+columns still filed out of the French trenches below. How so many could
+come from that source was enough to mystify one, but here they were
+before our eyes, streaming forward in surging waves. I noticed now that
+the French fire had again been lifted and was being thrown even farther
+to the rear than heretofore.
+
+The shells, as we now observed them, broke in a clearing that seemed
+about five hundred yards wide, back of the secondary defense of the
+Germans. It was on this stretch of ground that all the French artillery
+on our hill was trained, but as yet not a shell had been fired from
+them. We could see very clearly that the first line had been captured,
+for even now the French had started back with groups of prisoners taken
+from it. We could discern quite clearly at times that they were making
+good progress against the secondary defense, although the smoke and
+bursting shells in the area between were very heavy and obscured the
+view. I glanced toward my left and saw caissons going up on the run
+with cartridges and hand grenades to repel the counter attack.
+
+The Germans must have anticipated this move, for they put over
+a terrific fire on the road over which these supplies had to be
+transported. Just about this time word came back that all objectives
+had been captured and consolidation started. Instantaneously another
+rush of caissons went forward with additional supplies, and every gun
+behind us seemed to be throwing a barrage fire back of the positions
+captured. There was no lull. The French infantry had captured all that
+they had started out for,—in fact, all that there was.
+
+An under officer of the battery beside me exclaimed, “Hurrah!” and I
+turned my head in the direction in which he was looking, to see three
+regiments of “Blue Devils” charging with bayonets fixed up the steep
+slope that had until now defied all thrusts. The casualties seemed to
+be remarkably few for such an exposed position, and before we could
+realize what had happened the French had gained the crest, and, in the
+next few moments, had thrown the Boches off the hill.
+
+Orders were now given for every man to take his position. At first I
+could not understand why these orders caused such activity among the
+batteries that, up to now, had shown no signs of being in the fight
+at all—but I was soon to learn. Everyone seemed breathless with
+impatience, but stood cool and rigid. Finally I heard a shout, “Here
+they come!”
+
+I shall never be able adequately to describe the sight. Masses of
+Boches surge forward in counter attack; closer and closer they drew
+toward the French positions until there was an earth-rending crash and
+forty sheets of flame burst from the mouths of the cannon beside me.
+
+I was too stupefied to realize what had taken place for the moment, but
+soon regained control of myself. The guns never stopped a second. Each
+piece was throwing shrapnel at the rate of twenty-two to twenty-five
+shots a minute into the oncoming ranks. We could observe quite
+clearly the shells landing among them and over them, and with each
+explosion could see gaps torn in their lines and men mowed down like
+so many weeds. Finally they faltered, and the next instant fell back
+in disorder to the positions they had left. The ground was literally
+strewn with their dead when the cannon ceased.
+
+It was not long that we enjoyed this lull for the German batteries
+started shelling our positions furiously. Hitherto we had not come in
+for much attention, a shell every now and then was our lot, but now
+their fire was directed straight at us, and from what we received I
+imagined that every gun made in Germany was trained on this hill.
+
+Five French guns were completely destroyed, while eight more had to
+re-locate positions so that they would not be wiped out. Shells of all
+sizes broke around us, but after a few minutes the shelling subsided.
+
+Notice was now transmitted along the position that the Boches were
+forming for a second counter attack. Everyone was again in place and in
+a couple of moments again I heard, “Here they come!” And they did come,
+and also with them came a renewal of shell-fire on our position, when
+two more guns were hit. But they were paying a terrible toll for their
+advance, for their ranks were torn to bits by the French machine guns.
+
+Nor did this stop them—they came on and on until they gained the
+parapet of the French position, and here fought hand-to-hand for it.
+But the defenders were the most tenacious. They refused to budge an
+inch, until, due to superior numbers, they had to give ground. But the
+Headquarters Staff had been watching for these very conditions, so,
+like a flash, two attacks were started simultaneously from the right
+and left, and before the Germans knew what had happened both bodies of
+the French converged in their rear, and all Germans not killed were
+taken prisoners.
+
+It is difficult to analyze and describe one’s feelings in going through
+such an attack, and what surprised me most, after it was all over, was
+the way in which I had lost all consciousness of what was taking place
+right around me, so intense was my desire to see everything that was
+transpiring out in front of our position. Even when the shells were
+coming in close, and particularly during the time when the batteries
+beside me were being shelled, and even hit, I do not remember paying
+much attention to what might happen to me, for I felt that all was in
+the hands of fate.
+
+On our way to the rear we came across batches of prisoners. There
+appeared to be two distinct classes of soldiers, the first not one
+of whom seemed to be over twenty, while some here were mere boys
+and wore looks of terror and dread. I saw one youngster, surely not
+over seventeen, with his hand tied up, evidently wounded, the tears
+streaming down his cheeks. I was informed later that these boys were
+told by their officers that in the event of their being captured they
+would be tortured, and all manner of things would be done to them by
+the French. From their expressions one could see that they believed
+this to be a fact.
+
+The other class consisted of men who appeared to be over forty years
+of age. Some of them had beards in which gray hairs were largely in
+evidence. All of them looked very poor and the rations that they had
+been given surely did not nourish them to any marked degree. The class
+that was lacking was the strapping young fellow of twenty-two to
+twenty-eight, the connecting link between mere boys and middle-aged men.
+
+After all these came the wounded. Brancardiers and soldiers were now
+assisting at the dressing stations. All kinds and shapes of humanity
+lay in rows, one after another, awaiting the attention of the doctors
+who pass along the line examining and administering to those who have a
+chance for life. To one who is not used to such sights it would appear
+that the doctors are a hard-hearted lot, as they make their rounds,
+passing by those who have no chance. But here one must realize that
+the time and attention that a vitally injured man requires, should he
+have died on the way to the hospital, might have been the means of
+saving the life of the one who had a chance. Never shall I forget the
+expression on the faces of men when the doctors passed on to the next.
+They realized that it was only a question of moments before they made
+their supreme sacrifice. What must that feeling be? Of course, there
+are some that lose control of themselves because of intense pain from
+wounds, but on the whole the patience of these unfortunates is most
+remarkable.
+
+[Illustration: The Wagon of Mercy Loading Up]
+
+After a heavy action all such men as can possibly get to the rear by
+themselves, or with the assistance of comrades, are forced to make the
+struggle, for the ambulance is taxed to its utmost in bringing back
+those who are unable to help themselves.
+
+After the lull came, with the French holding all of their gains,
+I had the opportunity of going over the whole area of the Verdun
+battlefield, and the only expression that I can use to fit the scene
+is that it was a mess. Where, before the attack, there were beautiful
+trees, nothing now remained. It was impossible to tell or distinguish
+one shell hole from another, so raked and torn was the ground, now
+turned into chalk dust. First a shell lands here and throws the ground
+one way, then a shell lands there and throws it back—a continual
+churning process—and when the heavy rains come it turns it all into a
+quagmire of so much mud. There have been any number of instances where
+French soldiers had gotten into such places and gradually sunk almost
+out of sight before their comrades came to their rescue. In some cases
+they were too late to pull the victims out without pulling their arms
+from their sockets. All that could be done under such circumstances was
+to shake hands with the unfortunate—before he was swallowed up and
+sank from view in the lake of mud.
+
+This has happened to horses and even to the light field batteries. It
+is impossible for one who has not witnessed these scenes to have even a
+vague conception of such conditions.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Following is an interesting letter portraying an action at Verdun:—
+
+                                                          Verdun, ——
+
+  To-night I am sitting in the small underground cellar of one of
+  the public buildings of the town, acting as a sort of timekeeper
+  or starter for the cars going up to our most dangerous post, and
+  handling the reserve cars for the wounded in the town itself. I wish
+  I could describe the scene as I see it,—for a strange world is
+  passing before me—Frenchmen, living, wounded and dying.
+
+  A long, heavily arched corridor, with stone steps leading down to
+  it; two compartments off to one side lined with wine bins, where
+  our reserve men and a few French brancardiers (stretcher-bearers)
+  are lying on their stained stretchers, some snoring; beyond, a door
+  that leads to a small operating room, and to the left another door
+  that admits to a little sick ward with four beds of different sizes
+  and make on one side and six on the other, taken evidently from the
+  ruined houses nearby—and one tired infirmier (hospital attendant) to
+  tend and soothe the wounded and dying.
+
+  In the bed nearest the door, a French priest, shot through the
+  lungs—with pneumonia setting in—his black beard pointing straight
+  up, whispers for water. Next to him, a little German lad, hardly
+  nineteen, with about six hours to live, calling, sometimes screaming,
+  for his mother, and then for water. Next to him, a French captain
+  of infantry, with his arm shot off at the shoulder and his head
+  lacerated, weak, dying, but smiling; and next to him a tirailleur in
+  delirium calling on his colonel to charge the Germans. The Infirmier
+  is going from one to the other, soothing one and waiting on another,
+  each in turn. He asks me what the German is saying, and I tell him he
+  is calling for his mother. “Ah, this is a sad war,” he says, as he
+  goes over to hold the poor lad’s hand.
+
+  A brancardier comes in with a telephone message,—“a _blessé_
+  (wounded man), at Belleville—very serious.” This is a reserve car
+  call. So one slides out and is gone like a gray ghost down the ruined
+  street, making all the speed its driver can—no easy matter,—with no
+  lights. In twenty minutes he is back. The brancardiers go out—they
+  come in again, bearing the wounded man on a stretcher and place it
+  on the floor beside the little stove. One of them, who is a priest,
+  leans over him and asks him his name and town;—then, in answer to
+  what his wife’s name is, he murmurs: “Alice;” while on the other
+  side another brancardier is slitting the clothes from his body and I
+  shiver with pity at the sight.
+
+  The surgeon comes out of his little operating room. Weary with the
+  night’s tragic work—after so many, many other tragic nights, he
+  doused his head in a bucket of water, then turned to the wounded
+  man. He looked long at him, gently felt his nose and lifted up his
+  closed eyelid. Then, at his nod, the stretcher is again lifted and
+  the wounded man carried into the operating room, and soon after that,
+  into the little room of sorrows.
+
+  In answer to my eager question the surgeon shakes his head. Not a
+  chance!
+
+  A brancardier and I gather the soldier’s belongings from his clothes
+  to be sent to his wife, but even we have to stop for a few moments
+  after we see the photograph of his wife and their two little children.
+
+  An hour later, as our night’s work was slacking down and several
+  cars had driven up and been unloaded, the infirmier came in from the
+  little room and said something to the brancardiers. Two of them got
+  a stretcher and in a moment “The _blessé_ from Belleville” came
+  past us with a sheet over him. They laid him down at the other end of
+  the room and another brancardier commenced rolling and tying him in
+  burlap for burial. As you looked he changed to a shapeless log. Then
+  out to the dead wagon.
+
+  Shortly after I went into the little ward again to see how the
+  others were coming through the night, and was glad to see them all
+  quieted down; even the little German seemed less in pain, though his
+  breathing still shook the heavy little bed he lay on.
+
+  Through a window I saw that day was beginning to break, and, as I
+  noticed it, I heard the Chief’s car coming in from the “Sap,” and
+  knew the night’s work was over.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+A VISIT TO BACCARAT
+
+
+One day I went into a little general store in Baccarat to make a
+few purchases. Having just arrived at this sector, and not knowing
+anything about the place, I engaged the woman who owned the store in
+conversation regarding the occupation of the town by the Germans. My
+interest was due chiefly to the fact that this particular store, while
+located in a devastated village, had, from all outward appearances,
+escaped damage.
+
+It seems that just after the Boches occupied the town word was given
+out that Paris had fallen and was then in the hands of the Germans. The
+telephone and telegraph stations were all controlled by the enemy, and,
+of course, the statement was accepted as a fact, for no information
+could be obtained other than that which the Germans wished to give.
+
+On the fifth day of the occupation a German captain, speaking perfect
+French, entered the store and inquired for the proprietor. When
+informed that he was speaking to her, he demanded:
+
+“Madam, do you speak German?”
+
+“No,” replied the woman. “I do not speak German, but I understand it
+quite well.” The officer then asked if she spoke English, to which she
+answered “No.”
+
+“Well, if you do not speak it, you surely understand it?” he persisted,
+but she replied in the negative. The officer thanked her, and, without
+further comment, turned and left the place. The woman thought this a
+most unusual occurrence, especially as, without explanation, he left
+as abruptly as he had entered. Later she learned that he did the same
+thing all through this district, asking people precisely the same
+questions and leaving without comment, no matter what their answers
+were.
+
+In due course the reason for the officer’s visit came to light. The
+German command had learned that on the day of their defeat in the
+battle of the Marne, one of the causes therefor had been the flanking
+movement of the English. This information produced such an intense
+feeling of hatred that this officer was sent around town to find out
+if there were any people who spoke English or even understood it. If
+such were found their location was set down and reported to the German
+command.
+
+The pressure on the town, however, soon took on such proportions that
+it was seen that it would have to be given up by the Germans. So the
+compiled information of the officer’s investigation was reviewed and
+those people who spoke or understood English were visited by the Torch
+Squad and everything they owned was burned.
+
+Baccarat was by no means the only place that received this sort of
+treatment, for one has only to take a trip along the eastern front of
+France to see a great many similar instances of just what took place
+at Baccarat. Wanton destruction seemed to be the idea of the German
+command. Fruit trees were cut down because it would be years before
+France could grow them again.
+
+Houses were blown to pieces by the artillery when the civil population
+had left Baccarat. The churches seemed always to be the first thing
+razed to the ground by enemy fire. Of what military advantage this
+could be, I have never been able to see, but I have heard a theory
+advanced that seems plausible. The German command knew that the
+peasants of France were a hard-working people, occupied with their
+farms constantly; that they are also a home people and _know_ very
+little of the outside world. Sunday they believed should be set aside
+for worship and rest. Brought up in this religious way, men, women and
+children attend church on Sunday with unfailing regularity.
+
+I saw the church in the village of H—— completely demolished by shell
+fire, with the exception of the altar and the three life-size statues
+behind it on the wall. The figures of the Mother Mary and Joseph and
+that of the Christ in the center were intact with the exception that
+some German Hun had decapitated the figure of Christ. The destruction
+of houses of worship was intended to produce in the minds of these
+peasants the thought—“God is not with us,”—for if He were, they
+reasoned, “He surely would not permit the Germans to raze our homes
+and devastate our farms.” This would cause unrest and dissatisfaction
+in general with the Government, perhaps produce a cry for peace at any
+price, and that is what the Germans had hoped for. But what a mistake
+they have made, for the French peasant will make every sacrifice, even
+to death, for their country.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+HOMELESS CHILDREN
+
+
+At Saint Nicholas du Port we rested, waiting for our division to go to
+the trenches. Almost every night we were visited by Boche aviators who
+would come over and drop a few bombs to add to our comfort. It was one
+of the nicest little spots one could find, for we were quartered in
+an old cow barn from which we had to shovel about two wagon loads of
+manure before we could put up beds, and when we did not have the Boche
+flying over us we were busy with the “cooties” round about us.
+
+If ever conditions existed that were cootie producing, we certainly
+found them here. There was an old tile roof that was perfectly
+watertight, except when it rained, and evidently intended for
+astronomical observation. At other times our anti-aircraft batteries,
+located across the road, when they shot at the Boches caused shell
+fragments to drop on our none-too-solid roof, and thereby add to the
+access of small rivulets, to say nothing of the danger of our losing
+about a yard and a half of hide. But we were visited so many times by
+the Boches that we ceased to pay any attention to them. With practice
+one can get used to anything.
+
+One night a little boy came up out of the darkness and asked if he
+could sleep in the driveway. He said he was very tired and had no
+place to go. He had been ordered back, for when a regiment goes into
+the fighting zone no one that is not attached to it is permitted to go
+along. There are hundreds of these urchins in France that follow the
+armies and live with them when they are not in the trenches.
+
+This is just what had happened to Lombard, for that was his name.
+We questioned him very closely and he finally convinced us of his
+truthfulness, and so we made him comfortable for the night on a
+stretcher in one of the cars. In a short time he was in slumberland.
+About an hour later the Boche aviators came over and things were soon
+humming. The batteries were going full blast when I thought of that
+poor child out in the car without protection, and unable to get out.
+
+I put on my steel helmet and went out to release our guest. I brought
+him into the barn and felt much better to know that he was at least
+sharing the protection we were afforded. The air raid soon ended and
+all was still. In the morning our guest was given his breakfast and a
+few francs, the net result of an impromptu collection, but he seemed
+to like American hospitality and started in to cut wood and carry
+water for our cook. Someone suggested that we keep him with us to do
+errands and help generally, but before this was to be considered it was
+necessary to learn more about the youngster, as we all had valuables
+that we did not wish to lose, and coming to us as he did no one cared
+to take chances.
+
+We decided to question the lad and learned that for over two years he
+had been wandering about from one regiment to another. His home was at
+a place called Pont a Meusson, and when the place had been attacked by
+the Boches, his father had been killed and his mother carried off. He
+had two older brothers in the French Army, but did not know where they
+were. Thus, after the cross-examining, we decided to let him stay. We
+felt sure that as long as he was to help the cook and handle food, we
+might just as well have him clean.
+
+On account of the particular interest I had shown in him, I was
+allotted the job of seeing that he was cleaned up. After taking up
+another collection I bought him underwear, a clean shirt, and socks.
+There were miscellaneous donations like handkerchiefs, ties, towels
+and soap, so our guest was now ready for the bath. We had some water
+heated, into which we put a disinfectant to help matters along,
+for I don’t think he had had a bath since he left home. It is hardly
+necessary to say that the bath was, at least, a partial success.
+
+[Illustration: A Camouflage Road Made to Order]
+
+[Illustration: A Natural Camouflage Road]
+
+He seemed more than grateful for what we had done for him and all
+went well until we were ordered to the front with our division. Then
+it looked dark for Lombard, for we must go into the fighting zone and
+he would not be permitted to follow. But he seemed so distressed and
+forlorn that we tucked him away in a camion and took him with us.
+We bought him a little uniform, and, when we left our division, the
+American boys who came to take our places gladly took him in charge. We
+were sorry to leave this little fellow, for he had become a part of our
+daily life.
+
+It is unfortunate that all the little children that follow the armies
+can not be taken care of in some such way. There are thousands of them
+straggling in the wake of the troops over there and they have no one
+to consider their comfort or safety. What will become of them, beaten
+from pillar to post day after day, with no one to put out a helping
+hand. This is a problem for the women to solve, since the men are
+occupied with other things and have no time to adjust the matter.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+AFTERNOON TEA
+
+
+One day in my turn I went out on service to the small town of B——.
+The front-line trenches were located just outside the village. Upon our
+arrival, shortly after noon, in this town we obtained our meal from
+a soup kitchen that was tucked away in a sort of a driveway between
+two demolished houses. It was an ideal location for a soup kitchen,
+for, from all outward appearances, no one would ever think that this
+desolate spot would be picked out or utilized by anyone for any purpose
+whatsoever. After eating we started out for the post. This was the
+first time we had gone up to the front-line trenches covering this
+particular sector of the front.
+
+After we had proceeded some three hundred yards, we came to a place
+where the trenches passed through a small clump of woods, in which was
+located one of our advanced artillery observation posts. Here we were
+met by a sergeant major, who informed us that we had better exercise
+a great deal of caution in our advance of the next hundred yards,
+which was the distance that separated us from our front line. It was
+necessary to pass through a gulley and the trench we were in was only
+shoulder high. The Boche trenches were so close to our front line that
+the enemy, by posting men in the trees behind their lines, were in a
+position to observe what transpired in the gulley, we were about to
+enter.
+
+We climbed out of the trench, and, with the aid of field glasses,
+carefully scrutinized the taller trees to ascertain whether or not the
+Boche at this time was on the lookout. As we did not see anything that
+attracted undue attention, we decided to take a chance and proceed.
+
+Crouching, we advanced some fifty yards. In passing one place that was
+particularly low, we were observed and the next second brought a hail
+of machine-gun bullets which kicked up the dust all about us. In front
+of us, some fifteen or twenty feet away, I noticed another spot where
+the side walls of the trench did not afford much protection and at the
+same instant, or just long enough for a man to proceed from one opening
+to another, came a stream of machine-gun bullets in front of us.
+
+It was a case of being between the devil and the deep sea; all we could
+do was to remain in the position where we were protected. We finally
+decided that by crawling on our hands and knees we could get past the
+second opening. This we did without being observed and the last we
+heard of our sniping Boche friend was a few shots intermittently fired
+in the hope of picking us off.
+
+Arriving at the front line, we proceeded along the machine-gun
+positions, and, finally, entered a small communicating trench which
+led into the lieutenant’s dug-out. We descended and found our friend
+seated at a table, pondering over military maps and familiarizing
+himself with this particular sector which our division had just taken
+over. While we were conversing, one of the under officers reported the
+completion of a “_Petit Post_” (listening post). The lieutenant
+inquired if I would care to accompany him in looking it over. Of course
+I would.
+
+The general direction we took immediately impressed me as being toward
+the location of our Boche friend, who was planted in a tree based upon
+the angle that the machine-gun bullets came from. But we did not have
+to give much consideration to him, as the side wall of our trench
+nearest to his position was over six feet high and afforded complete
+cover. We soon arrived at our destination—sixty feet from the Boche
+front line.
+
+The instruction completed, two soldiers were stationed here and became
+a part of the defense for this sector. We were soon on our way to the
+rear. We passed through the gulley where we had been held up on the way
+out without attracting any attention. Arriving at the town of B——, we
+obtained our tinned meat with four large potatoes, sought a quiet spot
+and built a fire to prepare our evening meal.
+
+Suddenly we were startled by the hum of a shell, as it passed over
+us and burst in a field just beyond. Then came a second, which burst
+closer; then a third. My companion and I looked at each other in
+amazement—then, thinking that the smoke from our fire was the cause of
+the shelling, we quickly stamped it out and poured water on the spot
+where our spoiled dinner had been sending up delightful odors only a
+moment before. We ran as fast as good legs could carry us into an old
+house near by that afforded better protection in the event of a shell
+breaking near us.
+
+The shells kept coming for about ten minutes, then stopped. Cautiously,
+we returned to where our fire had been and were considering the
+possible salvage when the hum of a motor attracted our attention to a
+Boche aviator flying directly over our heads. We were only about five
+hundred yards back of our first-line trench, toward which the Boche
+plane proceeded. It went directly over the trench, swooped down and
+raked it from one end to the other with machine-gun fire. Circling
+back, he returned as far in the rear as we were and then again made a
+run for the front line to open up with his machine gun as he dived for
+it.
+
+In the open we afforded him a fine mark, but each time as he flew
+back toward us we saw to it that there was a brick wall between him
+and ourselves. By this time he had attracted the attention of our
+anti-aircraft guns and they began shooting shrapnel at him as he
+circled, and the machine guns in our front-line trenches also shot in
+our direction as they followed the flyer to the rear. As the shrapnel
+and pieces of the exploded shells fell like rain around us, we decided
+to give up our supper as a bad job, and went to sleep hungry that
+night.
+
+We walked up the street and passed the _Post du Succors_. The
+stretcher-bearers had begun to bring in the wounded. One man had lost
+most of his head. Accustomed as I was to such scenes, the sight of this
+man’s condition was the last straw in the way of gruesome experiences,
+and I was glad to get away and to bed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+“PETIT POST”
+
+
+Out where the night seems the blackest, where one is unable to see
+his hands before his face, and where, in many instances, due to close
+proximity of the enemy trenches, one is compelled to be as quiet as a
+mouse, there is located in a shell-hole or the like is the _Petit
+Post_ (or listening post), which is employed by all armies engaged
+in carrying on modern trench warfare.
+
+Out in front of even your own barb wire, with no form of protection
+from the enemy, two men must be constantly on watch, in order to send
+up signals in the event that Fritz decides to come over with his
+nippers for the purpose of slashing a passage in the wire that his
+men may come through quickly in order to prevent the machine guns from
+collecting too much toll. It is necessary for the men at the post to
+lie flat and listen for the nip of the wire clippers. If this comes, it
+is their duty to signal the front-line trench, and, with star shells,
+the machine-gunners can discern the enemy and put the finishing touches
+on the wire-clipping party.
+
+The end generally comes before they even get started. As soon as these
+men know that the enemy are over, in addition to sending up their
+signals, they throw out six or eight hand grenades, and then run back
+to their trenches as best they can and assist in the defense in the
+case of an attack. But the thing to imagine is lying out there in
+the rain and mud with absolutely no protection, the wind cutting to
+the marrow and moaning mournfully as it sweeps over “No Man’s Land,”
+whistling through the barb-wire entanglements. The night seems just
+that much blacker after the star shell dies out, for such is the
+blinding effect on the eyes.
+
+There have been many instances where enemy patrols have stumbled right
+into these little listening posts while they are on patrol duty in “No
+Man’s Land,” and other instances have been known where one patrol would
+be walking side by side with an enemy patrol until someone would happen
+to discover the fact and then there was always a fight. A few exchanges
+of shots, a few thuds from the swinging of butt ends of guns and all
+was over in a few moments.
+
+Picture yourself on such duty where even a whisper will bring you
+a present in the form of a hand grenade, and when there are no
+wire-cutting operations on, or enemy patrols to bother you, it rains,
+and you wallow in mud like an animal with your knees knocking together,
+and your clothing so wet that it sticks to your body. But this is very
+important work and must be performed. Two lives out there may mean the
+saving of hundreds in the trenches.
+
+All such operations as cutting the wire and patrol duty are carried
+on under the cover of darkness, with only the intermittent star shell,
+which is sent up like a rocket to impede the work. When these are in
+the sky it is necessary for everyone between the trenches to lie flat
+on the ground because a man standing with this light on him would be a
+mark for the enemy sniper.
+
+I have known of instances where men on patrol duty have been shot early
+in the morning while inspecting the wire, and, falling over, hung there
+entangled in utter helplessness. The light coming on prevented their
+comrades from rescuing them and they lay there for days at a time
+with the German machine guns trained on them. Once in a life time on
+_Petit post_ is enough—an abundant sufficiency.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+BADONVILLER THE MARTYR
+
+
+In the foothills of the Vosges Mountains just inside the Lorraine
+border is the site of what was once a peaceful village. This village
+suffered the most terrible devastation of any along the eastern front
+in France. Not only the town but also the civil population received
+such treatment at the hands of the Boches that it is beyond my powers
+to describe the atrocities that were committed. But I shall endeavor to
+set forth some of the outstanding facts in order that the reader may
+understand why this village is now known as “Badonviller the Martyr.”
+
+When the German Army invaded France from Lorraine this peaceful little
+village lay in its path, and, after sharp fighting, was occupied by
+advance troops of this army.
+
+The enemy entered the town at three o’clock in the morning and marched
+five abreast all through the day and long into the night—a continuous
+stream of men that never paused. On they went to the next village, Roan
+L’Etape, and in its turn that village suffered even a worse fate than
+had Badonviller, as the resistance by the French here was greater,
+hence the destruction was to be greater. At this point, the German
+command allowed free sacking, and applied the torch. The homes of
+the inhabitants were burned and destruction of things and pillage in
+general permitted, even though of no military value whatever.
+
+In this town the German officers caused to be written all over the
+altars of churches, public buildings and store fronts the words “Capute
+Ramberviller,” the name of the next village in the path of this army.
+This meant that not a stone should be left unturned and the torch
+applied to every home, store, church or building of any kind. There was
+a reason for this, a German reason.
+
+During the Franco-Prussian War, over fifty years ago, the civil
+population in this village of Ramberviller turned out to assist
+a handful of French soldiers in holding back some crack Prussian
+regiments until the French reserves could come up and defeat them.
+Fifty years of grievance, and this was their opportunity for revenge.
+
+Think of revenge on a people most of whom were unborn at the time
+because their grandfathers defended their homes from pillage a half
+century before! But the stories of atrocity that had been handed down
+were borne out by the new generation of German soldiery, the flower of
+the German Army of to-day.
+
+Now this village happened to be the next in the line of march, but the
+French had anticipated what was in the heart of the Hun and the French
+Headquarters Staff, knowing what would happen to this town if captured,
+decided to make a stand against the invader between Roan L’Etape and
+Ramberviller. And here history repeated itself, for the glorious poilu
+of France administered a smashing defeat to the invading army, and
+Ramberviller was again spared. But not without the toll that always
+attends heavy fighting.
+
+[Illustration: Bombing the Hun]
+
+To-day the fields and the woods are filled with crosses, black for the
+Allamand and the Tri-color for the French. Thirty-five thousand men
+fell in the fighting before this village. From this point the French
+kept pushing the Boche back until they got them out of Roan L’Etape and
+finally back to Pexonne, just outside of Badonviller.
+
+As the Germans were falling back they used the upper part of a house
+in this town as a hospital for officers—one large room, and a smaller
+one adjoining. The smaller of the two rooms was used as an operating
+room, while the larger one became a ward where the stretchers were
+placed on the floor. In the small room was a window looking out on
+to a little courtyard, and, as the arms and legs and hands and feet
+were amputated, they were thrown out of this window into a pile on
+the ground floor. The woman who owned the house was forced to assist
+wherever her services might be required. After the elapse of several
+days, she requested the privilege of cleaning up the little courtyard
+of its human debris. For reply she was told by a German surgeon to mind
+her own business, or she might ornament the pile also with her “filthy
+French carcass.”
+
+The brancardiers, or stretcher-bearers, of the German Army were
+bringing in officers in numbers as the fighting increased, and it so
+happened that in the ward to which I have alluded there was no more
+room, being filled to its capacity, except in one corner where a young
+French boy was stretched out, his leg amputated at the thigh. As the
+last German officer was brought in and it was found there was no room
+for him, two Boche stretcher-bearers lifted the French boy up and
+threw him out of the second-story window into the street below, where,
+needless to say, he died very shortly.
+
+To give you the history of just one of the families here it will be
+necessary for me to go back to the first attack by the Boches on this
+village. A young boy nineteen years old, the son of the mayor of this
+town, was shot and mortally wounded while defending the village from
+attack. He was carried to his home and laid at his mother’s feet, where
+he soon died. (Number 1.)
+
+The following morning, with her son dead in the house, the mother stood
+at her gate weeping. The Boches were filing through the streets in
+front of her home when a German officer took notice of her. He stepped
+out of the ranks, and, as he approached, inquired why a woman should
+feel so badly at seeing the glorious soldiers of the Kaiser marching
+by triumphantly, and when she replied, “You have killed my boy,” the
+officer drew a revolver and shot her dead. (Number 2.)
+
+In the house we have described as used for a temporary hospital, on
+the first floor was located a large room used by some of the German
+officers as a Headquarters. This room had two large windows looking out
+upon the street. A little boy nine years old, walking down the road,
+was called by one of the officers sitting at one of the windows and
+given a pitcher in which to bring some beer from a neighboring café.
+The child returned in a few moments with the beer, which he handed to
+the officer, and, for some unknown reason, the officer lifted him by
+the collar into the room and shot him.
+
+As the child fell mortally wounded, he was picked up bodily and placed
+on a red-hot stove used for heating the water for the operating room
+upstairs. The odor issuing from the burning clothing and flesh soon
+brought the doctor to the head of a small staircase on the second
+floor. “What is that smell?” he demanded, and the officer who had
+placed the child on the stove replied, “Doctor, we are preparing your
+dinner.” Whereupon, the doctor shouted, “Take that damn stinking thing
+off of there, as the smell is coming upstairs and it will make somebody
+sick.” Thereupon, the body of the boy, now dead, was taken from the
+stove and thrown out of the kitchen window onto the pile of arms and
+legs in the courtyard. (Number 3.)
+
+Four days later a young girl was carried off by the Boches, as they
+were evacuating the city through pressure from the French, who had, by
+this time, so increased in number that the Germans saw that it would
+be impossible to hold the village. What became of this girl no one can
+say, but from what I know of a great many other cases I believe it
+would have been much better for her had she been killed in the streets
+than to have suffered the fate that I am sure must have been hers.
+(Number 4.)
+
+Her father, who was the mayor of the town, protested to the German
+command regarding the treatment his family, as well as the women and
+children of the town generally, had received, whereupon he was tied
+hand and foot and mutilated, being told at the same time that this
+would refresh his memory whenever he had any thought of interfering
+with the supreme command of that particular army. (Number 5.) The total
+of the family.
+
+The French pressure now becoming too heavy, the Boches were unable to
+withstand it, and started a systematic sacking and demolition of the
+village. Barricades were thrown up in preparation for street fighting;
+not even the dead were held in reverence, for trenches were dug through
+the cemetery and the bodies and skeletons were thrown up to become a
+part of the embankments and the headstones lined the parapets, behind
+which the barbarians would fight.
+
+I have related the happenings that have taken place in only one home
+and in one village. I have occupied the room described herein as the
+officers headquarters and prepared meals on the same stove. There were
+many such families, there were many such operating rooms, and there
+were many women known to be alive that were carried off by the Boches.
+It is hard to understand how such things are possible, but that is why
+this little town is now known as “Badonviller the Martyr.”
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+“SNIPERS” AT WORK
+
+
+The “sniper” of the present war would have been called a “sharpshooter”
+during the war of the rebellion. Such men are most expert in the use
+of the rifle and seldom miss their mark. Many of them have now become
+proficient in the use of the modern machine gun for the same class of
+work, that of picking off the “lookouts” on the firing platforms of the
+opposing trenches.
+
+Most everyone has heard of the game bird known as the snipe. They
+are very small and hard to see, usually blending with the landscape
+and shrubbery. When it is said of a man that he can “hit a snipe
+with a rifle at two hundred yards,” the last word in praise of his
+markmanship has been said. Thus the term “sharpshooter” has been
+displaced by the word “sniper” by reason of the American love of
+brevity.
+
+The “sniper” of to-day is no less than a picked marksman whose trained
+eye is both keen and tireless. The “lookouts” of the trenches may
+well be wary of him. They know he is always on the job and that
+his far-seeing eye, with the aid of the globe-sights through which
+he constantly peers in search of his prey, is ever on the lookout.
+He knows the hatred in which he is held and that once captured no
+punishment is held too cruel for infliction upon him.
+
+There was one place in our front line where the trench was shallow and
+a man of ordinary height would have been exposed from his shoulders
+up had it not been for two boards twelve inches wide that had been
+placed there. The two ends that came together were not sawed straight
+and left a V shape where they joined. Some sand bags were placed in
+front of the opening between the two boards, but the V was left partly
+uncovered, which enabled the Boche to peer through. The opening was so
+small that it was impossible to see a man and get a shot at him before
+he had passed.
+
+In front of the German trenches at this point was a willow tree that
+had been pruned for the willow industry. This means that when the tree
+grows up to the required height the main trunk is cut away and the
+stump sealed. Then the dwarfed tree starts sprouting, “shoots.” This
+keeps it short and bushy. Such was this tree. From within it a man
+could observe the top of a helmet in our trench on either side of the
+V-shaped “peep hole.”
+
+This was just the knowledge that the Boche wanted in order to make use
+of the bad joint between the boards. A man was placed in the willow
+with a machine gun, which was strapped securely into the fork of the
+tree so it would not shake. It was trained on the V hole between the
+two boards. The gun was so fastened that it did not have to be aimed,
+for each time it was fired the ball would go straight through the V.
+
+One of the boys in the French trench unknowingly exposed himself and
+was found dead with a bullet through his brain. There was nothing to
+cause any other thought than that he had carelessly looked over the top.
+
+Later that afternoon a sergeant, in line of duty, was going along
+the same trench inspecting the machine-gun positions. Three or four
+shots were heard and he was found dead with a bullet through his head.
+While mystifying, this second death did not reveal the truth. The
+sergeant was tall and his death was laid to this fact. However, the
+French lieutenant did know that whoever was doing the shooting was no
+amateur, and gave orders to his men to be especially cautious, and it
+so happened that no one else was hit that day.
+
+Next morning, nevertheless, brought renewed activities, and among
+the first casualties was the death of a French boy who was killed at
+the same spot by a bullet through his head. This brought about an
+investigation, which disclosed the V-shaped opening between the two
+boards. A sand bag ended further trouble from this source, but the
+location of the “sniper” was yet in order. A Frenchman at a machine-gun
+position thought that he had noticed smoke issuing from the willow
+tree. It was decided to keep careful watch on it and send a scouting
+patrol out that night. As soon as it was dark enough the men started
+out and soon found the Boche tucked away in the tree with his gun.
+Needless to say, no time was wasted on him, several bayonet thrusts
+serving to end his activities as a machine-gun sniper.
+
+In another location there was a little brook just behind the line,
+and, during the summer, the boys would go back about thirty yards and
+fill their canteens with fresh, cool water—and sometimes they failed
+to return. When found they would be lying dead in the brook, which was
+only a few inches deep.
+
+The roadway on the side nearest the Boches was eight feet above the
+brook and everywhere else perfect covering was afforded, yet every
+once in a while someone was bagged here. Finally a young fellow, who
+was preparing to fill his canteen, before doing so dropped to his knees
+to take a drink from the stream. Just as he did this he heard three
+bullets whistle over his head and splash in the brook some distance
+ahead, which disclosed the fact that the Boches were shooting from a
+position over five hundred yards away through a culvert in the road.
+When the target showed through this culvert several bullets sped on
+their way. The act of stooping over had saved the young man’s life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+“KAMERAD!”
+
+
+The word _Kamerad_ has come to possess a significance not at all
+in keeping with its original meaning. On the western front the French
+and English have probably solved the problem of what to say and do
+when greeted by this well-known form of Boche salutation. Picture to
+yourself two trenches filled with soldiers, a barbed wire in front of
+each and “No Man’s Land” stretching out endless between the two. French
+cannons in the rear are hammering away with remarkable precision,
+dropping deadly shells into the German lines, and all machine guns on
+the French front-line parapets manned and ready for business. At the
+same instant hands go up in the German trenches and soldiers climb
+out on top with the shout of “_Kamerad_” on their lips. Their
+arms are extended over their heads in token of surrender. They have
+no rifles and no side arms, nothing with which to attack and only the
+expression of joy upon their faces.
+
+At this moment a battery of machine guns are trained upon them and
+ready to wipe out the handful of Germans in less than five seconds, but
+not a shot is fired as they advance. Men in the French trenches go so
+far as to expose themselves in order to assist the surrendering enemy
+on their way to the rear as prisoners of war.
+
+Suddenly, at a distance of twenty feet, the hands of the Germans dive
+into their pockets and each man cracks the cap on two hand grenades,
+and, at this distance, throws them with deadly accuracy all along the
+machine-gun positions in the French trench, killing or wounding all the
+occupants and disabling their guns, thus allowing their own infantry to
+cross “No Man’s Land” without danger.
+
+Does not an episode of this nature afford us some substance for a
+moment’s reflection? Suppose you had been one of the occupants of the
+French trench and had escaped injury, and the following week you were
+again detailed for duty in the front-line trench. Also, suppose you
+were at the trigger of a machine gun when a handful of men climbed out
+of a German trench yelling “_Kamerad_.” Now what do you think you
+would do? You bet you would.
+
+On a certain night when one could hardly see six feet away, a French
+patrol was sent through our wire into “No Man’s Land.” Headquarters
+had information to the effect that the German division in the lines
+opposite our position had been changed, and the patrol was to learn
+just what division had taken its place. To do this it was necessary to
+capture a prisoner and search him, for all men carry numerals on their
+uniforms as well as certain papers, which, even though they be of a
+personal nature, serve to identify them. I might here point out to what
+extent such data is of military importance.
+
+French, English and German troops in their three years of war know from
+direct contact on different sectors of the front just which regiments
+of any army are “shocking” or attacking troops, and which are what we
+term “holding troops,”—used merely to defend trenches after they are
+captured. If a man is identified as belonging to a division of “shock
+troops,” great precaution is taken by the different commands against
+what may be considered a certainty. Prepare for an attack—that’s the
+rule. If he is merely of a “holding” division, there is not so much to
+worry about.
+
+This is what happened that night. The patrol was instructed to capture
+a prisoner if possible and bring him in. Just after dark two young
+French boys were posted in a shell hole in “No Man’s Land” in front of
+the French barbed wire to await events. They felt quite secure of being
+observed from the enemy parapet, when star shells were sent up. They
+stayed in this position for quite a while.
+
+[Illustration: French Infantry Enroute to the Trenches]
+
+At the expiration of a half hour three figures appeared in front of
+them, all walking cautiously. Suddenly they stopped, talked very low
+for a few moments, then separated. Two men went one way and the third
+in exactly the opposite direction, which was toward the position that
+the boys occupied. This man was instantly covered and could have been
+shot down had either of the French boys so desired, but he was allowed
+to proceed, and, at the proper time, was challenged and commanded to
+halt. The German, knowing full well that rifles were trained upon him,
+and that he had not the slightest chance to escape, called out clearly:
+
+“_Kamerad, Kamerad._”
+
+He was commanded to throw up his hands and advance, which he did. It
+was impossible to note that slung behind his uplifted hand was a Leuger
+revolver. On he came until he could discern both figures very clearly,
+and, at six spaces, fired pointblank at each.
+
+One was wounded so badly that he died soon after, but the other so
+slightly that he was able to get in one good smash with the butt end
+of his gun, which laid the Hun low—then dragged him into a French
+trench.
+
+The prisoner proved to be a German lieutenant, and, under pressure,
+gave out some valuable information. This goes to show that the code of
+surrender is violated by German officers, as well as by their men, and,
+while the two Frenchmen were instructed not to shoot, but to bring in
+a prisoner, no man is expected to take the least chance with an enemy.
+No bullets are fired nowadays just to wound an opponent. They are all
+fired for one purpose only, that is—to kill.
+
+Another incident which impressed me as being a very sad one happened
+during an attack in the Somme, to a young lieutenant attached to the
+same division as I. He became noted for his fearlessness and daring. He
+was found in the very hottest of everything and always at the head of
+his troops in a charge across “No Man’s Land.” Not only did he enjoy
+the confidence of his men, but also the confidence of the government,
+which, in recognition of his bravery, decorated him with the _Croix
+de Guerre_ (French War Cross) and the _Medaille Militaire_
+(Military Medal), two of the highest honors that can be conferred upon
+a soldier.
+
+One day, after a very brilliant charge, his company captured the Boche
+front-line trench, and, as he was jumping down into the trench, he
+saw a German officer lying prostrate, his head and face covered with
+blood. At this instant a French poilu ran up and was just about to
+put the finishing touches on the German when the latter began yelling
+“_Kamerad! Kamerad!_” The lieutenant waved the poilu aside as
+the man seemed very badly wounded. He then asked the German if there
+were any men in a certain dug-out, pointing to one leading off from
+the front-line trench. The officer replied “No, but there are some in
+that one,” indicating another located down a small communicating trench
+toward which the lieutenant forthwith started, revolver in hand. But
+he had no sooner turned his back when the Boche officer rolled over
+on his side, whipped out a revolver, and shot him through the back,
+killing him instantly.
+
+Bravery had brought this French lieutenant the highest honors in the
+army, and human consideration for a dying man brought about his own
+death.
+
+_Kamerad!_—how I loathe that word in its German significance.
+
+In another attack the French Infantry went forward and captured all
+the front-line Boche trenches on a certain sector. The artillery fire
+that had been directed against their trenches and the lines behind them
+rendered it impossible to deliver rations to their men in the front
+line for over two days before the attack.
+
+This situation, coupled with the terrific strain of the intense
+artillery fire, had turned them into a pitiful-looking crowd. Finally,
+two Frenchmen started to bring the German prisoners back to their own
+lines and at this particular point the German trench was very deep
+and hard to climb out of. So they foolishly marched them along through
+their front-line to a place where they could crawl out more easily.
+
+All along in a front-line are boxes filled with hand grenades with
+which to repel attack quickly. The line of march along the trench was
+zigzag, making it impossible for the front of the line to be viewed
+from the rear or _vice versa_, and, as they turned a corner in
+their line of march, a couple of the Boches dug into one of these
+grenade stations and killed nine infantrymen before they themselves
+could be laid low.
+
+Take another instance, one that occurred during the recent invasion of
+Italy. The Austrian command instructed their troops to do everything
+in their power to gain the confidence of the Italians, in the hope
+of fraternizing with them, and when they had succeeded, the command
+secretly pulled out the supposedly friendly Austrian troops and put in
+their places German “shock troops,” which fell upon the Italians like
+a stroke of lightning, and murdered them without mercy.
+
+The same thing occurred in Russia, and, therefore, I hope that my
+countrymen will never make the same mistake. Never take your eye off
+the Boches. They are not to be trusted under any circumstances. I know
+that this is a very difficult attitude to assume, but chances should
+never be taken with men whose officers misuse _Kamerad_, and the
+terms of surrender. When I read that Germans are made prisoners I
+wonder why.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+THE ART OF CAMOUFLAGE
+
+
+The word camouflage has come into common use both here and abroad and
+I think it might be interesting to devote a little time to a brief
+discussion of the different uses of camouflage, or low-vision painting,
+and to tell you how extensively it is used and where it is most
+effective.
+
+At the front there are many roads that pass over hills to the
+rear of the lines, over which supplies have to pass on their way
+forward,—roads that are within sight of the enemy observation posts,
+and would prove easy targets for their guns should they be left clearly
+exposed to view. Many people believe that just because a road is
+camouflaged the enemy does not know the road exists.
+
+This notion is erroneous in most cases, for they do know that the road
+is there behind the camouflage, but the object is to obscure from their
+view whatever is passing a given point. Otherwise it would be easy
+for the watchful enemy, with glasses, to see whether men were moving
+forward, or whether shells were being transported for the artillery.
+With the use of camouflage they are deprived of this data and the
+knowledge of just when or where on a road to put a shell so as to have
+it reap a plentiful harvest. Do not misunderstand me when I say that
+just because a convoy is passing along a camouflaged road that they are
+safe. Traffic moves along this avenue of supply with some degree of
+safety.
+
+In some places the road will have camouflage on just one side. In other
+places it is necessary, in order to provide the proper protection, to
+put it up on both sides, and in other instances lines of brush are
+strung on wires every fifty feet or so to break the continuous stretch
+of road as it appears to an aviator from above.
+
+The method that is employed is that of placing upright, twelve to
+fourteen feet high along the sides of a road, something not unlike a
+regular fence around a farm. Along these are strung wires, on which
+brush and weeds are hung and fastened at top and bottom so that the
+wind will not blow them down or to one side.
+
+Under ordinary conditions at the front, this form of camouflage affords
+effective protection, for without it the enemy could shoot at convoys,
+etc., with some positive knowledge of just what was passing along the
+roads. One sees the camouflage roads of both sides on a front, knowing
+full well that men and supplies move along them, but just where they
+are at the time a shot is to be fired is problematical, and, with this
+uncertainty before them, only in time of undue activities on the part
+of either side is any attention paid to them, and then waste or no
+waste they are raked from one end to the other with shell fire.
+
+Back of the lines at various distances are the batteries, and it is
+not always possible to locate them where they can enjoy the shelter
+or obscurity of clumps of woods, so often they have to be located in
+fields or in other open places. However, a battery is always located so
+that when firing the flash is obscured to the enemy, preferably behind
+some little hillock or rise in the ground, so there is never much
+chance to locate a battery by other means than observation balloons or
+aeroplanes.
+
+Camouflage is employed here also and covers are so constructed that
+they hide entirely the location of the battery, leaving no opportunity
+for the gun to be seen. If a photograph is taken by an enemy aviator,
+when developed the battery takes on the appearance of an ordinary clump
+of brush in the picture, and surrounding it are so many just such
+clumps of brush that there is nothing showing at any particular place
+to give any information as to just which is a battery.
+
+If a battery is being searched out and great uncertainty exists here,
+the enemy do take chances in shooting at the different clumps in the
+hope of getting a hit on a battery. This is where the anti-aircraft
+guns play an important part in keeping the observation plane up at
+altitudes where photographs do not give enough detail to reveal too
+much information, for, should they be permitted to get down close
+enough, they might be able to distinguish too readily the camouflage
+from the real.
+
+Low-vision painting is another form used extensively. It is unusual to
+see a camion (auto truck) or any form of vehicle on the road that is
+not painted up so that, at a distance, it blends into its surroundings.
+Whereas, if it were not painted up, it would stand out clearly and the
+contrast to surrounding conditions would make it a target for the enemy
+guns.
+
+The same condition exists on water as well as on land. Hence we see so
+many boats painted up for low vision. This does not mean that they are
+always obscure to the submarine, but with the mass broken and with the
+absence of defined contrast with the sky and water, they do not afford
+such a target to the enemy observing through a periscope.
+
+In the rear of the lines at the front are little huts, in which are
+stored cartridges and shells. They are built very small so as not to
+be conspicuous. In all instances the additional precaution is taken
+by painting these huts so that it is practically impossible for enemy
+aviators to distinguish them at ordinary heights. One sees back of the
+lines in many places, in some instances fifteen or twenty of these huts
+one after the other like a little row of workmen’s dwellings, and one
+might be struck at first with the thought that they could be seen, but
+the low-vision painting obviates all of this and they are quite safe.
+
+An interesting experience took place at the front recently when two
+French artists conceived the idea of having some sport with Fritz. Some
+old canvas, such as had been used to cover wagons, was located and cut
+up in strips and joined so that they could be rolled up on a pole.
+Then, with a bucket of paint and several brushes, they set to work
+painting a railroad track with the ties, rails, etc., as it would look
+from above. It was painted with the purpose of attracting attention.
+
+After working for some time, they completed quite a stretch of
+“railroad.” When enough was finished they carried their railroad out on
+a pole and unrolled it, always running it from one small clump of woods
+to another, so that it would have the appearance of a battery location.
+It would be left here long enough to attract the attention of some
+Boche aviator and when he started back in his machine to report the
+existence of a railroad at this particular location the Frenchmen would
+roll up their “railroad” and put it away.
+
+In a little while the shells would start coming in right where
+the “railroad” was. After a short time, or when they imagined the
+destruction complete, they would stop, then the Frenchmen would quickly
+unroll the “railroad” again and soon the Boche aviator would be seen
+flying over the lines to observe the destruction, but it must have
+been much to his surprise to see it there in the same place untouched.
+He would then fly back again and as soon as he turned his tail homeward
+in would come the “railroad”—shortly more shells. This unusual
+railroad could be shifted from one location to the other at will, and,
+whenever the Boche were in the air, it always came in for its share of
+attention, but, unlike most railroads at the front, this one was never
+hit.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+SPIES AND THEIR WORK
+
+
+For years we have heard of the efficiency of the Wilhelmstrasse,
+or Secret Service Police of Germany, and everything we have heard
+regarding them has proved fairly accurate, sometimes even beyond our
+wildest expectations. The Spy System of the German Government is a
+wonderful organization, any way we look at it. Since 1870 it has been
+in the making. Its agents are everywhere, they speak all languages
+fluently. This enables them to carry on their systematic work of
+uncovering every fact, rumor, or suspicion that may be of importance to
+the German Government.
+
+England and France particularly, and all countries in general, have had
+convincing demonstrations of the thoroughness of German Secret Service
+activity for many years. Since the war broke out, they have been doing
+everything in their power to cope with the situation.
+
+Now that we are at war with Germany, it is well to remember that in
+this country, as well as in those of our Allies, secret agents of
+the German Government are constantly seeking information. Therefore,
+one of the greatest injustices the people of this country can do our
+Government is to impart any information to anyone except a government
+representative. Our friends who may be inclined to talk too much
+should be warned in a friendly way to say nothing. We can never tell
+who is sitting next to us in a train, car, boat, or any other public
+conveyance, and the little remark seemingly of no consequence, that
+passes your unsuspecting lips, may be the nucleus around which the
+spider may weave his web.
+
+There is no reason in the world why your friends or relatives in the
+American Expeditionary Forces over seas should not be permitted to
+write you in detail all those things that form part of their daily
+experience. Moreover, there is no reason for maintaining such a thing
+as a censor.
+
+[Illustration: Sacked and Burned]
+
+[Illustration: Badonviller Destroyed by the Germans]
+
+If all mail and information could be delivered into the hands of the
+ones they are meant for, I am sure there would be no reason for such
+strict regulations, but there is no assurance that letters will not
+go astray and information fall into the hands of our enemies. And,
+besides, there are a lot of people who unconsciously reveal things that
+are written to them, and in this way information gets out broadcast,
+which, in many instances, proves most harmful to proposed military
+operations. Therefore, we have the censor who keeps these matters under
+control and thereby eliminates a very fruitful source of information
+from falling into the hands of our enemies.
+
+In France one is particularly attracted by placards on cars, station
+platforms, and streets, flashing these words, “_Teshez Vous_,”
+which mean “Close your mouth.” In other words, “The enemy is
+everywhere.”
+
+The sooner the people of this country “_Teshez Vous_,” the sooner
+they will begin to deprive the people who are seeking information of
+one of their richest sources. Remember the enemy is everywhere.
+
+It is most surprising to find by what dark and devious paths one may be
+approached when one’s information is valuable enough to be required,
+and the only sure way to keep from dropping threads of such information
+is to know nothing, and to discuss nothing with people one does not
+know—we cannot rely even on friends. We all have fool friends.
+
+Just before leaving Paris, for example, I became acquainted with a man
+whom I remember very clearly as frequenting a certain café, posing
+always as a Hollander, but for a great many years past a resident of
+New York City. He manifested a great interest in American soldiers, and
+I have heard him ask the boys such questions as “How many Americans do
+you suppose there are now in France?” “How many boys in your camp?”
+“Where are you located?” “Are you specializing in any particular branch
+of fighting?” and a great many other questions along the same lines.
+As a demonstration of his sincere friendship for the American boys, he
+would say “Let me pay for this check.” “Let’s have another one for dear
+old America.”
+
+Suddenly he disappeared. I afterwards learned that he had been quietly
+camouflaged by the police and that he would not be around again soon
+manifesting so much interest in what America might be going to do.
+
+It is very clear now to most people what took place in the case of a
+female German spy, a conspicuous figure in Paris, always seen in the
+characteristic garb of a South American lady. She was never known to
+wear a hat, and was seldom seen without the typical mantilla, thrown
+over her straight, black hair. She had plenty of money, a Rolls-Royce
+always at her command, and everything that would allay the slightest
+suspicion that she might be an agent of the German Government.
+
+Her game was meeting officers and seeking information from them.
+Working as agents with her were charming chorus girls from one of the
+most noted theaters in Paris. It was she who obtained the information
+regarding the extensive building program of English tanks and forwarded
+it to Germany. From her jaunty appearance, she was the last one to be
+suspected, but she turned out to be one of France’s most dangerous
+enemies, and paid the price with her life before a firing squad in a
+French prison during the early part of last October.
+
+When the Germans advanced on Paris in the early stages of the war,
+located in the department of the Oise some thirty kilometers from that
+city was the old chateau Bornel Bon Eglise, where was stationed a
+French garrison to resist the invader at that point. As the German Army
+advanced, the French garrison retired to this chateau, in preparation
+for the stand to be made when protected by its walls.
+
+Everything was in readiness for the attack, when, at the psychological
+moment, the gates of this castle were suddenly thrown open and
+the Boches captured the chateau with very little trouble. Upon
+investigation it was afterwards found that the gatekeeper, a trusted
+employee for many years, had been planted here for just such a service
+should the occasion ever arise when it would be necessary for someone
+to accomplish just the thing he did.
+
+Such conditions can, without stretching one’s imagination very far, be
+laid at the door of German Secret Service Agents. That is the kind of
+preparedness the Germans had been fostering for forty years.
+
+In a little village on the eastern front of France this year two
+soldiers on observation duty in a front-line trench noticed a small
+white dog roaming about “No Man’s Land.” They followed his trail with
+much interest, and the last seen of him he was going under the French
+barbed wire toward the rear of the lines.
+
+Nothing was thought of the wanderings of this dog until two nights
+later, when the same two men who happened to be on duty again observed
+the same dog crossing “No Man’s Land” and crawling under the German
+wire. This aroused their suspicion, and, as they came off watch, the
+incident was reported to the lieutenant, but he thought nothing of
+it, as with all armies there are mongrel pets belonging to soldiers.
+However, a few nights later the same dog was again seen back in the
+French lines. This caused enough curiosity to bring him under closer
+observation, as it was quite unusual that a dog should frequent “No
+Man’s Land” with such regularity.
+
+That same night, in the glow of a star shell, our canine friend was
+seen wending his way toward the German trenches, and so orders were
+immediately issued to all the front line not to shoot the dog, as the
+command wished to investigate the haunts of the animal that seemed to
+choose “No Man’s Land” as his favorite playground.
+
+A few nights later our canine friend again appeared, and was seen
+crawling under the French wire and jumping over the front-line
+trenches, on his way back toward a little French village behind the
+lines. A couple of soldiers were detailed to follow him, which they
+did at a distance not calculated to alarm the dog, who walked along
+at a business-like gait until the outskirts of the town was reached.
+Then, with the suddenness of chain lightning, the dog bolted around
+a demolished wall down a side street and was lost to the view of his
+observers. It was impossible for his pursuers to give any information
+as to what had become of him.
+
+It happened that he was again seen that same night, returning under
+the wires and disappearing behind the German line. These facts called
+for carefully laid plans by the Division Headquarters to intercept the
+dog in order to know more about his peculiar movements. After waiting
+a few nights he was seen coming for the French lines and was allowed
+to pass unmolested, several men having been secreted along the line
+that he was now known to travel up to a certain point. On came the dog
+in his business-like way until, again reaching the outskirts of the
+city, he broke into a run at top speed, dodged around tumbled-down
+dwellings, side streets, over walls, and again was lost to view. But on
+his return he was caught, and tucked away in his collar was a map drawn
+very small, but showing in detail the positions of some of the French
+batteries behind the lines at a certain point.
+
+The paper was put back in his collar and the dog allowed to proceed
+on his way, for if he returned to the German lines minus this paper
+it would immediately cause suspicion that he had been interfered with
+and might end his visits before the one sending the information could
+be caught. Orders were immediately dispatched to the battery mentioned
+in the communication to change its position. The next day brought the
+German shells to the exact location where the paper in the dog’s collar
+had indicated this battery to be, but, of course, no damage was done,
+as the battery had been moved during the night.
+
+A very careful watch was now kept for this dog, and, a few nights
+later, he was captured and a very fine thread tied to his collar in
+the hopes that it might be traced to the place where the information
+originated. The dog was permitted to proceed as soon as the thread was
+securely fastened to him, but when he felt the weight of the thread
+pulling on his collar he turned and retraced his steps. The thread was
+broken and the dog released in the hope that he would return for the
+information, but he balked and was soon back in the German lines.
+
+The return of the dog without information must have caused a change
+of plans, as the dog did not appear again for several days. Finally
+he appeared, and in readiness for him was a French police dog, which
+was immediately put on his trail. The police dog, being allowed to
+go a little too soon, caught up with the German dog at the edge of
+the village. Here the German dog had always broken into a run, and,
+of course, the police dog became excited and downed the German dog in
+his tracks. Before they could be interfered with, the spy dog was very
+badly mutilated. Thus ended his visits.
+
+Although merely a dumb animal he seemed to possess almost human
+intelligence, winning the respect of the French army men. It was not
+their intention that harm should befall him and they were much grieved
+that he went back to his own a cripple for life.
+
+Carrier pigeons are employed as messengers in the spy service of the
+German Army. While in Paris I was with a captain of English artillery
+who became a very close friend. He related to me the following account
+of how his battery was sent into action on a certain sector which I
+know will prove of interest.
+
+On a certain day orders were received from his Division Headquarters to
+take up a position near the village of R——. The battery responded
+quickly and occupied the location for two days. It was most noticeable
+that very few shells came that way. On the morning of the third day
+quite a little aerial activity was evident, but nothing much was
+thought of it. The position seemed to be very secure, as it was in
+quite a heavy clump of woods. But shortly after noon the shells began
+breaking closer and closer until they got so hot that the position
+became untenable. Consequently the battery was moved to another clump
+of woods quite a distance away, where again all was quiet.
+
+Next morning the captain was much surprised to see a peasant with two
+horses ploughing in the field just back of the new position and also
+that the Boche aviators were again hovering over the lines. Shortly
+after noon, as on the day previous, shells began to drop around the new
+location and in the field behind. It appeared to the Captain that it
+must be a pretty hot place for a farmer to be ploughing so serenely,
+therefore, he stepped out of the woods to investigate, but found the
+farmer had gone. The shells were coming in so close to the battery
+position that it was again found necessary to move, this time to a very
+heavily wooded location further on to the right. After the move was
+completed all became quiet again.
+
+The following morning the Captain observed the same peasant ploughing
+again in the field and also that an unusual aerial activity had opened
+near his new location. It seemed necessary to investigate so he went
+back to the location first occupied by his battery and found a double
+furrow ploughed behind the old battery position. Further observation
+disclosed the same double furrow directly behind the second location,
+and now the third furrow was being run. Sure enough these furrows were
+signals to the sky pilots, for shortly afterwards shells began to land
+around the new location, but the peasant was nowhere to be found.
+On orders quickly given the battery was at once moved back into the
+original position.
+
+With the morning came the same peasant with his two horses and plough,
+but he had run his last furrow on this earth the day before. A blow
+with an iron wrench ended his activities forever. That afternoon enemy
+aeroplanes hovered overhead, awaiting the new furrow that was never
+ploughed.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+LETTERS FROM THE FRONT
+
+
+                                                        MORT HOMME,
+                                                    August 25th, 1917.
+
+DEAR ED:—
+
+You no doubt think ill of me not to have answered your letter, but I
+know you will overlook my seeming neglect after you have read this.
+
+Have you ever experienced a feeling of complete disaster when suddenly
+everything changed and you saw a decent place to get some sleep, and a
+good hot meal in the bargain? Well, that is what just happened to us
+after we left “Hell” behind, but, even now, when anyone drops anything,
+or yells, I find myself taking to cover. No, I haven’t shell shock. I
+simply cannot fully collect myself.
+
+No doubt by this time you are acquainted with the details of the recent
+attack at the Bois d’Avicourt, where the French just naturally kicked
+the stuffings out of the Boches and walked away with such positions as
+Hill “304,” Avicourt, and Mort Homme (Dead Man). But, even if you are,
+I know you will enjoy some of my experiences during that fight—so here
+goes.
+
+After leaving Paris we took the train to Chalons and there we got our
+cars. The whole section is made up of little Fiats, and so you see we
+got a good start. We were on our way across country passing through Bar
+le Duc and on up to a little town called Erize La Petite, about fifteen
+miles from Verdun. The town was misnamed by someone, for I think they
+meant to call it “La Petite Dump.” However unfortunate that may be, we
+remained there for two weeks, sleeping in an old barn, until one night
+it rained so hard that we swam to our cars and finished our rest,
+soaking wet. We were all as disgusted as could be when orders came that
+we had been assigned to the 25th Division and were to move up to join
+it the following day for the attack, which was to take place three days
+later. The following day found us crawling up to the town of Brocourt,
+where the hospital is located. The Boches shelled this village with
+high explosives that night. A doctor informed me that they did this
+systematically every night at the same hour.
+
+Morning came and we were ordered up farther front. From the way the
+shells were coming down on us I thought we were joining the German Army
+instead of the French. We halted in the village of Reciecourt. I want
+to state right here that I was perfectly satisfied with the place we
+had left, and La Petite Dump seemed to me like “Paradise Lost,” for, on
+our way up to Reciecourt, we stopped four times to wait for the Huns to
+quit shelling the road ahead of us. Upon our arrival we began hunting
+for a house to use as a base, but the best we could do was to find
+one with two shell holes through the roof. We took it just the same.
+
+[Illustration: Sixty Feet From a German Front-Line Trench]
+
+That afternoon Singer, who is our chief, and Paul Hughes, our
+sous-chief, took two ambulances and drove with one man from each car up
+to the different posts we were to serve during the attack. Joe Widner,
+you remember him, is my teammate on our car, and I flipped a coin to
+see which of us would take the ride. I won the toss.
+
+Ten of us got into one ambulance and ten into another. I went with
+Singer, and as I got in I remember Singer threw the latch down on the
+back of the car and we could not get out, for it could be opened only
+from the outside.
+
+Now this was my first experience under heavy shell fire, and I did not
+relish the thought of being sewed up in this ambulance, unable to get
+out if I wanted to, for I always have been a pretty good sprinter and I
+felt if it got too hot I might be able to beat a couple of shells down
+the road; but, with the door locked, what a chance! As we went forward,
+we passed several large French batteries beside the road, all of them
+hammering away at Fritz. The farther forward we went the more numerous
+the guns, all more or less concealed. The front of the car was open
+and right ahead of us there came a terrific crash. I heard Singer say,
+“That one sure came close.”
+
+“That what?” I yelled back.
+
+“That shell,” he replied.
+
+Then I realized what a cute little place we were locked in, and,
+believe me, I got sick all over. I felt that my feet were shrinking
+and my shoes were falling off. My thoughts took on some speed. How
+gladly I would have changed this dirty shell-riddled ambulance for a
+Broadway subway. I kept my eyes glued on the floor of the car, with no
+idea of where we were or where we were going until we jolted around a
+sharp turn in the road and ran into a fallen tree. Naturally, the car
+stopped, and Singer opened up the exit and said, “This is the first
+post.”
+
+My release from that car gave me a new lease on life, and I began to
+take notice of the environment, after making sure that I was still
+intact. There were five or six dugouts here; in front of one were
+two men seated at a table. In front of them was a little plot of
+ground containing some newly made graves. Over to the right was a
+gang of men digging a long ditch about eight feet wide and eight feet
+deep. I thought it was a trench. Mills Averill, however, suggested
+it was to bury garbage. So we asked, in our sign language mixed with
+Franco-American French. One of the men looked up from his writing long
+enough to say, “_Pour l’attack_” (For the attack). Good God,
+Eddie, it was a grave big enough for a regiment, and just to think
+that it was for men who at that very moment were alive and in perfect
+health! I cannot tell you my feelings at this gruesome sight.
+
+At this moment a wagon drove up. The diggers laid down their tools
+and went over to it. I am sure it was a dead man they lifted out, for
+I saw his feet on the stretcher, but the rest of the poor devil was in
+a burlap bag. I did not try to see the rest of the human debris that
+came out of this death cart. The men at the tables wrote some records,
+and the ditch received the mass. This was anything but a pleasant
+experience for green men, and only our first post at that.
+
+We climbed into the car and visited each of the other posts, and as
+we went along the sights that met our eyes were always worse than at
+the previous place. As we pulled up in front of what we thought was
+our last post Singer said there was one more, but we couldn’t go up in
+the car except under cover of darkness. So we started out on our shoe
+leather, and it was some walk. The mud was knee deep and clingingly
+affectionate.
+
+Nothing ever seemed quite so good as when we turned our faces toward
+the rear. That night, in my dreams, there seemed to be all sorts of
+little mistakes being made, such as planting me in the hole at Post No.
+1, with the dead men. Tough stuff to dream about,—you can imagine how
+much rest I had.
+
+The next day Joe and I went on duty. We had to stay through the entire
+morning of the attack, for all twenty cars were in use. Our post began
+in order from Reciecourt. Going out were P4, P2, PJ left, PJ right,
+P3 and R4. There were four cars at P4 and two at PJ right. If a car
+came down with wounded from PJ, left post, it would stop at P4, and a
+car would be dispatched from here to take its place. P2 and PJ right
+were on the same road, so when a car came down from PJ, right, a car
+would go up from P2. The car coming in always continued on to the
+hospital. P3 and R4 were worked only on calls, and R4 only at night,
+for in daylight they would have been blown off the road. It was a sort
+of muddled schedule, but the shell fire was so heavy that no telephone
+wires could stand for a half hour. So we made the best of a bad
+situation.
+
+The French were bringing up guns continuously, all sizes from 37’s
+to large-caliber Marine pieces. They would take up firing positions
+alongside the roads and fire over our heads. When they let loose the
+ambulance would rock with the concussion.
+
+We had two runs in from P4 during the night, and at three-thirty a. m.
+the barrage fire began and it was terrible. We could not hear the Boche
+shells break. It was all one great uninterrupted roar, made by four
+thousand cannons. Can you imagine such a thing in that small sector?
+Joe and I went up to PJ right about four a. m. As we turned a corner we
+found an artillery caisson that had been hit. The horses lay dead in
+the road. What had become of the men I do not know, and we did not try
+to find out, for when we saw that we could just barely get by we kept
+on going.
+
+As we neared a crossroad we found the shells falling so thick we had to
+pull up and wait for an opportunity to dash by. It soon came. We did
+not have to listen for the Boche shells for we could see them break
+very plainly. Ahead of us was another sharp turn leading down into a
+little valley at the other end of which was the post. Suddenly a car
+appeared, running towards us like mad. As it approached we recognized
+Bud Riley and Eddie Doyle. Bud was driving, his eyes bulging out of his
+head as he leaned over the steering wheel watching the road. He never
+even glanced at us. His car was full of wounded and Eddie Doyle had to
+stand on the running board. As we passed he yelled, “God be good to you
+fellows for you are going into Hell!”
+
+Joe was driving, and on receiving this news he let up on the speed a
+bit, for, if we were going where Eddie said, Joe thought we had better
+take our time about it.
+
+He looked at me and I looked at him. I finally ventured to say,
+“Cheerful, isn’t it?” but Joe must have been thinking of Flatbush.
+Then we turned the corner and we discovered that Doyle was right. The
+whole gully was a mass of dead horses and wrecked wagons and parts
+of human bodies. The Germans had put over gas and caught the wagon
+train in the valley. The horses were harnessed and could not get away.
+Evidently some of the drivers stayed too long. Paul Hughes, Singer,
+Armstrong, Halverson, Woodell and Colledge had gone up ahead of us, and
+were cutting harness and releasing some horses that were yet alive, and
+driving them up to higher ground out of the gas. They saved a great
+many by a little head work, and the Government rewarded them all with
+the _Croix de Guerre_.
+
+We stopped, as there wasn’t room to get by, but soon Hughes came up
+and told us to go on over the heads of horses that could not be saved,
+which we did, and were soon at the post. All day we ran to and from the
+front, with our car full of wounded and dying. For twenty-four hours
+the twenty cars never had a rest. And, remember, we carried only bad
+cases. The others walked.
+
+The attack lasted five days, the German prisoners pouring in over
+all the roads. Frank Carleton was also hit by shell splinters in the
+leg. He also got the War Cross pinned on his chest. The whole attack
+was rotten, many suffering from chlorine and tear gas. Singer is in
+bad shape from it and I guess we all show the strain. But we are lucky
+with it all, for there was not a car in the whole lot that did not have
+shell marks on it.
+
+The old Twenty-fifth Division suffered pretty badly, but the struggle
+was not without success, for Mort Homme, Avicourt and Hill “304” are in
+our hands, and I hope they will stay there. Besides, we have plenty of
+German prisoners.
+
+As this is the way I have been spending my time, you know I did not
+have much of an opportunity to write letters. I must stop now and get a
+little sleep. If they shell us here to-night I hope they choke.
+
+Good luck. Ed Harding, Jim Baker, Baldwin, Creigier, Doyle, Riley, Joe,
+Tom and Armey are all O. K. and join me in sending you their best.
+Remember me to the bunch with you.
+
+                                                 “GUS” EDWARDS,
+                                                        Section 60.
+
+
+A LETTER FROM SALONIKA
+
+DEAR ED:
+
+I have just returned here from the front, and learned from your letter
+that you are in France. You don’t know how glad I was to hear from you.
+My prompt reply will bear me out, for you know I am not much of a hand
+at writing letters. Let me commence by saying that if they ever want
+you to come down here, don’t you do it, for, if there is one place that
+the Lord forgot to fix up just enough to be decent it’s this Bulgarian
+front, and, from what I have seen, all the Balkan States are no better.
+
+Once in a while we get some papers which show pictures of the hardships
+the British Tommies are enduring with artillery, etc., in the Flanders
+mud. If they have anything on us they must surely be in a bad way,
+because ninety-nine per cent of our front is mud. The remainder
+is—also mud. They have a roadway here and there at least. We never see
+what one would call a clearly defined path. It’s just one big field of
+mud.
+
+The Monastir road is the main artery of travel out toward our front,
+and this has been so cut up by the never-ending traffic and through
+lack of other parallel roads that it is about as bad as you can imagine
+it. At the end of the road (this end) conditions are barely tolerable.
+
+The town Salonika itself is located on the sea in a sort of hollow, and
+around us like sentinels are the hills, which guard every approach to
+the city proper for miles. Members high on the staff say the city could
+never be taken from the land side, and from the supplies stored here I
+am sure they believe this to be a fact. I do not think it will be long
+before we will come in for our share of attention in the columns of the
+newspapers, for we have been expecting the development of military
+activity for some little time past.
+
+The sanitary conditions are much improved here and everything is done
+to counteract disease. All kinds of improvements have been made, but
+the poor devils at the front are the ones that come in for their share.
+Men contract diseases here unknown to medical science, besides those
+that are known. Nearly everything reeks with malaria. I have taken
+enough quinine to run a drug store in the States six months, and while
+I, like many others, pride myself on the good fortune we are having,
+I am sure, in the days to come, we will see the effects which always
+follow.
+
+No doubt you are familiar with the Venizelos régime. I see him
+about quite often. The men that are with him are all bright, smart,
+up-to-date fellows, and with the Allies hammer and tongs, and they
+are far more loyal to Greece than the King’s party, who follow the
+instructions of Kaiser Bill.
+
+Write me a long letter, for it helps a great deal in such a place as
+this, and if you ever get some American newspapers you might send them
+on when you are through with them. Keep in touch with me, but don’t
+ever think of coming here unless they tie you hand and foot and send
+you.
+
+Take good care of yourself and hand those wooden-headed Germans some
+hot ones.
+
+                                Your pal,
+
+                                                           JOE.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+EYES OF THE ARMY
+
+
+All military observation balloons are practically “the eyes of the
+army.” They are generally captive—always out of reach of enemy
+artillery fire. Of course, they may become the victims of surprise
+attacks from enemy aviators.
+
+These sausage-shaped craft are very important adjuncts to the fighting
+forces, and they have regular habits. They go up every morning and
+come down every night. In this they are aided by the engine of some
+large auto-truck, which hauls them in or lets them go up, according
+to orders from the officer in charge. Their efficiency as posts of
+observation may be readily appreciated. There is nothing going on below
+for miles upon miles that cannot be distinguished through the use of
+powerful glasses in the hands of skilled lookout men.
+
+With these fellows on watch very little can transpire that they are not
+likely to discover in a jiffy. The enemy tries to send a wagon train of
+ammunition to some point of advantage, when, bingo! some shells explode
+in their path—then it’s a case of jumping and running for their lives.
+Troop movements are subject to the same kind of attack, in fact,
+everything is an open book to the trained observers, lolling about in
+the high altitude breezes, alert, however, to every little thing going
+on.
+
+It is most interesting to watch the work of the observation balloon,
+which always anchors close enough to the front to give it the advantage
+of seeing everything, yet far enough to the rear to protect it from
+being shot at by the enemy anti-aircraft batteries. It depends upon
+the contour and character of the ground, and at just what elevation
+the balloon officials can best observe. The great bag is held in place
+by a steel cable, and has direct telephone communication with the
+artillery field station.
+
+This station is located so that all wires from the observation posts
+lead into it, as do also the wires from the field batteries along
+certain parts of the front. When anything transpires that seems of
+enough consequence to deserve a few shells, the observer phones the
+location as it appears on his chart, and a corresponding chart at
+the artillery bureau furnishes correct information to the officers
+in charge, as though they were looking at the very spot themselves.
+The range is computed and phoned to the battery that commands the
+particular location of the objective. The range is soon found and the
+firing begins.
+
+It is then the duty of the gas-bag observers to inform the bureau
+the moment a shell explodes, setting forth the information that is
+necessary for corrections in the event that the shell missed; also
+whether it exploded before reaching the object or passed beyond. The
+moment this information is secured corrections in the range are
+immediately made, phoned to the battery, and the second shell is sent
+screaming on its way. After which corrections are again given, until
+finally the observer comes back with the word “hit.” They then have the
+range and can hammer away at the position until they have completed the
+necessary destruction.
+
+[Illustration: Trying on the Gas Masks]
+
+[Illustration: Badonviller Barricaded for Street Fighting]
+
+So accurate has this system become that, with an observation balloon to
+govern and observe, artillery fire, after the second and third shot,
+will come uncomfortably close to its objective, if it does not make a
+direct hit. The accuracy of cannon-fire nowadays is remarkable, and,
+although batteries may be located in clumps of trees or even hidden by
+hills, they have reached a perfection almost beyond belief. Thus it may
+be readily seen that the observation balloon plays an important part in
+modern warfare. Because of these observation balloons, there has seldom
+been, if ever, such a thing as concentrations of large bodies of
+troops for attacking purposes, or unending streams of caissons bringing
+up shells or supplies without coming under the eye of the observer.
+
+One day on the eastern front an artillery commander in our division
+started out on a tour of inspection. He arrived at a certain position,
+where a new battery was being located in a clump of woods just off the
+roadside. In preparation for the new battery some concrete work was
+being done on foundations.
+
+Pulling up on the road in a clearing, the officer and his aide stepped
+out of the car, followed by the chauffeur, and entered the woods to
+review the work. At a distance, so small that it could scarcely be
+seen, was a German observation balloon. The party had no sooner entered
+the woods when they were attracted by the explosion of a shell in close
+proximity. This was soon followed by a second, which landed in the
+road, and then a third, which struck beside the front end of the auto
+they had just left and blew it into fragments.
+
+One thing that comes under the eye of a person traveling along the
+military roads in France is the large number of soup kitchens that lie
+toppled over along the roadside. The reason for this is that there are
+always so many of these soup kitchens going to and from the front along
+roads that can be seen from enemy observation balloons, and they can be
+shelled with deadly and unerring accuracy.
+
+It is a most rare occurrence for the drivers of these soup kitchens to
+be injured or wounded, for they can hear the shell coming and dive off
+of the kitchens into the roadside or run for their lives. Meanwhile
+the shell will make a direct hit and blow the soup kitchen to pieces.
+
+Observation balloons are a hindrance to operations that the enemy
+desire to be unobserved; therefore aviators are dispatched against
+them and instructed to clear them from the skies. Of course, there is
+no means by which an observation balloon can resist successfully an
+attack by an aviator, even if equipped with a machine gun, because the
+aviator will always attack it from above.
+
+The best opportunity to destroy observation balloons always comes on
+cloudy days, when an aviator can circle around in the clouds until
+he gets directly over the balloon, and drop, unobserved, upon it.
+Then, with a machine gun, or an incendiary bomb, he can put it out
+of existence. When the observers see that they cannot get away from
+the enemy aviator their only chance is to jump from the basket with a
+parachute, as the moment the bomb strikes the gas bag and the contents
+ignite, it becomes an “inferno.”
+
+Two interesting incidents took place at Verdun in connection with
+observers and enemy aeroplanes after their gas bags had been struck and
+destroyed. In the first instance, the observer jumped from the basket,
+and was descending toward the earth suspended and swinging at the end
+of a parachute, like the pendulum of a clock.
+
+The enemy aviator, for additional exercise and excitement, circled
+around and descended along with the parachute, shooting at the observer
+as he swung through the air, with his machine gun, until he got his
+man. But in so doing he descended closer to the ground than he had
+contemplated doing, and a well-directed shot from an anti-aircraft
+battery brought both himself and his plane tumbling to the earth.
+
+The second instance was where a Boche aviator had dropped out of the
+clouds and an observer, seeing there was no chance to get away from
+him, quickly jumped from the basket of his balloon with a parachute.
+The bag was struck shortly after and burst into flames.
+
+It must have been the intention of the Boche to have some machine-gun
+exercise with this observer, for he circled around and tried to get
+into a position to fire. Before he could accomplish this the observer,
+swinging through the air, drew an automatic revolver, and with a
+well-directed shot hit the aviator and killed him.
+
+Observation balloon work is considered a very dangerous branch of the
+service, inasmuch as observers do not have an opportunity to protect
+themselves from enemy aviators and must rely chiefly on anti-aircraft
+batteries for protection.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+ANTI-AIRCRAFT BATTERIES
+
+
+Located all along the front are batteries, which consist principally of
+French cannon that we have heard so much about, known to the world as
+75’s. While this type is most frequently used, there are some aircraft
+batteries of larger caliber, known as the 105’s. The reason that these
+two types of guns are used exclusively is due to their flexibility.
+They can be changed to different angles and elevations and be fired
+with the rapidity so necessary in following an aeroplane in flight.
+
+Aircraft batteries are always located where protection is necessary
+from aviators in the rear of the lines, also in the event of the enemy
+aviator being able to get by the batteries up front.
+
+The guns are mounted over a pit on a revolving platform that can
+complete a circle. Counterweights are attached to the gun for elevation
+so that it can be changed quickly from the horizontal to very near
+a 90-degree angle, the direction, of course, being obtained by the
+shifting of the revolving platform.
+
+Some very novel contrivances have been developed for computing ranges,
+and each aircraft battery uses every available device that is likely to
+assist them in making flying uncomfortable for the Boches. Where there
+are two or more of these batteries they are connected up with each
+other by telephone, and, as an enemy flyer comes within range of their
+guns, the angles are phoned back and forth, and with this knowledge
+they can make the location untenable, even if they do not bring the
+flyer down. I have seen many an enemy flyer get into these pockets and
+rejoice at the moment he discovered the trap that there were some
+clouds close by into which he could dodge and get away with his skin
+intact.
+
+These planes are, in most instances, observation planes, either to see
+what is transpiring behind the lines or to take photographs of enemy
+positions. The bombing planes work mostly under cover of darkness,
+which enables them to come down much closer to earth.
+
+To meet this condition there is located at each aircraft battery a
+device known as an audiphone. It is a large box-shaped affair, made of
+sheet metal about thirty-six inches square. Inside are fastened four
+small cones, in appearance much like victrola horns. These are in turn
+connected with a vibrator similar to that in an ordinary telephone
+receiver. To this are attached two rubber tubes, identical with the
+instrument used by doctors called a stethoscope, for listening to the
+heart.
+
+This equipment is fastened to a post, and can be turned in any
+direction. The box-shaped device, working on a common axle, can be
+elevated or lowered at will. When an aviator is in the air a lookout
+places the two hard rubber tubes to his ears and turns the equipment in
+the general direction of the supposed location.
+
+He then elevates and lowers the box-shaped device until he arrives at
+a position where the clearest motor vibrations are received, the post
+being marked off in degrees, like the revolving gun-platform. The arrow
+on the audiphone points to the degree indicated on the post, and thus
+the direction is obtained and the gun trained at the same degree.
+
+Then there is a second arrow with a scale corresponding to the one upon
+which the gun is elevated. When the clearest vibrations come in, the
+angle at which the box rests is indicated, and this in turn is copied
+by the gun. The distance is estimated by the strength of the vibrations
+coming in on the receiving instrument. The general location is phoned
+to the searchlight stations and the light is projected to afford
+the batteries observation in the event that the aviator changes the
+direction of his flight after the first shot is fired.
+
+These projectors in many instances depend, of course, upon the
+locations where the greatest aerial activities take place, run up
+as high as four and a half feet in size, and with three or four
+searchlights playing into the heavens it is very easy to discern an
+aeroplane, unless it is flying very high.
+
+The French 75’s make a wonderful anti-aircraft gun that, with the
+remarkable perfection that gunners have attained, insures an enemy
+aeroplane quite a warm reception. But, at best, machines brought down
+by either side by anti-aircraft guns are very few, for no matter how
+good the marksmanship the aeroplane always has the advantage. He can
+take to higher levels quickly and the higher his elevation the greater
+his security.
+
+When a shot is fired at him in a certain position he knows that it will
+be from eight to eighteen seconds before the projectile will reach his
+elevation. By merely changing his course in a fast machine, four or
+five seconds will take him three or four hundred feet away from the
+bursting shell. But the frequency of direct hits in lower altitudes
+does not warrant aviators taking chances. They’d better be on their way.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+HAND GRENADE WORK
+
+
+There are two kinds of hand grenades, offensive and defensive. The
+first is employed in all offensive operations and to explain its use
+more clearly it is well to start with the bombers, popularly known as
+the suicide club.
+
+Before an attack is made, in most instances, a barrage fire is put
+over on the enemy trenches and the length of this preparation depends
+on the extent of the offensive and on the area over which it spreads.
+The purpose of this barrage fire is to blast out of existence all of
+the enemy machine guns on the parapet of the trenches that are to be
+attacked.
+
+It must be understood that with a heavy barrage fire on their
+front-line positions the enemy would be unable to keep many men
+in readiness at the guns, and the machine guns themselves would be
+endangered if they were left exposed. Therefore they take to the
+dug-outs with guns and all other equipment.
+
+Chosen from the regiments, there are certain men known as bombers,
+who are ready, at a specified time, with another kind of equipment—a
+large basket-shaped pocket swinging at their waists filled with hand
+grenades. They are always ready in the front-line trench to go over at
+the time set by the command. The barrage fire still plays on the enemy
+lines when the bombers charge across “No Man’s Land.” It is their task
+to keep the enemy and their machine guns in their dug-outs so that they
+cannot drag them to the parapets of the trenches for use against the
+infantry, which invariably follows the bombers “over the top.”
+
+The grenade used by the bombers in an offensive of this kind is a
+trifle larger than a good-sized lemon; projecting from one end is a
+pin, on which there is a touch button.
+
+Touch the button and the pin does the rest. It ignites a fuse on the
+end of which is an explosive cap, similar in design to the caps we use
+in this country for dynamite blasting. The cap sets off the charge
+which is supposed to be one of the most powerful and deadliest of
+explosives.
+
+The shell of the grenade is corrugated into little squares that break
+up and fly in all directions when the charge is exploded, and covers
+a large area on its mission of destruction. Much care and skill is
+required of the bomber, since he must be able to throw a grenade with
+great accuracy and always far enough to keep himself from being injured.
+
+There is a common notion abroad that bombs are thrown like baseballs,
+but this idea is erroneous. The method employed is radically different.
+Grenades are timed so that they go off quickly after reaching their
+objective and within five seconds of the time when the first throwing
+motion is made and the time fuse is going.
+
+During the early part of the war the moment a grenade was started
+fusing it was the desire of the bomber to get it on its way as quickly
+as possible. The Germans noticed that the grenades did not go off for
+several seconds after they landed, and, in many instances, picked them
+up and hurled them back. Many of our men were killed in this way before
+they learned to measure the time accurately.
+
+All along the front, in back of the lines, are fields where one may
+see companies of men practicing daily with grenades. Their work is a
+most important factor in modern warfare, as the defenders of a trench
+rely chiefly on their machine guns to resist infantry attacks. Should
+the bombers contrive to hold the enemy in their dug-outs, their own
+infantry can cross over without having to face a death-dealing stream
+of bullets that would be poured into them by three or four machine guns.
+
+[Illustration: Awaiting Orders Behind the Front]
+
+Strange to say, of all the men making up the different branches of
+service around base and army hospitals one rarely ever sees a maimed
+bomber. It is one thing or the other with these fellows. They come back
+whole or not at all. A most dangerous work is that of the bomber, as he
+is always the first to go over, and, of course, offers a tempting mark
+for whatever machine guns are not in the dug-outs but remain on the
+parapets of an enemy trench.
+
+Defensive grenades have a different classification and are employed in
+a distinctive way. Any or all infantrymen of an army may be equipped
+with this form of grenade. They are made on a principle diametrically
+opposite to that of the offensive grenade. The best of these are
+manufactured by an English concern and are very reliable. The element
+of danger in its operation is very slight. They are used principally
+for the destruction of barbed-wire entanglements, in order that
+infantrymen may make a quick passage over “No Man’s Land.”
+
+Should one of these grenades land alongside of a post supporting the
+enemy barbed wire, the explosion which follows is so tremendous that it
+will shatter that post into bits, causing all of the wire to drop to
+the ground. This will afford enough gaps to make passage free and easy.
+
+The defensive grenade is vastly different in structure and function, as
+the jacket containing the charge is a tin composition, very light in
+construction, so that every particle of force will be effective at a
+given point, without the necessity of having to break through a heavy
+iron shell. Just enough weight is used in the body of this type; it is
+devoid of the pin and the button, but has a handle held in place by
+a cotter pin on the end of which is a ring. When the ring is pulled
+it draws the cotter pin from the locking device on the body of the
+grenade, which holds the handle in a safe position.
+
+Before the pin is pulled the bomber must have the handle clamped down
+securely in the palm of his hand with the grenade, for the moment
+the handle is allowed to fly up the grenade begins fusing and must be
+thrown.
+
+As long as the handle is held securely in its original position, even
+though the pin be drawn, it is harmless. It is, however, ready for
+service in the fraction of a second, and makes an ideal defensive
+weapon for instant use. It can be thrown directly in front of a man
+rushing at you with a bayonet, and it will blow him into fragments. At
+the same time there will be perfect security to the one who launches
+it, but, at five times the distance, an offensive grenade would prove
+a boomerang. For cutting down enemy barbed wire, there is nothing so
+effective, except heavy artillery, which can compare with this high
+explosive hand grenade for terrific power of destruction.
+
+There is a newer form of grenade now in use, which is fired from a
+regular rifle. An attachment like a cylinder is fastened to the barrel
+of the rifle and a regulation cartridge inserted into the cartridge
+chamber, as when it is to be ordinarily fired. Then a grenade is
+placed in the cylinder and the gun is discharged while held at
+the height of the waist line, the muzzle being elevated or lowered
+according to the distance the grenade is to be thrown. There is a gauge
+showing where the grenades will approximately strike at different
+elevations of the muzzle, and it is surprising with what accuracy they
+will reach their objective. This method is used where the distance
+is too great for throwing by hand. The ball, when fired, passes down
+the rifle barrel and through the grenade, striking a contact spring,
+which starts it fusing. The gas from the explosion of the powder in the
+chamber forms the propelling power.
+
+A great many other contrivances are used for the launching of grenades,
+such as various forms of spring traps. The French have a pneumatic
+device,—a cylinder in which the grenade is placed, and the pressure
+for launching it is produced by means of a pump, not unlike in design
+that of the automobile tire pump. All these different devices, while
+serving a purpose, do not meet all requirements as effectively as does
+the grenade which is launched by hand. It is a most dangerous missile
+and hard to get away from.
+
+One serious danger to which consideration must be given and into
+which Americans are apt to be tempted is the collection of souvenirs
+of war. All along the front one sees many things that are of
+interest,—unexploded shells, hand grenades, and the like. The
+inexperienced, unsuspecting the danger of such things, are tempted to
+pick them up and examine them.
+
+This has caused many a death. It is a risk that should never be
+taken, for it is only another way of courting death. Not every shell
+or grenade that is sent over explodes, and many actually lie intact
+for days only to explode at some slight disturbance. One only needs
+to observe the French, who are familiar with all angles of the game
+through their three and a half years’ experience, to learn what they
+think about tampering with shell heads.
+
+A regular corps of men, appointed generally from some artillery
+battery, make it their duty to look after unexploded shells, either by
+setting them off, or by carting them away and burying them,—likewise
+unexploded hand grenades. These are collected and buried, but many
+an experienced man has come to his death while clearing up roads and
+fields of these unexploded missiles.
+
+There have been instances known on different fronts where the Germans
+have “fixed” everything they leave on the field, allowing shells and
+grenades to lie there for someone to pick them up. An attractive
+officer’s helmet might catch one’s eye and appear to be just about the
+most harmless thing in the world. But to touch it more than likely
+means death.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+THE AMERICAN Y. M. C. A.
+
+
+An honest confession is said to be good for what ails you, mentally
+and physically, so here goes with reference to my erstwhile ignorance
+concerning that great and growing organization known to all the world
+as the Young Men’s Christian Association. I’ll admit my prejudice. It
+goes back to the days when I invented every possible excuse to keep
+from going to Sunday-school, and so when I arrived at maturity I found
+myself shying toward the outer curbing every time. I used to pass
+quickly these quiet, orderly buildings, fearful that someone would rush
+out and thrust a lesson leaflet into my hand.
+
+Once I had a friend who, when in earnest conversation, would halt
+occasionally to point his long forefinger and say, “Listen to the
+truth!”—and that’s the kind of a gesture and the exact words that
+I would use now if I should find it necessary to raise my voice in
+defense of the Y. M. C. A.
+
+I’ll never forget the first one I visited. I was in Paris on leave of
+absence, along with another young man in the same service as myself.
+He suggested a visit to the Y. M. C. A., and, so far as my pleasure
+was concerned, he might just as well have suggested the morgue. The
+motion was carried, however, and I found myself being jostled along,
+speechless with disgust for having come all the way from the front-line
+trenches to waste my time at such a tame sort of a place. Visions of
+being met at the door with a bundle of “tracts” and a pocket Bible
+came into my mind’s eye, but, on the theory that it never pays to be
+a joy-killer, I said nothing. In less time than it takes to tell it I
+found myself the worst fooled mortal of my age and weight among all my
+numerous friends and acquaintances.
+
+Our taxicab drew up in front of a palatial building, which I recognized
+as our destination, for I did know the triangular flag of the Y. M.
+C. A. We entered a large open court, where were several small tables
+and chairs, reasons for which we learned afterwards. Ascending a grand
+stairway we arrived at the second floor, or Club Room. At once two
+gentlemen stepped forward with a cheerful “Hello, Boys,” and invited
+us to make ourselves “quite at home.” Almost immediately thereafter we
+were taken in tow and escorted around the place.
+
+At this moment I glanced at the peculiar expression on my friend’s
+face. We had been there five minutes, and no one had handed either of
+us a Bible—which seemed most surprising to me. There were spacious
+lounging rooms, with big easy chairs, and tables heaped with books
+and magazines, also writing rooms, smoking rooms, victrolas, pianos,
+billiard and pool tables, just as you find them in a genuine American
+club. It reminded me of good old New York with all its comforts and
+ease. The atmosphere was that of wholesome refinement with a welcome in
+every face that beamed our way.
+
+Our escorts informed us that things were not exactly in shape as yet,
+but would be in full running order very shortly. For a place that was
+not in working trim I wondered what could be done to make it more
+complete. I was soon to learn that its growth since the war began had
+been phenomenal. It had become the principal rendezvous for the army
+boys, a home, indeed, to which they could come at any time, day or
+night, and get good hot baths and clean up. I was completely surprised,
+for in Paris, at the finest hotels, such a thing was impossible, except
+on Saturdays and Sundays, because of the conservation of fuel.
+
+Then, too, the Y. M. C. A. had established a Bureau of Tobacco, where
+the boys could obtain American cigarettes and cigars at a cost which
+was much less than they could be bought even at home. The French
+Government would not allow cigarettes to be sent to the boys in
+service, unless the duty, which was prohibitive, was paid on them. One
+has to have but a single experience with “army issue,” the name applied
+by the boys to the tobacco passed out to soldiers, to know what a big
+satisfaction it is to be able to walk up to the counter of the Y. M.
+C. A. with the feeling of ease one feels in going into one’s home-town
+favorite cigar store or club.
+
+After showing us everything about the premises, our escort finally
+capped the climax by announcing, “It’s four o’clock. Ice cream is ready
+to be served.”
+
+Now, say, gentle reader, suppose you had been driving an ambulance for
+several months, practically day and night for weeks at a time, and
+that all you had known in the way of “eats” was the same old stuff day
+in and day out? And, I ask you again, what would you say if suddenly
+you were invited to sit down beside a daintily covered table in a
+delightful courtyard and found yourself confronted with a heaping
+big dish of real ice cream. Never mind your answer. You’d be found
+“a-hanging around” the place at four o’clock every afternoon of your
+stay in Paris. That’s what we did, and we were welcomed each time in
+that same cordial way.
+
+In the colder season, when it becomes too chilly for ice cream, the
+Volunteer Canteen Workers of the Y. M. C. A. established a tea room,
+where at four p. m. hot coffee, chocolate and such things as home-made
+doughnuts, cakes and pies were served. This place did not go a-begging
+for popularity, as may well be surmised, for it was filled to capacity
+every day.
+
+It would be unjust to create the impression that the popularity of the
+American Y. M. C. A. is due to the fact that it serves good ice cream.
+That was only one of the many things that hit the right spot.
+
+The biggest attraction, to my mind, was the spirit of sterling good
+fellowship which permeated the institution. The welcome was sincere.
+There was no snobbishness, no attitude of “look what we’re doing for
+these fellows—shouldn’t they be most awfully thankful.” There wasn’t
+a bit of that. On the other hand there was plenty of “there’s nothing
+too good for you boys who are doing the job out there; we’re going to
+serve you!” That is the attitude of the big-minded business men who
+have thrown open the doors of this institution in order that the boys
+from “out there” might have comfort when on furlough in Paris. It was a
+big thought and it has kept many a youngster from going to the devil in
+that same big city.
+
+Before I left France, the Y. M. C. A. was making big strides in the
+establishment of Huts and Canteens along the front; also around the
+villages where the divisions of the army go for rest. Here the men at
+the front can have an opportunity to purchase food and supplies. This
+in itself is a wonderful blessing for, in the devastated towns along
+the front, it is impossible to buy anything.
+
+Imagine the undying impression a man will retain of this wonderful
+organization when he recalls the day he was sent to the rear, drilled
+by a Boche bullet and dragging one foot after the other through the mud
+and water of the trenches, chilled to the bone, as he turned a corner
+and found tucked away in a hole in a wall a man who handed him a cup
+of steaming hot coffee; or, when that same man lies on a hospital cot
+in the rear, recovering, there comes a representative of this same
+wonderful institution with words of cheer and consolation. Such is the
+work that these men are doing and such the wonderful contribution to
+humanity it has proved to be!
+
+While in London I spent most of my time at the Y. M. C. A. huts. There
+they serve regular meals at a maximum cost of fourteen cents, which
+consist of soup, meat, potatoes, vegetables, bread, butter, dessert
+and coffee. It is open to any of the men of the Allied armies. I was
+particularly attracted one day to a group of boys sitting around a
+piano in the recreation room, singing and playing. An American soldier
+played the piano, an American sailor played a violin, a Canadian a
+banjo, and an Englishman a mandolin.
+
+The “choir” was composed of a Belgian, a Scotch Highlander, an
+Irishman, a New Zealander, an Australian and a Frenchman—with a dozen
+Americans thrown in. I inquired of one of our sailors how he liked
+London? He replied, “Well, as much as I have seen of it, it’s fine, but
+we boys spend most of the time right here at this piano.”
+
+I found this to be true, for, no matter what time I would go there,
+the same crowd was always present, and the room filled with blue smoke
+thick enough to choke a Chinaman.
+
+The facts set forth are my only experiences with the Y. M. C. A., but
+let me commend to everyone the wonderful work that this organization is
+doing, for if anything can hearten a man when he is away from all that
+is near and dear to him it is the attention paid him by big-minded,
+big-hearted men who carry on the field work of the Y. M. C. A. No one
+preaches to you when you are under its roof, but there creeps into
+one’s heart a new feeling that one longs to hold on to. I’m for the Y.
+M. C. A. strong.
+
+[Illustration: A Small “Persuader” at Verdun]
+
+[Illustration: Field Telephone Station Controlling the Shell Fire]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+REAR-LINE DIVERSIONS
+
+
+During their leisure hours it is quite necessary for men to have
+something of interest to divert their minds; the French military
+authorities have been quick to realize the value of the old saying that
+all work and no play makes Jack a poor fighter.
+
+There is with each army corps a regularly established department
+devoted to the entertainment of the soldiers. They have also with them
+official kinematographers of the French Army, who take pictures of
+everything interesting that transpires in the sector. The films of one
+army, through a bureau, are exchanged with those of an army operating
+in another sector, for the benefit of the men so that they can see
+what is going on at the fronts. The shows are generally given in some
+little village at the rear, where the men who are not in the trenches
+are quartered. The program is changed each day and a sprinkling of
+comedies are worked in to give the entertainment the proper flavor.
+
+Commencing at seven-thirty to eight p. m. the little streets are
+generally packed, long before the time the doors are to open, and when
+they are thrown back you are generally lifted off your feet by the mad
+rush and scramble for seats. After being jostled about like a rubber
+ball, you may finally end up inside the theater—and occasionally
+outside. It’s a case of come early or you don’t see the show, because
+there are no places large enough in these small villages to afford
+accommodation for all the men that are quartered there.
+
+On these occasions there is always music furnished by the regimental
+bands, and this is one of the features of the show. Many of these bands
+have men who are celebrities known internationally. We had in our
+division two grand opera singers and a violinist, who, before the war,
+was the leader of the orchestra at Monte Carlo.
+
+As soon as the performance began the doors were closed to exclude all
+light, and the windows covered with heavy drapery. The minute the
+soldiers get inside, they light their pipes and cigarettes and settle
+down for an evening’s entertainment. In ten minutes the place is filled
+with smoke, and an hour after the performance commenced it would seem
+impossible that a picture could be thrown on the screen. But no one
+seems to mind the smoke barrage so long as they are afforded amusements
+to divert their minds.
+
+Other evenings, at scheduled times, big events would come off in the
+form of a drama or a comedy, produced entirely by the soldiers. Some
+sketch was always presented where the largest men in the regiments took
+the parts of angels or some fellow with a beard portrayed the part of
+the ardent young lover. Of course, to complete the performance, it was
+necessary to have a few women, and these not being available, someone
+had to make-up for the part.
+
+These were usually picked from among the mule drivers and cooks of the
+regiment (or somebody in similar positions, where daintiness in the
+execution of their regular work best suited them, in the judgment of
+the impresario, for the part). There was always a king who was a very
+stern ruler, likewise a fearless warrior. The smallest man with the
+squeakiest voice generally fell heir to this rôle. All in all, the cast
+was usually very well selected, and it invariably produced just the
+effect that the entertainment committee desired.
+
+But the concerts given by the military bands were the real
+entertainments, after all. They were sure to exceed one’s expectation,
+for they were classical and sublime. Selections from all of the leading
+operas were rendered in a most creditable way, and it was really a
+great pleasure to attend them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+“FOOD WILL WIN THE WAR”
+
+
+Upon my return to this country, after having lived as I did abroad,
+the billboards with the caption, “Food Will Win the War,” was one of
+the first things that caught my eye, and I was deeply impressed with
+its significance, but a few days after arriving I was also destined to
+learn very soon how little these words seemed to mean to the average
+American. I visited, of course, several of the leading cafés and
+hotels, and from the menus one could hardly believe that this country
+is at war and allied with people and armies that are badly in need of
+food.
+
+No army can fight efficiently, laborers cannot toil in the manufacture
+of equipment and supplies for the armies in the field, unless they
+have the proper and sufficient food.
+
+America little realizes what France has accomplished along lines
+of conservation. Reflect, for the moment, on the following facts.
+Before the war, France depended largely on this country for many
+foodstuffs, even when all of her tillers of the soil were following
+their agricultural work daily. Upon the outbreak of war, all her
+able-bodied men of a military age were called to the colors. There was
+no one left to work the farms but women, old men and young boys, and
+naturally their domestic production fell off, though the demand for
+food was ever greater. Moreover, one must consider the territory that
+has been devastated into regions of barren wastes, for, in August,
+1914, when the German armies swept through northern France to the very
+gates of Paris, all the stock on farms were driven off and confiscated
+for their troops. Then in the retreat everything that was productive
+was destroyed.
+
+It is not difficult to understand why the internal production of
+France has suffered a material decrease, and she must now lean just
+that much more on our assistance in the providing of foodstuffs. With
+conservation working in this country we can give them that which is
+really unnecessary to us, but vital to them. An order has just been
+issued to the French Army from Headquarters to cut down the daily bread
+ration of each soldier, and I want to say that I know what this means,
+for I have lived on it, and for nourishment, at the best, it is nothing
+to brag about.
+
+Some people think they are making a supreme sacrifice in submitting to
+our wheatless day regulation, but they should dwell a moment on the
+thought that for over three years the soldiers, to say nothing of the
+women and children of France, have not seen a loaf of white bread.
+Their wheatless day is seven days a week and fifty-two weeks a year.
+
+I think I know the American people well enough to feel that they would
+not stand aside and selfishly see men, women and children go without
+food, especially when they can give it without any great inconvenience
+to themselves. I feel it is the lack of a proper understanding that is
+the basic cause of food wasting in this country, and not a disregard
+for the suffering of others.
+
+Every time we sit down to a meal, either in the home or in a
+restaurant, and order more food than we can consume or need, we are
+taking from the reserve which does not morally belong to us and thereby
+depriving the man at the front of sufficient food. I think everyone
+will agree with me when I say that if there is anyone entitled to a
+decent meal once in a while it’s the fellow who is ready to give up his
+life for his country—and all we are asked to do is to give up those
+habits which are unnecessary and wasteful.
+
+The great problem of winning this war rests with the American people,
+and if each one does his and her part, that will prove the deciding
+factor in defeating the Germans.
+
+A noted statesman of Germany is credited with saying that Germany has
+not the slightest fear of the American Army or Navy. But when the
+hundred million people rise up as a unit with undivided aim—that day
+will be the undoing of Germany. Now, this simply means that it is the
+American people that Germany is afraid of.
+
+It is very difficult to bring the nearness of the war home to each
+and every one of us. It is difficult, indeed, for each to realize
+that we are just as much a part of this war as the boys who wear the
+uniform abroad. The only difference is that they have given everything
+they have to give and we can only approach their one hundred per cent
+liberality by conserving and rendering every assistance that is within
+our power to do by word, deed, and particularly money.
+
+Everyone should do his part as an individual patriot, so that when
+our hundred million are working as a unit, the sledge hammer blows of
+our nation will be the undoing of a monster that will be swept from
+this earth with such force that it will never again menace liberty and
+freedom.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+HOMEWARD BOUND
+
+
+It is said to be something of a job to run over to Europe during these
+war times, with so many restrictions in the way of ocean travel, but if
+anyone ever found it hard to get there they should try _leaving_
+there. The day we were given our discharge from the French Army we
+started to leave. We soon found that if it had not been for taxicabs
+we would all be there to-day, for when the offices that control the
+routine and formality that one has to go through were finally located,
+the only person that was considered was the taxi driver, seemingly in
+order that he might come in for his share of your roll before you go
+out of the country.
+
+First it is necessary to go to the American Ambassador’s office with
+your passport, and establish the fact that you really are yourself.
+
+Application must be made in writing for your return passage and all
+facts about yourself established. After this is done you get your stamp
+of approval, which makes you feel that you are fairly well started.
+
+The next in order, however, is a visit to the United States Consulate’s
+office, and while this is not such a great distance away you feel
+that it is far enough. Here you get a second stamp of approval and
+are directed to the French Bureau of Military Control. This office is
+located out of town, possibly in order to afford the employees the
+fresh country air, and while you’re getting there the taximeter does
+its share toward making the trip interesting and exciting, and causes
+one to lose all interest in the passing scenery no matter how beautiful.
+
+At the French Bureau you surrender your release from the Army and are
+given a third stamp of approval, this time with a paper, which must
+be taken to the Prefecture of Police. So again you sit and watch the
+centimes turn into francs, until you’re tempted to get out and walk.
+But where is this Prefecture of Police Bureau? Well, it’s about the
+same distance on the other side of town as was the Bureau of Military
+Control on this side. On the theory that nothing from nothing leaves
+nothing, it would seem that for a weary soldier the only thing to do
+was to curl up on the rear seat and sink into dreamland. It might
+have turned out only a bad dream. I have heard shells flying by at a
+fast clip, but never did anything go so fast as the figures on that
+taximeter.
+
+From the looks of the records kept at the Police Bureau I am sure they
+would know if there was anything in the world to your discredit, but
+if you have a clean bill you are quickly O. K.’d and are again on your
+way. When I got out of there I glanced at my driver, who was a young
+fellow when we started out, but having been gone so long I felt sure by
+now he had a beard that he could trip in.
+
+On going back to America by way of England it is now necessary to pay
+a call upon the English Consul in Paris, who will look over the stamps
+the various offices have put on your passport in order to determine
+whether or not he would care to have you go back that way. This was
+my last taxi ride by way of kicking off the shackles that held me on
+foreign soil. Much as I loved France I was hungry for home and glad to
+feel that I was free to go there.
+
+The following morning found our crowd on the train bound for Havre.
+As we sped along we passed just back of the front held by the English
+and, after an eight-hour trip, arrived at our destination. After
+transferring our baggage we were greeted with the pleasant information
+that there had been a storm on the Channel and many mines had broken
+loose. Until the trawlers succeeded in sweeping them back into harness
+no boat would leave that port.
+
+Now the sad part of this news was that if this boat did not leave
+during the night we would miss our steamer for America—and the boat
+did not leave. So we slept on board, and the next day was spent in the
+town. That night we got under way, the storm kept us company and our
+steamer did everything but run upside down. It was a messy-looking
+crowd that arrived in Southampton the next morning, but we stayed only
+long enough to attend a meeting of the customs officials, then we were
+off for London. We had missed our boat and must wait four days for a
+sailing on another line.
+
+That night I went to the theater, and after enjoying a good play for
+two hours the curtain descended abruptly and a gentleman stepped out
+on the stage to announce that there was an air raid on, and anyone
+choosing to leave could do so. There were a great many people who got
+up and left for the shelters that are provided throughout the city. In
+less than five minutes the curtain went up again and the performance
+was resumed. When we left the theater autos and police bicycles
+plastered with signs, “Take to Cover,” were speeding up and down the
+street. Most people went down into the underground railway stations,
+but the Boche did not penetrate the outer defenses and were only able
+to drop a few bombs on the outskirts of the city. During the four
+nights we spent in London there were three air raids.
+
+A great many American sailors were in London, and it happened that the
+Church of Saint Martin held services while we were there. We couldn’t
+miss that chance. The King and Queen and Princess were in attendance,
+as well as Field Marshall French and Admiral Jellicoe, with other
+celebrities.
+
+After four days in London we left for Liverpool to catch our boat, and
+sailed for dear old America on the evening we arrived. Hard luck seemed
+to pursue us, for the next morning we found ourselves at anchor at the
+mouth of the river with the consoling news that two German submarines
+were lying outside the bar awaiting our departure. So we stayed
+there all day in a dense fog and also that night, with about twelve
+other vessels of various sizes.
+
+[Illustration: Ruins Along the Lorraine Front]
+
+The following morning we slipped anchor and in a few hours were well
+out into the Irish Sea, the heart of the infested area. If there is
+any place where U-boats are thick it is off the Irish coast. Nothing
+eventful happened that first day but our boat was heavily armed and all
+the men were at their posts every minute. Meals were served to the gun
+crews at their posts.
+
+About seven-thirty that night, after we had come on deck from dinner,
+there was a report of a cannon behind us—a U-boat had come up fifteen
+hundred yards astern, and, not having a chance to launch a torpedo,
+took a shot at us with a small deck gun. It was so dark that the U-boat
+could not be seen, but our gunners at the stern could see the flash of
+their gun and took that for a target. Of course, we could not see a hit
+if one was made, but the U-boat did not fire any more. Probably its
+officer did not care to try conclusions with so watchful a foe.
+
+We did not wait to investigate. Full steam ahead soon put distance
+between us. All went well the rest of the night and the following day,
+each minute making our travel safer, and soon we were well out to sea
+with chances of being attacked growing less all the while.
+
+On her trip previous the same thing had happened to this vessel, only
+their opponent was a little more persistent than ours had been. The
+U-boat fired fifty-four shots at her.
+
+When three days at sea a fire broke out in one of the holds and spread
+to the dynamo room. All hands turned out to fight the flames, and,
+considering that they were coming out of the upper deck hatches for a
+while, things looked pretty bad. But at last, with good work on the
+part of the crew, it was under control. It is not very easy to sleep
+on a boat in mid-ocean when you know that a fire is smouldering and
+likely to break through and spread at any moment.
+
+Four days later we fell in with the American patrol and the sight of
+two American warships was at once a comfort and a delight.
+
+The only disappointment in store for us was our failure to arrive at
+New York early enough to get up the river and land. We missed it by
+half an hour and had to lie in the Narrows in sight of home all night
+long! Rotten luck. However, bad luck is sometimes good luck, for next
+morning as we came on deck there was the Statue of Liberty! I had seen
+it hundreds of times but never as I saw it that beautiful morning. And
+then, an hour later, wasn’t it fine to scramble up the gangplank to
+see who would be first to put foot on good old American soil! Home
+again—_home again_.
+
+What a wonderful feeling!
+
+
+
+
+ Of all the charming books that may come forth this year, none will be
+                           more welcome than
+
+                        GEORGINA’S SERVICE STARS
+
+                       By Annie Fellows Johnston
+
+                     TO BE PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1st
+
+
+In it will be found a new story of beloved Georgina whose Rainbow
+adventures led into her tenth year. Now she is older—sweet sixteen,
+if you please—and Richard, her playmate of childhood days, is a grown
+man of seventeen—and as devoted as ever. Of course he got into the
+great war enough to give Georgina a second star to her service flag;
+her father, being a famous surgeon, his star is rightfully at the top.
+But watch out for Richard! (Beautifully illustrated. $1.35 net.) AS
+USUAL—FOR ALL THE FAMILY
+
+
+---------------------------------------------------
+|GEORGINA of the RAINBOWS                         |
+|                                                 |
+|Now selling in beautiful popular edition, 60 cts.|
+---------------------------------------------------
+
+Britton Publishing Company                                      New York
+
+
+
+
+He has written another one—and it is as good as his famous book
+_“Laugh and Live”_
+
+MAKING LIFE WORTH WHILE
+
+—that the title of _Douglas Fairbanks’_ new book to be published in
+early autumn
+
+
+It is written in his own inimitable style—another book of inspiration
+for people of all ages and either sex—a new vein of optimistic cheer
+for us mortals of a war-worn world—another message from the man who
+knows how to keep himself happy and well, and who is willing to pass
+his recipe on to others.
+
+                      _His book makes for Success_
+                        _Everybody will want it_
+
+                  12mo.—Beautifully Illustrated with
+                      16 New Photographic Duotones
+
+                       Cloth, $1.00   Khaki, $1.00
+                       Leather, $2.00 Ooze, $2.50
+
+                      To be published September 1
+
+Britton Publishing Company                                      New York
+
+
+
+
+                      Over the Seas for Uncle Sam
+
+                           By ELAINE STERNE,
+
+                    Author of “The Road of Ambition”
+
+
+Miss Sterne is Senior Lieutenant of the Navy League Honor Guard, which
+has charge of entertainment and visitation in behalf of sick and
+wounded sailors sent home for hospital treatment. Their experiences,
+such as may be published at this time, now appear in book form. This
+book brings out many thrilling adventures that have occurred in the
+war zone of the high seas—and has official sanction. Miss Sterne’s
+descriptive powers are equaled by few. She has the dramatic touch which
+compels interest. Her book, which contains many photographic scenes,
+will be warmly welcomed in navy circles, and particularly by those in
+active service.
+
+
+Cloth                    Illuminated Jacket                    $1.35 Net
+
+
+
+
+                    Ambulancing on the French Front
+
+                           By EDWARD P. COYLE
+
+
+Here is a collection of intensely interesting episodes related by a
+Young American who served as a volunteer with the French Army—Red
+Cross Division. His book is to the field of mercy what those of Empey,
+Holmes and Peat have been in describing the vicissitudes of army life.
+The author spent ten months in ambulance work on the Verdun firing
+line. What he saw and did is recounted with most graphic clearness.
+This book contains many illustrations photographed on the spot showing
+with vivid exactitude the terrors of rescue work under the fire of the
+big guns.
+
+
+Cloth                16 Full page Illustrations                $1.35 Net
+
+Britton Publishing Company                                      New York
+
+
+
+
+  TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
+
+  Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
+  corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
+  the text and consultation of external sources.
+
+  Inconsistencies in a.m., a. m., p.m., and p. m. spacing have been
+  retained. Inconsistent hyphenations have been left as is.
+
+  Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
+  and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.
+
+  Page 47. Replaced “parrafin” with “paraffin”.
+  Page 161. “Teshez Vous” is probably “Taisez Vous”.
+  Page 162. “Teshez Vous” is probably “Taisez Vous”.
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77797 ***
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+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77797 ***</div>
+<div class="transnote">
+TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
+
+<p>Some minor changes to the text are noted at the <a href="#transnote">end of the book</a>.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp70" id="cover">
+<img alt="Original cover" class="w100" src="images/cover.jpg">
+</figure>
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<h1>
+AMBULANCING ON THE<br>
+FRENCH FRONT
+</h1>
+
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="002b-i" style="max-width: 25em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/002b-i.jpg" alt="A man in uniform smiling with one leg propped on some stairs.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">ON THE JOB, DAY AND NIGHT.</p>
+      <p class="p1 noindent">A picture of the author, one of the first Americans to serve as
+    an ambulance man on the French front.</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center">
+<span class="smcap fs200">Ambulancing on</span><br>
+<span class="smcap fs200">the French Front</span><br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<span class="smcap">By</span><br>
+<br>
+EDWARD R. COYLE<br>
+<br>
+<br>
+<i>Illustrated</i><br>
+</p>
+<br>
+<figure class="figcenter illowe4" id="003-title-i">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/003-title-i.jpg" alt="Publisher logo">
+</figure>
+<br>
+<p class="center">
+<span class="smcap">New York</span><br>
+BRITTON PUBLISHING COMPANY
+</p>
+</div>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center">
+Copyright, 1918<br>
+<span class="smcap">Britton Publishing Company, Inc.</span>
+</p>
+<hr class="r5">
+<p class="center">
+Made in U. S. A. All rights reserved.
+</p>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="TO_MY_MOTHER">
+    TO MY MOTHER
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="noindent">Whose parting gift was a miniature photograph
+of her own dear self upon which she had
+inscribed these words:</p>
+
+<p>My only child who is given to the Cause of
+Liberty and Freedom. May God guide him
+safely so that he may help those who are unfortunate.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+  <span class="smcap">His Mother’s Prayer.</span>
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="AUTHORS_PREFACE">
+    AUTHOR’S PREFACE
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="noindent">When I went to France there was no thought
+in my mind that I should ever write a book on
+the subject of my experiences over there. On
+my return, however, many friends besieged me
+for details of the great war, which had come
+under my observation while serving in the
+Ambulance Corps on the French front. It was
+easy to infer from the eagerness of all that real
+news was in demand, none seeming to tire of
+asking questions and listening to what I had to
+say in reply. From these impromptu conversations
+occurring day after day, I began to
+realize how much I had really experienced during
+my stay abroad. Consequently, when
+urged to write a book for the benefit of the
+general public, I consented on the theory that
+the more we Americans know about true conditions
+in the War Zone the surer we are to win
+victory from the most ruthless enemy ever
+known to mankind. I make no pretense of
+being a writer, but I know what I saw and I
+hope to make myself understood on the subject
+of war as it is to-day on the firing line.
+Much in the way of rumor has passed for fact
+in America. Propaganda has confused the
+public mind. The more fact that leaks through,
+not calculated to send aid and comfort to the
+foe, the better for all of us. In this, my first
+attempt at writing, and possibly my last, I
+intend to give facts. Matters that should not
+be disclosed for military reasons will, of
+course, be reserved for historians of another
+day.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+  <span class="smcap">Edward R. Coyle.</span>
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">
+    CONTENTS
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+<table class="autotable">
+<thead>
+<tr>
+<td class="fs80" colspan="2">CHAPTER</td>
+<td class="tdr fs80">PAGE</td>
+</tr>
+</thead>
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">I</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">How I Came to Go</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">15</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">II</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Ambulance Work</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">24</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">III</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Sandricourt</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">31</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">IV</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Medical Care</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">43</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">V</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">A Lesson I Learned</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">49</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VI</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">A Visit to Paris</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">54</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VII</td>
+<td>“<span class="smcap">The Front</span>”</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">61</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">VIII</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Massing Before Verdun</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">67</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">IX</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">The Siege of Verdun</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">77</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">X</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">A Visit to Baccarat</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">104</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XI</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Homeless Children</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">109</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XII</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Afternoon Tea</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">115</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIII</td>
+<td>“<span class="smcap">Petit Post</span>”</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">122</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIV</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Badonviller the Martyr</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">126</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XV</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">“Snipers” at Work</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">135</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVI</td>
+<td>“<span class="smcap">Kamerad!</span>”</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">141</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVII</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">The Art of Camouflage</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">151</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XVIII</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Spies and Their Work</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">159</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XIX</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Letters from the Front</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">174</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XX</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Eyes of the Army</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">190</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXI</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Anti-Aircraft Batteries</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">199</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXII</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Hand Grenade Work</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">205</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXIII</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">The American Y. M. C. A.</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">215</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXIV</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Rear-Line Diversions</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">225</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXV</td>
+<td>“<span class="smcap">Food Will Win the War</span>”</td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">229</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdr">XXVI</td>
+<td><span class="smcap">Homeward Bound</span></td>
+<td class="tdr"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">235</a></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS">
+    LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  <a href="#002b-i">Picture of Author—<i>Frontispiece</i></a><br>
+  <a href="#096b-i">The Wagon of Mercy Loading Up</a><br>
+  <a href="#112a-i-1">A Camouflage Road Made to Order</a><br>
+  <a href="#112a-i-2">A Natural Camouflage Road</a><br>
+  <a href="#064b-i">A “Load-Up and Getaway”—Wounded for the Hospital</a><br>
+  <a href="#080a-i-1">The Bivouac of the Dead</a><br>
+  <a href="#080a-i-2">Where the Souls of Men Are Calling</a><br>
+  <a href="#016a-i-2">A French Gun Much Respected by Fritz</a><br>
+  <a href="#048a-i-1">German Sacrilege—Christ’s Figure Decapitated</a><br>
+  <a href="#048a-i-2">Ruins of the Church Containing the Figures</a><br>
+  <a href="#160b-i-1">Sacked and Burned</a><br>
+  <a href="#160b-i-2">Badonviller Destroyed by the Germans</a><br>
+  <a href="#176a-i">Sixty Feet from a German Front-Line Trench</a><br>
+  <a href="#192b-i-1">Trying on the Gas Masks</a><br>
+  <a href="#192b-i-2">Badonviller Barricaded for Street Fighting</a><br>
+  <a href="#208a-i">Awaiting Orders Behind the Front</a><br>
+  <a href="#128b-i">Bombing the Hun</a><br>
+  <a href="#144a-i">French Infantry En Route to the Trenches</a><br>
+  <a href="#224b-i-1">A Small “Persuader” at Verdun</a><br>
+  <a href="#224b-i-2">Field Telephone Station Controlling the Shell Fire</a><br>
+  <a href="#240a-i">Ruins Along the Lorraine Front</a><br>
+  <a href="#016a-i-1_2">A Quick Lunch at the Front</a><br>
+  <a href="#016a-i-2_2">First Aid Dug-Out—Waiting for a Call</a>
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="center fs120">
+AMBULANCING ON THE<br>
+FRENCH FRONT
+</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span></p>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+  <p class="nobreak fs200 center" id="Ambulancing_on_the_French">
+    Ambulancing on the French
+    Front
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I">
+    CHAPTER I
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">HOW I CAME TO GO</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>If you like excitement I’d say take a steamer
+for France—and join the Ambulance Corps
+on the French front overlooking Verdun. A
+few steps forward to the front-line trenches
+and you’re in the zone of what the lamented
+Charles Frohman described as “The Great
+Adventure.”</p>
+
+<p>I was there and I bless my lucky stars that
+I’m home again for a while with a whole skin
+and a large and growing appetite that I brought
+back with me. I served as an ambulance man,
+a sort of scene-shifter in the wings of the greatest
+tragedy ever staged. Now, as I write, it is
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>running in its fourth year. My duties required
+me to bring back from the battlefield the
+maimed and dying, and deposit them in places
+of comparative safety. Also to the sheltered
+huts, further back, where first aid could be
+given.</p>
+
+<p>If anyone had told me, on January 1, 1917,
+that in less than sixty days I would be over
+there on the French front, taking a minor part
+in the biggest show on earth, I probably would
+have slammed back at him, “Quit your kidding.”
+Nevertheless, it all happened—I went,
+and of my own volition, joined the Ambulance
+section of the French Army, and stayed in the
+game until my own country took over that service.
+Then I came home for a visit, having
+served practically nine months, but I am going
+back soon, this time with Uncle Sam—I have
+already enlisted.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="016a-i-1_2" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/016a-i-1.jpg" alt="A man in unform eating while standing upright.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">A Quick Lunch at the Front</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="016a-i-2_2" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/016a-i-2.jpg" alt="Uniformed men sitting around a camp.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p>First Aid Dug-Out—Waiting for a Call</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Just how I made up my mind to go in the
+first place is yet something of a mystery. Here
+I was in New York, holding down a good position
+at generous pay. New York is always
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span>entertaining, and at intervals my work took me
+out over the country to other cities, under first-class
+conditions. Therefore, it was not from
+lack of novelty or interest in my own affairs
+that I went forth in search of trouble.</p>
+
+<p>As I think back upon it I presume I must
+have talked myself into going. Notwithstanding
+that we, over here, were seemingly out of
+the war, everybody I knew, at home or on my
+travels, talked war, and I did also.</p>
+
+<p>While dining with a friend one evening in
+a New York restaurant we got into the war
+talk game rather earnestly. He was sure he
+would go over were it not that he couldn’t possibly
+pass the test.</p>
+
+<p>“If it was Uncle Sam that was fighting I
+might try to go anyway,” said he.</p>
+
+<p>It was at this point in our conversation that
+I heard myself say:</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I think I’ll go and help France; she
+was always good to us.”</p>
+
+<p>My voice sounded strange to my own ears as
+I said this, and the next instant our eyes met.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span>Bing! I realized that I had started something
+down deep within me. Also that a hand
+reached forth across the table which I took
+into my own. It was the hand of James A.
+Gilmore, “Fighting Jim,” as he is affectionately
+known to millions of baseball fans all over
+the world.</p>
+
+<p>“Bully for you!” he shouted. “What part
+of the service will you go in for? Army—Navy—Red
+Cross?” There was a wistful look
+in his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>“Red Cross, I think.”</p>
+
+<p>I heard myself say this, but, as a matter of
+fact, I had no thought whatever of what I
+would do. To tell the honest truth, I felt as if
+I had jumped off of the Brooklyn Bridge. Not
+that the idea frightened me. Nothing like
+that. If I had made a real decision, and I began
+to feel that I had, it didn’t seem to disturb
+me unduly. There was no reason why I
+shouldn’t go. If there was a reluctant feeling
+it was on account of my Mother—but I knew
+her too well to believe that she would hold me
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span>back from such a righteous cause. As to my
+Father, why he’d boost the game. I was sure
+of that. Anyhow the conviction grew that I
+had cast the die, and by the look on the face of
+my friend I knew that I had committed myself.</p>
+
+<p>For the next half hour I sat quietly munching
+my food and listening the while to my good
+friend opposite. It was during this time that
+he showed his loyalty to the great cause. I
+was told to outfit myself and spare no expense—he
+would help foot the bill. A few days
+later, when I was all but on the point of sailing
+away toward the great whirlpool of disaster,
+he and other good friends presented me
+with an auto-ambulance, fully equipped.</p>
+
+<p>Proud! grateful! I thought I’d drop dead
+with joy before the day came to walk the gangway
+of the big ship that was to bear me away
+from peace to war.</p>
+
+<p>Recalling my sudden decision to enter the
+war, on many occasions I have asked other
+Americans why they volunteered. In no instance
+did any of them give a solid reason right
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span>off the reel. I believe the answer given by a
+young Philadelphian, who was a member of
+our party on board ship, fairly sums up most
+cases of volunteer enlistment.</p>
+
+<p>“Damifino,” said he, with a shrug of his
+well-set shoulders and a merry twinkle in his
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Same here—his answer is mine. I don’t
+know why I went, but I am glad I did. I’ve
+seen things that horrified me—that terrified
+me. I have been within arm’s length of the
+Grim Reaper many times, but I got used to it
+all. It became a part of the day’s work, but
+never to the point where I failed to shoot the
+gas into my motor in order to get out of reach
+of the “big ones” that flew my way.</p>
+
+<p>But I’m getting ahead of my story. After
+making my decision to go I did as everyone
+else had to do—saw Eliot Norton, a New
+York lawyer who contributed his time in passing
+upon the qualifications of the men desiring
+to enter this branch of service in connection
+with the Red Cross. He seemed glad to have
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span>me go; therefore, I soon found myself busily
+engaged in purchasing supplies and equipment
+generally. I also started to “pulling the
+strings” for my passport. In fact, I went to
+Washington in order to get quick action, so
+that I could sail on a French liner, along with
+forty other volunteers. My auto was to follow
+on another boat.</p>
+
+<p>On shipboard all hands fraternized at once.
+It was a gay party withal, and democratic in
+spirit. Big family names didn’t count for a
+cent, much to the relief of the fine fellows who
+bore them. There was a general realization
+that we were bound on a serious mission
+and that there was no better time possible in
+which to get acquainted. Therefore, the time
+passed quickly enough on our way to the port
+of Bordeaux, our gateway to Paris. A surprise
+awaited us there—third-class coaches, instead
+of luxurious Pullmans, to which we all
+were accustomed. Bare wooden seats for an
+all-night ride were not so soft as a feather-bed,
+but at that we were lucky, for we were told
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span>that this long ride was usually made in freight
+cars. It was a mighty rocky ride, though.
+There was compensation in the fact, however,
+that we journeyed through the celebrated Jardin
+de France, the most beautiful landscape in
+all that beautiful land. But our legs and bodies
+ached, almost unbearably, as we came to the
+end of the journey.</p>
+
+<p>Arriving in Paris we went straight to headquarters,
+No. 7 Rue Francois Premier, French
+Headquarters of the American Red Cross in
+Paris. There we signed up for voluntary
+service with the French Army, and then
+started out to complete our equipment and obtain
+uniforms. Four glorious days followed,
+for Paris is great, even in war times, and we
+realized that we would not get back there for
+at least six months.</p>
+
+<p>Then came preliminary training at Sandricourt.
+This took ten days, and from thence
+we were hurried forward to our Division assignment
+for training near the Eastern front.
+No use to go into detail concerning the red tape
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span>necessary to enlistment. It is enough to say
+that there is plenty of it. After every little
+thing had been attended to I found myself
+tagged for identification as follows:</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+VIII Army<br>
+9th Corp<br>
+17th Division<br>
+French Army<br>
+Edward R. Coyle.
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II">
+    CHAPTER II
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">AMBULANCE WORK</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Ambulance work in the French Army
+comes under the heading of what is known as
+the Sanitary Service. To each division there
+is attached a Sanitary Section which serves
+that division only. Although subject to the orders
+of the Staff Officers, it is looked upon as
+a part of the Medical Department, and is directly
+under the supervision of the Medical
+Staff. The Service, like everything else in the
+war to-day, has undergone radical changes.</p>
+
+<p>In the early days of the war, the Sanitary
+Section of the French Army proved most inefficient.
+It could not cope with new conditions.
+Speed in conveying the wounded soldier
+to the proper hospital was vital; so also
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span>was the transfer of cases from the front-line
+trenches and dressing stations to hospitals
+where complete service and attention could be
+given. To facilitate development in this all-important
+work took time and careful thought
+to determine just which course would meet the
+increased demands with greatest efficiency.</p>
+
+<p>While the reorganization was being evolved
+in the minds of the men who had these matters
+in charge for the French Government, the German
+Armies were most actively engaging the
+French all along their frontier, and it was necessary,
+for the time being, to meet the situation
+in whatever make-shift way it might be possible
+until the desired perfection in this branch
+of service could finally be attained.</p>
+
+<p>The French were fortunate with the sanitary
+sections they had organized up to that time
+and which formed a regular part of their medical
+service in connection with the army. In
+order to take care of a great portion of the extra
+work that was thrown upon them, it must
+be acknowledged that, with the equipment they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span>had, they carried on the work in a wonderful
+way.</p>
+
+<p>In Paris lived many people who were able to
+render service to the French Government during
+these days, and among them was Mr. Harjes
+of Morgan &amp; Harjes Company, Bankers.
+Quick to see the need of expert ambulance work
+in connection with the army, he equipped his
+own automobile and donated it to the French
+Government.</p>
+
+<p>Through his example other people in Paris
+were induced to make donations of a similar
+character, and thus, through the generosity of
+a small group of Mr. Harjes’ immediate
+friends, Sanitary Section, Unit Five, was
+formed and became a permanent and famous
+feature in ambulance work, setting the pace
+followed later on by the French Government.
+Mr. Harjes became responsible for the efficiency
+of this service, spending most of his
+time in the field personally conducting the
+operations, and, by his untiring efforts, made it
+the standard of all other units. About this
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span>time Mr. Richard Norton also realized the
+ever-increasing demand upon the sanitary section
+service of the French Army. He got into
+communication with his very close friend, Mr.
+Arthur Kemp, who was at that time residing
+in England, and induced him to equip his own
+private car and bring it over and enter the work
+with him. Mr. Norton formed Sanitary Section
+Unit Seven, and himself went into the field
+as its head. He drove one of the cars himself
+and lived with the boys at the front, as also did
+Mr. Kemp.</p>
+
+<p>The wonderful work that was carried on by
+the volunteer ambulance services quickly attracted
+the attention of the French authorities.
+Letters written by the boys of these sections,
+describing in detail to friends in America the
+work they were carrying on, resulted in a large
+number of requests for a chance to serve as
+volunteers. These enthusiasts proposed not
+only to donate automobiles equipped for ambulance
+work, but also to drive them themselves
+without cost to the French Government. Soon
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span>there were enough of these applicants to form
+Sanitary Section Number Eleven, and, at the
+termination of the Volunteer Ambulance Work
+in October, 1917, these volunteer sections constituted
+the finest and most efficient ambulance
+service in the world.</p>
+
+<p>By this time recognition had been given to
+this service from all corners of the globe, and
+the American Red Cross now became the principal
+financial support of the service, which enabled
+it to expand into a vitally important factor
+of the French Army. Equipment and funds
+in abundance were placed at the disposal of
+the organization.</p>
+
+<p>Eliot Norton, a lawyer in New York City,
+and a brother of Richard Norton, played a
+large part in the success of that organization.
+It was he who personally supervised the enlistment
+of men for service in France as ambulance
+drivers. No one was permitted to enter
+this service without having first satisfied Mr.
+Norton that he would be unafraid, under any
+conditions, to carry the work of the American
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>Red Cross to the battlefields of France in a
+creditable way.</p>
+
+<p>Untiring was his devotion and unerring his
+judgment. A very high official in the Medical
+Corps in the English Army is quoted as having
+said: “I have never seen a cleaner, more intelligent
+crowd of boys than the ones who are
+serving with the Norton-Harjes Ambulance
+Corps in the French Army.”</p>
+
+<p>The organization was now taking on such
+proportions that it was necessary to establish
+central headquarters. This was done at No.
+7 Rue Francois Premier in Paris. Messrs.
+Norton, Kemp and Havemeyer were compelled
+to give up the active work in the field
+and take charge of the offices. Other sections
+were equipped and sent out; section leaders and
+assistants called chef and sous-chef, respectively,
+were chosen from the older men that had
+been on active duty in the field.</p>
+
+<p>This organization was now continually attracting
+prominent people to it, one of these
+being Mr. Robert Goelet, who turned over his
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span>estate at Sandricourt, twenty miles outside of
+Paris, to be used as a cantonment for the
+American Red Cross, and as a base for training
+men. Twenty automobiles were donated to
+this section, which became known as the “Goelet
+Section.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III">
+    CHAPTER III
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">SANDRICOURT</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Sandricourt, as a base for training and instructions,
+was a happy choice, for it became
+the stepping-stone to efficiency. It must be remembered
+that all the men who had joined the
+service were youngsters and of good families,
+and most of them had had some business experience.</p>
+
+<p>In the French Army there is no such thing
+as luxury, and it is very hard for a person who
+has been used to butter, sugar and cream to be
+deprived of them all at once. In addition to
+extremely plain food, sleeping out of doors
+was a very necessary preparation for the hardships
+to be endured, when one might be called
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span>to sleep in any old place and under unknown
+conditions.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, means were found to
+divert the minds of the weary by such activities
+as military drills, lectures on the care of cars,
+instructions on temporary repairs, and the like.
+In due time there were also established, under
+Y. M. C. A. supervision, classes in French, a
+working knowledge of which was very necessary,
+for at the front the men had to take orders
+from doctors, who spoke that language
+exclusively.</p>
+
+<p>When Sandricourt was first taken over it
+had to undergo a thorough overhauling. Mr.
+Goelet had not occupied it from the inception
+of the war and, of course, things were in bad
+shape. The barns, which had been used for the
+housing of cattle and stock, were to form the
+sleeping quarters for the men, and it was necessary
+to give them a most rigid cleaning before
+they could be occupied.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="016a-i-2" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/032b-i.jpg" alt="Uniformed men standing near a gun on a rail car on rails.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">A French Gun Much Respected by Fritz</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Some of the barns were over a hundred years
+old and in an awful state of repair, but a hundred
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span>men of the Ambulance Service were dispatched
+to start the work and they pitched in
+with such eagerness that within four weeks’
+time Mr. Goelet himself would hardly have
+recognized the place.</p>
+
+<p>As sections left Sandricourt for the front,
+others came to take their places and carry on
+the work. During their stay they received instructions
+in preparation for their own departure
+for the front.</p>
+
+<p>The fatigue work in our service consists of
+such tasks as carrying water, chopping wood
+for the kitchen, and waiting on table. Everyone
+had to take his turn at these different duties.
+It was amusing to look in on the various
+groups of inexperienced boys of the different
+fatigues. Many of them had never washed
+a dish in their lives, but no one was exempt,
+and each day brought different men to duty on
+different fatigues, in accordance with a well-planned
+schedule.</p>
+
+<p>Details were dispatched each day to help the
+farmers in the vicinity with their work, all of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span>which was good for the appetite, and hardened
+the boys. Army food was so different, it
+seemed impossible to eat at first, but it had the
+appearance of a banquet at Delmonico’s after
+one had been out on a haystack all day or feeding
+a thrasher.</p>
+
+<p>Such was Sandricourt, the tempering forge
+of the ambulance corp—the place where everyone
+got down to bed rock and exchanged luxury
+for the essentials; bloat and fat for muscle,
+and irregular life for a rigid routine. Complaints
+flew thick and fast at first, but, after all,
+these seeming hardships were mild, indeed,
+compared with what came afterward. When
+enemy shell fire kept food from coming up, and
+service demanded that men should sleep in their
+clothes for days at a time in preparation for an
+immediate call, I often wondered if there were
+not a great many fellows who longed for Sandricourt,
+with its vigorous, enforced rules and
+discipline.</p>
+
+<p>In preparation for the assignment of a section
+to a division, forty men were chosen from
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span>Sandricourt and placed under the leadership of
+a chef and sous-chef. Two men on a car and
+twenty cars constituted a section. This section,
+when completed, would then be sent out
+to one of the large automobile parks located
+somewhere along the front where cars were
+supplied. Two mechanics were assigned, as
+well as clerks and cooks. There was a French
+lieutenant who, with the chef, took command
+of the section when all the equipment necessary
+for field duty was supplied. When the section
+left to join the division it was assigned
+to whatever position that division then occupied.</p>
+
+<p>After arriving at its destination the first
+thing the section has to do is to establish a
+cantonment. This is generally an old barn or
+a demolished house eight to twelve kilometers
+behind the line, and it must be central to all
+the portion of the front that the division is to
+occupy. In all instances these quarters are
+within easy range of the enemy cannon, for it
+would be impractical, for numerous reasons,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span>to have this cantonment or field base too far
+in the rear. The greater the distance the
+greater the time required to answer emergency
+calls. Instant service is the watchword of the
+ambulance man, for he can never tell what a
+few minutes’ loss or gain may mean in the saving
+or the losing of a life.</p>
+
+<p>Located at different intervals all along the
+front, just behind the first-line trenches, are
+<i>abris</i>, in charge of which there is a doctor.
+When a man is shot or otherwise injured, he is
+taken to one of these dressing stations where
+he receives his first treatment. If he is
+slightly wounded he is kept there until night,
+in the event that the nature of the terrain does
+not afford security to an ambulance in coming
+up to take him to the rear. If he is badly
+wounded he is put in a cart and wheeled to the
+nearest point back of the front line where an
+ambulance can approach without becoming a
+target for enemy guns. At night it is the duty
+of the ambulance man to advance under the
+cover of darkness up to these dressing stations,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span>and convey all wounded men to the hospitals
+in the rear.</p>
+
+<p>As many cars as there are stations to be
+served at the front leave the cantonment at
+noon every day for twenty-four hours’ service
+at the front. The remaining cars then become
+an Emergency Division. All the clearing must
+be done at night. No lights are permitted on
+cars. This prevents them from becoming
+marks for the enemy guns.</p>
+
+<p>If a road is being shelled it makes passage
+extremely difficult for cars without light.
+Shell holes are “hell holes” to get out of, not to
+speak of the likelihood of a broken axle. It is
+often necessary for one of the men on the car
+to get out and walk in front of it with a handkerchief
+behind his back so the man at the
+wheel can find his way along what is left of
+the road, in and out between the shell holes.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the posts or dressing stations where
+first treatment is given are located as close up
+as 500 yards from the German front-line
+trenches, which is within easy range of machine
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span>guns, so that, during the day, it is impossible
+for the ambulances to approach these advanced
+posts if compelled to go over ground
+that might be visible to the enemy. But at
+night this can be done with comparative safety.</p>
+
+<p>It is an erroneous idea that the ambulance
+man goes into “No Man’s Land” to pick up the
+injured. There have been instances of where
+the boys have done this sort of thing, but it is
+not a part of their required work.</p>
+
+<p>This branch of the service is done by the
+brancardier, or stretcher-bearer. In most instances
+in the French Army this service is made
+up of musicians. The injured are conveyed
+back through the trenches and placed in the
+waiting cars, which take them to the rear.</p>
+
+<p>The trips to the hospital with emergency
+cases are sometimes very trying to a sensitive
+driver. A man on a stretcher, shot through
+the abdomen and suffering unbearable agony,
+shouting “<i>tout doucement, mon Dieu, tout
+doucement!</i>” (“Go slow, my God, go slow!”),
+while another man, with both hands off at the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span>wrist, and realizing that only a quick trip can
+save his life, screams “<i>Viet, Conducteur, viet</i>,”
+meaning “Fast, driver, fast,” will tax one’s
+powers and sympathy to the limit. Another
+screams incoherently from sheer pain. It is
+the desire, of course, for the man at the wheel
+to do each man’s bidding, but, under such conditions,
+the pleadings of the unfortunate must
+be disregarded. This might seem harsh,
+but when one realizes that he is doing his
+very best, he becomes, after a while, hardened
+to the work and automatically carries out his
+orders.</p>
+
+<p>Each car, as it goes to the front for its
+twenty-four hours’ service, is allotted food
+enough for the two men, which they cook on
+any such improvised fireplace as conditions
+permit; but, of course, during any extensive
+operation, food and sleep are two things that
+one learns to do without.</p>
+
+<p>It is necessary for all forms of motor vehicles
+in the zone of the armies to be supplied
+with what is known as an <i>Ordre de Mouvement</i>,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span>which shows just which position of the front
+each must occupy, and what towns and <i>Post
+du Succors</i> each must serve. No one is permitted
+on the road without this order, and, if
+one is apprehended by a sentinel, the “order”
+must be produced for identification. It’s a case
+of “show me” or “skedaddle” back for the permit.</p>
+
+<p>If he sees fit, the sentinel can send the driver
+to the rear under guard. There is seldom any
+occasion for this procedure, because every man
+knows it is necessary to have his order and
+would not think of going up front without it.</p>
+
+<p>During the day, when no runs are to be
+made, the time is spent at the post, within easy
+calling distance in case of emergency. If one
+happens to be stationed where the Boche is
+shelling, the time is spent in an <i>abri</i> or dug-out
+down underground, and, in all instances, men
+who have gone through these bombardments
+are very glad that such places exist.</p>
+
+<p>In the cantonment the men held in reserve
+are required to make minor repairs to their cars
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>in order to insure their being able to depart
+for the front at a moment’s notice. Otherwise,
+their time is their own and can be spent as they
+like, provided it is known at the bureau where
+they can be reached in the case of an emergency.</p>
+
+<p>While traversing a road that is under shell
+fire, it is a very strict regulation with the
+French Government that no car be permitted to
+stop for any reason whatever as long as it is
+able to run under its own power. Irrespective
+of the fact that it might not have a tire left
+this regulation still holds good and the driver
+must proceed to a place of safety before
+any consideration can be given to the matter of
+changing tires or stopping for minor repairs.</p>
+
+<p>Whenever a road is being shelled it generally
+gives the men on the car something to think
+about, and only actual experience under such
+shell fire enables them to become expert in their
+judgment as to slowing down or shooting in
+the gas when this condition is met with. It
+is not the most pleasant of experiences to be
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>driving along and have a shell break alongside
+of the road and cover everything with mud.
+But all conditions are met in a more or less
+matter-of-fact way when one is continually
+forced to accept them. Life seems a matter of
+fate and little attention is paid to bursting
+shells.</p>
+
+<p>As the cars are relieved at the front at the
+end of twenty-four hours’ service, they return
+to the base, making calls at the different <i>Posts
+du Succor</i> on the way back, picking up the <i>mallade</i>
+(sick), for everyone carried in ambulances
+is not always wounded. With large armies in
+the trenches there are a great many cases of
+sickness that must be taken back to the hospitals
+in the rear for treatment.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV">
+    CHAPTER IV
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">MEDICAL CARE</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>When a man is wounded he receives the
+very best care, for experience has taught
+France that for the conservation of man
+power this is of the highest importance.
+No matter how slight an injury may be, it is
+mandatory that a man receive the proper medical
+or surgical treatment, for it is the small
+and seemingly inconsequential wounds that develop
+blood poisoning, which means the amputation
+of arms and legs or even death itself.
+Consequently, the moment a man is injured
+he must present himself to the doctor for
+examination, thereby eliminating, as far as
+possible, any chance of complications.</p>
+
+<p>The small percentage of infections in the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>army is surprising, in view of the conditions
+that exist, which are not always the very cleanest
+and best. These small wounds, to men who
+live in damp dug-outs, stand watch in wet
+trenches, suffer from irregularity of meals, insufficient
+rest and exposure, are all things that
+tend to lessen their resisting power and render
+them just that much more susceptible to the
+development of infection.</p>
+
+<p>During the first year of the war the frequency
+of infection from deep wounds was
+alarmingly high and all efforts of the medical
+staff to cut it down seemed in vain. At this
+time Doctor Alexis Carrel of the Rockefeller
+Institute, after consultation with some
+of the heads of the French Medical Staff, made
+a study of this vexing problem and with the
+backing of this wonderful institution with its
+ample funds, working without the red tape that
+in most instances goes hand in hand with an
+endeavor of this kind, after a surprisingly
+short time, developed a treatment known as
+Irrigation Intermittent Carrel. The apparatus
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span>used consists principally of a reservoir or
+container attached to the bed of the injured at
+the proper elevation to insure a flow of the
+fluid.</p>
+
+<p>Connected with this and inserted in the
+wound itself is a rubber tube by which the fluid
+is conducted to the field of injury. At regular,
+determined periods during the day and night
+the fluid is released from the container and allowed
+to flow through the wound, carrying off
+poisonous matter or arresting any infectious
+condition.</p>
+
+<p>As it was soon seen that this was the
+best method for handling deep wounds, they
+set out to perfect the treatment. The fluid
+used was very costly, particularly as such large
+quantities had to be employed in this intermittent
+irrigation, consequently there followed a
+great deal of experimenting, which, however,
+did result in the perfection of the treatment,
+but Dr. Carrel went farther. He and
+his associates compiled a chart or card, which
+recorded the age of the patient, the square
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span>inches or area of the wound, and such other
+facts as enabled them, through the handling of
+so many cases, to establish and chart lines of
+healing showing the progress of the wound
+from day to day in its course of treatment, and
+giving such other information as the proper
+time of closing the wound and the discontinuing
+of irrigation, etc.</p>
+
+<p>So accurate did this chart work out that it enabled
+them to control all cases by its use. Thus,
+in the event that a wound had not progressed
+properly in its healing by a certain day to
+the requirement shown on the chart, the deduction
+was that the case required special treatment
+and so it was immediately given the requisite
+attention. One can see the far-reaching
+effects from a military viewpoint of such a
+system.</p>
+
+<p>With these charts to govern them, the doctors
+at the different base hospitals could compute
+very readily just how many beds in their
+hospitals were occupied by cases of this particular
+kind and with this method of treatment estimate
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span>very closely two to three weeks in
+advance how many patients would be released
+and the number of beds that would be available
+for new cases at any given time.</p>
+
+<p>Still another forward step in military medication
+is in the treatment of burns. I saw in
+France a man who had been working with
+powder which in some way becoming ignited,
+burned one side of his face very badly. He was
+taken to the hospital and treated by the new
+method of spraying <ins class="corr" id="TN-1" title="Transcriber's Note&mdash;original text: parrafin">paraffin</ins> over the burn and
+allowing it to heal from the bottom—a method
+which eliminated all the scar tissue with the
+result that it was almost impossible to tell that
+he had ever been burned.</p>
+
+<p>We see so many cases in this country of
+people whose faces are covered with scar tissue
+caused by burns because they had been treated
+by such methods as allowed the air to get at
+the field of injury, causing a scar tissue to
+form, which nothing will ever remove. But by
+healing from the bottom and developing toward
+the surface the natural functioning of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span>healthy tissue leaves the exterior appearance
+practically without a blemish. This in itself is
+a wonderful development. For if a person is
+burned and treatment is necessary, there is
+some consolation in knowing that he will not
+be forced to go through life with hideous scar
+tissue marrying his appearance for the want
+of proper treatment. In addition to the “M.
+D.,” there is, in each division, the Dental
+Corps.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="048a-i-1" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/048a-i-1.jpg" alt="Damaged statues in a building.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">German Sacrilege—Christ’s Figure Decapitated</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="048a-i-2" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/048a-i-2.jpg" alt="A building with a damaged roof with debris nearby.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Ruins of the Church Containing the Figures</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V">
+    CHAPTER V
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">A LESSON I LEARNED</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Shortly after leaving for the front there
+came an order that our section was to be
+inspected by one of the captains from one of
+the large auto parks at the front. This meant
+that the general cleaning day was at hand.
+Naturally, we all started brushing and polishing
+motors and revolving parts to make as
+good a showing as possible.</p>
+
+<p>When we were given our cars we were allotted
+certain equipment in tools, extra tires,
+etc., all of which we had to inventory and sign
+for, as each driver was held responsible for
+the equipment that was distributed. I noticed,
+while taking stock of what was on our car, a
+little paint brush that looked as if it had the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span>“mange,” but I listed one brush and threw it
+into the tool chest and soon forgot that I had
+ever seen it.</p>
+
+<p>This particular day the happy thought came
+to me that with the assistance of some petrol
+(kerosene) and my little mangy brush I would
+be able to get at some parts of my car that I
+could not clean or reach by hand. After a few
+minutes’ search the brush was found and I
+began work. I had not gone very far when I
+noticed that the few straggly brisks that were
+in the brush when I commenced had disappeared
+and that nothing remained but the
+handle.</p>
+
+<p>In true American fashion, without any
+thought, I tossed the handle into a rubbish
+heap and dismissed it from my mind. The
+boys on the next car to me were using a brush
+in the same manner as I employed mine and
+were getting good results. I said to one of
+them:</p>
+
+<p>“Have you got another brush?” to which
+I received a negative answer, but one of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span>boys said: “I saw some little brushes in the
+Bureau” (office). As it was close at hand I
+walked over and asked one of the sergeants on
+duty for a brush. He asked: “Is there not a
+brush on your car?” I told him that there had
+been about a quarter of a brush, but that when
+I used it all the brisks had come out of the
+handle. He then demanded the handle.</p>
+
+<p>“Oh! I threw that away,” I replied.</p>
+
+<p>“Well, I’m sorry but you will have to get
+along without a brush,” said he brusquely.</p>
+
+<p>There before me lay a small bundle of
+brushes; mine was worn out, no good for further
+use to anyone, and discarded, yet I could
+not have a brush. I pressed my point a little
+farther in a most persuasive style, but met with
+not the slightest encouragement, and I soon
+saw the reason for the refusal.</p>
+
+<p>When a new brush is issued the old one must
+be turned in. There is no trouble in getting
+new equipment, if needed, but the old must be
+exchanged for the new, even though it were
+just the handle of a brush. Any part of returned
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span>equipment that can be used saves just
+that much in the making over of the article.
+This is the thrift of the thrifty French. What
+American would ever do otherwise than I did?
+When a thing wears out with us it is discarded—but
+not with them.</p>
+
+<p>Well, I set out at once for the rubbish pile
+to reclaim the handle that I might get a new
+brush. It so happened that at the time I discarded
+the handle another of our sergeants,
+standing close by, after I left for the Bureau,
+walked over, picked it up, and put it under
+the cushion on my car. Of course, when
+I returned the handle was gone. We looked
+high and low but in vain. We finished cleaning
+our car minus a brush. But a day or so
+later I happened to look under the cushion for
+something and there was the handle. I returned
+it to the Bureau and the sergeant who
+had picked it up was on duty.</p>
+
+<p>“Well,” said he, “I thought you would be
+around for a new brush, and to get it you would
+have to turn in the old handle, so I picked it
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>up after you left and put it back on the car.”</p>
+
+<p>This was my lesson. Learned early, I never
+threw anything away after that. This regulation
+held good on everything,—tires, tubes and
+all. If you lost a spare tire enroute, it was your
+funeral when you needed it for a change.
+Without some part of the old one, you could not
+obtain a new one. It was amusing, in a sense,
+to note the effect this regulation produced
+when, for example, we would change an inner
+tube on the road. Before we would think of
+starting again, we would check up all the lugs,
+valves, nuts and caps, for we knew full well
+we would get no new inner tube for the old
+one unless we turned in all the parts when we
+desired an exchange.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI">
+    CHAPTER VI
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">A VISIT TO PARIS</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>To one who visited Paris before the war,
+Paris of to-day presents a strikingly different
+aspect—and why shouldn’t it? When we
+stop to think that there is hardly a family
+which has not been deprived of some member
+in the terrible toll of death. The courage of
+the women has been marvelous through it all.
+To some it has meant the loss of a husband and
+to others, sons, while to countless it has meant
+both, and yet, with this sorrow to bear, they are
+ever ready to make further sacrifices in order
+that the outcome might be as the dear ones
+they have lost would have had it. Is it any
+wonder there is sadness in their faces? And
+such a calm sadness it is, too. No hysteria
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span>whatsoever, never a demonstration, but the
+look on their faces portrays very vividly what
+is in their hearts. Even the children, who are
+too small to appreciate what their loss has
+been, absorb from their mothers this characteristic
+composure that is appalling.</p>
+
+<p>In little villages still within reach of the big
+German guns, one grows familiar with the
+night bombing raids of the Huns. They know
+that the bombs are for the women and children
+that are left, and at any moment may come the
+knock on the door, the gathering of what few
+earthly belongings they have, and escape into
+the night before an attack.</p>
+
+<p>I have never seen children like these before,
+and I never want to see any again. Some
+little tots seven and eight years of age truly
+look like old men and women. They reminded
+me of the little men of the mountains in
+the story of Rip Van Winkle. They never
+smile, but wear the same emotionless expression
+at all times. Games seem to be unknown
+to them as they sit around on the doorsteps of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span>their homes (where there are homes), and sad
+is their lot if anything happens to their mothers,
+for no one else in the community has anything
+for them. Everyone has his own to look
+out for, and it’s hard enough to do that. This
+is why there are so many urchins following the
+armies. There is no one to provide for them.
+They have to shift for themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The Mont Martre, the artists’ quarters, are
+familiar to all for the frivolity which has always
+characterized this section of Paris. It
+now bears a close resemblance to a graveyard
+and it would be very hard for anyone to imagine
+that La Vie Boheme (the life bohemian)
+ever existed here.</p>
+
+<p>The Boulevard Exterior, which before the
+war was a blaze of white lights that seemed
+to come to life about the time Paris was retiring,
+has taken on the appearance of a main
+street in one of our country towns at 2 a. m.
+Such places as the Moulin Rouge (Red Mill),
+Rat-Mort (Dead Rat), have long since ceased
+to operate as centers of life. Other familiar
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span>places to people who knew Paris before the
+war and had a world-wide reputation are the
+Latin Quarters and all along the Boulevard
+St. Michel, where the students held forth and
+where one could find almost any form of excitement,
+all have passed into oblivion like a
+dream. The boys are all with the colors and
+thousands of them had already paid the
+price.</p>
+
+<p>Paris is very sad. The mailed fist has
+fallen and left its mark everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>To-day the theaters are still running; such
+places as the Follies Bergere, Olympia, Café
+Ambassadeurs have their evening performances,
+but it is more for the diversion of the
+men on leave from the front than for any other
+reason. Long will these performances be remembered
+by the men gathered there nights
+to throw off the thoughts of war. I have seen
+almost every uniform of the Allied armies at
+these places in an evening, the men fraternizing,
+and absorbing what gaiety there was,
+trying to forget what they had left behind
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>at the front, enjoying their leisure as best they
+could.</p>
+
+<p>But the show is over each night at eleven
+and once outside the doors in the dark streets
+of cold, sad Paris you find no place to go.
+With dancing unheard of and all cafés closed
+at that hour, Paris has locked itself within
+doors to brood quietly over the happiness that
+seems forever lost.</p>
+
+<p>Never fear that the French will forget
+America after this war,—no more than America
+has forgotten the French. I was in Paris
+on that memorable Fourth day of July, 1917,
+when the first contingent of American Oversea
+forces marched through the city to the music of
+great military bands, which played the martial
+airs of both France and America. The
+whole population was mad with joy. Persons
+of all ages, from tiny children to men and
+women old and bent, singing and shouting,
+surged back and forth.</p>
+
+<p>Every nook and corner along the line of
+march was occupied. Balconies, windows, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span>even roofs were filled to capacity, and the
+words, “The Americans have come to help us,”
+were shouted over and over again. Boys and
+girls, carrying small American flags, waved
+them continuously, while their elders looked on
+through tears of appreciation.</p>
+
+<p>The procession under way, women along
+the line of march showered our boys with
+roses, and almost immediately a long-stemmed
+American Beauty rose protruded from the
+muzzle of every Springfield rifle in the parade.
+Some of the men had wreaths around their
+necks, flowers on their broad-brimmed hats
+and in their belts, while they fairly marched
+upon a bed of roses. No words can express
+the full significance of this parade as it affected
+the hearts and minds of the war-stricken people
+along the line of march. It will go down in
+history as the feature of a glorious day for two
+glorious nations.</p>
+
+<p>Here was to be seen the real test of
+friendship, the concrete proof that the greatest
+of Republics had finally cast its lot with
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>those who had helped to make that Republic
+possible. The whole affair was wonderfully
+inspiring, and the blood rushed through my
+veins in burning gratitude, for those boys
+marching out there were our boys and I was
+an American like them.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII">
+    CHAPTER VII
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">“THE FRONT”</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The average person in this country has a
+different idea of what the term “Front” means
+to those who have been “Over there.” “The
+Front” from this point of view consists of a
+series of long trenches, filled with infantry,
+and their personal equipment, such as barbed-wire,
+for they know that exists, and back of
+the trenches some cannon; but little does the
+layman know about the component parts necessary
+to make up a “front” and all the branches
+of service that are utilized, each an individual
+cog in an efficient fighting machine. I shall
+enumerate some of the departments that are
+not only necessary but vitally essential.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the countless thousands who
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span>labor in the mills, factories, foundries and
+machine shops, there must be supply depots,
+where all this equipment goes for storage
+when it is completed. These are not unlike
+our warehouses. From the warehouses, supplies
+are requisitioned for the different portions
+or sectors of the front where they may
+be needed. There are what we might term
+sub-warehouse stations, generally located back
+of the front near a railroad siding, where supplies
+remain until needed by the army. Here
+a great number of men are required for the
+clerical work, stock-keeping, loading and unloading.
+After this the material and equipment
+must be delivered to different parts
+of the battle front. This constitutes another
+big branch of service in which countless auto
+trucks and men are used, known in the French
+Army as the Camion Service, and most of the
+success of an army in either offensive or defensive
+operations depends largely on this organization
+and its ability to “deliver the
+goods.”</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span></p>
+
+<p>Then there are the supply departments for
+food; for the army has to have meals regularly.
+It is difficult to realize what it means in
+the way of supplies to feed an army. Each
+section of the front has its base of supplies
+from which the transportation department obtains
+them. This is where the meat is prepared
+and weighed out to the different departments
+of the army.</p>
+
+<p>Other supplies in food stuff are measured
+out the same way. After this is done, the
+supplies are transported to the front, or
+near the front, where the field kitchens are
+located. Here it is again apportioned and distributed,
+for the cooks have just so much with
+which to feed so many. The cooking and
+serving requires still more men.</p>
+
+<p>Next comes the bakery department. The
+raw materials are delivered to the bakery and
+the finished product taken away. One can appreciate
+the size of some of these army bakeries
+when you know that their capacity is
+180,000 loaves of bread a day. This was the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span>capacity of the one from which our bread came,
+which I visited. When you consider the output
+of such a bakery you realize that a great
+number of men are necessary who don’t fire a
+shot and yet are a vital factor in a military
+organization.</p>
+
+<p>The telegraphic and telephone departments
+constitute still another important element in
+the system. They employ a great many men,
+who are continually putting up new equipment
+and repairing the old, for the lines of communication
+must be ready at any instant, as
+they control the movements of the troops and
+the fire of the artillery.</p>
+
+<p>Then there are the Dressing Stations with
+their corps, who attend the injured; the brancardiers
+(stretcher-bearers) and, somewhat removed
+from the first lines are the <i>Post du
+Succors</i>, with their attendants and doctors.
+Still farther to the rear are the base hospitals,
+and after that the Army hospitals, each with its
+corp of doctors, nurses and attendants, to say
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span>nothing of the ambulances, drivers, laboratories
+and attendants.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="064b-i" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/064b-i.jpg" alt="Uniformed men near a covered wagon for carrying people.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">A “Load-up and Getaway”—Wounded for the Hospital</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>There are the auto parks along different sections
+of the front, where there are hundreds
+of mechanics busy on cars of every description
+undergoing repairs of all sorts, for without
+these what would become of the camion service
+when new parts were needed for the auto
+truck? What would become of the supplies
+that they convey, and what of the army that
+needed the supplies?</p>
+
+<p>Think of the number of men necessary for
+the ground work only around the hangars to
+serve, say, 3,000 planes (between 30 and 40
+thousand men). What a part, for instance, of
+our soldiers concentrated at the Mexican border
+two years ago would be used up for just
+this one seemingly small branch of the army
+of to-day.</p>
+
+<p>There are other departments, such as Observation,
+Dispatch Riders, Blacksmiths, Mechanical,
+Camouflage, Road Gangs, Clerical
+Forces for each division, Horseshoers, Artillery
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span>Supply Caissons, which must be utilized;
+for many times guns are located off the roads
+and the auto trucks cannot get through the
+fields and mud, and so the caissons have to be
+used, as they are horse-drawn.</p>
+
+<p>Last but not least is the very large and important
+department—that of the engineers who
+make and repair the bridges, railroads, gun
+placements, roadways, and new buildings.</p>
+
+<p>All are most necessary for the success of
+the army for each has just as an important
+part as the other, and without the thousand
+upon thousand of non-combatant men behind
+the lines the ones at the front would count for
+naught.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII">
+    CHAPTER VIII
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">MASSING BEFORE VERDUN</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the month of February, 1916, the German
+Army initiated a drive against the fortress
+city of Verdun, which in time developed
+into the greatest battle that the world has ever
+known. The Crown Prince was given command
+of the huge forces concentrated here,
+and offered the opportunity to vindicate himself
+in the eyes of the people, after having
+signally failed to occupy Paris eighteen months
+before.</p>
+
+<p>Men, guns, equipment, and every possible
+aid were at his disposal and service, with which
+to make victory certain. The cost in men
+killed was not to be considered. Vindication
+after his tremendous blunders was a paramount
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>necessity, and to be purchased at any
+cost. This policy became manifest at the very
+outset by the way he hurled great masses of
+men forward to certain death. It is all now a
+matter of history.</p>
+
+<p>It has been held by many reliable military
+authorities that this battle was the turning
+point of the war, for, with everything in his
+favor, the Crown Prince had been unable to
+win. In the first days of the attack on Verdun
+the success of the Germans was very marked.
+The reason for this partial success is no secret
+now—France was not prepared. Regarding
+the condition of affairs at Verdun on the day
+of the attack, I have most reliable information
+from two officers of high rank in the French
+Army.</p>
+
+<p>The Germans had been massing supplies and
+men before this city for weeks, in systematic
+preparation for the attack. They had artillery
+and shells in plenty. It was not for some time
+after this concentration had been under way
+that it attracted the attention of the French—so
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span>busy were they on other fronts adjusting
+the army as a whole to prevailing conditions.
+When it was discovered that there was undue
+enemy concentration in front of Verdun, steps
+were at once taken to combat it, but it was too
+late for extensive preparations.</p>
+
+<p>That is why Verdun, supposedly the most
+formidable fortress in France, was gutted and
+its brave defenders forced back. They were
+unprepared for the onslaughts and masses of a
+trained and brutal foe. Under the conditions
+it is not surprising that the German Army
+made such great progress.</p>
+
+<p>One of my informants, who is a thoroughly
+capable military authority, told me just
+in a few words how he viewed the situation at
+the time and how most French officers felt
+when the German attack was in full swing. It
+was impossible for the French to take the offensive.
+In the wake of their superior artillery
+fire, vast waves of German infantry came on.
+They arrived in droves and congregated in
+swarms. As far as could be seen in front of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span>the French position the ground was covered
+with men in German uniforms.</p>
+
+<p>They came so fast and so thick it was
+impossible for the French to kill them all,
+though the slaughter was terrible. Yet on
+they came, and so it was that the French retirement
+began. Even during the retreat, the
+rear guard continued raking the German
+masses with machine guns and tearing holes in
+the lines of the oncoming infantry. The
+French fell back to safer ground. These tactics
+continued throughout the first day, the
+defenders in each instance holding out just as
+long as it was safe, but always having to give
+ground.</p>
+
+<p>Late in the afternoon my informant, who
+had been from one point to another along the
+line, reached the town of Verdun itself. There
+he received orders from the General Staff to
+take all money from the bank and proceed with
+it to Bar Le Duc, far away in the rear. This
+order, so he told me, confirmed his expectations
+as to what was about to happen. Apparently
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>the city was doomed. The Germans were fast
+closing in on the city and defeat was in the
+air. The injured were pouring in so fast it
+was impossible to attend them or give them
+quarters. They were laid out in cellars, barns,
+wherever room could be found, until they could
+get attention and be carried to the rear.</p>
+
+<p>In leaving town after obtaining the money
+the officer started to the rear on the main road,
+but the oncoming traffic was so heavy that the
+road had to be abandoned. Camions, artillery,
+trucks, wagons and men filled the road—all
+bound for Verdun. As they went by he said
+to himself, “They have come too late.” Unending
+was this stream of supplies, and the
+order was that nothing was to stop them. If
+a motor refused to run, camion and all were
+toppled over into the roadside ditch and the
+procession continued uninterrupted. After a
+few days of this unending stream, ever moving
+up, the ditches on either side were filled
+for miles with every sort of conveyance and
+all kinds of supplies.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span></p>
+
+<p>Arriving at Bar Le Duc that night he delivered
+the money and securities safely. At
+dawn orders came to return to Verdun. He
+and his companion officer were more than surprised,
+for it seemed impossible that the city
+had not fallen, and even then he felt that it
+would be only a question of time and long before
+they could arrive. But they started back
+as ordered. As they proceeded they expected
+momentarily to be stopped by word that Verdun
+had fallen—but that word never came.</p>
+
+<p>Much to their joy, upon arriving, they
+learned that the French had delivered a terrific
+counter attack and that great numbers of reinforcements
+had arrived and had been hurled
+against the enemy. For the immediate present
+they were holding their own against the Boche.
+Prospects brightened. News came that further
+reinforcements would arrive before
+night, with supplies in plenty. Things began
+to look more “rosey.” The Germans had captured
+one position after another, but after being
+checked for a moment the necessary
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>breathing spell was afforded to the French.</p>
+
+<p>Although the enemy did continue to hammer
+away there came a time after a while when
+conditions became equalized between the offense
+and defense. The French forced the
+Boche to settle down into siege warfare. If
+Verdun was to be taken at all it would have
+to be by a siege and not by storm. Thus did
+the French wrest victory from defeat, for as
+each day went by without Verdun falling one
+more dagger was driven into the heart of the
+German campaign.</p>
+
+<p>Each day the French held on brought renewed
+vigor and determination to hold on forever.
+Every known trick was applied to the
+situation by the enemy. The “nibbling” process
+netted the Germans a gain here and there
+but always the French exacted heavy toll for
+such advances. Under ordinary conditions the
+Germans would have given up the Verdun job
+as hopeless, but it is not an ordinary thing to
+vindicate a Crown Prince. The House of Hohenzollern
+cared not how many men were sent
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span>to unnecessary death so long as absolute defeat
+could be obviated.</p>
+
+<p>The great siege of Verdun was well upon its
+second year when I struck French soil, and it
+was on its scarred front that my work began,
+and where I saw my first battle. It was one
+of the battles that completed the final rolling
+back that I shall describe, and it was the most
+spectacular event I ever hope to see. The action
+was on the front between Ft. Vaux and
+Ft. Douaumont, which no doubt all are familiar
+with, on account of the terrific fighting that
+has never ceased along these particular points.
+Both sides captured and recaptured each other’s
+positions many times, as has been told in
+detail by the press from the viewpoint of many
+special writers.</p>
+
+<p>When I arrived at Verdun I was immediately
+ordered up to Flurey. The only thing left
+to mark the remains of this town was a bell
+tower, which had been tumbled over, but
+some fifteen feet of it still stood above the
+ground. The bell had tumbled into the debris.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>We were quartered in an <i>abri</i> about twenty feet
+underground. I was at once attracted by the
+unusual <i>aerial</i> activity, there being a large
+number of French and German planes in the
+air most of the time. These I watched with
+great interest, particularly one Frenchman
+who was jockeying for a position of advantage,
+from which to attack a two-man Boche
+plane. Finally he dove for it, but missed. At
+this instant a fighting plane came to the aid of
+the Boches, but the Frenchman, by clever manipulation,
+looped the loop, and soon was on
+the tail of the newcomer. With his machine
+gun he soon got in the shot that sent the Boche
+plane tumbling to earth.</p>
+
+<p>Then began a battle royal with the two-man
+machine. The French plane was smaller and
+a great deal faster. It could dodge up and
+down and sideways so quickly that it avoided
+the machine-gun fire of the big flyer. Discouraged,
+the two-man machine turned tail for
+home; the Frenchman followed. The Germans
+dived toward their own lines, but a well-directed
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span>shot hit their gas tank, and to earth they
+went in a cloud of flame and smoke.</p>
+
+<p>The victory was complete for the moment,
+but disaster came quickly on its heels, for when
+the French plane was almost back in our lines,
+there came swooping down from a cloud another
+Boche. My heart fluttered at the sight,
+for it was plain that the Frenchman was unaware
+of the new danger. He had slowed up
+and was leisurely picking his way home.
+There was no way to warn him of his danger.
+At the last second he must have discovered his
+plight for he seemed to turn, but it was too late.
+The German gun was singing and the next instant
+saw this brilliant aviator tumbling earthward.
+I shut my eyes and gasped for breath.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX">
+    CHAPTER IX
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">THE SIEGE OF VERDUN</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>It was now six p.m. and, although the German
+shells had been coming in at regular intervals
+all day, they increased the intensity of
+their fire now and things were pretty hot, for
+they were putting lots of big ones over. We
+felt quite secure in our <i>abri</i>, and after an
+hour the bombardment ceased.</p>
+
+<p>That night we got little sleep, for the French
+preparatory fire, in view of the big offensive
+planned for the next day, had increased to such
+violence it sounded like Hell let loose and running
+wild.</p>
+
+<p>We were up at three a.m., ready to start at
+break of day. If possible, the French fire
+seemed to increase each moment. So fast were
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span>the big guns discharging their deadly missiles
+that it was impossible to distinguish one report
+from another. It was one vast rumble. However,
+we did not get away, as word came that
+the Boches were putting over gas along the
+road on which we were to travel, and so orders
+came for us to wait. That gave us time to
+get a good meal tucked away. It is always
+good judgment to eat when one has an opportunity,
+for the chances are that during an attack
+the rarest thing that one will experience
+is an opportunity to eat.</p>
+
+<p>It was nearly eight o’clock before we got
+under way. The road over which we were
+going was controlled by Boche batteries back of
+Pepper Hill, and even now we were noticing
+the shells landing in the roadside ahead and
+behind us. Camions, dead horses and soup
+kitchens were in evidence, toppled over into
+the ditches, but we were not hampered and
+kept right on going.</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes we were stopped by a
+French sentry and warned not to try to go
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>ahead as the Boches were shelling the road in
+advance quite heavily. We could hear the
+shells breaking about half a kilometer further
+on, so we pulled up and stopped here for about
+thirty minutes. There seemed to be a lull at
+the end of this time, when we again started forward,
+but had not proceeded very far when we
+came to an artillery caisson turned over in a
+ditch and three horses lying dead in the road.
+Two of the men attached to the caisson had
+been killed by the same shell and were lying at
+the roadside, partly covered with canvas.</p>
+
+<p>We were held up here for a couple of moments
+until the Frenchmen pulled the last horse
+that blocked the road out of the way. Five
+minutes more travel brought us to a sharp turn
+in the road, but just before we reached it a
+shell exploded near us with a sound that convulsed
+us. A quick application of the brakes
+was necessary, for we found that the shell had
+landed in the road just in front of a camion.
+The three men who were on the camion heard it
+coming and jumped to safety, but the explosion
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span>had torn their motor and the front of their car
+into bits.</p>
+
+<p>It so happened that this truck occupied
+the very middle of the road and it was impossible
+for us to pass on either side of it. Bang!
+a shell broke at this moment on the hillside
+about one hundred feet away. Hasty examination
+and inquiry soon convinced us that we
+would be held up here for some time. It appeared
+like a most uncomfortable place to be
+stuck in, and the developments of the next few
+moments justified the impression. Bang!
+Bang! two shells exploded one on one side of
+the road and the other just ahead. We decided
+to turn our car around and get
+away from this spot until the damaged truck
+was removed. This was finally accomplished,
+but no sooner had we turned than the shells
+began bursting in and around the road in the
+direction we were traveling.</p>
+
+<p>A Frenchman at this moment pointed out
+the location of an <i>abri</i> by the roadside
+where we were and into which we could crawl
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span>until the shelling stopped. Ahead of us some
+two hundred feet the road passed through a
+sort of a cut, where the banks came up on
+both sides high enough partially to protect the
+car from being damaged, except by a direct
+hit.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="080a-i-1" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/080a-i-1.jpg" alt="Grave sites near trees with wooden crosses throughout.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">The Bivouac of the Dead</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="080a-i-2" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/080a-i-2.jpg" alt="Crosses for grave sites in some tall grass with a building behind.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Where the Souls of Men Are Calling</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The <i>abri</i> was a very welcome place and
+as long as we had started for it we lost no time
+in getting there. We had hardly descended
+the stairs when two Frenchmen came down
+supporting a third between them. I recognized
+him as one of the men who had been on the
+camion. His trousers were red and the blood
+was trickling to the floor. His clothing was
+removed at once and a gaping wound was
+found in his stomach. He screamed with
+agony.</p>
+
+<p>A doctor, who was present, stepped forward
+at this moment to examine the man,
+but quickly shook his head. We knew that
+meant the wounded soldier did not have a
+chance. At this instant a shell landed about
+twenty feet from the entrance to our retreat,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span>and the vibration was so violent that it almost
+shook our teeth out. A great deal of loose
+dirt between the beams above our heads
+fell—some of it into the gaping wound of
+the unfortunate man lying on the floor. I was
+horrified and called the doctor’s attention to
+the matter, but he said that it was of no consequence;
+the man was doomed.</p>
+
+<p>Naturally I began to feel very nervous, for
+the place in which we were quartered did not
+impress me as any too safe, being only about
+fifteen feet below the surface, and should a
+shell land on it I felt that we would stay there
+a long, long time.</p>
+
+<p>And the shells did come, one after another.
+It appeared that they were shooting at the
+dug-out instead of the road now. The place
+fairly trembled. The doctor fell to his knees
+and started praying a sort of chant—“My God,
+my God. I have always tried to serve thee
+well,” etc. I must confess that I was not
+enjoying myself any too well, for I remember
+having picked up an old newspaper which I
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>tried to read, but merely turned the pages over
+and over and whistled nervously, wondering
+where the next one would land.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor turned sharply and addressed
+me. “You fool, have you no reverence, to
+whistle while a man is praying?” He upbraided
+me severely. Such experiences, together
+with the agonized cries from wounded
+men screaming with pain, were not pleasant.
+I expected momentarily to see the nose of a
+Boche 105 come poking through the roof and
+bury us like rats, but Dame Fortune smiled
+with favor upon us, for the expected never
+came. But the cries of the man who had been
+so badly wounded had now ceased. He had
+passed away.</p>
+
+<p>After the bombardment lifted we ventured
+forth, expecting the worst. But there was our
+car, untouched, just where we had left it. A
+few moments’ work by some Frenchmen got
+the auto truck off to the side of the road far
+enough to enable us to pass. I do not ever
+remember experiencing such profound relief
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>at leaving a place as I was to get away from
+this bend of the road.</p>
+
+<p>Soon we came to where the French cannon
+were putting over the usual preparatory fire
+before the attack. We parked our car in a sort
+of a gravel pit, which afforded good protection.
+By this time we had passed several large
+Howitzer batteries, also some large Marine
+pieces, and when these guns would fire we could
+hear their big shells go screaming over our
+heads on their way to the front. One cannot
+help wondering how any living thing could
+exist within the confines of such an inferno.</p>
+
+<p>After about ten minutes we came up before
+a field telegraphic headquarters, and adjoining
+was the telephone exchange for this sector
+of the front. Needless to say, this was a busy
+place. Here all impending movements
+shaped themselves, and communications from
+the General Staff were relayed to the army
+both by wire and ’phone. All the big guns
+throwing shells over our heads were controlled
+by this bureau.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span></p>
+
+<p>A captain informed us that an attack was to
+be launched at twelve noon sharp. During the
+time that we were here I noticed undue aerial
+activity on the part of the Germans, for there
+were some twelve or fifteen of their machines
+in the air over the French lines, and at the
+same time I noticed six observation balloons
+floating behind their lines with lookouts alert.
+It impressed me as rather irregular that the
+French had not sent up machines to drive the
+Boche planes back over their own lines in such
+times as these, for it was now ten-thirty, and,
+with an attack coming off at noon, they might
+gather a lot of information regarding the concentrations
+of the French and take steps to
+counter the move.</p>
+
+<p>Almost at the moment that these thoughts
+were running through my mind the captain
+was called to the telephone, and after a short
+time returned with the information that the
+call was an order for the French aviators to
+proceed against the German observation balloons,
+regardless of cost, and to destroy them.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>I asked if they were going after the planes, too,
+to which he replied:</p>
+
+<p>“No—they are instructed to pay no attention
+to the aeroplanes until they have completed
+the destruction of the observation balloons.
+The planes are to be left entirely to
+our anti-aircraft batteries.”</p>
+
+<p>Turning toward the rear, I noticed the result
+of the orders just issued, for one after another
+of the French planes ascended, until I had
+counted nineteen. All started to maneuver for
+positions of advantage. The battle-planes
+ascended to elevations where they could protect
+the planes that were going after the balloons.
+Over to the right of our position, within
+two minutes of each other, the anti-aircraft
+batteries scored direct hits, and brought two
+Boche planes tumbling to earth, while overhead
+a German attacked a French plane and
+forced it to descend behind our lines.</p>
+
+<p>Time was drawing closer now when we must
+go forward to take up the position we would
+occupy during the attack. Already the French
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span>fire was deafening, mingled with the terrible
+roar of German shells. In about twenty minutes
+we gained the summit of an elevation
+from which we could see the German trenches
+that were to be attacked, about twelve hundred
+yards in front of us, but considerably
+lower, excepting one slope on the left, where
+there was a steep incline leading to the top of
+a small hill, on which was located the second
+line defense of the Germans, the first being at
+the bottom.</p>
+
+<p>We could see very plainly the effect of
+the French fire, for there were shells of
+all sizes breaking over the German positions—a
+mass of shrapnel explosives. With
+the aid of powerful glasses I could distinguish
+that while there was some barbed wire standing
+before the German trenches the accuracy
+of the French artillery had resulted in reducing
+it so much that there would be easy access
+for the infantry.</p>
+
+<p>At eleven-forty-five exactly there was not a
+German observation balloon in the sky. French
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>aviators were now free to engage the Boche
+planes. In the next few moments two German
+machines were brought to earth and with them
+one French plane in combat. Immediately
+thereafter a German machine fell in flames,
+brought down by the aircraft batteries. I
+could not help but think how wonderfully accurate
+the calculations of the Headquarters
+Staff had been in planning the aerial operations.</p>
+
+<p>Located in pits on the hill on which I stood
+were the French 75’s, about forty pieces all
+told, that had been placed there the night before.
+Not a single shot had been fired from
+them. Afterwards I learned more in detail
+the part these guns were to play and the reason
+for their temporary inactivity.</p>
+
+<p>At twelve sharp, as if by magic, out of the
+ground arose wave upon wave of French infantry.
+So spectacular, and so inspiring, was
+the sight that we stood motionless, our eyes
+fixed upon the advancing lines of blue. For
+several minutes I did not see a man fall.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span>This was due to the fact that the Germans
+were still in their dug-outs on account of the
+intensity of the French preparatory fire, still
+falling on their position.</p>
+
+<p>This did not last long, however. The
+curtain fire raised quickly and we could observe
+the shells breaking in the rear of the German
+front-line trenches, instead of on them,
+as they had been a moment before. The same
+instant German machine-gun fire opened, and,
+just as the French reached the wire in front of
+the enemy position, I could see blue figures falling
+all along the front, and while the buzz of the
+machine guns was inaudible, due to the terrible
+din of the cannon, I knew by the way the men
+dropped that the machine guns were doing the
+mischief.</p>
+
+<p>Notwithstanding the slaughter, more men
+jumped into the gaps and on they swept. They
+had now reached the parapet of the German
+front-line trench and we could see them fighting
+with grenades and hand to hand. A short
+while thereafter the supporting columns of the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span>French surged on over the first line in an
+attack upon the secondary defense. Supporting
+columns still filed out of the French
+trenches below. How so many could come
+from that source was enough to mystify one,
+but here they were before our eyes, streaming
+forward in surging waves. I noticed now
+that the French fire had again been lifted and
+was being thrown even farther to the rear than
+heretofore.</p>
+
+<p>The shells, as we now observed them, broke
+in a clearing that seemed about five hundred
+yards wide, back of the secondary defense of
+the Germans. It was on this stretch of ground
+that all the French artillery on our hill was
+trained, but as yet not a shell had been fired
+from them. We could see very clearly that the
+first line had been captured, for even now the
+French had started back with groups of prisoners
+taken from it. We could discern quite
+clearly at times that they were making good
+progress against the secondary defense, although
+the smoke and bursting shells in the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>area between were very heavy and obscured the
+view. I glanced toward my left and saw caissons
+going up on the run with cartridges and
+hand grenades to repel the counter attack.</p>
+
+<p>The Germans must have anticipated this
+move, for they put over a terrific fire on the
+road over which these supplies had to be transported.
+Just about this time word came back
+that all objectives had been captured and consolidation
+started. Instantaneously another
+rush of caissons went forward with additional
+supplies, and every gun behind us seemed to be
+throwing a barrage fire back of the positions
+captured. There was no lull. The French
+infantry had captured all that they had started
+out for,—in fact, all that there was.</p>
+
+<p>An under officer of the battery beside me
+exclaimed, “Hurrah!” and I turned my head in
+the direction in which he was looking, to see
+three regiments of “Blue Devils” charging with
+bayonets fixed up the steep slope that had until
+now defied all thrusts. The casualties seemed
+to be remarkably few for such an exposed position,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span>and before we could realize what had
+happened the French had gained the crest, and,
+in the next few moments, had thrown the
+Boches off the hill.</p>
+
+<p>Orders were now given for every man to
+take his position. At first I could not understand
+why these orders caused such activity
+among the batteries that, up to now, had
+shown no signs of being in the fight at all—but
+I was soon to learn. Everyone seemed breathless
+with impatience, but stood cool and rigid.
+Finally I heard a shout, “Here they come!”</p>
+
+<p>I shall never be able adequately to describe
+the sight. Masses of Boches surge forward in
+counter attack; closer and closer they drew
+toward the French positions until there was an
+earth-rending crash and forty sheets of flame
+burst from the mouths of the cannon beside
+me.</p>
+
+<p>I was too stupefied to realize what had
+taken place for the moment, but soon regained
+control of myself. The guns never
+stopped a second. Each piece was throwing
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span>shrapnel at the rate of twenty-two to twenty-five
+shots a minute into the oncoming ranks.
+We could observe quite clearly the shells landing
+among them and over them, and with each
+explosion could see gaps torn in their lines and
+men mowed down like so many weeds. Finally
+they faltered, and the next instant fell back in
+disorder to the positions they had left. The
+ground was literally strewn with their dead
+when the cannon ceased.</p>
+
+<p>It was not long that we enjoyed this lull for
+the German batteries started shelling our
+positions furiously. Hitherto we had not come
+in for much attention, a shell every now and
+then was our lot, but now their fire was directed
+straight at us, and from what we received
+I imagined that every gun made in Germany
+was trained on this hill.</p>
+
+<p>Five French guns were completely destroyed,
+while eight more had to re-locate positions so
+that they would not be wiped out. Shells of all
+sizes broke around us, but after a few minutes
+the shelling subsided.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span></p>
+
+<p>Notice was now transmitted along the position
+that the Boches were forming for a second
+counter attack. Everyone was again in
+place and in a couple of moments again I
+heard, “Here they come!” And they did come,
+and also with them came a renewal of shell-fire
+on our position, when two more guns were
+hit. But they were paying a terrible toll for
+their advance, for their ranks were torn to bits
+by the French machine guns.</p>
+
+<p>Nor did this stop them—they came on and on
+until they gained the parapet of the French position,
+and here fought hand-to-hand for it.
+But the defenders were the most tenacious.
+They refused to budge an inch, until, due to
+superior numbers, they had to give ground.
+But the Headquarters Staff had been watching
+for these very conditions, so, like a flash, two
+attacks were started simultaneously from the
+right and left, and before the Germans knew
+what had happened both bodies of the French
+converged in their rear, and all Germans not
+killed were taken prisoners.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is difficult to analyze and describe one’s
+feelings in going through such an attack, and
+what surprised me most, after it was all over,
+was the way in which I had lost all consciousness
+of what was taking place right around me,
+so intense was my desire to see everything that
+was transpiring out in front of our position.
+Even when the shells were coming in close, and
+particularly during the time when the batteries
+beside me were being shelled, and even hit, I do
+not remember paying much attention to what
+might happen to me, for I felt that all was in
+the hands of fate.</p>
+
+<p>On our way to the rear we came across
+batches of prisoners. There appeared to be
+two distinct classes of soldiers, the first not one
+of whom seemed to be over twenty, while some
+here were mere boys and wore looks of terror
+and dread. I saw one youngster, surely not
+over seventeen, with his hand tied up, evidently
+wounded, the tears streaming down his
+cheeks. I was informed later that these boys
+were told by their officers that in the event of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>their being captured they would be tortured,
+and all manner of things would be done to them
+by the French. From their expressions one
+could see that they believed this to be a fact.</p>
+
+<p>The other class consisted of men who appeared
+to be over forty years of age. Some of
+them had beards in which gray hairs were
+largely in evidence. All of them looked very
+poor and the rations that they had been given
+surely did not nourish them to any marked degree.
+The class that was lacking was the strapping
+young fellow of twenty-two to twenty-eight,
+the connecting link between mere boys
+and middle-aged men.</p>
+
+<p>After all these came the wounded. Brancardiers
+and soldiers were now assisting at the
+dressing stations. All kinds and shapes of humanity
+lay in rows, one after another, awaiting
+the attention of the doctors who pass along
+the line examining and administering to those
+who have a chance for life. To one who is
+not used to such sights it would appear that
+the doctors are a hard-hearted lot, as they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span>make their rounds, passing by those who have
+no chance. But here one must realize that the
+time and attention that a vitally injured man
+requires, should he have died on the way to the
+hospital, might have been the means of saving
+the life of the one who had a chance. Never
+shall I forget the expression on the faces of
+men when the doctors passed on to the next.
+They realized that it was only a question of
+moments before they made their supreme sacrifice.
+What must that feeling be? Of course,
+there are some that lose control of themselves
+because of intense pain from wounds, but on
+the whole the patience of these unfortunates
+is most remarkable.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="096b-i" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/096b-i.jpg" alt="Uniformed men loading individuals on gurneys into a wagon.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">The Wagon of Mercy Loading Up</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>After a heavy action all such men as can
+possibly get to the rear by themselves, or with
+the assistance of comrades, are forced to make
+the struggle, for the ambulance is taxed to its
+utmost in bringing back those who are unable
+to help themselves.</p>
+
+<p>After the lull came, with the French holding
+all of their gains, I had the opportunity of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span>going over the whole area of the Verdun battlefield,
+and the only expression that I can use
+to fit the scene is that it was a mess. Where,
+before the attack, there were beautiful trees,
+nothing now remained. It was impossible to
+tell or distinguish one shell hole from another,
+so raked and torn was the ground, now turned
+into chalk dust. First a shell lands here and
+throws the ground one way, then a shell lands
+there and throws it back—a continual churning
+process—and when the heavy rains come
+it turns it all into a quagmire of so much
+mud. There have been any number of instances
+where French soldiers had gotten into
+such places and gradually sunk almost out of
+sight before their comrades came to their rescue.
+In some cases they were too late
+to pull the victims out without pulling their
+arms from their sockets. All that could be
+done under such circumstances was to shake
+hands with the unfortunate—before he was
+swallowed up and sank from view in the lake
+of mud.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span></p>
+
+<p>This has happened to horses and even to
+the light field batteries. It is impossible for
+one who has not witnessed these scenes to have
+even a vague conception of such conditions.</p>
+
+<hr class="tb">
+
+<p>Following is an interesting letter portraying
+an action at Verdun:—</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p class="right" style="margin-right: 1em;">
+  Verdun, ——
+</p>
+
+<p>To-night I am sitting in the small underground
+cellar of one of the public buildings of
+the town, acting as a sort of timekeeper or
+starter for the cars going up to our most dangerous
+post, and handling the reserve cars for
+the wounded in the town itself. I wish I could
+describe the scene as I see it,—for a strange
+world is passing before me—Frenchmen, living,
+wounded and dying.</p>
+
+<p>A long, heavily arched corridor, with stone
+steps leading down to it; two compartments off
+to one side lined with wine bins, where our reserve
+men and a few French brancardiers
+(stretcher-bearers) are lying on their stained
+stretchers, some snoring; beyond, a door that
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span>leads to a small operating room, and to the left
+another door that admits to a little sick ward
+with four beds of different sizes and make on
+one side and six on the other, taken evidently
+from the ruined houses nearby—and one tired
+infirmier (hospital attendant) to tend and
+soothe the wounded and dying.</p>
+
+<p>In the bed nearest the door, a French priest,
+shot through the lungs—with pneumonia setting
+in—his black beard pointing straight up,
+whispers for water. Next to him, a little
+German lad, hardly nineteen, with about six
+hours to live, calling, sometimes screaming, for
+his mother, and then for water. Next to him,
+a French captain of infantry, with his arm shot
+off at the shoulder and his head lacerated,
+weak, dying, but smiling; and next to him a
+tirailleur in delirium calling on his colonel to
+charge the Germans. The Infirmier is going
+from one to the other, soothing one and waiting
+on another, each in turn. He asks me what the
+German is saying, and I tell him he is calling
+for his mother. “Ah, this is a sad war,” he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>says, as he goes over to hold the poor lad’s
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>A brancardier comes in with a telephone
+message,—“a <i>blessé</i> (wounded man), at Belleville—very
+serious.” This is a reserve car call.
+So one slides out and is gone like a gray ghost
+down the ruined street, making all the speed
+its driver can—no easy matter,—with no
+lights. In twenty minutes he is back. The
+brancardiers go out—they come in again, bearing
+the wounded man on a stretcher and place
+it on the floor beside the little stove. One of
+them, who is a priest, leans over him and asks
+him his name and town;—then, in answer to
+what his wife’s name is, he murmurs: “Alice;”
+while on the other side another brancardier is
+slitting the clothes from his body and I shiver
+with pity at the sight.</p>
+
+<p>The surgeon comes out of his little operating
+room. Weary with the night’s tragic work—after
+so many, many other tragic nights, he
+doused his head in a bucket of water, then
+turned to the wounded man. He looked long
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>at him, gently felt his nose and lifted up his
+closed eyelid. Then, at his nod, the stretcher is
+again lifted and the wounded man carried into
+the operating room, and soon after that, into
+the little room of sorrows.</p>
+
+<p>In answer to my eager question the surgeon
+shakes his head. Not a chance!</p>
+
+<p>A brancardier and I gather the soldier’s belongings
+from his clothes to be sent to his wife,
+but even we have to stop for a few moments
+after we see the photograph of his wife and
+their two little children.</p>
+
+<p>An hour later, as our night’s work was slacking
+down and several cars had driven up and
+been unloaded, the infirmier came in from the
+little room and said something to the brancardiers.
+Two of them got a stretcher and in
+a moment “The <i>blessé</i> from Belleville” came
+past us with a sheet over him. They laid him
+down at the other end of the room and another
+brancardier commenced rolling and tying him
+in burlap for burial. As you looked he changed
+to a shapeless log. Then out to the dead wagon.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span></p>
+
+<p>Shortly after I went into the little ward
+again to see how the others were coming
+through the night, and was glad to see them all
+quieted down; even the little German seemed
+less in pain, though his breathing still shook
+the heavy little bed he lay on.</p>
+
+<p>Through a window I saw that day was beginning
+to break, and, as I noticed it, I heard
+the Chief’s car coming in from the “Sap,” and
+knew the night’s work was over.</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X">
+    CHAPTER X
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">A VISIT TO BACCARAT</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>One day I went into a little general store in
+Baccarat to make a few purchases. Having
+just arrived at this sector, and not knowing
+anything about the place, I engaged the woman
+who owned the store in conversation regarding
+the occupation of the town by the Germans.
+My interest was due chiefly to the fact that this
+particular store, while located in a devastated
+village, had, from all outward appearances, escaped
+damage.</p>
+
+<p>It seems that just after the Boches occupied
+the town word was given out that
+Paris had fallen and was then in the hands
+of the Germans. The telephone and telegraph
+stations were all controlled by the enemy, and,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span>of course, the statement was accepted as a fact,
+for no information could be obtained other
+than that which the Germans wished to give.</p>
+
+<p>On the fifth day of the occupation a German
+captain, speaking perfect French, entered the
+store and inquired for the proprietor. When
+informed that he was speaking to her, he
+demanded:</p>
+
+<p>“Madam, do you speak German?”</p>
+
+<p>“No,” replied the woman. “I do not speak
+German, but I understand it quite well.” The
+officer then asked if she spoke English, to which
+she answered “No.”</p>
+
+<p>“Well, if you do not speak it, you surely
+understand it?” he persisted, but she replied in
+the negative. The officer thanked her, and,
+without further comment, turned and left the
+place. The woman thought this a most unusual
+occurrence, especially as, without explanation,
+he left as abruptly as he had entered.
+Later she learned that he did the same thing
+all through this district, asking people precisely
+the same questions and leaving without comment,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span>no matter what their answers were.</p>
+
+<p>In due course the reason for the officer’s visit
+came to light. The German command had
+learned that on the day of their defeat in the
+battle of the Marne, one of the causes therefor
+had been the flanking movement of the English.
+This information produced such an intense
+feeling of hatred that this officer was sent
+around town to find out if there were any people
+who spoke English or even understood it.
+If such were found their location was set down
+and reported to the German command.</p>
+
+<p>The pressure on the town, however, soon
+took on such proportions that it was seen that
+it would have to be given up by the Germans.
+So the compiled information of the officer’s investigation
+was reviewed and those people who
+spoke or understood English were visited by
+the Torch Squad and everything they owned
+was burned.</p>
+
+<p>Baccarat was by no means the only place
+that received this sort of treatment, for one has
+only to take a trip along the eastern front of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>France to see a great many similar instances
+of just what took place at Baccarat. Wanton
+destruction seemed to be the idea of the
+German command. Fruit trees were cut down
+because it would be years before France could
+grow them again.</p>
+
+<p>Houses were blown to pieces by the artillery
+when the civil population had left Baccarat.
+The churches seemed always to be the first
+thing razed to the ground by enemy fire. Of
+what military advantage this could be, I have
+never been able to see, but I have heard a
+theory advanced that seems plausible. The
+German command knew that the peasants of
+France were a hard-working people, occupied
+with their farms constantly; that they are also
+a home people and <i>know</i> very little of the outside
+world. Sunday they believed should be
+set aside for worship and rest. Brought up in
+this religious way, men, women and children
+attend church on Sunday with unfailing regularity.</p>
+
+<p>I saw the church in the village of H—— completely
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span>demolished by shell fire, with the exception
+of the altar and the three life-size
+statues behind it on the wall. The figures of
+the Mother Mary and Joseph and that of the
+Christ in the center were intact with the exception
+that some German Hun had decapitated
+the figure of Christ. The destruction of houses
+of worship was intended to produce in the
+minds of these peasants the thought—“God is
+not with us,”—for if He were, they reasoned,
+“He surely would not permit the Germans to
+raze our homes and devastate our farms.”
+This would cause unrest and dissatisfaction in
+general with the Government, perhaps produce
+a cry for peace at any price, and that is what
+the Germans had hoped for. But what a mistake
+they have made, for the French peasant
+will make every sacrifice, even to death, for
+their country.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI">
+    CHAPTER XI
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">HOMELESS CHILDREN</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>At Saint Nicholas du Port we rested, waiting
+for our division to go to the trenches.
+Almost every night we were visited by Boche
+aviators who would come over and drop a few
+bombs to add to our comfort. It was one of the
+nicest little spots one could find, for we were
+quartered in an old cow barn from which we
+had to shovel about two wagon loads of manure
+before we could put up beds, and when we
+did not have the Boche flying over us we were
+busy with the “cooties” round about us.</p>
+
+<p>If ever conditions existed that were
+cootie producing, we certainly found them
+here. There was an old tile roof that was perfectly
+watertight, except when it rained, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span>evidently intended for astronomical observation.
+At other times our anti-aircraft batteries,
+located across the road, when they shot
+at the Boches caused shell fragments to drop
+on our none-too-solid roof, and thereby add to
+the access of small rivulets, to say nothing of
+the danger of our losing about a yard and a
+half of hide. But we were visited so many
+times by the Boches that we ceased to pay any
+attention to them. With practice one can get
+used to anything.</p>
+
+<p>One night a little boy came up out of the
+darkness and asked if he could sleep in the
+driveway. He said he was very tired and had
+no place to go. He had been ordered back,
+for when a regiment goes into the fighting
+zone no one that is not attached to it is permitted
+to go along. There are hundreds of
+these urchins in France that follow the armies
+and live with them when they are not in the
+trenches.</p>
+
+<p>This is just what had happened to Lombard,
+for that was his name. We questioned
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>him very closely and he finally convinced
+us of his truthfulness, and so we made him
+comfortable for the night on a stretcher in one
+of the cars. In a short time he was in slumberland.
+About an hour later the Boche aviators
+came over and things were soon humming.
+The batteries were going full blast when I
+thought of that poor child out in the car without
+protection, and unable to get out.</p>
+
+<p>I put on my steel helmet and went out to release
+our guest. I brought him into the barn
+and felt much better to know that he was at
+least sharing the protection we were afforded.
+The air raid soon ended and all was still. In
+the morning our guest was given his breakfast
+and a few francs, the net result of an impromptu
+collection, but he seemed to like American
+hospitality and started in to cut wood and
+carry water for our cook. Someone suggested
+that we keep him with us to do errands and
+help generally, but before this was to be considered
+it was necessary to learn more about
+the youngster, as we all had valuables that we
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>did not wish to lose, and coming to us as he did
+no one cared to take chances.</p>
+
+<p>We decided to question the lad and learned
+that for over two years he had been wandering
+about from one regiment to another.
+His home was at a place called Pont a
+Meusson, and when the place had been attacked
+by the Boches, his father had been killed and
+his mother carried off. He had two older
+brothers in the French Army, but did not know
+where they were. Thus, after the cross-examining,
+we decided to let him stay. We felt sure
+that as long as he was to help the cook and handle
+food, we might just as well have him clean.</p>
+
+<p>On account of the particular interest I
+had shown in him, I was allotted the job
+of seeing that he was cleaned up. After
+taking up another collection I bought him
+underwear, a clean shirt, and socks. There
+were miscellaneous donations like handkerchiefs,
+ties, towels and soap, so our guest
+was now ready for the bath. We had some
+water heated, into which we put a disinfectant
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>to help matters along, for I don’t think he had
+had a bath since he left home. It is hardly
+necessary to say that the bath was, at least, a
+partial success.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="112a-i-1" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/112a-i-1.jpg" alt="A straight dirt road lined by trees.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">A Camouflage Road Made to Order</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="112a-i-2" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/112a-i-2.jpg" alt="A straight grassy road lined by trees.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">A Natural Camouflage Road</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>He seemed more than grateful for what
+we had done for him and all went well until
+we were ordered to the front with our division.
+Then it looked dark for Lombard, for we
+must go into the fighting zone and he would
+not be permitted to follow. But he seemed
+so distressed and forlorn that we tucked
+him away in a camion and took him with
+us. We bought him a little uniform, and,
+when we left our division, the American boys
+who came to take our places gladly took him
+in charge. We were sorry to leave this little
+fellow, for he had become a part of our daily
+life.</p>
+
+<p>It is unfortunate that all the little children
+that follow the armies can not be taken
+care of in some such way. There are thousands
+of them straggling in the wake of the
+troops over there and they have no one to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span>consider their comfort or safety. What will
+become of them, beaten from pillar to post day
+after day, with no one to put out a helping
+hand. This is a problem for the women to
+solve, since the men are occupied with other
+things and have no time to adjust the matter.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII">
+    CHAPTER XII
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">AFTERNOON TEA</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>One day in my turn I went out on service to
+the small town of B——. The front-line
+trenches were located just outside the village.
+Upon our arrival, shortly after noon, in this
+town we obtained our meal from a soup kitchen
+that was tucked away in a sort of a driveway
+between two demolished houses. It was an
+ideal location for a soup kitchen, for, from all
+outward appearances, no one would ever think
+that this desolate spot would be picked out or
+utilized by anyone for any purpose whatsoever.
+After eating we started out for the post.
+This was the first time we had gone up to the
+front-line trenches covering this particular
+sector of the front.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span></p>
+
+<p>After we had proceeded some three hundred
+yards, we came to a place where the trenches
+passed through a small clump of woods, in
+which was located one of our advanced artillery
+observation posts. Here we were met by
+a sergeant major, who informed us that we had
+better exercise a great deal of caution in our advance
+of the next hundred yards, which was
+the distance that separated us from our front
+line. It was necessary to pass through a
+gulley and the trench we were in was only
+shoulder high. The Boche trenches were so
+close to our front line that the enemy, by posting
+men in the trees behind their lines, were
+in a position to observe what transpired in the
+gulley, we were about to enter.</p>
+
+<p>We climbed out of the trench, and, with the
+aid of field glasses, carefully scrutinized the
+taller trees to ascertain whether or not the
+Boche at this time was on the lookout. As we
+did not see anything that attracted undue attention,
+we decided to take a chance and proceed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span></p>
+
+<p>Crouching, we advanced some fifty yards.
+In passing one place that was particularly
+low, we were observed and the next second
+brought a hail of machine-gun bullets
+which kicked up the dust all about us. In front
+of us, some fifteen or twenty feet away, I noticed
+another spot where the side walls of the
+trench did not afford much protection and at
+the same instant, or just long enough for a
+man to proceed from one opening to another,
+came a stream of machine-gun bullets in front
+of us.</p>
+
+<p>It was a case of being between the devil
+and the deep sea; all we could do was to
+remain in the position where we were protected.
+We finally decided that by crawling
+on our hands and knees we could get past the
+second opening. This we did without being
+observed and the last we heard of our sniping
+Boche friend was a few shots intermittently
+fired in the hope of picking us off.</p>
+
+<p>Arriving at the front line, we proceeded
+along the machine-gun positions, and, finally,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span>entered a small communicating trench which
+led into the lieutenant’s dug-out. We descended
+and found our friend seated at a table,
+pondering over military maps and familiarizing
+himself with this particular sector which
+our division had just taken over. While we
+were conversing, one of the under officers reported
+the completion of a “<i>Petit Post</i>” (listening
+post). The lieutenant inquired if I would
+care to accompany him in looking it over. Of
+course I would.</p>
+
+<p>The general direction we took immediately
+impressed me as being toward the location of
+our Boche friend, who was planted in a tree
+based upon the angle that the machine-gun
+bullets came from. But we did not have to give
+much consideration to him, as the side wall of
+our trench nearest to his position was over six
+feet high and afforded complete cover. We
+soon arrived at our destination—sixty feet
+from the Boche front line.</p>
+
+<p>The instruction completed, two soldiers were
+stationed here and became a part of the defense
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span>for this sector. We were soon on our way to
+the rear. We passed through the gulley where
+we had been held up on the way out without
+attracting any attention. Arriving at the town
+of B——, we obtained our tinned meat with
+four large potatoes, sought a quiet spot and
+built a fire to prepare our evening meal.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly we were startled by the hum of a
+shell, as it passed over us and burst in a field
+just beyond. Then came a second, which burst
+closer; then a third. My companion and I
+looked at each other in amazement—then,
+thinking that the smoke from our fire was the
+cause of the shelling, we quickly stamped it
+out and poured water on the spot where our
+spoiled dinner had been sending up delightful
+odors only a moment before. We ran as fast
+as good legs could carry us into an old house
+near by that afforded better protection in the
+event of a shell breaking near us.</p>
+
+<p>The shells kept coming for about ten minutes,
+then stopped. Cautiously, we returned to
+where our fire had been and were considering
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span>the possible salvage when the hum of a motor
+attracted our attention to a Boche aviator flying
+directly over our heads. We were only
+about five hundred yards back of our first-line
+trench, toward which the Boche plane proceeded.
+It went directly over the trench,
+swooped down and raked it from one end to
+the other with machine-gun fire. Circling
+back, he returned as far in the rear as we were
+and then again made a run for the front line
+to open up with his machine gun as he dived
+for it.</p>
+
+<p>In the open we afforded him a fine mark,
+but each time as he flew back toward us we saw
+to it that there was a brick wall between him
+and ourselves. By this time he had attracted
+the attention of our anti-aircraft guns and they
+began shooting shrapnel at him as he circled,
+and the machine guns in our front-line trenches
+also shot in our direction as they followed the
+flyer to the rear. As the shrapnel and pieces
+of the exploded shells fell like rain around us,
+we decided to give up our supper as a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span>bad job, and went to sleep hungry that night.</p>
+
+<p>We walked up the street and passed the <i>Post
+du Succors</i>. The stretcher-bearers had begun
+to bring in the wounded. One man had lost
+most of his head. Accustomed as I was to such
+scenes, the sight of this man’s condition was
+the last straw in the way of gruesome experiences,
+and I was glad to get away and to bed.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII">
+    CHAPTER XIII
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">“PETIT POST”</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Out where the night seems the blackest,
+where one is unable to see his hands before his
+face, and where, in many instances, due to close
+proximity of the enemy trenches, one is compelled
+to be as quiet as a mouse, there is located
+in a shell-hole or the like is the <i>Petit Post</i> (or
+listening post), which is employed by all armies
+engaged in carrying on modern trench
+warfare.</p>
+
+<p>Out in front of even your own barb wire,
+with no form of protection from the enemy,
+two men must be constantly on watch, in
+order to send up signals in the event that
+Fritz decides to come over with his nippers for
+the purpose of slashing a passage in the wire
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>that his men may come through quickly in order
+to prevent the machine guns from collecting
+too much toll. It is necessary for the men at
+the post to lie flat and listen for the nip of the
+wire clippers. If this comes, it is their duty to
+signal the front-line trench, and, with star
+shells, the machine-gunners can discern the
+enemy and put the finishing touches on the
+wire-clipping party.</p>
+
+<p>The end generally comes before they even
+get started. As soon as these men know that
+the enemy are over, in addition to sending up
+their signals, they throw out six or eight hand
+grenades, and then run back to their trenches
+as best they can and assist in the defense in
+the case of an attack. But the thing to imagine
+is lying out there in the rain and mud with absolutely
+no protection, the wind cutting to the
+marrow and moaning mournfully as it sweeps
+over “No Man’s Land,” whistling through the
+barb-wire entanglements. The night seems
+just that much blacker after the star shell dies
+out, for such is the blinding effect on the eyes.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span></p>
+
+<p>There have been many instances where
+enemy patrols have stumbled right into these
+little listening posts while they are on patrol
+duty in “No Man’s Land,” and other instances
+have been known where one patrol would be
+walking side by side with an enemy patrol until
+someone would happen to discover the fact and
+then there was always a fight. A few exchanges
+of shots, a few thuds from the swinging
+of butt ends of guns and all was over in a
+few moments.</p>
+
+<p>Picture yourself on such duty where even
+a whisper will bring you a present in the
+form of a hand grenade, and when there are
+no wire-cutting operations on, or enemy patrols
+to bother you, it rains, and you wallow in mud
+like an animal with your knees knocking together,
+and your clothing so wet that it sticks
+to your body. But this is very important work
+and must be performed. Two lives out there
+may mean the saving of hundreds in the
+trenches.</p>
+
+<p>All such operations as cutting the wire
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>and patrol duty are carried on under the
+cover of darkness, with only the intermittent
+star shell, which is sent up like a rocket to impede
+the work. When these are in the sky it is
+necessary for everyone between the trenches
+to lie flat on the ground because a man standing
+with this light on him would be a mark for
+the enemy sniper.</p>
+
+<p>I have known of instances where men on
+patrol duty have been shot early in the
+morning while inspecting the wire, and,
+falling over, hung there entangled in utter helplessness.
+The light coming on prevented their
+comrades from rescuing them and they lay
+there for days at a time with the German machine
+guns trained on them. Once in a life
+time on <i>Petit post</i> is enough—an abundant sufficiency.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV">
+    CHAPTER XIV
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">BADONVILLER THE MARTYR</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In the foothills of the Vosges Mountains
+just inside the Lorraine border is the site of
+what was once a peaceful village. This village
+suffered the most terrible devastation of any
+along the eastern front in France. Not only
+the town but also the civil population received
+such treatment at the hands of the Boches that
+it is beyond my powers to describe the atrocities
+that were committed. But I shall endeavor
+to set forth some of the outstanding facts in
+order that the reader may understand why this
+village is now known as “Badonviller the
+Martyr.”</p>
+
+<p>When the German Army invaded France
+from Lorraine this peaceful little village lay in
+its path, and, after sharp fighting, was occupied
+by advance troops of this army.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span></p>
+
+<p>The enemy entered the town at three
+o’clock in the morning and marched five
+abreast all through the day and long into the
+night—a continuous stream of men that never
+paused. On they went to the next village,
+Roan L’Etape, and in its turn that village suffered
+even a worse fate than had Badonviller,
+as the resistance by the French here was
+greater, hence the destruction was to be
+greater. At this point, the German command
+allowed free sacking, and applied the torch.
+The homes of the inhabitants were burned and
+destruction of things and pillage in general
+permitted, even though of no military value
+whatever.</p>
+
+<p>In this town the German officers caused to
+be written all over the altars of churches, public
+buildings and store fronts the words “Capute
+Ramberviller,” the name of the next village
+in the path of this army. This meant that not
+a stone should be left unturned and the torch
+applied to every home, store, church or building
+of any kind. There was a reason for this, a
+German reason.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span></p>
+
+<p>During the Franco-Prussian War, over
+fifty years ago, the civil population in this
+village of Ramberviller turned out to assist
+a handful of French soldiers in holding
+back some crack Prussian regiments until the
+French reserves could come up and defeat
+them. Fifty years of grievance, and this was
+their opportunity for revenge.</p>
+
+<p>Think of revenge on a people most of whom
+were unborn at the time because their grandfathers
+defended their homes from pillage a
+half century before! But the stories of atrocity
+that had been handed down were borne out
+by the new generation of German soldiery, the
+flower of the German Army of to-day.</p>
+
+<p>Now this village happened to be the next in
+the line of march, but the French had anticipated
+what was in the heart of the Hun and
+the French Headquarters Staff, knowing what
+would happen to this town if captured, decided
+to make a stand against the invader between
+Roan L’Etape and Ramberviller. And here
+history repeated itself, for the glorious poilu of
+France administered a smashing defeat to the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span>invading army, and Ramberviller was again
+spared. But not without the toll that always
+attends heavy fighting.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="128b-i" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/128b-i.jpg" alt="A uniformed man throwing an explosive.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Bombing the Hun</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>To-day the fields and the woods are filled
+with crosses, black for the Allamand and the
+Tri-color for the French. Thirty-five thousand
+men fell in the fighting before this village.
+From this point the French kept pushing the
+Boche back until they got them out of Roan
+L’Etape and finally back to Pexonne, just outside
+of Badonviller.</p>
+
+<p>As the Germans were falling back they used
+the upper part of a house in this town as a hospital
+for officers—one large room, and a smaller
+one adjoining. The smaller of the two rooms
+was used as an operating room, while the
+larger one became a ward where the stretchers
+were placed on the floor. In the small room was
+a window looking out on to a little courtyard,
+and, as the arms and legs and hands and feet
+were amputated, they were thrown out of this
+window into a pile on the ground floor. The
+woman who owned the house was forced to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>assist wherever her services might be required.
+After the elapse of several days, she requested
+the privilege of cleaning up the little courtyard
+of its human debris. For reply she was told by
+a German surgeon to mind her own business, or
+she might ornament the pile also with her
+“filthy French carcass.”</p>
+
+<p>The brancardiers, or stretcher-bearers, of
+the German Army were bringing in officers in
+numbers as the fighting increased, and it so
+happened that in the ward to which I have alluded
+there was no more room, being filled to
+its capacity, except in one corner where a
+young French boy was stretched out, his leg
+amputated at the thigh. As the last German
+officer was brought in and it was found there
+was no room for him, two Boche stretcher-bearers
+lifted the French boy up and threw him
+out of the second-story window into the street
+below, where, needless to say, he died very
+shortly.</p>
+
+<p>To give you the history of just one of the
+families here it will be necessary for me
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span>to go back to the first attack by the Boches
+on this village. A young boy nineteen years
+old, the son of the mayor of this town, was
+shot and mortally wounded while defending the
+village from attack. He was carried to his
+home and laid at his mother’s feet, where he
+soon died. (Number 1.)</p>
+
+<p>The following morning, with her son dead in
+the house, the mother stood at her gate weeping.
+The Boches were filing through the
+streets in front of her home when a German
+officer took notice of her. He stepped out of
+the ranks, and, as he approached, inquired why
+a woman should feel so badly at seeing the
+glorious soldiers of the Kaiser marching by
+triumphantly, and when she replied, “You have
+killed my boy,” the officer drew a revolver and
+shot her dead. (Number 2.)</p>
+
+<p>In the house we have described as used for
+a temporary hospital, on the first floor was located
+a large room used by some of the German
+officers as a Headquarters. This room
+had two large windows looking out upon the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span>street. A little boy nine years old, walking
+down the road, was called by one of the officers
+sitting at one of the windows and given
+a pitcher in which to bring some beer from a
+neighboring café. The child returned in a few
+moments with the beer, which he handed to the
+officer, and, for some unknown reason, the officer
+lifted him by the collar into the room and
+shot him.</p>
+
+<p>As the child fell mortally wounded, he
+was picked up bodily and placed on a red-hot
+stove used for heating the water for the operating
+room upstairs. The odor issuing from the
+burning clothing and flesh soon brought the
+doctor to the head of a small staircase on the
+second floor. “What is that smell?” he demanded,
+and the officer who had placed the
+child on the stove replied, “Doctor, we are preparing
+your dinner.” Whereupon, the doctor
+shouted, “Take that damn stinking thing
+off of there, as the smell is coming upstairs
+and it will make somebody sick.” Thereupon,
+the body of the boy, now dead, was taken
+from the stove and thrown out of the kitchen
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span>window onto the pile of arms and legs in the
+courtyard. (Number 3.)</p>
+
+<p>Four days later a young girl was carried off
+by the Boches, as they were evacuating the city
+through pressure from the French, who had,
+by this time, so increased in number that the
+Germans saw that it would be impossible to
+hold the village. What became of this girl no
+one can say, but from what I know of a great
+many other cases I believe it would have been
+much better for her had she been killed in the
+streets than to have suffered the fate that I am
+sure must have been hers. (Number 4.)</p>
+
+<p>Her father, who was the mayor of the town,
+protested to the German command regarding
+the treatment his family, as well as the women
+and children of the town generally, had
+received, whereupon he was tied hand and foot
+and mutilated, being told at the same time that
+this would refresh his memory whenever he
+had any thought of interfering with the supreme
+command of that particular army.
+(Number 5.) The total of the family.</p>
+
+<p>The French pressure now becoming too
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>heavy, the Boches were unable to withstand it,
+and started a systematic sacking and demolition
+of the village. Barricades were thrown
+up in preparation for street fighting; not
+even the dead were held in reverence, for
+trenches were dug through the cemetery and
+the bodies and skeletons were thrown up
+to become a part of the embankments and
+the headstones lined the parapets, behind
+which the barbarians would fight.</p>
+
+<p>I have related the happenings that have
+taken place in only one home and in one village.
+I have occupied the room described
+herein as the officers headquarters and prepared
+meals on the same stove. There were
+many such families, there were many such
+operating rooms, and there were many women
+known to be alive that were carried off by the
+Boches. It is hard to understand how such
+things are possible, but that is why this little
+town is now known as “Badonviller the
+Martyr.”</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV">
+    CHAPTER XV
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="noindent">“SNIPERS” AT WORK</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The “sniper” of the present war would have
+been called a “sharpshooter” during the war
+of the rebellion. Such men are most expert in
+the use of the rifle and seldom miss their mark.
+Many of them have now become proficient in
+the use of the modern machine gun for the
+same class of work, that of picking off the
+“lookouts” on the firing platforms of the opposing
+trenches.</p>
+
+<p>Most everyone has heard of the game bird
+known as the snipe. They are very small and
+hard to see, usually blending with the landscape
+and shrubbery. When it is said of a man
+that he can “hit a snipe with a rifle at two hundred
+yards,” the last word in praise of his
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span>markmanship has been said. Thus the term
+“sharpshooter” has been displaced by the word
+“sniper” by reason of the American love of
+brevity.</p>
+
+<p>The “sniper” of to-day is no less than a
+picked marksman whose trained eye is both
+keen and tireless. The “lookouts” of the
+trenches may well be wary of him. They know
+he is always on the job and that his far-seeing
+eye, with the aid of the globe-sights through
+which he constantly peers in search of his
+prey, is ever on the lookout. He knows the
+hatred in which he is held and that once captured
+no punishment is held too cruel for infliction
+upon him.</p>
+
+<p>There was one place in our front line where
+the trench was shallow and a man of ordinary
+height would have been exposed from his
+shoulders up had it not been for two boards
+twelve inches wide that had been placed there.
+The two ends that came together were not
+sawed straight and left a V shape where they
+joined. Some sand bags were placed in front
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span>of the opening between the two boards, but the
+V was left partly uncovered, which enabled the
+Boche to peer through. The opening was so
+small that it was impossible to see a man and
+get a shot at him before he had passed.</p>
+
+<p>In front of the German trenches at this point
+was a willow tree that had been pruned for the
+willow industry. This means that when the
+tree grows up to the required height the main
+trunk is cut away and the stump sealed. Then
+the dwarfed tree starts sprouting, “shoots.”
+This keeps it short and bushy. Such was this
+tree. From within it a man could observe the
+top of a helmet in our trench on either side of
+the V-shaped “peep hole.”</p>
+
+<p>This was just the knowledge that the
+Boche wanted in order to make use of the
+bad joint between the boards. A man was
+placed in the willow with a machine gun, which
+was strapped securely into the fork of the tree
+so it would not shake. It was trained on the
+V hole between the two boards. The gun was
+so fastened that it did not have to be aimed,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span>for each time it was fired the ball would go
+straight through the V.</p>
+
+<p>One of the boys in the French trench unknowingly
+exposed himself and was found dead
+with a bullet through his brain. There was
+nothing to cause any other thought than that
+he had carelessly looked over the top.</p>
+
+<p>Later that afternoon a sergeant, in line of
+duty, was going along the same trench inspecting
+the machine-gun positions. Three or four
+shots were heard and he was found dead with
+a bullet through his head. While mystifying,
+this second death did not reveal the truth. The
+sergeant was tall and his death was laid to this
+fact. However, the French lieutenant did
+know that whoever was doing the shooting was
+no amateur, and gave orders to his men to be
+especially cautious, and it so happened that no
+one else was hit that day.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, nevertheless, brought renewed
+activities, and among the first casualties
+was the death of a French boy who was killed
+at the same spot by a bullet through his head.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span>This brought about an investigation, which disclosed
+the V-shaped opening between the two
+boards. A sand bag ended further trouble
+from this source, but the location of the
+“sniper” was yet in order. A Frenchman at
+a machine-gun position thought that he had
+noticed smoke issuing from the willow tree.
+It was decided to keep careful watch on it and
+send a scouting patrol out that night. As soon
+as it was dark enough the men started out and
+soon found the Boche tucked away in the tree
+with his gun. Needless to say, no time was
+wasted on him, several bayonet thrusts serving
+to end his activities as a machine-gun sniper.</p>
+
+<p>In another location there was a little brook
+just behind the line, and, during the summer,
+the boys would go back about thirty yards and
+fill their canteens with fresh, cool water—and
+sometimes they failed to return. When found
+they would be lying dead in the brook, which
+was only a few inches deep.</p>
+
+<p>The roadway on the side nearest the Boches
+was eight feet above the brook and everywhere
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span>else perfect covering was afforded,
+yet every once in a while someone was
+bagged here. Finally a young fellow, who
+was preparing to fill his canteen, before
+doing so dropped to his knees to take a drink
+from the stream. Just as he did this he heard
+three bullets whistle over his head and splash
+in the brook some distance ahead, which disclosed
+the fact that the Boches were shooting
+from a position over five hundred yards away
+through a culvert in the road. When the target
+showed through this culvert several bullets
+sped on their way. The act of stooping over
+had saved the young man’s life.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI">
+    CHAPTER XVI
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">“KAMERAD!”</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The word <i>Kamerad</i> has come to possess
+a significance not at all in keeping with its original
+meaning. On the western front the
+French and English have probably solved the
+problem of what to say and do when greeted
+by this well-known form of Boche salutation.
+Picture to yourself two trenches filled with soldiers,
+a barbed wire in front of each and “No
+Man’s Land” stretching out endless between
+the two. French cannons in the rear are hammering
+away with remarkable precision, dropping
+deadly shells into the German lines, and all
+machine guns on the French front-line parapets
+manned and ready for business. At the
+same instant hands go up in the German
+trenches and soldiers climb out on top with the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span>shout of “<i>Kamerad</i>” on their lips. Their arms
+are extended over their heads in token of surrender.
+They have no rifles and no side arms,
+nothing with which to attack and only the expression
+of joy upon their faces.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment a battery of machine guns
+are trained upon them and ready to wipe out the
+handful of Germans in less than five seconds,
+but not a shot is fired as they advance. Men
+in the French trenches go so far as to expose
+themselves in order to assist the surrendering
+enemy on their way to the rear as prisoners
+of war.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly, at a distance of twenty feet,
+the hands of the Germans dive into their pockets
+and each man cracks the cap on two hand
+grenades, and, at this distance, throws them
+with deadly accuracy all along the machine-gun
+positions in the French trench, killing or
+wounding all the occupants and disabling their
+guns, thus allowing their own infantry to cross
+“No Man’s Land” without danger.</p>
+
+<p>Does not an episode of this nature afford us
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span>some substance for a moment’s reflection?
+Suppose you had been one of the occupants of
+the French trench and had escaped injury, and
+the following week you were again detailed for
+duty in the front-line trench. Also, suppose
+you were at the trigger of a machine gun when
+a handful of men climbed out of a German
+trench yelling “<i>Kamerad</i>.” Now what do you
+think you would do? You bet you would.</p>
+
+<p>On a certain night when one could hardly
+see six feet away, a French patrol was sent
+through our wire into “No Man’s Land.”
+Headquarters had information to the effect
+that the German division in the lines opposite
+our position had been changed, and the patrol
+was to learn just what division had taken its
+place. To do this it was necessary to capture
+a prisoner and search him, for all men carry
+numerals on their uniforms as well as certain
+papers, which, even though they be of a personal
+nature, serve to identify them. I might
+here point out to what extent such data is of
+military importance.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span></p>
+
+<p>French, English and German troops in their
+three years of war know from direct contact
+on different sectors of the front just which
+regiments of any army are “shocking” or attacking
+troops, and which are what we term
+“holding troops,”—used merely to defend
+trenches after they are captured. If a man is
+identified as belonging to a division of “shock
+troops,” great precaution is taken by the different
+commands against what may be considered
+a certainty. Prepare for an attack—that’s the
+rule. If he is merely of a “holding” division,
+there is not so much to worry about.</p>
+
+<p>This is what happened that night. The patrol
+was instructed to capture a prisoner if possible
+and bring him in. Just after dark two
+young French boys were posted in a shell
+hole in “No Man’s Land” in front of the
+French barbed wire to await events. They
+felt quite secure of being observed from the
+enemy parapet, when star shells were sent
+up. They stayed in this position for quite a
+while.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp48" id="144a-i" style="max-width: 25em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/144a-i.jpg" alt="Uniformed men travel on foot while followed by a man on horseback.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">French Infantry Enroute to the Trenches</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span></p>
+
+<p>At the expiration of a half hour three
+figures appeared in front of them, all walking
+cautiously. Suddenly they stopped, talked very
+low for a few moments, then separated. Two
+men went one way and the third in exactly the
+opposite direction, which was toward the position
+that the boys occupied. This man was instantly
+covered and could have been shot down
+had either of the French boys so desired, but
+he was allowed to proceed, and, at the proper
+time, was challenged and commanded to halt.
+The German, knowing full well that rifles were
+trained upon him, and that he had not the
+slightest chance to escape, called out clearly:</p>
+
+<p>“<i>Kamerad, Kamerad.</i>”</p>
+
+<p>He was commanded to throw up his hands
+and advance, which he did. It was impossible
+to note that slung behind his uplifted hand was
+a Leuger revolver. On he came until he could
+discern both figures very clearly, and, at six
+spaces, fired pointblank at each.</p>
+
+<p>One was wounded so badly that he died soon
+after, but the other so slightly that he was able
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span>to get in one good smash with the butt end of
+his gun, which laid the Hun low—then dragged
+him into a French trench.</p>
+
+<p>The prisoner proved to be a German
+lieutenant, and, under pressure, gave out some
+valuable information. This goes to show that
+the code of surrender is violated by German
+officers, as well as by their men, and, while the
+two Frenchmen were instructed not to shoot,
+but to bring in a prisoner, no man is expected
+to take the least chance with an enemy. No
+bullets are fired nowadays just to wound an
+opponent. They are all fired for one purpose
+only, that is—to kill.</p>
+
+<p>Another incident which impressed me as being
+a very sad one happened during an attack
+in the Somme, to a young lieutenant attached
+to the same division as I. He became noted
+for his fearlessness and daring. He was found
+in the very hottest of everything and always at
+the head of his troops in a charge across “No
+Man’s Land.” Not only did he enjoy the confidence
+of his men, but also the confidence of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span>the government, which, in recognition of his
+bravery, decorated him with the <i>Croix de
+Guerre</i> (French War Cross) and the <i>Medaille
+Militaire</i> (Military Medal), two of the highest
+honors that can be conferred upon a soldier.</p>
+
+<p>One day, after a very brilliant charge, his
+company captured the Boche front-line trench,
+and, as he was jumping down into the trench,
+he saw a German officer lying prostrate, his
+head and face covered with blood. At this instant
+a French poilu ran up and was just about
+to put the finishing touches on the German
+when the latter began yelling “<i>Kamerad!
+Kamerad!</i>” The lieutenant waved the poilu
+aside as the man seemed very badly wounded.
+He then asked the German if there were any
+men in a certain dug-out, pointing to one
+leading off from the front-line trench. The
+officer replied “No, but there are some in that
+one,” indicating another located down a small
+communicating trench toward which the lieutenant
+forthwith started, revolver in hand.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span>But he had no sooner turned his back when the
+Boche officer rolled over on his side, whipped
+out a revolver, and shot him through the back,
+killing him instantly.</p>
+
+<p>Bravery had brought this French lieutenant
+the highest honors in the army, and human consideration
+for a dying man brought about his
+own death.</p>
+
+<p><i>Kamerad!</i>—how I loathe that word in its
+German significance.</p>
+
+<p>In another attack the French Infantry went
+forward and captured all the front-line Boche
+trenches on a certain sector. The artillery fire
+that had been directed against their trenches
+and the lines behind them rendered it impossible
+to deliver rations to their men in the
+front line for over two days before the attack.</p>
+
+<p>This situation, coupled with the terrific
+strain of the intense artillery fire, had turned
+them into a pitiful-looking crowd. Finally, two
+Frenchmen started to bring the German prisoners
+back to their own lines and at this particular
+point the German trench was very
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span>deep and hard to climb out of. So they foolishly
+marched them along through their front-line
+to a place where they could crawl out more
+easily.</p>
+
+<p>All along in a front-line are boxes filled
+with hand grenades with which to repel
+attack quickly. The line of march along the
+trench was zigzag, making it impossible for
+the front of the line to be viewed from the rear
+or <i>vice versa</i>, and, as they turned a corner in
+their line of march, a couple of the Boches dug
+into one of these grenade stations and killed
+nine infantrymen before they themselves could
+be laid low.</p>
+
+<p>Take another instance, one that occurred
+during the recent invasion of Italy. The Austrian
+command instructed their troops to do
+everything in their power to gain the confidence
+of the Italians, in the hope of fraternizing
+with them, and when they had succeeded,
+the command secretly pulled out the supposedly
+friendly Austrian troops and put in their
+places German “shock troops,” which fell upon
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span>the Italians like a stroke of lightning, and murdered
+them without mercy.</p>
+
+<p>The same thing occurred in Russia, and,
+therefore, I hope that my countrymen will
+never make the same mistake. Never take
+your eye off the Boches. They are not to be
+trusted under any circumstances. I know that
+this is a very difficult attitude to assume, but
+chances should never be taken with men whose
+officers misuse <i>Kamerad</i>, and the terms of surrender.
+When I read that Germans are made
+prisoners I wonder why.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII">
+    CHAPTER XVII
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">THE ART OF CAMOUFLAGE</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>The word camouflage has come into common
+use both here and abroad and I think it might
+be interesting to devote a little time to a brief
+discussion of the different uses of camouflage,
+or low-vision painting, and to tell you how extensively
+it is used and where it is most effective.</p>
+
+<p>At the front there are many roads that pass
+over hills to the rear of the lines, over which
+supplies have to pass on their way forward,—roads
+that are within sight of the enemy observation
+posts, and would prove easy targets
+for their guns should they be left clearly
+exposed to view. Many people believe that just
+because a road is camouflaged the enemy does
+not know the road exists.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span></p>
+
+<p>This notion is erroneous in most cases,
+for they do know that the road is there behind
+the camouflage, but the object is to obscure
+from their view whatever is passing a given
+point. Otherwise it would be easy for the
+watchful enemy, with glasses, to see whether
+men were moving forward, or whether shells
+were being transported for the artillery.
+With the use of camouflage they are deprived
+of this data and the knowledge of just when or
+where on a road to put a shell so as to have it
+reap a plentiful harvest. Do not misunderstand
+me when I say that just because a convoy
+is passing along a camouflaged road that
+they are safe. Traffic moves along this avenue
+of supply with some degree of safety.</p>
+
+<p>In some places the road will have camouflage
+on just one side. In other places it is necessary,
+in order to provide the proper protection, to
+put it up on both sides, and in other instances
+lines of brush are strung on wires every fifty
+feet or so to break the continuous stretch of
+road as it appears to an aviator from above.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span></p>
+
+<p>The method that is employed is that of placing
+upright, twelve to fourteen feet high along
+the sides of a road, something not unlike a regular
+fence around a farm. Along these are
+strung wires, on which brush and weeds are
+hung and fastened at top and bottom so that
+the wind will not blow them down or to one
+side.</p>
+
+<p>Under ordinary conditions at the front, this
+form of camouflage affords effective protection,
+for without it the enemy could shoot at
+convoys, etc., with some positive knowledge of
+just what was passing along the roads. One
+sees the camouflage roads of both sides on a
+front, knowing full well that men and supplies
+move along them, but just where they are at
+the time a shot is to be fired is problematical,
+and, with this uncertainty before them, only in
+time of undue activities on the part of either
+side is any attention paid to them, and then
+waste or no waste they are raked from one end
+to the other with shell fire.</p>
+
+<p>Back of the lines at various distances are the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span>batteries, and it is not always possible to locate
+them where they can enjoy the shelter or obscurity
+of clumps of woods, so often they have
+to be located in fields or in other open places.
+However, a battery is always located so that
+when firing the flash is obscured to the enemy,
+preferably behind some little hillock or rise in
+the ground, so there is never much chance to
+locate a battery by other means than observation
+balloons or aeroplanes.</p>
+
+<p>Camouflage is employed here also and
+covers are so constructed that they hide entirely
+the location of the battery, leaving no opportunity
+for the gun to be seen. If a photograph
+is taken by an enemy aviator, when developed
+the battery takes on the appearance
+of an ordinary clump of brush in the picture,
+and surrounding it are so many just such
+clumps of brush that there is nothing showing
+at any particular place to give any information
+as to just which is a battery.</p>
+
+<p>If a battery is being searched out and great
+uncertainty exists here, the enemy do take
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span>chances in shooting at the different clumps in
+the hope of getting a hit on a battery. This is
+where the anti-aircraft guns play an important
+part in keeping the observation plane up at altitudes
+where photographs do not give enough
+detail to reveal too much information, for,
+should they be permitted to get down close
+enough, they might be able to distinguish too
+readily the camouflage from the real.</p>
+
+<p>Low-vision painting is another form used
+extensively. It is unusual to see a camion
+(auto truck) or any form of vehicle on the road
+that is not painted up so that, at a distance, it
+blends into its surroundings. Whereas, if it
+were not painted up, it would stand out clearly
+and the contrast to surrounding conditions
+would make it a target for the enemy guns.</p>
+
+<p>The same condition exists on water as well
+as on land. Hence we see so many boats
+painted up for low vision. This does not mean
+that they are always obscure to the submarine,
+but with the mass broken and with the absence
+of defined contrast with the sky and water, they
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span>do not afford such a target to the enemy observing
+through a periscope.</p>
+
+<p>In the rear of the lines at the front are little
+huts, in which are stored cartridges and shells.
+They are built very small so as not to be conspicuous.
+In all instances the additional precaution
+is taken by painting these huts so that
+it is practically impossible for enemy aviators
+to distinguish them at ordinary heights. One
+sees back of the lines in many places, in some
+instances fifteen or twenty of these huts one
+after the other like a little row of workmen’s
+dwellings, and one might be struck at first with
+the thought that they could be seen, but the
+low-vision painting obviates all of this and they
+are quite safe.</p>
+
+<p>An interesting experience took place at the
+front recently when two French artists conceived
+the idea of having some sport with Fritz.
+Some old canvas, such as had been used to
+cover wagons, was located and cut up in strips
+and joined so that they could be rolled up on a
+pole. Then, with a bucket of paint and several
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span>brushes, they set to work painting a railroad
+track with the ties, rails, etc., as it would look
+from above. It was painted with the purpose
+of attracting attention.</p>
+
+<p>After working for some time, they completed
+quite a stretch of “railroad.” When enough
+was finished they carried their railroad out on
+a pole and unrolled it, always running it from
+one small clump of woods to another, so that it
+would have the appearance of a battery location.
+It would be left here long enough to attract
+the attention of some Boche aviator and
+when he started back in his machine to report
+the existence of a railroad at this particular
+location the Frenchmen would roll up their
+“railroad” and put it away.</p>
+
+<p>In a little while the shells would start
+coming in right where the “railroad” was.
+After a short time, or when they imagined
+the destruction complete, they would stop,
+then the Frenchmen would quickly unroll
+the “railroad” again and soon the Boche aviator
+would be seen flying over the lines to observe
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span>the destruction, but it must have been
+much to his surprise to see it there in the same
+place untouched. He would then fly back again
+and as soon as he turned his tail homeward in
+would come the “railroad”—shortly more
+shells. This unusual railroad could be shifted
+from one location to the other at will, and,
+whenever the Boche were in the air, it always
+came in for its share of attention, but, unlike
+most railroads at the front, this one was never
+hit.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII">
+    CHAPTER XVIII
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">SPIES AND THEIR WORK</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>For years we have heard of the efficiency of
+the Wilhelmstrasse, or Secret Service Police
+of Germany, and everything we have heard
+regarding them has proved fairly accurate,
+sometimes even beyond our wildest expectations.
+The Spy System of the German Government
+is a wonderful organization, any way
+we look at it. Since 1870 it has been in the
+making. Its agents are everywhere, they speak
+all languages fluently. This enables them to
+carry on their systematic work of uncovering
+every fact, rumor, or suspicion that may be of
+importance to the German Government.</p>
+
+<p>England and France particularly, and all
+countries in general, have had convincing demonstrations
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span>of the thoroughness of German Secret
+Service activity for many years. Since the
+war broke out, they have been doing everything
+in their power to cope with the situation.</p>
+
+<p>Now that we are at war with Germany, it is
+well to remember that in this country, as well
+as in those of our Allies, secret agents of the
+German Government are constantly seeking
+information. Therefore, one of the greatest
+injustices the people of this country can do our
+Government is to impart any information to
+anyone except a government representative.
+Our friends who may be inclined to talk too
+much should be warned in a friendly way to
+say nothing. We can never tell who is sitting
+next to us in a train, car, boat, or any other
+public conveyance, and the little remark seemingly
+of no consequence, that passes your unsuspecting
+lips, may be the nucleus around
+which the spider may weave his web.</p>
+
+<p>There is no reason in the world why your
+friends or relatives in the American Expeditionary
+Forces over seas should not be permitted
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>to write you in detail all those things
+that form part of their daily experience.
+Moreover, there is no reason for maintaining
+such a thing as a censor.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="160b-i-1" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/160b-i-1.jpg" alt="Buildings demonstrating damage.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Sacked and Burned</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="160b-i-2" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/160b-i-2.jpg" alt="Buildings demonstrating damage.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Badonviller Destroyed by the Germans</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>If all mail and information could be delivered
+into the hands of the ones they
+are meant for, I am sure there would be no
+reason for such strict regulations, but there
+is no assurance that letters will not go astray
+and information fall into the hands of
+our enemies. And, besides, there are a lot of
+people who unconsciously reveal things that are
+written to them, and in this way information
+gets out broadcast, which, in many instances,
+proves most harmful to proposed military operations.
+Therefore, we have the censor who
+keeps these matters under control and thereby
+eliminates a very fruitful source of information
+from falling into the hands of our enemies.</p>
+
+<p>In France one is particularly attracted by
+placards on cars, station platforms, and streets,
+flashing these words, <ins class="corr" id="TN-2" title="Transcriber's Note&mdash;original text: probably “Taisez Vous”">“<i>Teshez Vous</i>,”</ins> which
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span>mean “Close your mouth.” In other words,
+“The enemy is everywhere.”</p>
+
+<p>The sooner the people of this country
+<ins class="corr" id="TN-3" title="Transcriber's Note&mdash;original text: probably “Taisez Vous”">“<i>Teshez Vous</i>,”</ins> the sooner they will begin to
+deprive the people who are seeking information
+of one of their richest sources. Remember the
+enemy is everywhere.</p>
+
+<p>It is most surprising to find by what dark
+and devious paths one may be approached when
+one’s information is valuable enough to be required,
+and the only sure way to keep from
+dropping threads of such information is to
+know nothing, and to discuss nothing with people
+one does not know—we cannot rely even
+on friends. We all have fool friends.</p>
+
+<p>Just before leaving Paris, for example, I became
+acquainted with a man whom I remember
+very clearly as frequenting a certain café,
+posing always as a Hollander, but for a great
+many years past a resident of New York City.
+He manifested a great interest in American
+soldiers, and I have heard him ask the boys
+such questions as “How many Americans do
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span>you suppose there are now in France?” “How
+many boys in your camp?” “Where are you
+located?” “Are you specializing in any particular
+branch of fighting?” and a great many
+other questions along the same lines. As a
+demonstration of his sincere friendship for the
+American boys, he would say “Let me pay for
+this check.” “Let’s have another one for dear
+old America.”</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly he disappeared. I afterwards
+learned that he had been quietly camouflaged
+by the police and that he would not be around
+again soon manifesting so much interest in
+what America might be going to do.</p>
+
+<p>It is very clear now to most people what
+took place in the case of a female German spy,
+a conspicuous figure in Paris, always seen
+in the characteristic garb of a South American
+lady. She was never known to wear a
+hat, and was seldom seen without the typical
+mantilla, thrown over her straight, black hair.
+She had plenty of money, a Rolls-Royce always
+at her command, and everything that would
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span>allay the slightest suspicion that she might be
+an agent of the German Government.</p>
+
+<p>Her game was meeting officers and seeking
+information from them. Working as agents
+with her were charming chorus girls from one
+of the most noted theaters in Paris. It was she
+who obtained the information regarding the
+extensive building program of English tanks
+and forwarded it to Germany. From her
+jaunty appearance, she was the last one to be
+suspected, but she turned out to be one of
+France’s most dangerous enemies, and paid the
+price with her life before a firing squad in a
+French prison during the early part of last
+October.</p>
+
+<p>When the Germans advanced on Paris in the
+early stages of the war, located in the department
+of the Oise some thirty kilometers from
+that city was the old chateau Bornel Bon
+Eglise, where was stationed a French garrison
+to resist the invader at that point. As the German
+Army advanced, the French garrison retired
+to this chateau, in preparation for the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span>stand to be made when protected by its
+walls.</p>
+
+<p>Everything was in readiness for the attack,
+when, at the psychological moment, the gates
+of this castle were suddenly thrown open and
+the Boches captured the chateau with very little
+trouble. Upon investigation it was afterwards
+found that the gatekeeper, a trusted employee
+for many years, had been planted here
+for just such a service should the occasion
+ever arise when it would be necessary for someone
+to accomplish just the thing he did.</p>
+
+<p>Such conditions can, without stretching one’s
+imagination very far, be laid at the door of German
+Secret Service Agents. That is the kind
+of preparedness the Germans had been fostering
+for forty years.</p>
+
+<p>In a little village on the eastern front of
+France this year two soldiers on observation
+duty in a front-line trench noticed a small
+white dog roaming about “No Man’s Land.”
+They followed his trail with much interest,
+and the last seen of him he was going under
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>the French barbed wire toward the rear of the
+lines.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing was thought of the wanderings
+of this dog until two nights later, when
+the same two men who happened to be on duty
+again observed the same dog crossing “No
+Man’s Land” and crawling under the German
+wire. This aroused their suspicion, and, as
+they came off watch, the incident was reported
+to the lieutenant, but he thought nothing of
+it, as with all armies there are mongrel
+pets belonging to soldiers. However, a few
+nights later the same dog was again seen back
+in the French lines. This caused enough curiosity
+to bring him under closer observation, as
+it was quite unusual that a dog should frequent
+“No Man’s Land” with such regularity.</p>
+
+<p>That same night, in the glow of a star shell,
+our canine friend was seen wending his way
+toward the German trenches, and so orders
+were immediately issued to all the front
+line not to shoot the dog, as the command
+wished to investigate the haunts of the animal
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span>that seemed to choose “No Man’s Land” as his
+favorite playground.</p>
+
+<p>A few nights later our canine friend again
+appeared, and was seen crawling under the
+French wire and jumping over the front-line
+trenches, on his way back toward a little
+French village behind the lines. A couple of
+soldiers were detailed to follow him, which
+they did at a distance not calculated to alarm
+the dog, who walked along at a business-like
+gait until the outskirts of the town was
+reached. Then, with the suddenness of chain
+lightning, the dog bolted around a demolished
+wall down a side street and was lost to the view
+of his observers. It was impossible for his
+pursuers to give any information as to what
+had become of him.</p>
+
+<p>It happened that he was again seen that same
+night, returning under the wires and disappearing
+behind the German line. These facts called
+for carefully laid plans by the Division Headquarters
+to intercept the dog in order to know
+more about his peculiar movements. After
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span>waiting a few nights he was seen coming for
+the French lines and was allowed to pass unmolested,
+several men having been secreted
+along the line that he was now known to travel
+up to a certain point. On came the dog in his
+business-like way until, again reaching the outskirts
+of the city, he broke into a run at top
+speed, dodged around tumbled-down dwellings,
+side streets, over walls, and again was lost to
+view. But on his return he was caught, and
+tucked away in his collar was a map drawn
+very small, but showing in detail the positions
+of some of the French batteries behind the lines
+at a certain point.</p>
+
+<p>The paper was put back in his collar and the
+dog allowed to proceed on his way, for if he
+returned to the German lines minus this paper
+it would immediately cause suspicion that he
+had been interfered with and might end his
+visits before the one sending the information
+could be caught. Orders were immediately
+dispatched to the battery mentioned in the communication
+to change its position. The next
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span>day brought the German shells to the exact location
+where the paper in the dog’s collar had
+indicated this battery to be, but, of course, no
+damage was done, as the battery had been
+moved during the night.</p>
+
+<p>A very careful watch was now kept for this
+dog, and, a few nights later, he was captured
+and a very fine thread tied to his collar in the
+hopes that it might be traced to the place where
+the information originated. The dog was permitted
+to proceed as soon as the thread was
+securely fastened to him, but when he felt the
+weight of the thread pulling on his collar he
+turned and retraced his steps. The thread was
+broken and the dog released in the hope that
+he would return for the information, but he
+balked and was soon back in the German lines.</p>
+
+<p>The return of the dog without information
+must have caused a change of plans, as the dog
+did not appear again for several days. Finally
+he appeared, and in readiness for him was a
+French police dog, which was immediately put
+on his trail. The police dog, being allowed to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span>go a little too soon, caught up with the German
+dog at the edge of the village. Here the German
+dog had always broken into a run, and, of
+course, the police dog became excited and
+downed the German dog in his tracks. Before
+they could be interfered with, the spy dog was
+very badly mutilated. Thus ended his visits.</p>
+
+<p>Although merely a dumb animal he seemed
+to possess almost human intelligence, winning
+the respect of the French army men. It was
+not their intention that harm should befall him
+and they were much grieved that he went back
+to his own a cripple for life.</p>
+
+<p>Carrier pigeons are employed as messengers
+in the spy service of the German Army. While
+in Paris I was with a captain of English artillery
+who became a very close friend. He related
+to me the following account of how his
+battery was sent into action on a certain sector
+which I know will prove of interest.</p>
+
+<p>On a certain day orders were received from
+his Division Headquarters to take up a position
+near the village of R——. The battery
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span>responded quickly and occupied the location
+for two days. It was most noticeable
+that very few shells came that way. On the
+morning of the third day quite a little aerial
+activity was evident, but nothing much was
+thought of it. The position seemed to be very
+secure, as it was in quite a heavy clump of
+woods. But shortly after noon the shells began
+breaking closer and closer until they
+got so hot that the position became untenable.
+Consequently the battery was moved to another
+clump of woods quite a distance away, where
+again all was quiet.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning the captain was much surprised
+to see a peasant with two horses
+ploughing in the field just back of the new
+position and also that the Boche aviators
+were again hovering over the lines. Shortly
+after noon, as on the day previous, shells began
+to drop around the new location and in
+the field behind. It appeared to the Captain
+that it must be a pretty hot place for a farmer
+to be ploughing so serenely, therefore, he
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span>stepped out of the woods to investigate, but
+found the farmer had gone. The shells were
+coming in so close to the battery position that
+it was again found necessary to move, this
+time to a very heavily wooded location further
+on to the right. After the move was completed
+all became quiet again.</p>
+
+<p>The following morning the Captain observed
+the same peasant ploughing again in the field
+and also that an unusual aerial activity had
+opened near his new location. It seemed necessary
+to investigate so he went back to the
+location first occupied by his battery and found
+a double furrow ploughed behind the old battery
+position. Further observation disclosed
+the same double furrow directly behind the
+second location, and now the third furrow was
+being run. Sure enough these furrows were
+signals to the sky pilots, for shortly afterwards
+shells began to land around the new location,
+but the peasant was nowhere to be found. On
+orders quickly given the battery was at once
+moved back into the original position.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span></p>
+
+<p>With the morning came the same peasant
+with his two horses and plough, but he had
+run his last furrow on this earth the day before.
+A blow with an iron wrench ended his
+activities forever. That afternoon enemy
+aeroplanes hovered overhead, awaiting the new
+furrow that was never ploughed.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX">
+    CHAPTER XIX
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">LETTERS FROM THE FRONT</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="right">
+  <span style="margin-right: 2em"><span class="smcap">Mort Homme</span>,</span><br>
+  <span style="margin-right: 1em;">August 25th, 1917.</span>
+</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  <span class="smcap">Dear Ed</span>:—
+</p>
+
+<p>You no doubt think ill of me not to have answered
+your letter, but I know you will overlook
+my seeming neglect after you have read
+this.</p>
+
+<p>Have you ever experienced a feeling of
+complete disaster when suddenly everything
+changed and you saw a decent place to get
+some sleep, and a good hot meal in the bargain?
+Well, that is what just happened to us after
+we left “Hell” behind, but, even now, when
+anyone drops anything, or yells, I find myself
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span>taking to cover. No, I haven’t shell shock. I
+simply cannot fully collect myself.</p>
+
+<p>No doubt by this time you are acquainted
+with the details of the recent attack at the
+Bois d’Avicourt, where the French just naturally
+kicked the stuffings out of the Boches
+and walked away with such positions as Hill
+“304,” Avicourt, and Mort Homme (Dead
+Man). But, even if you are, I know you will
+enjoy some of my experiences during that fight—so
+here goes.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving Paris we took the train to
+Chalons and there we got our cars. The whole
+section is made up of little Fiats, and so you
+see we got a good start. We were on our way
+across country passing through Bar le Duc and
+on up to a little town called Erize La Petite,
+about fifteen miles from Verdun. The town
+was misnamed by someone, for I think they
+meant to call it “La Petite Dump.” However
+unfortunate that may be, we remained there
+for two weeks, sleeping in an old barn, until
+one night it rained so hard that we swam to
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span>our cars and finished our rest, soaking wet.
+We were all as disgusted as could be when
+orders came that we had been assigned to the
+25th Division and were to move up to join it
+the following day for the attack, which was to
+take place three days later. The following day
+found us crawling up to the town of Brocourt,
+where the hospital is located. The Boches
+shelled this village with high explosives that
+night. A doctor informed me that they did
+this systematically every night at the same
+hour.</p>
+
+<p>Morning came and we were ordered up farther
+front. From the way the shells were
+coming down on us I thought we were joining
+the German Army instead of the French. We
+halted in the village of Reciecourt. I want to
+state right here that I was perfectly satisfied
+with the place we had left, and La Petite Dump
+seemed to me like “Paradise Lost,” for, on our
+way up to Reciecourt, we stopped four times to
+wait for the Huns to quit shelling the road
+ahead of us. Upon our arrival we began hunting
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span>for a house to use as a base, but the best
+we could do was to find one with two shell
+holes through the roof. We took it just the
+same.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp47" id="176a-i" style="max-width: 25em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/176a-i.jpg" alt="Three soldiers in a trench while a fourth uses binoculars.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Sixty Feet From a German Front-Line Trench</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>That afternoon Singer, who is our chief, and
+Paul Hughes, our sous-chief, took two ambulances
+and drove with one man from each car
+up to the different posts we were to serve during
+the attack. Joe Widner, you remember
+him, is my teammate on our car, and I flipped
+a coin to see which of us would take the ride.
+I won the toss.</p>
+
+<p>Ten of us got into one ambulance and ten
+into another. I went with Singer, and as I got
+in I remember Singer threw the latch down on
+the back of the car and we could not get
+out, for it could be opened only from the outside.</p>
+
+<p>Now this was my first experience under
+heavy shell fire, and I did not relish the thought
+of being sewed up in this ambulance, unable to
+get out if I wanted to, for I always have been
+a pretty good sprinter and I felt if it got too
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span>hot I might be able to beat a couple of shells
+down the road; but, with the door locked,
+what a chance! As we went forward, we
+passed several large French batteries beside
+the road, all of them hammering away at
+Fritz. The farther forward we went the more
+numerous the guns, all more or less concealed.
+The front of the car was open and right ahead
+of us there came a terrific crash. I heard
+Singer say, “That one sure came close.”</p>
+
+<p>“That what?” I yelled back.</p>
+
+<p>“That shell,” he replied.</p>
+
+<p>Then I realized what a cute little place we
+were locked in, and, believe me, I got sick all
+over. I felt that my feet were shrinking and
+my shoes were falling off. My thoughts took
+on some speed. How gladly I would have
+changed this dirty shell-riddled ambulance for
+a Broadway subway. I kept my eyes glued on
+the floor of the car, with no idea of where we
+were or where we were going until we jolted
+around a sharp turn in the road and ran into
+a fallen tree. Naturally, the car stopped, and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>Singer opened up the exit and said, “This is the
+first post.”</p>
+
+<p>My release from that car gave me a new
+lease on life, and I began to take notice of the
+environment, after making sure that I was
+still intact. There were five or six dugouts
+here; in front of one were two men seated at a
+table. In front of them was a little plot of
+ground containing some newly made graves.
+Over to the right was a gang of men digging
+a long ditch about eight feet wide and eight
+feet deep. I thought it was a trench. Mills
+Averill, however, suggested it was to bury
+garbage. So we asked, in our sign language
+mixed with Franco-American French. One of
+the men looked up from his writing long
+enough to say, “<i>Pour l’attack</i>” (For the attack).
+Good God, Eddie, it was a grave big
+enough for a regiment, and just to think that
+it was for men who at that very moment were
+alive and in perfect health! I cannot tell you
+my feelings at this gruesome sight.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment a wagon drove up. The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span>diggers laid down their tools and went over to
+it. I am sure it was a dead man they lifted
+out, for I saw his feet on the stretcher, but the
+rest of the poor devil was in a burlap bag. I
+did not try to see the rest of the human debris
+that came out of this death cart. The men at
+the tables wrote some records, and the ditch
+received the mass. This was anything but a
+pleasant experience for green men, and only
+our first post at that.</p>
+
+<p>We climbed into the car and visited each of
+the other posts, and as we went along the sights
+that met our eyes were always worse than at
+the previous place. As we pulled up in front
+of what we thought was our last post Singer
+said there was one more, but we couldn’t go
+up in the car except under cover of darkness.
+So we started out on our shoe leather, and it
+was some walk. The mud was knee deep and
+clingingly affectionate.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing ever seemed quite so good as when
+we turned our faces toward the rear. That
+night, in my dreams, there seemed to be all
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span>sorts of little mistakes being made, such as
+planting me in the hole at Post No. 1, with the
+dead men. Tough stuff to dream about,—you
+can imagine how much rest I had.</p>
+
+<p>The next day Joe and I went on duty. We
+had to stay through the entire morning of the
+attack, for all twenty cars were in use. Our
+post began in order from Reciecourt. Going
+out were P4, P2, PJ left, PJ right, P3 and R4.
+There were four cars at P4 and two at PJ
+right. If a car came down with wounded from
+PJ, left post, it would stop at P4, and a car
+would be dispatched from here to take its place.
+P2 and PJ right were on the same road, so
+when a car came down from PJ, right, a car
+would go up from P2. The car coming in
+always continued on to the hospital. P3 and
+R4 were worked only on calls, and R4 only at
+night, for in daylight they would have been
+blown off the road. It was a sort of muddled
+schedule, but the shell fire was so heavy that
+no telephone wires could stand for a half hour.
+So we made the best of a bad situation.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span></p>
+
+<p>The French were bringing up guns continuously,
+all sizes from 37’s to large-caliber Marine
+pieces. They would take up firing positions
+alongside the roads and fire over our
+heads. When they let loose the ambulance
+would rock with the concussion.</p>
+
+<p>We had two runs in from P4 during the
+night, and at three-thirty a. m. the barrage fire
+began and it was terrible. We could not hear
+the Boche shells break. It was all one great
+uninterrupted roar, made by four thousand
+cannons. Can you imagine such a thing in that
+small sector? Joe and I went up to PJ right
+about four a. m. As we turned a corner we
+found an artillery caisson that had been hit.
+The horses lay dead in the road. What had
+become of the men I do not know, and we did
+not try to find out, for when we saw that we
+could just barely get by we kept on going.</p>
+
+<p>As we neared a crossroad we found the
+shells falling so thick we had to pull up and
+wait for an opportunity to dash by. It soon
+came. We did not have to listen for the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span>Boche shells for we could see them break very
+plainly. Ahead of us was another sharp turn
+leading down into a little valley at the other end
+of which was the post. Suddenly a car appeared,
+running towards us like mad. As it
+approached we recognized Bud Riley and
+Eddie Doyle. Bud was driving, his eyes bulging
+out of his head as he leaned over the steering
+wheel watching the road. He never even
+glanced at us. His car was full of wounded
+and Eddie Doyle had to stand on the running
+board. As we passed he yelled, “God be
+good to you fellows for you are going into
+Hell!”</p>
+
+<p>Joe was driving, and on receiving this news
+he let up on the speed a bit, for, if we were
+going where Eddie said, Joe thought we had
+better take our time about it.</p>
+
+<p>He looked at me and I looked at him. I
+finally ventured to say, “Cheerful, isn’t it?”
+but Joe must have been thinking of Flatbush.
+Then we turned the corner and we discovered
+that Doyle was right. The whole gully was a
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span>mass of dead horses and wrecked wagons and
+parts of human bodies. The Germans had put
+over gas and caught the wagon train in the
+valley. The horses were harnessed and could
+not get away. Evidently some of the drivers
+stayed too long. Paul Hughes, Singer, Armstrong,
+Halverson, Woodell and Colledge had
+gone up ahead of us, and were cutting harness
+and releasing some horses that were yet alive,
+and driving them up to higher ground out of
+the gas. They saved a great many by a little
+head work, and the Government rewarded
+them all with the <i>Croix de Guerre</i>.</p>
+
+<p>We stopped, as there wasn’t room to get by,
+but soon Hughes came up and told us to go on
+over the heads of horses that could not be
+saved, which we did, and were soon at the
+post. All day we ran to and from the front,
+with our car full of wounded and dying. For
+twenty-four hours the twenty cars never had a
+rest. And, remember, we carried only bad
+cases. The others walked.</p>
+
+<p>The attack lasted five days, the German
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span>prisoners pouring in over all the roads. Frank
+Carleton was also hit by shell splinters in the
+leg. He also got the War Cross pinned on his
+chest. The whole attack was rotten, many suffering
+from chlorine and tear gas. Singer is in
+bad shape from it and I guess we all show the
+strain. But we are lucky with it all, for there
+was not a car in the whole lot that did not have
+shell marks on it.</p>
+
+<p>The old Twenty-fifth Division suffered
+pretty badly, but the struggle was not without
+success, for Mort Homme, Avicourt and Hill
+“304” are in our hands, and I hope they will
+stay there. Besides, we have plenty of German
+prisoners.</p>
+
+<p>As this is the way I have been spending my
+time, you know I did not have much of an opportunity
+to write letters. I must stop now and
+get a little sleep. If they shell us here to-night
+I hope they choke.</p>
+
+<p>Good luck. Ed Harding, Jim Baker, Baldwin,
+Creigier, Doyle, Riley, Joe, Tom and
+Armey are all O. K. and join me in sending you
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span>their best. Remember me to the bunch with
+you.</p>
+
+<p class="right">
+  <span style="margin-right: 2em;" ><span class="smcap">“Gus” Edwards</span>,</span><br>
+  <span style="margin-right: 1em;">Section 60.</span>
+</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">A LETTER FROM SALONIKA</p>
+
+<p class="noindent">
+  <span class="smcap">Dear Ed</span>:
+</p>
+
+<p>I have just returned here from the front,
+and learned from your letter that you are in
+France. You don’t know how glad I was to
+hear from you. My prompt reply will bear
+me out, for you know I am not much of a hand
+at writing letters. Let me commence by saying
+that if they ever want you to come down
+here, don’t you do it, for, if there is one place
+that the Lord forgot to fix up just enough to
+be decent it’s this Bulgarian front, and, from
+what I have seen, all the Balkan States are
+no better.</p>
+
+<p>Once in a while we get some papers
+which show pictures of the hardships the
+British Tommies are enduring with artillery,
+etc., in the Flanders mud. If they have anything
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span>on us they must surely be in a bad way,
+because ninety-nine per cent of our front is
+mud. The remainder is—also mud. They
+have a roadway here and there at least. We
+never see what one would call a clearly defined
+path. It’s just one big field of mud.</p>
+
+<p>The Monastir road is the main artery of
+travel out toward our front, and this has been
+so cut up by the never-ending traffic and
+through lack of other parallel roads that it is
+about as bad as you can imagine it. At the end
+of the road (this end) conditions are barely
+tolerable.</p>
+
+<p>The town Salonika itself is located on the
+sea in a sort of hollow, and around us like
+sentinels are the hills, which guard every approach
+to the city proper for miles. Members
+high on the staff say the city could never be
+taken from the land side, and from the supplies
+stored here I am sure they believe this
+to be a fact. I do not think it will be long
+before we will come in for our share of attention
+in the columns of the newspapers, for we
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span>have been expecting the development of military
+activity for some little time past.</p>
+
+<p>The sanitary conditions are much improved
+here and everything is done to counteract disease.
+All kinds of improvements have been
+made, but the poor devils at the front are the
+ones that come in for their share. Men contract
+diseases here unknown to medical science,
+besides those that are known. Nearly
+everything reeks with malaria. I have taken
+enough quinine to run a drug store in the
+States six months, and while I, like many others,
+pride myself on the good fortune we
+are having, I am sure, in the days to come, we
+will see the effects which always follow.</p>
+
+<p>No doubt you are familiar with the Venizelos
+régime. I see him about quite often.
+The men that are with him are all bright,
+smart, up-to-date fellows, and with the Allies
+hammer and tongs, and they are far more
+loyal to Greece than the King’s party, who follow
+the instructions of Kaiser Bill.</p>
+
+<p>Write me a long letter, for it helps a great
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span>deal in such a place as this, and if you ever
+get some American newspapers you might send
+them on when you are through with them.
+Keep in touch with me, but don’t ever think of
+coming here unless they tie you hand and foot
+and send you.</p>
+
+<p>Take good care of yourself and hand those
+wooden-headed Germans some hot ones.</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+Your pal,
+</p>
+
+<p style="margin-right: 1em;" class="right">
+  <span class="smcap">Joe</span>.
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX">
+    CHAPTER XX
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">EYES OF THE ARMY</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>All military observation balloons are practically
+“the eyes of the army.” They are generally
+captive—always out of reach of enemy
+artillery fire. Of course, they may become the
+victims of surprise attacks from enemy
+aviators.</p>
+
+<p>These sausage-shaped craft are very important
+adjuncts to the fighting forces, and they
+have regular habits. They go up every morning
+and come down every night. In this they
+are aided by the engine of some large auto-truck,
+which hauls them in or lets them go up,
+according to orders from the officer in charge.
+Their efficiency as posts of observation may be
+readily appreciated. There is nothing going
+on below for miles upon miles that cannot be
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span>distinguished through the use of powerful
+glasses in the hands of skilled lookout men.</p>
+
+<p>With these fellows on watch very little can
+transpire that they are not likely to discover
+in a jiffy. The enemy tries to send a wagon
+train of ammunition to some point of advantage,
+when, bingo! some shells explode in
+their path—then it’s a case of jumping and
+running for their lives. Troop movements are
+subject to the same kind of attack, in fact,
+everything is an open book to the trained observers,
+lolling about in the high altitude
+breezes, alert, however, to every little thing
+going on.</p>
+
+<p>It is most interesting to watch the work of
+the observation balloon, which always anchors
+close enough to the front to give it the advantage
+of seeing everything, yet far enough to
+the rear to protect it from being shot at by the
+enemy anti-aircraft batteries. It depends upon
+the contour and character of the ground, and
+at just what elevation the balloon officials can
+best observe. The great bag is held in place
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span>by a steel cable, and has direct telephone
+communication with the artillery field station.</p>
+
+<p>This station is located so that all wires
+from the observation posts lead into it, as
+do also the wires from the field batteries
+along certain parts of the front. When anything
+transpires that seems of enough consequence
+to deserve a few shells, the observer
+phones the location as it appears on his chart,
+and a corresponding chart at the artillery bureau
+furnishes correct information to the officers
+in charge, as though they were looking
+at the very spot themselves. The range is
+computed and phoned to the battery that commands
+the particular location of the objective.
+The range is soon found and the firing begins.</p>
+
+<p>It is then the duty of the gas-bag observers
+to inform the bureau the moment a shell explodes,
+setting forth the information that is
+necessary for corrections in the event that the
+shell missed; also whether it exploded before
+reaching the object or passed beyond. The
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>moment this information is secured corrections
+in the range are immediately made, phoned to
+the battery, and the second shell is sent screaming
+on its way. After which corrections are
+again given, until finally the observer comes
+back with the word “hit.” They then have the
+range and can hammer away at the position
+until they have completed the necessary destruction.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="192b-i-1" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/192b-i-1.jpg" alt="Many uniformed men at various stages of operating a gas mask.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Trying on the Gas Masks</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="192b-i-2" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/192b-i-2.jpg" alt="Street with multiple buildings showing defensive structures.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Badonviller Barricaded for Street Fighting</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>So accurate has this system become that,
+with an observation balloon to govern and observe,
+artillery fire, after the second and third
+shot, will come uncomfortably close to its objective,
+if it does not make a direct hit. The
+accuracy of cannon-fire nowadays is remarkable,
+and, although batteries may be located
+in clumps of trees or even hidden by hills, they
+have reached a perfection almost beyond belief.
+Thus it may be readily seen that the
+observation balloon plays an important part
+in modern warfare. Because of these observation
+balloons, there has seldom been, if
+ever, such a thing as concentrations of large
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span>bodies of troops for attacking purposes, or unending
+streams of caissons bringing up shells
+or supplies without coming under the eye of the
+observer.</p>
+
+<p>One day on the eastern front an artillery
+commander in our division started out on a
+tour of inspection. He arrived at a certain
+position, where a new battery was being located
+in a clump of woods just off the roadside.
+In preparation for the new battery some
+concrete work was being done on foundations.</p>
+
+<p>Pulling up on the road in a clearing, the
+officer and his aide stepped out of the car, followed
+by the chauffeur, and entered the woods
+to review the work. At a distance, so small
+that it could scarcely be seen, was a German
+observation balloon. The party had no sooner
+entered the woods when they were attracted by
+the explosion of a shell in close proximity. This
+was soon followed by a second, which landed in
+the road, and then a third, which struck beside
+the front end of the auto they had just left and
+blew it into fragments.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span></p>
+
+<p>One thing that comes under the eye of a
+person traveling along the military roads in
+France is the large number of soup kitchens
+that lie toppled over along the roadside. The
+reason for this is that there are always so
+many of these soup kitchens going to and
+from the front along roads that can be seen
+from enemy observation balloons, and they
+can be shelled with deadly and unerring accuracy.</p>
+
+<p>It is a most rare occurrence for the drivers
+of these soup kitchens to be injured or
+wounded, for they can hear the shell coming
+and dive off of the kitchens into the roadside
+or run for their lives. Meanwhile the shell
+will make a direct hit and blow the soup kitchen
+to pieces.</p>
+
+<p>Observation balloons are a hindrance to
+operations that the enemy desire to be unobserved;
+therefore aviators are dispatched
+against them and instructed to clear them
+from the skies. Of course, there is no means
+by which an observation balloon can resist successfully
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span>an attack by an aviator, even if
+equipped with a machine gun, because the
+aviator will always attack it from above.</p>
+
+<p>The best opportunity to destroy observation
+balloons always comes on cloudy days, when
+an aviator can circle around in the clouds until
+he gets directly over the balloon, and drop,
+unobserved, upon it. Then, with a machine
+gun, or an incendiary bomb, he can put it out
+of existence. When the observers see that
+they cannot get away from the enemy aviator
+their only chance is to jump from the basket
+with a parachute, as the moment the bomb
+strikes the gas bag and the contents ignite, it
+becomes an “inferno.”</p>
+
+<p>Two interesting incidents took place at
+Verdun in connection with observers and enemy
+aeroplanes after their gas bags had been
+struck and destroyed. In the first instance,
+the observer jumped from the basket, and was
+descending toward the earth suspended and
+swinging at the end of a parachute, like the
+pendulum of a clock.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span></p>
+
+<p>The enemy aviator, for additional exercise
+and excitement, circled around and descended
+along with the parachute, shooting at the observer
+as he swung through the air, with his
+machine gun, until he got his man. But in so
+doing he descended closer to the ground than
+he had contemplated doing, and a well-directed
+shot from an anti-aircraft battery brought
+both himself and his plane tumbling to the
+earth.</p>
+
+<p>The second instance was where a Boche
+aviator had dropped out of the clouds and an
+observer, seeing there was no chance to get
+away from him, quickly jumped from the
+basket of his balloon with a parachute. The
+bag was struck shortly after and burst into
+flames.</p>
+
+<p>It must have been the intention of the
+Boche to have some machine-gun exercise with
+this observer, for he circled around and tried
+to get into a position to fire. Before he could
+accomplish this the observer, swinging
+through the air, drew an automatic revolver,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span>and with a well-directed shot hit the aviator
+and killed him.</p>
+
+<p>Observation balloon work is considered a
+very dangerous branch of the service, inasmuch
+as observers do not have an opportunity
+to protect themselves from enemy aviators and
+must rely chiefly on anti-aircraft batteries for
+protection.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXI">
+    CHAPTER XXI
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">ANTI-AIRCRAFT BATTERIES</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Located all along the front are batteries,
+which consist principally of French cannon
+that we have heard so much about, known to
+the world as 75’s. While this type is most frequently
+used, there are some aircraft batteries
+of larger caliber, known as the 105’s. The
+reason that these two types of guns are used
+exclusively is due to their flexibility. They
+can be changed to different angles and elevations
+and be fired with the rapidity so necessary
+in following an aeroplane in flight.</p>
+
+<p>Aircraft batteries are always located where
+protection is necessary from aviators in the
+rear of the lines, also in the event of the enemy
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span>aviator being able to get by the batteries up
+front.</p>
+
+<p>The guns are mounted over a pit on a revolving
+platform that can complete a circle.
+Counterweights are attached to the gun for
+elevation so that it can be changed quickly
+from the horizontal to very near a 90-degree
+angle, the direction, of course, being obtained
+by the shifting of the revolving platform.</p>
+
+<p>Some very novel contrivances have been developed
+for computing ranges, and each aircraft
+battery uses every available device that
+is likely to assist them in making flying uncomfortable
+for the Boches. Where there are
+two or more of these batteries they are connected
+up with each other by telephone, and,
+as an enemy flyer comes within range of their
+guns, the angles are phoned back and forth,
+and with this knowledge they can make the
+location untenable, even if they do not bring
+the flyer down. I have seen many an enemy
+flyer get into these pockets and rejoice at the
+moment he discovered the trap that there were
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span>some clouds close by into which he could dodge
+and get away with his skin intact.</p>
+
+<p>These planes are, in most instances, observation
+planes, either to see what is transpiring
+behind the lines or to take photographs of
+enemy positions. The bombing planes work
+mostly under cover of darkness, which enables
+them to come down much closer to earth.</p>
+
+<p>To meet this condition there is located at
+each aircraft battery a device known as an
+audiphone. It is a large box-shaped affair,
+made of sheet metal about thirty-six inches
+square. Inside are fastened four small cones,
+in appearance much like victrola horns. These
+are in turn connected with a vibrator similar
+to that in an ordinary telephone receiver. To
+this are attached two rubber tubes, identical
+with the instrument used by doctors called a
+stethoscope, for listening to the heart.</p>
+
+<p>This equipment is fastened to a post, and
+can be turned in any direction. The box-shaped
+device, working on a common axle, can
+be elevated or lowered at will. When an aviator
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span>is in the air a lookout places the two hard
+rubber tubes to his ears and turns the equipment
+in the general direction of the supposed
+location.</p>
+
+<p>He then elevates and lowers the box-shaped
+device until he arrives at a position
+where the clearest motor vibrations are received,
+the post being marked off in degrees,
+like the revolving gun-platform. The arrow
+on the audiphone points to the degree indicated
+on the post, and thus the direction is obtained
+and the gun trained at the same degree.</p>
+
+<p>Then there is a second arrow with a scale
+corresponding to the one upon which the gun
+is elevated. When the clearest vibrations
+come in, the angle at which the box rests is
+indicated, and this in turn is copied by the gun.
+The distance is estimated by the strength of
+the vibrations coming in on the receiving instrument.
+The general location is phoned to
+the searchlight stations and the light is projected
+to afford the batteries observation in
+the event that the aviator changes the direction
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span>of his flight after the first shot is fired.</p>
+
+<p>These projectors in many instances depend,
+of course, upon the locations where the greatest
+aerial activities take place, run up as high as
+four and a half feet in size, and with three or
+four searchlights playing into the heavens it
+is very easy to discern an aeroplane, unless it
+is flying very high.</p>
+
+<p>The French 75’s make a wonderful anti-aircraft
+gun that, with the remarkable perfection
+that gunners have attained, insures an enemy
+aeroplane quite a warm reception. But, at
+best, machines brought down by either side by
+anti-aircraft guns are very few, for no matter
+how good the marksmanship the aeroplane
+always has the advantage. He can take to
+higher levels quickly and the higher his elevation
+the greater his security.</p>
+
+<p>When a shot is fired at him in a certain position
+he knows that it will be from eight to
+eighteen seconds before the projectile will reach
+his elevation. By merely changing his course
+in a fast machine, four or five seconds will take
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span>him three or four hundred feet away from the
+bursting shell. But the frequency of direct
+hits in lower altitudes does not warrant aviators
+taking chances. They’d better be on their
+way.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXII">
+    CHAPTER XXII
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">HAND GRENADE WORK</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>There are two kinds of hand grenades, offensive
+and defensive. The first is employed
+in all offensive operations and to explain its
+use more clearly it is well to start with the
+bombers, popularly known as the suicide club.</p>
+
+<p>Before an attack is made, in most instances,
+a barrage fire is put over on the enemy trenches
+and the length of this preparation depends on
+the extent of the offensive and on the area
+over which it spreads. The purpose of this
+barrage fire is to blast out of existence all of
+the enemy machine guns on the parapet of the
+trenches that are to be attacked.</p>
+
+<p>It must be understood that with a heavy
+barrage fire on their front-line positions the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span>enemy would be unable to keep many men in
+readiness at the guns, and the machine guns
+themselves would be endangered if they were
+left exposed. Therefore they take to the dug-outs
+with guns and all other equipment.</p>
+
+<p>Chosen from the regiments, there are certain
+men known as bombers, who are ready, at
+a specified time, with another kind of equipment—a
+large basket-shaped pocket swinging
+at their waists filled with hand grenades.
+They are always ready in the front-line trench
+to go over at the time set by the command.
+The barrage fire still plays on the enemy lines
+when the bombers charge across “No Man’s
+Land.” It is their task to keep the enemy and
+their machine guns in their dug-outs so that
+they cannot drag them to the parapets of the
+trenches for use against the infantry, which
+invariably follows the bombers “over the
+top.”</p>
+
+<p>The grenade used by the bombers in an offensive
+of this kind is a trifle larger than a
+good-sized lemon; projecting from one end is
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span>a pin, on which there is a touch button.</p>
+
+<p>Touch the button and the pin does the rest.
+It ignites a fuse on the end of which is an
+explosive cap, similar in design to the caps we
+use in this country for dynamite blasting. The
+cap sets off the charge which is supposed to
+be one of the most powerful and deadliest of
+explosives.</p>
+
+<p>The shell of the grenade is corrugated
+into little squares that break up and fly in
+all directions when the charge is exploded,
+and covers a large area on its mission
+of destruction. Much care and skill is required
+of the bomber, since he must be able
+to throw a grenade with great accuracy and
+always far enough to keep himself from being
+injured.</p>
+
+<p>There is a common notion abroad that bombs
+are thrown like baseballs, but this idea is
+erroneous. The method employed is radically
+different. Grenades are timed so that they go
+off quickly after reaching their objective and
+within five seconds of the time when the first
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span>throwing motion is made and the time fuse is
+going.</p>
+
+<p>During the early part of the war the moment
+a grenade was started fusing it was the
+desire of the bomber to get it on its way as
+quickly as possible. The Germans noticed that
+the grenades did not go off for several seconds
+after they landed, and, in many instances,
+picked them up and hurled them back. Many
+of our men were killed in this way before they
+learned to measure the time accurately.</p>
+
+<p>All along the front, in back of the lines, are
+fields where one may see companies of men
+practicing daily with grenades. Their work is
+a most important factor in modern warfare,
+as the defenders of a trench rely chiefly on
+their machine guns to resist infantry attacks.
+Should the bombers contrive to hold the enemy
+in their dug-outs, their own infantry can cross
+over without having to face a death-dealing
+stream of bullets that would be poured into
+them by three or four machine guns.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp48" id="208a-i" style="max-width: 25em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/208a-i.jpg" alt="A row of trucks a few yards away from some uniformed men sitting.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Awaiting Orders Behind the Front</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>Strange to say, of all the men making up the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span>different branches of service around base and
+army hospitals one rarely ever sees a maimed
+bomber. It is one thing or the other with these
+fellows. They come back whole or not at all.
+A most dangerous work is that of the bomber,
+as he is always the first to go over, and, of
+course, offers a tempting mark for whatever
+machine guns are not in the dug-outs but remain
+on the parapets of an enemy trench.</p>
+
+<p>Defensive grenades have a different classification
+and are employed in a distinctive way.
+Any or all infantrymen of an army may be
+equipped with this form of grenade. They
+are made on a principle diametrically opposite
+to that of the offensive grenade. The best of
+these are manufactured by an English concern
+and are very reliable. The element of
+danger in its operation is very slight. They
+are used principally for the destruction of
+barbed-wire entanglements, in order that infantrymen
+may make a quick passage over
+“No Man’s Land.”</p>
+
+<p>Should one of these grenades land alongside
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span>of a post supporting the enemy barbed wire,
+the explosion which follows is so tremendous
+that it will shatter that post into bits, causing
+all of the wire to drop to the ground. This
+will afford enough gaps to make passage free
+and easy.</p>
+
+<p>The defensive grenade is vastly different in
+structure and function, as the jacket containing
+the charge is a tin composition, very light
+in construction, so that every particle of force
+will be effective at a given point, without the
+necessity of having to break through a heavy
+iron shell. Just enough weight is used in the
+body of this type; it is devoid of the pin and
+the button, but has a handle held in place by
+a cotter pin on the end of which is a ring.
+When the ring is pulled it draws the cotter pin
+from the locking device on the body of the
+grenade, which holds the handle in a safe
+position.</p>
+
+<p>Before the pin is pulled the bomber must
+have the handle clamped down securely in the
+palm of his hand with the grenade, for the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span>moment the handle is allowed to fly up the
+grenade begins fusing and must be thrown.</p>
+
+<p>As long as the handle is held securely in its
+original position, even though the pin be
+drawn, it is harmless. It is, however, ready
+for service in the fraction of a second, and
+makes an ideal defensive weapon for instant
+use. It can be thrown directly in front of a
+man rushing at you with a bayonet, and it will
+blow him into fragments. At the same time
+there will be perfect security to the one who
+launches it, but, at five times the distance, an
+offensive grenade would prove a boomerang.
+For cutting down enemy barbed wire, there is
+nothing so effective, except heavy artillery,
+which can compare with this high explosive
+hand grenade for terrific power of destruction.</p>
+
+<p>There is a newer form of grenade now in
+use, which is fired from a regular rifle. An
+attachment like a cylinder is fastened to the
+barrel of the rifle and a regulation cartridge
+inserted into the cartridge chamber, as when
+it is to be ordinarily fired. Then a grenade is
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span>placed in the cylinder and the gun is discharged
+while held at the height of the waist
+line, the muzzle being elevated or lowered according
+to the distance the grenade is to be
+thrown. There is a gauge showing where the
+grenades will approximately strike at different
+elevations of the muzzle, and it is surprising
+with what accuracy they will reach their objective.
+This method is used where the distance
+is too great for throwing by hand. The
+ball, when fired, passes down the rifle barrel
+and through the grenade, striking a contact
+spring, which starts it fusing. The gas from
+the explosion of the powder in the chamber
+forms the propelling power.</p>
+
+<p>A great many other contrivances are used
+for the launching of grenades, such as various
+forms of spring traps. The French have a
+pneumatic device,—a cylinder in which the
+grenade is placed, and the pressure for launching
+it is produced by means of a pump, not unlike
+in design that of the automobile tire pump.
+All these different devices, while serving a purpose,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span>do not meet all requirements as effectively
+as does the grenade which is launched by
+hand. It is a most dangerous missile and hard
+to get away from.</p>
+
+<p>One serious danger to which consideration
+must be given and into which Americans are
+apt to be tempted is the collection of souvenirs
+of war. All along the front one sees many
+things that are of interest,—unexploded shells,
+hand grenades, and the like. The inexperienced,
+unsuspecting the danger of such things,
+are tempted to pick them up and examine them.</p>
+
+<p>This has caused many a death. It is a risk
+that should never be taken, for it is only another
+way of courting death. Not every shell
+or grenade that is sent over explodes, and many
+actually lie intact for days only to explode at
+some slight disturbance. One only needs to
+observe the French, who are familiar with all
+angles of the game through their three and a
+half years’ experience, to learn what they
+think about tampering with shell heads.</p>
+
+<p>A regular corps of men, appointed generally
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span>from some artillery battery, make it their duty
+to look after unexploded shells, either by setting
+them off, or by carting them away and
+burying them,—likewise unexploded hand
+grenades. These are collected and buried, but
+many an experienced man has come to his
+death while clearing up roads and fields of
+these unexploded missiles.</p>
+
+<p>There have been instances known on different
+fronts where the Germans have “fixed”
+everything they leave on the field, allowing
+shells and grenades to lie there for someone
+to pick them up. An attractive officer’s helmet
+might catch one’s eye and appear to be just
+about the most harmless thing in the world.
+But to touch it more than likely means death.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIII">
+    CHAPTER XXIII
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">THE AMERICAN Y. M. C. A.</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>An honest confession is said to be good for
+what ails you, mentally and physically, so here
+goes with reference to my erstwhile ignorance
+concerning that great and growing organization
+known to all the world as the Young
+Men’s Christian Association. I’ll admit my
+prejudice. It goes back to the days when I
+invented every possible excuse to keep from
+going to Sunday-school, and so when I arrived
+at maturity I found myself shying toward
+the outer curbing every time. I used to pass
+quickly these quiet, orderly buildings, fearful
+that someone would rush out and thrust a lesson
+leaflet into my hand.</p>
+
+<p>Once I had a friend who, when in earnest
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span>conversation, would halt occasionally to point
+his long forefinger and say, “Listen to the
+truth!”—and that’s the kind of a gesture and
+the exact words that I would use now if I
+should find it necessary to raise my voice in
+defense of the Y. M. C. A.</p>
+
+<p>I’ll never forget the first one I visited. I
+was in Paris on leave of absence, along
+with another young man in the same service
+as myself. He suggested a visit to the
+Y. M. C. A., and, so far as my pleasure was
+concerned, he might just as well have suggested
+the morgue. The motion was carried,
+however, and I found myself being
+jostled along, speechless with disgust for having
+come all the way from the front-line
+trenches to waste my time at such a tame sort
+of a place. Visions of being met at the door
+with a bundle of “tracts” and a pocket Bible
+came into my mind’s eye, but, on the theory
+that it never pays to be a joy-killer, I said
+nothing. In less time than it takes to tell it
+I found myself the worst fooled mortal of my
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span>age and weight among all my numerous
+friends and acquaintances.</p>
+
+<p>Our taxicab drew up in front of a palatial
+building, which I recognized as our destination,
+for I did know the triangular flag of the
+Y. M. C. A. We entered a large open court,
+where were several small tables and chairs,
+reasons for which we learned afterwards.
+Ascending a grand stairway we arrived at the
+second floor, or Club Room. At once two gentlemen
+stepped forward with a cheerful “Hello,
+Boys,” and invited us to make ourselves “quite
+at home.” Almost immediately thereafter we
+were taken in tow and escorted around the
+place.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment I glanced at the peculiar
+expression on my friend’s face. We had
+been there five minutes, and no one had
+handed either of us a Bible—which seemed
+most surprising to me. There were spacious
+lounging rooms, with big easy chairs, and
+tables heaped with books and magazines, also
+writing rooms, smoking rooms, victrolas,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span>pianos, billiard and pool tables, just as you find
+them in a genuine American club. It reminded
+me of good old New York with all its
+comforts and ease. The atmosphere was that
+of wholesome refinement with a welcome in
+every face that beamed our way.</p>
+
+<p>Our escorts informed us that things were not
+exactly in shape as yet, but would be in full
+running order very shortly. For a place that
+was not in working trim I wondered what could
+be done to make it more complete. I was soon
+to learn that its growth since the war began
+had been phenomenal. It had become the principal
+rendezvous for the army boys, a home,
+indeed, to which they could come at any time,
+day or night, and get good hot baths and
+clean up. I was completely surprised, for in
+Paris, at the finest hotels, such a thing was
+impossible, except on Saturdays and Sundays,
+because of the conservation of fuel.</p>
+
+<p>Then, too, the Y. M. C. A. had established
+a Bureau of Tobacco, where the boys could
+obtain American cigarettes and cigars at a cost
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span>which was much less than they could be bought
+even at home. The French Government would
+not allow cigarettes to be sent to the boys in
+service, unless the duty, which was prohibitive,
+was paid on them. One has to have but a
+single experience with “army issue,” the
+name applied by the boys to the tobacco passed
+out to soldiers, to know what a big satisfaction
+it is to be able to walk up to the counter of the
+Y. M. C. A. with the feeling of ease one feels
+in going into one’s home-town favorite cigar
+store or club.</p>
+
+<p>After showing us everything about the
+premises, our escort finally capped the climax
+by announcing, “It’s four o’clock. Ice cream
+is ready to be served.”</p>
+
+<p>Now, say, gentle reader, suppose you had
+been driving an ambulance for several months,
+practically day and night for weeks at a time,
+and that all you had known in the way of
+“eats” was the same old stuff day in and day
+out? And, I ask you again, what would you
+say if suddenly you were invited to sit down
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span>beside a daintily covered table in a delightful
+courtyard and found yourself confronted with
+a heaping big dish of real ice cream. Never
+mind your answer. You’d be found “a-hanging
+around” the place at four o’clock every
+afternoon of your stay in Paris. That’s what
+we did, and we were welcomed each time in
+that same cordial way.</p>
+
+<p>In the colder season, when it becomes too
+chilly for ice cream, the Volunteer Canteen
+Workers of the Y. M. C. A. established a tea
+room, where at four p. m. hot coffee, chocolate
+and such things as home-made doughnuts,
+cakes and pies were served. This place did
+not go a-begging for popularity, as may well
+be surmised, for it was filled to capacity every
+day.</p>
+
+<p>It would be unjust to create the impression
+that the popularity of the American Y. M.
+C. A. is due to the fact that it serves good ice
+cream. That was only one of the many things
+that hit the right spot.</p>
+
+<p>The biggest attraction, to my mind, was
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span>the spirit of sterling good fellowship which
+permeated the institution. The welcome
+was sincere. There was no snobbishness,
+no attitude of “look what we’re doing for
+these fellows—shouldn’t they be most awfully
+thankful.” There wasn’t a bit of that.
+On the other hand there was plenty of
+“there’s nothing too good for you boys who
+are doing the job out there; we’re going to
+serve you!” That is the attitude of the big-minded
+business men who have thrown open
+the doors of this institution in order that the
+boys from “out there” might have comfort
+when on furlough in Paris. It was a big
+thought and it has kept many a youngster
+from going to the devil in that same big city.</p>
+
+<p>Before I left France, the Y. M. C. A. was
+making big strides in the establishment of Huts
+and Canteens along the front; also around the
+villages where the divisions of the army go for
+rest. Here the men at the front can have an
+opportunity to purchase food and supplies.
+This in itself is a wonderful blessing for, in
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span>the devastated towns along the front, it is impossible
+to buy anything.</p>
+
+<p>Imagine the undying impression a man will
+retain of this wonderful organization when he
+recalls the day he was sent to the rear, drilled
+by a Boche bullet and dragging one foot after
+the other through the mud and water of the
+trenches, chilled to the bone, as he turned a
+corner and found tucked away in a hole in a
+wall a man who handed him a cup of steaming
+hot coffee; or, when that same man lies on a
+hospital cot in the rear, recovering, there
+comes a representative of this same wonderful
+institution with words of cheer and consolation.
+Such is the work that these men are doing
+and such the wonderful contribution to
+humanity it has proved to be!</p>
+
+<p>While in London I spent most of my time at
+the Y. M. C. A. huts. There they serve regular
+meals at a maximum cost of fourteen cents,
+which consist of soup, meat, potatoes, vegetables,
+bread, butter, dessert and coffee. It is
+open to any of the men of the Allied armies.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span>I was particularly attracted one day to a group
+of boys sitting around a piano in the recreation
+room, singing and playing. An American
+soldier played the piano, an American sailor
+played a violin, a Canadian a banjo, and an
+Englishman a mandolin.</p>
+
+<p>The “choir” was composed of a Belgian, a
+Scotch Highlander, an Irishman, a New Zealander,
+an Australian and a Frenchman—with
+a dozen Americans thrown in. I inquired of
+one of our sailors how he liked London? He
+replied, “Well, as much as I have seen of it,
+it’s fine, but we boys spend most of the time
+right here at this piano.”</p>
+
+<p>I found this to be true, for, no matter what
+time I would go there, the same crowd was
+always present, and the room filled with blue
+smoke thick enough to choke a Chinaman.</p>
+
+<p>The facts set forth are my only experiences
+with the Y. M. C. A., but let me commend to
+everyone the wonderful work that this organization
+is doing, for if anything can hearten a
+man when he is away from all that is near and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span>dear to him it is the attention paid him by big-minded,
+big-hearted men who carry on the
+field work of the Y. M. C. A. No one preaches
+to you when you are under its roof, but there
+creeps into one’s heart a new feeling that one
+longs to hold on to. I’m for the Y. M. C. A.
+strong.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="224b-i-1" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/224b-i-1.jpg" alt="Men stand behind a wooden wall operating machinery.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">A Small “Persuader” at Verdun</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="224b-i-2" style="max-width: 50em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/224b-i-2.jpg" alt="A struct made of sand bags or similar connected to trenches.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Field Telephone Station Controlling the Shell Fire</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXIV">
+    CHAPTER XXIV
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">REAR-LINE DIVERSIONS</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>During their leisure hours it is quite necessary
+for men to have something of interest
+to divert their minds; the French military authorities
+have been quick to realize the value
+of the old saying that all work and no play
+makes Jack a poor fighter.</p>
+
+<p>There is with each army corps a regularly
+established department devoted to the entertainment
+of the soldiers. They have also
+with them official kinematographers of the
+French Army, who take pictures of everything
+interesting that transpires in the sector.
+The films of one army, through a bureau, are
+exchanged with those of an army operating in
+another sector, for the benefit of the men so
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span>that they can see what is going on at the fronts.
+The shows are generally given in some little
+village at the rear, where the men who are not
+in the trenches are quartered. The program
+is changed each day and a sprinkling of comedies
+are worked in to give the entertainment
+the proper flavor.</p>
+
+<p>Commencing at seven-thirty to eight p. m.
+the little streets are generally packed, long before
+the time the doors are to open, and when
+they are thrown back you are generally lifted
+off your feet by the mad rush and scramble
+for seats. After being jostled about like a rubber
+ball, you may finally end up inside the
+theater—and occasionally outside. It’s a case
+of come early or you don’t see the show, because
+there are no places large enough in these
+small villages to afford accommodation for all
+the men that are quartered there.</p>
+
+<p>On these occasions there is always music furnished
+by the regimental bands, and this is one
+of the features of the show. Many of these
+bands have men who are celebrities known
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span>internationally. We had in our division two
+grand opera singers and a violinist, who, before
+the war, was the leader of the orchestra
+at Monte Carlo.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the performance began the
+doors were closed to exclude all light, and
+the windows covered with heavy drapery.
+The minute the soldiers get inside, they light
+their pipes and cigarettes and settle down
+for an evening’s entertainment. In ten
+minutes the place is filled with smoke, and an
+hour after the performance commenced it
+would seem impossible that a picture could be
+thrown on the screen. But no one seems to
+mind the smoke barrage so long as they are
+afforded amusements to divert their minds.</p>
+
+<p>Other evenings, at scheduled times, big
+events would come off in the form of a drama
+or a comedy, produced entirely by the soldiers.
+Some sketch was always presented where the
+largest men in the regiments took the parts of
+angels or some fellow with a beard portrayed
+the part of the ardent young lover. Of course,
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span>to complete the performance, it was necessary
+to have a few women, and these not being
+available, someone had to make-up for the
+part.</p>
+
+<p>These were usually picked from among
+the mule drivers and cooks of the regiment (or
+somebody in similar positions, where daintiness
+in the execution of their regular work best
+suited them, in the judgment of the impresario,
+for the part). There was always a king who
+was a very stern ruler, likewise a fearless warrior.
+The smallest man with the squeakiest
+voice generally fell heir to this rôle. All in all,
+the cast was usually very well selected, and it
+invariably produced just the effect that the
+entertainment committee desired.</p>
+
+<p>But the concerts given by the military bands
+were the real entertainments, after all. They
+were sure to exceed one’s expectation, for they
+were classical and sublime. Selections from
+all of the leading operas were rendered in a
+most creditable way, and it was really a great
+pleasure to attend them.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXV">
+    CHAPTER XXV
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">“FOOD WILL WIN THE WAR”</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Upon my return to this country, after having
+lived as I did abroad, the billboards with
+the caption, “Food Will Win the War,” was
+one of the first things that caught my eye, and
+I was deeply impressed with its significance,
+but a few days after arriving I was also destined
+to learn very soon how little these words
+seemed to mean to the average American. I
+visited, of course, several of the leading cafés
+and hotels, and from the menus one could
+hardly believe that this country is at war and
+allied with people and armies that are badly in
+need of food.</p>
+
+<p>No army can fight efficiently, laborers cannot
+toil in the manufacture of equipment and
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span>supplies for the armies in the field, unless they
+have the proper and sufficient food.</p>
+
+<p>America little realizes what France has
+accomplished along lines of conservation. Reflect,
+for the moment, on the following facts.
+Before the war, France depended largely
+on this country for many foodstuffs, even when
+all of her tillers of the soil were following
+their agricultural work daily. Upon the outbreak
+of war, all her able-bodied men of a
+military age were called to the colors. There
+was no one left to work the farms but
+women, old men and young boys, and naturally
+their domestic production fell off, though
+the demand for food was ever greater. Moreover,
+one must consider the territory that has
+been devastated into regions of barren wastes,
+for, in August, 1914, when the German armies
+swept through northern France to the very
+gates of Paris, all the stock on farms were
+driven off and confiscated for their troops.
+Then in the retreat everything that was productive
+was destroyed.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span></p>
+
+<p>It is not difficult to understand why the
+internal production of France has suffered a
+material decrease, and she must now lean just
+that much more on our assistance in the providing
+of foodstuffs. With conservation working
+in this country we can give them that which
+is really unnecessary to us, but vital to them.
+An order has just been issued to the French
+Army from Headquarters to cut down the daily
+bread ration of each soldier, and I want to
+say that I know what this means, for I have
+lived on it, and for nourishment, at the best, it
+is nothing to brag about.</p>
+
+<p>Some people think they are making a supreme
+sacrifice in submitting to our wheatless
+day regulation, but they should dwell a moment
+on the thought that for over three years the
+soldiers, to say nothing of the women and children
+of France, have not seen a loaf of white
+bread. Their wheatless day is seven days a
+week and fifty-two weeks a year.</p>
+
+<p>I think I know the American people well
+enough to feel that they would not stand aside
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span>and selfishly see men, women and children go
+without food, especially when they can give it
+without any great inconvenience to themselves.
+I feel it is the lack of a proper understanding
+that is the basic cause of food wasting in this
+country, and not a disregard for the suffering
+of others.</p>
+
+<p>Every time we sit down to a meal, either in
+the home or in a restaurant, and order more
+food than we can consume or need, we are
+taking from the reserve which does not morally
+belong to us and thereby depriving the man at
+the front of sufficient food. I think everyone
+will agree with me when I say that if there is
+anyone entitled to a decent meal once in a
+while it’s the fellow who is ready to give up
+his life for his country—and all we are asked
+to do is to give up those habits which are unnecessary
+and wasteful.</p>
+
+<p>The great problem of winning this war
+rests with the American people, and if each one
+does his and her part, that will prove the deciding
+factor in defeating the Germans.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span></p>
+
+<p>A noted statesman of Germany is credited
+with saying that Germany has not the slightest
+fear of the American Army or Navy.
+But when the hundred million people rise up
+as a unit with undivided aim—that day will be
+the undoing of Germany. Now, this simply
+means that it is the American people that Germany
+is afraid of.</p>
+
+<p>It is very difficult to bring the nearness of
+the war home to each and every one of us. It
+is difficult, indeed, for each to realize that we
+are just as much a part of this war as the
+boys who wear the uniform abroad. The only
+difference is that they have given everything
+they have to give and we can only approach
+their one hundred per cent liberality by conserving
+and rendering every assistance that is
+within our power to do by word, deed, and
+particularly money.</p>
+
+<p>Everyone should do his part as an individual
+patriot, so that when our hundred million are
+working as a unit, the sledge hammer blows of
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span>our nation will be the undoing of a monster
+that will be swept from this earth with such
+force that it will never again menace liberty
+and freedom.</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span></p>
+
+
+  <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XXVI">
+    CHAPTER XXVI
+    <br>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">HOMEWARD BOUND</span>
+  </h2>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>It is said to be something of a job to run
+over to Europe during these war times, with so
+many restrictions in the way of ocean travel,
+but if anyone ever found it hard to get there
+they should try <i>leaving</i> there. The day we
+were given our discharge from the French
+Army we started to leave. We soon found
+that if it had not been for taxicabs we would
+all be there to-day, for when the offices that
+control the routine and formality that one has
+to go through were finally located, the only
+person that was considered was the taxi driver,
+seemingly in order that he might come in for
+his share of your roll before you go out of the
+country.</p>
+
+<p>First it is necessary to go to the American
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span>Ambassador’s office with your passport, and
+establish the fact that you really are yourself.</p>
+
+<p>Application must be made in writing for
+your return passage and all facts about yourself
+established. After this is done you get
+your stamp of approval, which makes you feel
+that you are fairly well started.</p>
+
+<p>The next in order, however, is a visit to the
+United States Consulate’s office, and while this
+is not such a great distance away you feel that
+it is far enough. Here you get a second stamp
+of approval and are directed to the French
+Bureau of Military Control. This office is located
+out of town, possibly in order to afford
+the employees the fresh country air, and while
+you’re getting there the taximeter does its
+share toward making the trip interesting and
+exciting, and causes one to lose all interest in
+the passing scenery no matter how beautiful.</p>
+
+<p>At the French Bureau you surrender your
+release from the Army and are given a third
+stamp of approval, this time with a paper,
+which must be taken to the Prefecture of Police.
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span>So again you sit and watch the centimes
+turn into francs, until you’re tempted to get
+out and walk. But where is this Prefecture
+of Police Bureau? Well, it’s about the same
+distance on the other side of town as was the
+Bureau of Military Control on this side. On
+the theory that nothing from nothing leaves
+nothing, it would seem that for a weary soldier
+the only thing to do was to curl up on the rear
+seat and sink into dreamland. It might have
+turned out only a bad dream. I have heard
+shells flying by at a fast clip, but never did anything
+go so fast as the figures on that taximeter.</p>
+
+<p>From the looks of the records kept at the
+Police Bureau I am sure they would know if
+there was anything in the world to your discredit,
+but if you have a clean bill you are
+quickly O. K.’d and are again on your way.
+When I got out of there I glanced at my driver,
+who was a young fellow when we started out,
+but having been gone so long I felt sure by now
+he had a beard that he could trip in.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span></p>
+
+<p>On going back to America by way of England
+it is now necessary to pay a call upon the
+English Consul in Paris, who will look over the
+stamps the various offices have put on your
+passport in order to determine whether or not
+he would care to have you go back that way.
+This was my last taxi ride by way of kicking
+off the shackles that held me on foreign soil.
+Much as I loved France I was hungry for
+home and glad to feel that I was free to go
+there.</p>
+
+<p>The following morning found our crowd on
+the train bound for Havre. As we sped along
+we passed just back of the front held by the
+English and, after an eight-hour trip, arrived
+at our destination. After transferring our
+baggage we were greeted with the pleasant information
+that there had been a storm on the
+Channel and many mines had broken loose.
+Until the trawlers succeeded in sweeping them
+back into harness no boat would leave that
+port.</p>
+
+<p>Now the sad part of this news was that if
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span>this boat did not leave during the night we
+would miss our steamer for America—and
+the boat did not leave. So we slept on board,
+and the next day was spent in the town. That
+night we got under way, the storm kept
+us company and our steamer did everything
+but run upside down. It was a messy-looking
+crowd that arrived in Southampton the next
+morning, but we stayed only long enough to
+attend a meeting of the customs officials, then
+we were off for London. We had missed our
+boat and must wait four days for a sailing on
+another line.</p>
+
+<p>That night I went to the theater, and after
+enjoying a good play for two hours the curtain
+descended abruptly and a gentleman stepped
+out on the stage to announce that there was
+an air raid on, and anyone choosing to leave
+could do so. There were a great many people
+who got up and left for the shelters that are
+provided throughout the city. In less than five
+minutes the curtain went up again and the performance
+was resumed. When we left the
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span>theater autos and police bicycles plastered with
+signs, “Take to Cover,” were speeding up and
+down the street. Most people went down into
+the underground railway stations, but the
+Boche did not penetrate the outer defenses
+and were only able to drop a few bombs on
+the outskirts of the city. During the four
+nights we spent in London there were three
+air raids.</p>
+
+<p>A great many American sailors were in
+London, and it happened that the Church of
+Saint Martin held services while we were
+there. We couldn’t miss that chance. The
+King and Queen and Princess were in attendance,
+as well as Field Marshall French and
+Admiral Jellicoe, with other celebrities.</p>
+
+<p>After four days in London we left for Liverpool
+to catch our boat, and sailed for dear old
+America on the evening we arrived. Hard
+luck seemed to pursue us, for the next morning
+we found ourselves at anchor at the mouth
+of the river with the consoling news that two
+German submarines were lying outside the bar
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span>awaiting our departure. So we stayed there all
+day in a dense fog and also that night, with
+about twelve other vessels of various sizes.</p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter illowp47" id="240a-i" style="max-width: 25em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/240a-i.jpg" alt="A uniformed man sitting on the remains of a wall with damanged buildings behind.">
+  <figcaption>
+      <p class="noindent">Ruins Along the Lorraine Front</p>
+  </figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+<p>The following morning we slipped anchor
+and in a few hours were well out into the
+Irish Sea, the heart of the infested area. If
+there is any place where U-boats are thick it is
+off the Irish coast. Nothing eventful happened
+that first day but our boat was heavily
+armed and all the men were at their posts every
+minute. Meals were served to the gun crews
+at their posts.</p>
+
+<p>About seven-thirty that night, after we had
+come on deck from dinner, there was a report
+of a cannon behind us—a U-boat had come
+up fifteen hundred yards astern, and, not having
+a chance to launch a torpedo, took a shot
+at us with a small deck gun. It was so dark
+that the U-boat could not be seen, but our gunners
+at the stern could see the flash of their
+gun and took that for a target. Of course, we
+could not see a hit if one was made, but the
+U-boat did not fire any more. Probably its
+<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span>officer did not care to try conclusions with so
+watchful a foe.</p>
+
+<p>We did not wait to investigate. Full steam
+ahead soon put distance between us. All went
+well the rest of the night and the following
+day, each minute making our travel safer, and
+soon we were well out to sea with chances of
+being attacked growing less all the while.</p>
+
+<p>On her trip previous the same thing had
+happened to this vessel, only their opponent
+was a little more persistent than ours had been.
+The U-boat fired fifty-four shots at her.</p>
+
+<p>When three days at sea a fire broke out in
+one of the holds and spread to the dynamo
+room. All hands turned out to fight the flames,
+and, considering that they were coming out of
+the upper deck hatches for a while, things
+looked pretty bad. But at last, with good work
+on the part of the crew, it was under control.
+It is not very easy to sleep on a boat in mid-ocean
+when you know that a fire is smouldering
+and likely to break through and spread at
+any moment.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span></p>
+
+<p>Four days later we fell in with the American
+patrol and the sight of two American warships
+was at once a comfort and a delight.</p>
+
+<p>The only disappointment in store for us was
+our failure to arrive at New York early
+enough to get up the river and land. We
+missed it by half an hour and had to lie in the
+Narrows in sight of home all night long!
+Rotten luck. However, bad luck is sometimes
+good luck, for next morning as we came on
+deck there was the Statue of Liberty! I had
+seen it hundreds of times but never as I saw
+it that beautiful morning. And then, an hour
+later, wasn’t it fine to scramble up the gangplank
+to see who would be first to put foot on
+good old American soil! Home again—<i>home
+again</i>.</p>
+
+<p>What a wonderful feeling!</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+  <p class="nobreak center fs150 bold" id="Of_all_the_charming_books_that_may">
+    Of all the charming books that may
+    come forth this year, none will be
+    more welcome than
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs150">GEORGINA’S
+    SERVICE STARS</span>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs120">By Annie Fellows Johnston</span>
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs90">TO BE PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1st</span>
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>In it will be found a new story of beloved
+Georgina whose Rainbow adventures led into her
+tenth year. Now she is older—sweet sixteen, if
+you please—and Richard, her playmate of childhood
+days, is a grown man of seventeen—and as
+devoted as ever. Of course he got into the great
+war enough to give Georgina a second star to her
+service flag; her father, being a famous surgeon,
+his star is rightfully at the top. But watch out
+for Richard! (Beautifully illustrated. $1.35 net.)
+AS USUAL—FOR ALL THE FAMILY</p>
+
+<div class="bbox bold">
+<p class="fs150 center">GEORGINA of the RAINBOWS</p>
+
+<p class="center">Now selling in beautiful popular edition, 60 cts.</p>
+</div>
+
+<p class="bold">
+  Britton Publishing Company      <span style="float: right;margin-right:1em">New York</span>
+</p>
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<p class="fs150 center bold">
+  He has written another one—and
+  it is as good as his famous book<br>
+  <i>“Laugh and Live”</i>
+</p>
+  <hr class="r5">
+  <p class="fs170 center bold">
+  MAKING LIFE
+  WORTH WHILE<br>
+  </p>
+  <p class="center">
+  —that the title of <i>Douglas Fairbanks’</i>
+  new book to be published in early autumn
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="noindent">It is written in his own inimitable style—another
+book of inspiration for people of all ages and
+either sex—a new vein of optimistic cheer for us
+mortals of a war-worn world—another message
+from the man who knows how to keep himself
+happy and well, and who is willing to pass his
+recipe on to others.</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+<i>His book makes for Success</i><br>
+<i>Everybody will want it</i><br>
+<br>
+<b>12mo.—Beautifully Illustrated with</b>
+<b>16 New Photographic Duotones</b><br>
+</p>
+<table class="autotable">
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+<td><b>Cloth, $1.00</b></td>
+<td><b><b>Khaki, $1.00</b></b></td>
+</tr>
+<tr class="tdr">
+<td><b>Leather, $2.00</b></td>
+<td><b>Ooze, $2.50</b></td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+<hr class="full" style="margin-bottom: 0">
+<p class="center">
+To be published September 1
+</p>
+<hr class="full" style="margin-top: 0;margin-bottom: 0">
+<p class="bold noindent">
+Britton Publishing Company <span style="float: right">New York</span>
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+  <p class="nobreak center fs150 bold" id="Over_the_Seas_for_Uncle_Sam">
+    Over the Seas for Uncle Sam
+    <br>
+    <span class="fs80">
+    By ELAINE STERNE,
+    <br>
+    Author of “The Road of Ambition”
+    </span>
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>Miss Sterne is Senior Lieutenant of the Navy
+League Honor Guard, which has charge of entertainment
+and visitation in behalf of sick and
+wounded sailors sent home for hospital treatment.
+Their experiences, such as may be published at
+this time, now appear in book form. This book
+brings out many thrilling adventures that have
+occurred in the war zone of the high seas—and
+has official sanction. Miss Sterne’s descriptive
+powers are equaled by few. She has the dramatic
+touch which compels interest. Her book, which
+contains many photographic scenes, will be
+warmly welcomed in navy circles, and particularly
+by those in active service.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center bold">
+  <span style="float: left">Cloth</span>      Illuminated Jacket      <span style="float: right">$1.35 Net</span>
+</p>
+
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+<div class="chapter">
+  <p class="nobreak center fs150 bold" id="Ambulancing_on_the_French_Front">
+    <span class="fs80">Ambulancing on the French Front
+    <br>
+    By EDWARD P. COYLE
+    </span>
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+
+<p class="noindent">Here is a collection of intensely interesting episodes
+related by a Young American who served as a volunteer
+with the French Army—Red Cross Division. His book
+is to the field of mercy what those of Empey, Holmes
+and Peat have been in describing the vicissitudes of
+army life. The author spent ten months in ambulance
+work on the Verdun firing line. What he saw and did
+is recounted with most graphic clearness. This book
+contains many illustrations photographed on the spot
+showing with vivid exactitude the terrors of rescue
+work under the fire of the big guns.</p>
+
+<p class="center bold">
+  <span style="float: left">Cloth</span> 16 Full page Illustrations <span style="float: right">$1.35 Net</span>
+</p>
+<hr class="full" style="margin-top: 0;margin-bottom: 0">
+<p class="bold noindent">
+Britton Publishing Company <span style="float: right">New York</span>
+</p>
+<hr class="full" style="margin-top: 0;margin-bottom: 0">
+
+<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop">
+
+
+<div class="chapter">
+<div class="transnote" id="transnote">
+<h2>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE</h2>
+
+<p>Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
+corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
+the text and consultation of external sources.</p>
+
+<p>Inconsistencies in a.m., a. m., p.m., and p. m. spacing have been
+retained. Inconsistent hyphenations have been left as is.</p>
+
+<p>Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
+and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.</p>
+
+<ul>
+<li>Page <a href="#TN-1">47</a>. Replaced “parrafin” with “paraffin”.</li>
+<li>Page <a href="#TN-2">161</a>. “Teshez Vous” is probably “Taisez Vous”.</li>
+<li>Page <a href="#TN-3">162</a>. “Teshez Vous” is probably “Taisez Vous”.</li>
+</ul>
+</div>
+</div>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 77797 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
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+This book, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
+Procedures for determining public domain status are described in
+the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org.
+
+No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in
+jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize
+this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright
+status under the laws that apply to them.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
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+++ b/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for eBook #77797
+(https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/77797)