THE MONITOR, MAY 22, 1918
PAGE SIX
LLf jX. - rp-.11
uver ine top
By An American Soldier
Who Went
ARTHUR GUY EMPEY
Machine Gunner Serving in Franc
3
Uoqvrttrbt-iMUUbv A rthur Out Rmoet)
CHAPTER XXVI.
AH Quiet (?) on the Western Front
At brigade headquarters I happened
to overhear a conversation between our
G. O. C. (general officer commanding)
and the divisional commander. From
this conversation I learned that we
were to bombard the German lines for
eight days and on the first of July the
"big push" was to commence.
In a few days orders were issued to
that effect, and it was common prop
erty all along the line.
On the afternoon of the eighth day of
our "strafeing," Atwell and I were sit
ting in the front-line trench smoking
fags and making out our reports of the
previous night's tour of the trenches,
which we had to turn in to headquar
ters the following day, when an order
was passed down the trench that Old
Pepper requested twenty volunteers to
go over on a trench raid that night to
try and get a few German prisoners for
Information purposes. I Immediately
volunteered for this job, and shook
hands with Atwell, and went to the
rear to give my name to the officers in
charge of the raiding party.
I was accepted, worse luck.
At 9 :45 that night we reported to the
brigade headquarters dugout to receive
Instructions from Old Pepper.
After reaching this dugout we lined
up in a semicircle around him, and he
addressed us as follows :
"All I want you boys to do Is to go
over to the German lines tonight, sur
prise them, secure a couple of prison
ers, and return immediately. Our ar
tillery has bombarded that section of
the line for two days and personally I
believe that that part of the German
trench is unoccupied, so just get a cou
ple of prisoners and return as quickly
as possible."
The sergeant on my right, In an un
dertone, whispered to me:
"Say, Yank, how are we going to get
a couple of prisoners if the old fool
thinks 'personally that that part of the
trench is unoccupied,' sounds kind of
fishy, doesn't it mate?"
I had a funny sinking sensation in
my stomach, and my tin hat felt as if
it weighed about a ton and my enthusi
asm was melting away. Old Pepper
must have heard the sergeant speak
because he turned In his direction and
in a thundering voice asked :
"What did you say?"
The sergeant with a scarlet look on
his face and his knees trembling,
smartly saluted and answered :
"Nothing, sir."
Old Pepper said :
"Well, don't say It so loudly the next
time."
Then Old Pepper continued :
"In this section of the German
trenches there are two or three ma
chine guns which our artillery, in the
last two or three days, has been un
able to tape. These guns command the
sector where two of our communica
tion trenches join the front line, and
as the brigade is to go over the top to
morrow morning I "want to capture two
or three men from these guns' crews,
and from them I may be able to obtain
valuable Information as to the exact
location of the guns, and our artillery
will therefore be able to demolish them
before the attack, and thus prevent
our losing a lot of men while using
these communication trenches to bring
up re-enforcements."
These were the instructions he gave
us:
"Take off your Identification disks,
strip your uniforms of all numerals,
insignia, etc., leave your papers with
your captains, because I don't want the
Boches to know what regiments are
against them as this would be valuable
Information to them in our attack to
morrow and I don't want any of you
to be taken alive. What I want is two
prisoners and if I get them I have a
way which will make them divulge
all necessary information as to their
guns. You have your choice of two
weapons you may carry your 'per
suaders' or your knuckle knives, and
each man will arm himself with four
Mills bombs, these to be used only In
case of emergency."
A persuader is Tommy's nickname
for a club carried by the bombers. It
Is about two feet long, thin at one end
and very thick at the other. The thick
end Is spudded with sharp steel spikes,
while through the center of the club
there is a nine-Inch lead bar, to give
it weight and balance. When you get
a prisoner all you have to do is just
stick this club up in front of him, and
believe me, the prisoner's patriotism
for "Deutschland ueber Alles" fades
away and he very willingly obeys the
orders of his captor. If, however, the
prisoner gets high-toned and refuses to
follow you, simply "persuade" him by
first removing his tin hat, and then
well, he uce of the lead weight in the
persuader is demonstrated, and Tom
my looks for another prisoner.
The knuckle knife is a dagger affair,
the blade of which i3 about eight
inches long with a heavy steel guard
over the grip. This guard is studded
with steel projections. At night in a
trench, which is only about three to
four feet wide, it makes a very handy
weapon. One punch in the face gen
erally shatters a man's jaw and you
can get him with the knife as he goes
down.
Then we had what we called our
"come-alongs." These are strands of
Daruea wire anout three feet 1 long,
made into a noose at one end; at the
other end the barbs are ait off and
Tommy slips his wrist through a loop
to get a good grip on the wire. If the
prisoner wants to argue the point, why
just place the large loop around his
neck and no matter if Tommy wishes
to return to his trenches at the walk,
trot, or gallop, Fritz is perfectly agree
able to maintain Tommy's rate of
speed.
We were ordered to black our faces
and hands. For this reason ; At night,
the English and Germans use what
they call star shells, a sort of rocket
affair. They are fired from a large
pistol about twenty Inches long, which
Is held over the sandbag parapet of the
trench, and discharged into the air.
These star shells attain a height of
about sixty feet, and a range of from
fifty to seventy-five yards. When they
hit the ground they explode, throwing
out a strong calcium light which lights
up the ground in a circle of a radius of
between ten to-fifteen yards. They
also have a parachute star shell which,
after reaching a height of about sixty
feet, explodes. A parachute unfolds
and slowly floats to the ground, light
ing up a large circle in No Man's Land.
The official name of the star shell is
a "Very-light." Very-lights are used
to prevent nlht surprise attacks on
the trenches. If a star shell falls in
front of you, or between you and the
German lines, you are safe from detec
tion, as the enemy cannot see yon
through the bright curtain of light.
But if it falls behind you and, as Tom
my says, "you get in the star shell
zone," then the fun begins; you have
to He flat on your stomach and remain
absolutely motionless until the light of
the shell dies out. This takes any
where from forty to seventy seconds.
If you haven't time to fall to the
ground you must remain absolutely
still in whatever position you were in
when the light exploded; it is advis
able not to breathe, as Fritz has an
eye like an eagle when he thinks you
are knocking at his door. When a star
shell Is burning in Tommy's rear he
can hold his breath for a week.
You blacken your face and hands so
that the light from the star shells will
.not reflect on your pale face. In a
trench raid there is quite sufficient
reason for your face to be pale. If you
don't believe me, try It just once.
Then another reason for blackening
your face and hands Is that, after you
have entered the German trench at
night, "white face" means Germans,
"black face" English. Coming around
a traverse you see a white face In
front of you. With a prayer and wish
ing Fritz "the best o' luck," you intro
duce him to your "persuader" or
knuckle knife.
A little later we arrived at the com
munication trench named Whisky
street, which led to the fire trench at
the point we were, to go over the top
and out in front.
In our rear were four stretcher bear
ers and a corporal of the R. A. M. C.
carrying a. pouch containing medicines
and first-aid appliances. Kind of a
grim reminder to us that our expedi
tion was not going to be exactly a pic
nic. The order of things was reversed.
In civilian life the doctors generally
come first, with the undertakers tag
ging In the rear and then the insur
ance man, but In our case, the under
takers were leading, with the doctors
trailing behind, minus the insurance
adjuster.
The presence of the R. A. M. C. men
did not seem to disturb the raiders, be
cause many a Joke made in an under
tone, was passed along the winding
column, as to who would be first to
take a ride on one of the stretchers.
This was generally followed by a wish
that, if you were to be the one, the
wound would be a "cushy Blighty
one."
The stretcher bearers, no doubt,
hoping that, if they did have to carry
anyone to the rear, he would be small
and light. Perhaps they looked at me
when wishing, because I could feel an
uncomfortable, boring sensation be
tween my shoulder blades. They got
their wish all right.
Going up this trench, about every
sixty yards or so we would pass a lone
ly sentry, who In a whisper would
wish us "the best o' luck, mates." We
would blind at him under our breaths ;
that Jonah phrase to us sounded very
ominous.
Without any casualties the minstrel
troop arrived at Suicide ditch, the
front-line trench. Previously, a wiring
party of the Royal Engineers had cut
a lane through our barbed wire to en
able us to get out into No Man's Land."
Crawling through this lane, our
party of twenty took up an extended
order formation about one yard apart.
We had a ta"p code arranged for our
movements while in No Man's Land,
because for various reasons it is not
Over the Top
sale fo carry on a BeaTed conversation
a few yards in front of Fritz lines.
The officer was on the. right of the
line, while I was on the extreme left.
Two taps from the right would be
passed down the line until I received
them, then I would send back one tap.
The officer, in receiving this one tap,
would know that his order had gone
down the whole line, had been under
stood, and that the party was ready
to obey the two-tap signal. Two taps
meant that we were to crawl forward
slowly and believe me, very slowly
for five 3Tards, and then halt to await
further Instructions. Three taps meant,
when you arrived within striking dis
tance of the German trench, rush it
and inflict as many casualties as pos
sible, secure a couple of prisoners, and
then back to your own lines with the
speed clutch open. Four taps meant,
"I have gotten you Into a position from
which it is impossible for me to extri
cate you, so you are on your own."
After getting Tommy into a mess on
the western front he is generally told
that he is "on his own." This means,
"Save your skin in any way possible.'
Tommy loves to be "on his own" behind
the lines, but not during a trench raid.
The star shells from the German
lines were falling in front of us, there
fore we were safe. After about twen
ty minutes we entered the star shell
zone. A star shell from the German
lines fell about five yards in the rear
and to the right of me ; we hugged the
ground and held our breath until it
burned out. The smoke from the star
shell traveled along the ground and
crossed over the middle of our line
Some Tommy sneezed. The smoke had
gotten up his nose. We crouched on
the ground, cursing the offender under
our breath, and waited the volley that
generally ensues when the Germans
have heard a noise in No Man's Land.
Nothing happened. We received two
taps and crawled forward slowly for
five yards; no doubt the officer be
lieved what Old Pepper had said, "Per
sonally I believe that that part of the
German trench Is unoccupied." By be
ing careful and remaining motionless
when the star shells fell behind us, we
reached the German barbed wire with
out mishap. Then the fun began. I
was scared stiff as it is ticklish work
cutting your way through wire when
about thirty feet in front of you there
is a line of Boches looking out into No
Man's Land with .their rifles lying
across the parapet, straining every
sense to see or hear what is going on
In No Man's Land; because at night,
Fritz never knows when a bomb with
his name and number on it will come
hurtling through the air aimed in the
direction of Berlin. The man on the
right, one man In the center and my
self on the extreme left were equipped
with wire cutters. These are insulated
with soft rubber not because the Ger
man wires are charged with electricity,
but to prevent the cutters rubbing
against the barbed wire stakes, which
are of iron, and making a noise
which may warn the inmates of the
trench that someone is getting fresh
in their front yard. There is only one
way to cut a barbed wire without noise
and through costly experience Tommy
has become an expert in doing this.
You must grasp the wire about two
inches from the stake in your right
hand and cut between the stake and
your hand.
If you cut a wire improperly, a
loud twang will ring out on the night
air like the snapping of a banjo
string. Perhaps this noise can be
heard only for fifty or seventy-five
yards, but in Tommy's mind it makes
a loud noise in Berlin.
We had cut a lane about halfway
through the wire when, down the cen
ter of our line, twang! went an im
properly cut wire. We crouched dowil,
cursing under our breath, trembling all
over, our knees lacerated from the
strands of the cut barbed wire on the
ground, waiting for a challenge and
the Inevitable volley of rifle fire. Noth
ing happened. I suppose the fellow
who cut the barbed wire Improperly
was the one who had sneezed about
half an hour previously. What we
wished him would never make his new
year a happy one.
The officer, in my opinion, at the
noise of the wire should have given the
four-tap signal, which meant, "On your
own, get back to your trenches as
quickly as possible," but again he must
have relied on the spiel that Old Pep
per had given us in the dugout, "Per
sonally I believe that that part of the
German trench is unoccupied." Any
way, we got careless, but not so care
less that we sang patriotic songs or
made any unnecessary noise.
During the Intervals of falling star
shells we carried on with our wire cut
ting until at last we succeeded in get
ting through the German barbed wire.
At this point we were only ten feet
from the German trenches. If we were
In a Charge.
Receiving First Aid.
discovered, we were like rats in a trap.
Our way was cut off unless we ran
along the wire to the narrow lane we
had cut through. With our hearts in
our mouths we waited for the three
tap signal to rush the German trench.
Three taps had gotten about halfway
down the line when suddenly about ten
to twenty German star shells were
fired all along the trench and landed
in the barbed wire in rear of us, turn
ing night into day and silhouetting us
against the wall of light made by the
flares. In the glaring light we were
confronted by the following unpleasant
scene.
All along the German trench, at
about three-foot intervals, stood a big
Prussian guardsman with his rifle at
the aim, and then we found out why
we had not been challenged when the
man sneezed and the barbed wire had
been Improperly cut. About three feet
in front of the trench they had con
structed a single fence of barbed wire
and we knew our chances were one
thousand to one of returning alive.
We could not rush their trench on ac
count of this second defense. Then
in front of me the challenge, "Halt,"
given in English rang out, and one of
the finest things I have ever heard on
the western front took place.
From the middle of our line some
Tommy answered the challenge with,
"Aw, go to li 1." It must have been
the man who had sneezed or who had
improperly cut the barbed wire ; he
wanted to show Fritz that he could
die game. Then came the volley. Ma
chine guns were turned loose and sev
eral bombs were thrown in our rear.
The Boche in front of me was looking
down his sight. This fellow might
have, under ordinary circumstances,
been handsome, but when I viewed him
from the front of his rifle he had the
goblins of childhood Imagination rele
gated to the shade.
Then came a flash in front of me, the
flare of his rifle and my head seemed
to burst. A bullet had hit me on the
left side of my face about half an
Inch from my eye, smashing the cheek
bones. I put my hand to my face and
fell forward, biting the ground and
kicking my feet. I thought I was dy
ing, but, do you know, my past life did
not unfold before me the way it does
In novels.
The blood was streaming down my
tunic, and the pain was awful. When
I came to I said to myself, "Emp, old
boy, you belong In J.ersey City, and
you'd better get back there as quickly
as possible."
The bullets were cracking overhead.
I crawled a few feet back to the Ger
man barbed wire, and in a stooping po
sition, guiding myself by the wire, I
went down the line looking for the
lane we had cut through. Before
reaching this lane I came to a limp
form which seemed like a bag of oats
hanging over the wire. In the dim
light I could see that its hands were
blackened, and knew It was the body
of one of my mates. I put my hand
on his head, the top of which had been
blown off by a bomb. My fingers sank
Into the hole. I pulled my hand back
full of blood and brains, then I went
crazy with fear and horror and rushed
along the wire until I came to our
lane. I had just turned down this lane
when something inside of me seemed
to say, "Look around." I did so ; a bul
let caught me on the left shoulder, it
did not hurt much, just felt as if some
one had punched me in the back, and
then my left side went numb. My arm
was dangling like a rag. I fell forward
In a sitting position. But all the fear
had left me and I was consumed with
rage and cursed the German trenches.
With my right hand I felt in my tunic
for my first-aid or shell dressing. In
feeling over my tunic my hand came
in contact with one of the bombs which
I carried. Gripping it, I pulled the pin
out with my teeth and blindly threw it
towards the German trench. I must
have been out of my head, because I
wasxonly ten feet from the trench and
took a chance of being mangled. If
the bomb had failed to go into the
trench I would have been blown to
bits by the explosion of my own bomb.
By the flare of the explosion of the
bomb, which iuckily landed In. their
trench, I saw one big, Boche throw up
his arms and fall backwards, while his
rifle flew Into the air. Another one
wilted and fell forward across the
sandbags then blackness.
Realizing what a foolhardy and risky
thing I had done, I was again seized
witha llQjaJiXenT,, I dragged myself
to" my feet "and ran madly'down" tfie
lane through the barbed wire, stum
bling over cut wires, tearing my uni
form, and lacerating my hands and
legs. Just as I was about to reach
No Man's Land again, that same voice
seemed to say, "Turn around." I did
so, when, "crack," another bullet
caught me, this time in the left shoul
der about one-half Inch away from the
other wound. Then It was taps for me.
The lights went out.
When I came to I was crouching In
a hole in No Man's Land. This shell
hole was about three feet deep, so that
it brought my head a few Inches below
the level of the ground. How I reached
this hole I will never know. German
"typewriters" were traversing back
and forth in No Man's Land, the bul
lets biting the edge of my shell hole
and throwing dirt all over me.
Overhead shrapnel was bursting.
I could hear the- fragments slap the
ground. Then I went out once more.
When I came to everything was silence
and darkness in No Man's Land. I
was soaked with blood and a big flap
from the wound in my cheek was hang
ing over my mouth. The blood run
ning from this flap choked me. Out of
the corner of my mouth I would try
and blow it back, but it would not
move. I reached for my shell dressing
and tried, with one hand, to bandage
my face to prevent, the flow. I had
an awful horror of bleeding to' death
and was getting very faint. You would
have laughed if you had seen my
ludicrous attempts at bandaging with
one hand. The pains in my wounded
shoulder were awful and I was getting
sick at the stomach. I gave up the
bandaging stunt as a bad job, and then
fainted.
When I came to, hell was let loose.
An intense bombardment was on, and
on the whole my position was decided
ly unpleasant. Then, suddenly, our
barrage ceased. The silence almost
hurt, but not for long, because Fritz
turned loose with shrapnel, machine
guns, and rifle fire. Then all along our
line came a cheer and our boys came
over the top in a charge. The first
wave was composed of "Jocks." They
were a magnificent sight,.kilts, flapping
In the wind, bare knees showing, and
their bayonets glistening. In the first
wave that passed my shell hole, one of
the "Jocks," an immense fellow, about
six feet two Inches In height jumped
right over me. On the right and left
of me several soldiers in colored kilts
were huddled on the ground, then over
came the second wave, also "Jocks."
One young Scottie, " when he came
abreast of my shell hole, leaped into
the air, his rifle shooting out of his
hands, landing about six feet in front
of him, bayonet first, and stuck in the
ground, the butt trembling. This Im
pressed me greatly.
Right now I can see the butt of that
gun trembling. The Scottie made a
complete turn in the air, hit the
ground, rolling over twice, each time
clawing at the earth, and then re
mained still, about four feet from me,
in a sort of sitting position. I called to
him, "Are you hurt badly, Jock?" but
no answer. He was dead. A dark red
smudge was coming through his tunic
right under the heart. The blood ran
down his bare knees, making a horrible
sight. On his right side he carried his
water bottle. I was crazy for a drink
and tried to reach this, but for the life
of, me could not negotiate . that four
feet,. Then . I became unconscious.
When Twoke up I wasTln an 'advanced
first-aid post. I asked the doctor If
we had taken the trench. "We took
the trench and the wood beyond, all
right," he said, "and you fellows did
your bit ; but, my lad, that was thirty-
six hours ago. You were lying in No
Man's Land in that bally hole for a day
and a half. It's a wonder you are alive."
He also told me that out of the twenty
that were in the raiding party, seven
teen were killed. The officer dted of
wounds In crawling back to our trench
and I was severely wounded, but one
fellow returned without a scratch, with
out any prisoners. No doubt this chap
was the one who had sneezed and Im
properly cut the barbed wire.
In the official communique our trench
raid was described as follows :
"All quiet on the western front, ex
cepting in. the neighborhood of Gom
mecourt wood, where one of our raid
ing parties penetrated Into the German
lines."
It is needless to say that we had no
use for our persuaders or come-alongs,
as we brought back no prisoners, and
until I die Old Pepper's words, "Per
sonally I don't believe that that part
of the German trench is occupied," will
always come to me when I hear some
fellow trying to get away with a fishy
statement. I will Judge it accordingly.
(To be Continued.)
The West Point
of New England
Norwich University
NORTHFIELD, VERMONT
An ideal Vermont institution with a National reputation;
a college where Vermont boys are generously aided in becoming
useful to their country and to themselves.
The only college in New England classified as
"Distinguished M. C." by the War Department.
The only Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Cav
alry Unit in the United States.
$100.00 SCHOLARSHIP
For Vermont Boys
By act of the legislature a $ioo scholarship is provided for
it . i if i t- 4.1 . t . :
M every Vermont stuaem enroneu
interested.
Courses leading to degrees in Civil Engineering, Electrical
Engineering, Chemical Engineering. Long lists of successful
graduates in Civil and Electrical Engineering and other civil
professions.
The Norwich War Record
Judge for yourself what Norwich is doing in this war.
The number of living N. U. men, 1540; number already serving,
408. Per cent of service, 26.5; number of men of military age,
753; per cent of service, 54.2; number of commissioned officers,
251; per cent of commissioned officers, 61.5. More than 60 of
the officers hold commissions higher than second lieutenants,
among which are one Rear Admiral, four Brig. Generals, and
two Colonels. First military institution outside West Point.
First institution to offer entire plant to the government upon
declaration of war in 1917.
Enroll now. Full particulars by addressing
Dean H. R. Roberts, Northfield, Vt.
At the Touch of
In camp, summer cottage or in your home the Mew
Perfection Oil Cook Stove is always ready for
instant service.
No ashes to shake down no
1 crt-nve convenience' and comfort with V
kerosene, if you use the New Perfection. Its long blue
chimney insures clean, intense heat, free from soot and
odor. 3,000,000 now in use prove its popularity and worth.
Made in 1, 2, 3 and 4-burner sizes, with or without cabi
net top. Also 4-burner stove with cabinet top and heat
retaining oven complete.
Ask your .dealer about the New Perfection Kerosene
Water Heaters and the regular New Perfection oven.
For best results use SO-CO-NY Kerosene every drop
clean heat
THE STANDARD OIL CO. OF NEW YORK
Commissioners' Notice
Estate of Cordelia Cutler
THE UNDERSIGNED, havlnsc been ap
pointed by the Honorable Probate Court for
the District of Orleans, COMMISSIONERS,
to receive, examine and adjust the claims
and demands of all persons nprnlnst the
estate of Cordelia Cutler late of Barton in
said district deceased, and all claims exhlt
ltedin offset thereto.hereby Rive notice that
we will meet for the purpose aforesaid at
the office of W.M. Wright In the villnjreof
Rarton in said district, on the 1st day of
June and the lHh dny of September
next from nine o'clock n. in., until four
o'clock p. m.,on each of said dnys and that
six months from the 2flth day of April
A. D. Ittl8, is the time limited by sulci court
for said creditors to present their claims to
us for examination and allowance.
Dated at Barton this Cth day of May
A. D. 1918.
W. M. WRIOIIT
C. S. WEBSTER .
19-21 Commissioners
Commissioners' Notice
Estate of Burrill Lane
THE UNDERSIGNED, having been ap
pointed by the Honorable Probate Court
for the District of Orleans, COMMISSION
ERS, to receive, examine, and adjust the
claims and demands of all persons against
the estate of Burrill Lane, late of
Barton in said District, deceased, and all
claims exhibited in offset thereto, hereby
give notice that we will meet for t he purpose
aforesaid at the store of C. S. Stevens in the
village of Orleans in said district
on the 4th day of June and 22d day of
October next from 2 o'clock p. m. until 4
o'clock p. m. on each of said days and that
six months from the 3d day of May, A.
D. 19181s the time limited by said Court for
said creditors to present their claims toua
for examination and allowance.
Dated at Barton this 13th day of May,
A. D. 1918.
O. S. STEVENS
A. A. PATTEN
20-22 Commissioners
uu uti mux means vuuium is
the Match ,
fire to build -