Sullivan letter diary, 27 October 1915-9 October 1917 / Eugene Sullivan - Page 268
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[Page 268]
distance from the front line early in the night before the attack. During our spell in town Fritz had blown in one end of the dug-out we were to occupy so we had to set to work immediately and build it up as securely as possible. We made a rough job of it and then retired to rest until the real work should commence.
In the early hours of the morning I was almost flung out of bed by a terrific explosion, which seemed to lift the whole place up, shake it from side to side, and then drop it again. Simultaneously a terrific bombardment commenced, through which it was impossible to hear one another speak. It was a regular tornado of sound punctuated by flashes of light. It reminded me of nothing so much as a terrific raging storm with both thunder and lightning.
Soon after, our work commenced, and I forgot everything else in endeavouring to assist in staunching the wounds of our heroes.
We were in for six days altogether and during that period I lost all count of time, having no regular sleep or meals but just snatching a little food and sleep as the opportunity presented itself.
Our men were delighted to have the opportunity to come to grips with the hun, after waiting for months in a trench, being constantly sniped at with shot and shell and seldom seeing anything of their enemy.
When they raced over the top with our barage, very few of the enemy waited to try conclusions with them, and the few who did, met with scant mercy. Everywhere along the line our boys reached their objective without much trouble, but then they had to dig in, and consolidate their positions, under a heavy barage from Fritz's artillery. The old trenches are of no use to us, as all his batteries have the range of them to a nicety and would very soon demolish them. In any case after our artillery has finished playing on his lines there is little more than a succession of shell holes left to denote what was once a trench.