Brewster 'A Glimpse of War through a Private's Eyes', a retrospective account of experiences in World War I, 1915-1917 / John James Brewster - Page 153
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[Page 153]
parapet or just to the rear of the "dug out", would throw up a heap of dirt & mud with terrific force, for a which the "ducking" of the head was almost continuous however it did not take very long even to get used to this, only when an extra large shell burst close, would the ducking continue & after a while even with these if the heads moved at all they only seemed to do so, with the force of the concussion.
As the darkening shades of evening drew in the scene appeared to become worse, & worse, the very air itself seemed as if being torn to pieces, & almost every one wondered if this stupendous bombardment continued for long, how much of this, or any other "bay" would be left.
Shortly after, the information of our first casualty reached us, one [indecipherable] the men in the bay on the left had the top of his head blown off by a shell, & shortly after a corporal in a bay on the right was killed. These incidents did not tend to raise the spirits.
Having nothing else to do but stand quiet & see that nothing was taking place in the Hun line, the Scene presented an awful, but at the same time a sadly grand sight. What with the brilliant lights given off by thousands of "flares & by evident Rocket signals of various gorgeously colored lights in red green orange & other colors, in threes & fours, in line, triangle, & diamond formations, the burst of "Star" Shells & the floating balloon like lights turned night darkness, into the brilliance of broad daylight, marred by the Cloudlike bursts from thousands of shells of all kinds. Apart from the continuous roar of the guns of smaller calibre the deep boom of the heaviest could be heard, occasionally, high up, through the din. Shells of every size, kind, & description were being sent either way making the night hideous & yet the sight although so frightfully