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 344
You are here
Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 344]
dogged them & they had to walk the whole way back. On arriving at their quarters again, more bad luck, for instead of having a dixie of hot stew & a "tot" of Rum, the quartermaster did not know anything about it. However some ones ears tingled the next morning.
The following afternoon, the raid was to take place the next night, one of the Subalterns had a talk with the men & said he thought it would be well to try & get closer than 40 yards to the Hun trench for he thought it would be better if we could find out if the Hun trench was held in any strength. He said he had obtained permission from the O/C of the Raiding party to go with ten men & he would try how close he could get. Of course if I find it only lightly held he laughingly said, I will "take" the trench & call up the Company to hold it.
This officer with ten men went out that night, caught the Huns when they were evidently relieving one another, jumped in the trench & took it. They saw one of the Huns coming in & fired on him but missed for he turned & went for his life.
The Company was called up & the trench occupied. The following night the raiding party was marched up & held that trench for the allotted time.
The Brigade on our left hearing that the 56th Battalion had taken a trench without the loss of a man decided to make a raid and also secure one. The men of the 8th Brigade got an awful cutting up. The Huns were evidently quite prepared. An urgent message from the 8th Brigade being sent to the 56th for 60 Volunteer Stretcher bearers.
In front of this "taken" Hun trench it was the Raiding party's duty to man a covering post which stretched about 150 to 200 yards in a segment of a circle till it nearly joined up the Hun trench a distance of between 25 & 50 yards separating the ends of the trenches, as near as distances could be judged in the bad light afforded on dark nights
This post was considered important yet sufficiently dangerous, that it would