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 503
You are here
Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 503]
to carry the wounded man back the Huns landed a shell fair amongst the party killing three, wounding two. & shell shocking the others so badly that for some time they would be useless, it is problematic if ever, they would regain their nerve.
All that Monday afternoon & night the men posted on the front line had nothing to do but keep watch so as to report if anything happened or looked like happening on the ridge, then being strengthened by the Huns. Again their instructions were not to fire, to give away the position. That thinly held front line had received instructions that any counter attack had to be stopped at all costs, and each post must be held.
From such an excellent view point, as the top of the ridge afforded, the Huns could plainly see that our men were posted on the edge of the wood & their batteries had kept up a ceaseless fire but without actually "getting" any of the "posts".
Their guns could not have been more than a mile & a half away for the shells were just clearing the top of the sunken road. This fire made it very dangerous to expose any portion of the body to view, only the men taking their turns on Sentry duty were looking over the parapet, keeping the top of their tin helmets just level with the bank. Although these shells were just missing the parapet they were bursting harmlessly about 15 or 20 yards back amongst the trunks & branches of the fallen timber, this timber evidently smothering the spread of most of the bullets when each shell burst.
In addition to this fire batteries were periodically "traversing" the whole of the wood. Starting at the top end they "traversed" from side to side working right down to the bottom or the front of the wood. At intervals this was kept going night & day.
No man dare get up out of the trench for a stretch or a walk