Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 7]
fell dead within a few yards of the hole. Apart from this, I have no idea how the struggle progressed. Voices were plainly audible which I supposed to be Huns; accountable to the terrific shouting and squealing; Under the worse of extreme circumstances no Australian would act so weakly. Any moment I and my comrades expected a bomb or heavy mortar shell to fall amongst us, which would blow the excavation to atoms. The kind hand of Providence however spared us. As time elapsed the fighting gradually quietened; on the other hand my wounds caused extreme pain, and stiffness set in in every joint. Wilks (who originally through misadventure found this hole) bandaged my knee from a limited supply of dressing, (he left my back without a bandage). Many wounded lay around unable to move; this I discovered by hearing the awful groans of men in pain. The terrific storm of stick-bombs continued, until 4 p.m. and was succeeded by an awe- inspiring calm, accompanied by showers of rain, which soaked us to the very skin. Our real troubles then commenced.
I was just conscious of my surroundings, never-the-less I concluded that our boys had succeeded in taking the line; a few minutes later our own artillery opened a terrific barrage. Our astonishment was horribly realistic, inasmuch, it was obvious that the Huns held the position, thus securing the unwounded men in occupation of the trenches. The shells fell thickly, dozens bursting on the very brink of our covering shell-hole or crater (what the place really was I had not time to discover); fragments fell amongst us and struck our equipment, fortunately without inflicting further wounds. The duration of the barrage was tolerably short; followed by calm. Temby, who was able to stand, managed to peer across the field to ascertain our actual position. Within a few minutes he conveyed to us the dreaded and least expected news; we were surrounded and completely cut off, a thousand yards from our original line. Whilst observing, Temby caught a glimpse of unwounded Australians marching into the interior of the Hun lines; they were unarmed and securely guarded by sentries. Many of the brave lade were shot whilst attempting to free themselves, but