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[Page 36]
Then, right along the front for as far as we can see on either side of us, the howitzers and 9.2 naval guns lit the sky during the whole night with their incessant pounding. There were half a doz. or a dozen explosions per second of these gigantic guns. We have since heard that Baupaume, as a town, is no more, and the Huns and their carefully prepared lines of communication, are blown to pieces. For this little piece of work, Fritz gave us nothing in return. I can imagine the morning paper – General Douglas Haig Reports "All quiet on the Western Front. There was an artillery demonstration opposite Baupaume on the Somme Front" . That's all. Yes, but Fritz had a bad night's rest. Our huts shook like rickety barns in a storm, & things fell off shelves.
This morning, a dozen or so naval guns have come back down the line. They are drawn by railway engines, which have to pull them back into position each time after they fire, so great is the recoil. All over the hills round about us are the second lines taken during the Somme push, about last August. These trenches are a revelation. We can safely say, although they are now in France, that they were "Made in Germany" . All dugouts are lined & supported with timber, all sawn & packed, ready to be fitted, from far behind the line.
The underground hospitals are very large. They are warm & cosy, and some contain hundreds of beds. Many are lit with electric light, & all have stoves. The highest explosive shells rarely reach them. In one hospital, right opposite us, a shaft of wooden steps leads down nearly one hundred feet. But the air is foul and a candle will not burn. A notice proclaims it dangerous air. In the bottom is a ward. A strong torch shows several German nurses & doctors lying about, dead & frozen. After taking the timber, on which the Tommy Engineers are working now, it is to be blown up, and this tragedy of the Great War will be hidden in the cold heart of mother earth, a secret