Show t n nIl I Il in ln I lOP lOPs I og s Al AN AlII mO iY N h It Z WHO VENT I c 1 J s. s MACHINE JU FRANC C 1917 DY nY R tuf SY SYNOPSIS O 18 CHAPTER I I Fired by the news of the sinking of or the Lusitania by a a. Gorman German submarine Arthur Arthur- Guy Quy Empey an American American Ameri Amert can lea leaves his In Jersey City and goes frees to England where hero he enlists in to the Uie British army II After It-After After r a period of t training train t rt f lr ct tn ing Empey volunteers o t for r Immediate dl c service ice ico and 10 onn finds himself In rest billets r In Trance France where he first makes the acquaintance of the tho over pres ent pres-ent cir R III III-Empey III attends his first church services er at the front while a German Ger Ger- German man Fokker circles over the congregation IV IV IV-Empey's Empey's command goes gots Into the line front trenches and aull Is under fire for tor tN the first time U n V V V-Empey Empey learns to a adopt opt the tho motto of the DrUsh Tommy If you arts are going to got get It you'll sot got it It so eo never worry CHAPTER n. it VI Back VI-Back Back In rest billets Empey Empey Em Em- pey gets frets his first nut experience as a 0 rues maw o orderly learns how bow the It VII VII VII-Empey Empey British soldiers are fed u tt Vin Vila-kJacK Vila BacK in to urn Uie uno ironi-uno trench E V ney cy icy sees his first friend of ot the trenches trenches' eo ro 10 West Vet When tiu I i body was lowered l 1 Into td the Ule grave the flag ng having been removed we wo clicked cH kc d our ocr heels together l' l and cameto came to the salute I I left rt b before fore the grave Brave was was filled In I co could ld not bear to see the dirt thrown on the tile covered blanket face tace of my ray com com- rade On On the western front there areno aro are no coffins and ond you are lucky y to get a ft blanket to protect you yon from the wet vet and the worms Several of ot the se section see sec tion Uon stayed and decorated the grave with white ston stones That night In the light of ot a lonely candle In the Ule machine gunners gunner's dugout of the line front-line trench I wrote two letters One to Petea Petes mother the theL L other to his sweetheart While doing this I. I I cursed the Prussian war god w. w with i all my ray heart henrt and I think that St St. Streter ret reter r noted a Mot sonne The machine gunners In the dugout were were laughing and Joking To them Pete was unknown n. n Pretty soon In the warmth of ot their merriment my blues disappeared One soon forgets on the western front fronts s I CHAPTER IX rj I Ii i. i 1 Suicide Annex i I was In my first dugout and looked around curiously Over the door of Same came was a little sign reading Suicide Sui cide clde Annex AnneL One of the tile boys bors told one me that this particular front trench WOE lass s called Suicide Ditch Later ou ouI I learned that machine gunners and hers h K rs are known as the Suicide pUb i I That dugout was muddy The Tho men mea Slept Id In mud washed hi W mud ate mud and dreamed mud I had never before that so 80 much discomfort and mIsery could be contained In those three little letters M MUD U D The floor of pf p the hc dugout was an Inch de deep p in water Outside It was raining cats and dog Bogs og and thin rivulets were trickling down o the steps From the air shaft Immediately above me came a drip drip trip drip Suicide Annex was a hole bolo eight Ight feet wide ten feet teet long and six feet feet high It was about twenty feet below the fire trench at least there were twenty steps leading down to it It These steps were cut Into the earth but at that time were muddy and slip slip slippery pery A man had hud to be very careful or or else he would shoot the chutes The Tho air was foul and you could cut the smoke from Tommys Tommy's fags fogs with a knife It was cold The walls and roof root w were ere supported with heavy square cut timbers while the entrance was was' strengthened with sandbags Nails alls had been en driven driven into these timbers On Qa enon nun nan nung a miscellaneous assortment assortment assort assort- m ment nt of equipment The lighting a arrangements art ar- were superb superb one one ne candle In a n reflector made from an ammunition ammunition tion tin My teeth were chattering from front the cold and the drip from the shaft alt did dill not help matters mutters much While I was sitting bemoaning my fate and wishing for the fireside at home the fellow next neat to me who was writing 1 a It letter looked ed up and Innocently Innocently innocently Inno Inno- asked Say Yank Tank how bow do you spell conflagration I looked at him in contempt and answered answered an an- that I did not k know ow From the the darkness in one ono of ot the corners corners corners cor cor- ners came n a thin piping voice singing one of ot the popular trench ditties entitled entitled en en- titled Pack up your Troubles In your our Old KitBag Kit Alt KitBag Bag and Smile Smile Smile Every err now and then the singer would stop stop to cough cough cough but It was a good illustration of Tommys Tommy's cheerfulness under r such conditions A machine gun officer entered the dugout and gave me mo a n hard look I sneaked p past st him Wm sliding pad and slipping sUpping and reach reached l my section of the front front- frontline line trench where I wl wits was s greeted by bythe bythe bythe the sergeant who asked me me Wherein Where In la a ave ve you yott been 1 I made no answer but sat Rat on the muddy fire step shivering with the cold and with the rain beating In my face farce About half halt an hour Inter later I It t teamed umed up with another fellow tellow and went on guard with my head sticking sUcking over the top At ten teo o'clock I was relieved and resumed my sitting position position tion on the fire step The rain end sud- N NH Nv q p H d v I P r y 8 I Taking Provisions ns to the Front demy Genry stopped and we all breathed a sigh of relief We prayed for the mornIng morning morn morn- morning ing and the rum issue CH CHAPTER X ta t th h nhe n- n he The Days Day's Work I was fast last learning that there Is 19 a regular regular- routine about the work of ot the trenches although It is badly upset at times Umes by the Germans The real work In the fire trench commences at sundown Tomm Tommy Is like a burglar he works at night Just as It begins to get dark durk the word stand to is passed from traverse traverse trav tray erse erne to traverse and the men get busy The first relief consisting of ot two mento mento men mento to a traverse mount the fire step one mun man looking over the top while theother the theother theother other sits at his fe feet t read ready to carry messages or to inform the platoon officer om- om eel of any report made by the sentry as to his observations In No Mans Man's Land The sentry is not allowed to relax his watch for a second If he is questioned from the trench or asked his orders he replies without turning around or taking his eyes from the ex ex- expanse expanse pause of ot dirt in lu front of him The remainder remainder remainder re re- re- re of ot the occupants of his traverse traverse traverse trav trav- erse either sit on the fire s step tep with bayonets fixed ready reldy for any emergency emergency emergency emer emer- gency or if It luck lucky and a a. dugout happens hap pens to be In the near vicinity of the tho traverse erse and if the night Is quiet they are arc permitted to go to same samo and und try and snatch a few winks of sleep Little sleeping Is done generally the men sit around smoking fags ings and seeing who can tell the biggest lie Some of them perhaps with their feet In water would write home sympathizing with the governor because he was laid up with willi a cold contracted by hy getting his feet wet on his way woy to werk work In la Woolwich Wool Wool- wick arsenal If a man should manage to doze off oft likely as us nol not he would wake with a n start as the tho clammy cold feet teet vt oP Q a a. rat passed over hl his face ce or the tho thor thoI I r next lieU relief stepped d on aD Ate fus stomach I while stumbling on their way to relieve the tho sentries In the trench Just try to sleep with a belt full tull of ammunition around you your rifle bolt biting ng into your jour our ribs tool handle sticking sUcking into the small of ot your back with a tin hat for tor a pillow and feeling very damp and cold with cooties c bor boring ng for oil in your armpits armpits armpits arm arm- pits the air foul from the stench of ot grimy human bodies and smoke from a n juicy pipe being whiffed whirred Into your jour our nostrils nostrils nos nos- trUs then you will not wonder onder why Tommy occasionally takes a n turn inthe in inthe the trench for a rest While in a frontlIne front trench orders forbid Tommy from removing his boots puttees clothing or equipment The cooties take advantage of ot this order and mobilize their forces and Tommy swears vengeance on them and mutters to himself Just wait walt until I hit rest billets and nm am able to get myown my myown myown own bac back Just before d daj daylight light the men turn to and tumble out of ot the dugouts manthe man manthe manthe the fire firo step until It gets light or the welcome order stand down Is given ghen Sometimes before stand down own Is ordered ordered ordered or or- dered the tho command five rounds rapId rapId rapId rap rap- Id is passed along the tho trench This means menns that each ench man must rest his rifle on the top and fire as rapidly as possible t five shots aimed toward the tile German trenches and then duck with the emphasis on the duck There Isa is isa isa a great rivalry between en the opposing forces to get their rapid fire all aU off of first because the early bird In this Instance Instance In In- n stance catches the worm worm sort sort of ot gets the jump on the other feU fellow ow catching him unawares We had hod a sergeant In our battalion named Warren He was on duty on-duty duty with his platoon in the the fire trench one afternoon afternoon afternoon after after- noon when orders came up from the tho rear that he lie had been granted sev seven n days' days leave for Blighty BUS and would be relieved ed at five fhe o'clock to proceed to England He lIe was tickled to death at nt these welcome tidings and regaled his more or less les envious mates beside him on the fire step with the tho good times In etore store for him He figured it out that in two days' days time he would arrive at Waterloo station London and then- then seven days' days bliss bUss I At about five live minutes to five e ho started to fidget with his rifle and then suddenly springing up on the fire step with a 11 muttered Ill IU send over overa overn a n couple of souvenirs sou to to Fritz so that hell he'll miss me when I leave he stuck his rifle over over the top and fired tw two o shots when crack went vent a bullet and he her r r N I Y r I Lewis Gun in Action tumbled off ore the step fell tell Into the mud at the bottom of ot the tren trench h and lay still In a 0 huddled heap with a bullet hole In his forehead At about the time he expected to arrive ar nr- rive at Waterloo station he was laid to rest in a little cemetery behind the lines He had gone to Blighty In the trenches one can cnn never tell tell teU- It is not safe to plan very far ahead After stand down the men sit on the fire step or repair to their their- respective respective tive live dugouts and wait walt for the rum Is Issue issue Is- Is sue to materialize Immediately following followIng following fol fol- lowing the rum rum comes breakfast brought up from the rear Sleeping Is then In order unless some special work turns up Around 1230 dinner dinner- shows up When this Is eaten the men try to amuse themselves until tea appears at about four o'clock then stand to and they carry carryon on as before While In rest billets Tommy gets up about six elc in n the morning washes up answers roll call is Inspected by his platoon officer and has breakfast At 8 45 he parades drills with his company company company com com- pany or goes on fatigue according to the orders which have been rend read out by the orderly sergeant the night pre pre- Between 11 1130 30 and noon he lie is dismissed dismissed dismissed dis dis- missed has his dinner and Is on his own for tor the remainder of ot the day unless ss he has clicked for a n digging or working party and so It goes on from day to day cloy always looping the loop and ond looking forward to peace pence and Blighty mighty Sometimes while engaged In a cootie hunt you think Strange to say but It Is a fact while Tommy is searching his shirt serious thoughts come to him Many a time when performing performing performing per per- forming this operation I have tried to figure out the outcome of the war and what will happen to me My thoughts generally ran In this tills channel Will I emerge safely ly from the next ut 1 If It I do will I skin through tho the foil owl rig one and BO 0 on 7 While White your mind is wandering Into the future ItIs it itIs Is 18 likely to bo be rudely brought to earth by a Tommy Interrupting with good for rheumatism Then you yon have something else elso to think Will you yon come out of this war crippled and tied Into knots with rheumatism caused by the wet and mud of at trenches and du dugouts out You give It up as a bad Job and generally saunter over to the nearest e to drown your mood moody forebodings In a glass of sickening French beer or to try your your- luck at the always present game of ot house You Yon can cnn hear henr the song sing voice of ot a Tommy droning out the numbers as he extracts the little squares of at cardboard from the bag between his feet teet CHAPTER XI Over the tho Top On my second trip to the trenches our officer was making his rounds of Inspection and we received the cheerful cheerful cheer cheer- ful tul news that at nt four tour In the morning we were to go over the top tov and take the German line front trench My heart turned io fo lend Then the officer car carried card n ried ed on with his Instructions To the best of my memory I recall them as follows fiAt JAt eleven cleven a wiring party will go out In front and cut lanes through our barbed wire for tor the passage of ot troops In the morning At two o'clock our nut artillery will open up with nn on Intense intense In In- in- in tense bombardment which will last until until until un un- til four tour Upon the lifting of at the barrage barrage bar bar- rage rR the first t of the three waves willo will so o 0 over ov I Then he left Some of ot the Tommies I lint fliM f t getting permission from froni f iii u 11 or o rent nl into the machine n 1 I. I and nd wrote letters home saying that t In the he morning they w. w were re going over the Uie top foP op and also that If It the letters reached their dt destination it would mean that the writer had been killed These letters were turned over to the captain with Instructions to mall mail same In the event of ot the writers writer's being killed Some of the men made out their wills In their pay books under the caption Will and Last Testament Testa Tests ment Then the racking nerve-racking wait walt com com- Every now and then I would glance at nt the dial of ot my wrist watch and was surprised to see how fast the minutes passed by About five minutes to two I got nervous waiting for tor our guns Juns to open up I could not take my eyes from my watch I crouched against the parapet and strained my muscles In a deathlike grip upon my rifle As the hands on my ray watch show showed ed two o'clock a blinding red flare lI lighted up the sky sly In our rear then thunder Intermixed with a n sharp w whistling whis his his- sound In the air over our heads The shells from our guns were speedIng speedIng speed speed- Ing tag on their way toward the German lines With one accord the men sprang up on the fire step and looked |