*The Men in the Trenches.*
[Dated Oct. 13.]
On the firing line the men sleep and obtain shelter in dug-outs they
have hollowed or cut under the sides of the trenches. These refuges are
raised slightly above the bottom of the trench, so as to remain dry in
wet weather. The floor of the trench also is sloped for purposes of
draining. Some of the trenches are provided with overhead cover which
gives protection from the weather as well as from shrapnel balls and
splinters of shells. Considerable ingenuity has been exercised by the
men in naming these shelters. Among the favorite designations are the
"Hotel Cecil," the "Ritz Hotel," the "Billet-Doux Hotel," and the "Rue
Dormir."
On the road barricades also are to be found boards bearing this notice:
"This way to the Prussians."
Obstacles of every kind abound, and at night each side can hear the
enemy driving pickets for entanglements, digging _trous-de-loup_, or
working forward by sapping. In some places obstacles have been
constructed by both sides so close together that some wag suggested
that each side provide working parties to perform this fatigue duty
alternately, inasmuch as the work of the enemy is now almost
indistinguishable from ours, and serves the same purpose.
Quarries and caves, to which allusion already has been made, provide
ample accommodation for whole battalions, and most comfortable are these
shelters which have been constructed in them. The northern slopes of the
Aisne Valley fortunately are very steep, and this to a great extent
protects us from the enemy's shells, many of which pass harmlessly over
our heads, to burst in the meadows along the river bank.
At all points subject to shell fire access to the firing line from
behind is provided by communication trenches. These are now so good that
it is possible to cross in safety a fire-swept zone to the advance
trenches from billets in villages, bivouacs in quarries, or other places
where the headquarters of units happen to be.
It already has been mentioned that according to information obtained
from the enemy fifteen Germans were killed by a bomb dropped upon the
ammunition wagon of a cavalry column. It was thought at the time that
this might have been the work of one of our airmen, who reported that he
had dropped a hand grenade on this convoy, and had then got a bird's-eye
view of the finest display of fireworks he had ever seen. From
corroborative evidence it now appears that this was the case; that the
grenade thrown by him probably was the cause of the destruction of a
small convoy carrying field-gun and howitzer ammunition, which now has
been found a total wreck.
Along the road lie fourteen motor lorries, their iron skeletons twisted
and broken. Everything inflammable has been burned, as have the stripped
trees--some with split trunks--on either side of the road. Of the
drivers, nothing remains except tattered boots and charred scraps of
clothing, while the ground within a radius of fifty yards of the wagons
is littered with pieces of iron, split brass cartridge cases, which have
exploded, and some fixed-gun ammunition with live shells.
If it were possible to reconstruct this incident, if it was, in fact,
brought about as supposed, the grenade from the aeroplane must have
detonated on the leading lorry, on one side of the road, and caused the
cartridges carried by it to explode. Three vehicles immediately in the
rear must then have been set on fire, with a similar result. Behind
these are groups of four and two vehicles so jammed together as to
suggest that they must have collided in desperate attempts to stop. On
the other side of the road, almost level with the leading wagon, are
found more vehicles, which probably were fired by the explosion of the
first.
If this appalling destruction was due to one hand grenade, it is an
illustration of the potentialities of a small amount of high explosive
detonated in the right spot, while the nature of the place where the
disaster occurred, a narrow forest road between high trees, is a
testimony to the skill of the airmen.
It is only fair to add that some French newspapers claim this damage to
the enemy was caused by the action of a detachment of their dragoons.