BEHIND THE LINES
All front line infantry units in France are, like gypsies, moving all
the time. It is seldom we are out at rest at the same place twice
inside of six months. Rests are named according to the units that are
out of the trenches for that time. Battalion rests may be for seven or
ten days; brigade rest may be as long as two weeks; division rest may
last one month.
We call the time we are out of the line rest, but in reality we have a
strict period of training to undergo. At the same time there is a great
deal of amusement, without the danger attached to it that we have when
in the trenches.
The boys may start P.T. and B.F. (Physical Training and Bayonet
Fighting) for one hour. Then squad and company drill until noon or, if
an attack is to take place in the near future, they may be practicing
for the same by going over the tapes. In the afternoon they may be
given lectures, rifle practice, bombing, or Lewis gun drill. This may
continue until about 4:00 P.M., and then they are dismissed for the
balance of the day.
The Y.M.C.A. usually has moving picture theatres nearby for the benefit
of the troops in that vicinity. Football, baseball and boxing also play
a prominent part in keeping the men fit. In the evening there may be
a good concert given by the Y.M.C.A., probably winding up by a church
service. Thus the spiritual welfare of the boys is looked after. Spare
moments are spent writing letters.
During one of our rests at the little village called Villers-au-Bois,
the Town Major, who was a captain in one of the Imperial battalions,
after he had his staff get our officers and men the necessary
accommodation, informed us that the Middlesex battalion had been in
these billets a short time after the First Expeditionary Force had
landed in France.
When the First British Expeditionary Force landed in France, some
famous regiments came over with it. Among these were the Middlesex
regiment and the famous Scotch regiment, "The Black Watch." As the
Black Watch marched through the small French village, the following
dialogue took place between two old Frenchmen who saw them approaching.
The elder of the two turned to his companion and said in the patois
of the region: "Then it is true that Angleterre has no men! So she is
sending out the womans to fight!" The other Frenchman replied: "No,
no--they are not womans--for they have got moustaches." "_Sacre_,
_Sacre_," replied his friend, "I have it! This is the famous Middlesex
regiment."
During our rest at this small village, we had Canadian corps sports,
which were organised by the Y.M.C.A. The 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th
divisions had all their representatives. The latter division had only
a few units in the field, but it seemed to pull down the most honours.
This division has since been broken up and used to reinforce the other
four. Major-General Currie and his staff were present, as were all the
Canadian troops that were out of the line and not on duty. Our sports
consisted of running, short and long distance, baseball, and football,
the usual athletic performances. It was here that I saw Tom Longboat,
the famous Indian runner, compete, but he was beaten for first place in
a five-mile race by another Indian.
About six o'clock the same evening I noticed our observation balloons
were up. These balloons were about four miles behind our trenches and
three miles or so apart. They were taking advantage of the very clear
weather for observation purposes along the German lines and back areas.
It may not be out of place to describe an observation balloon. This is
a captive balloon fastened sometimes to a motor truck by long stout
ropes, and may be hauled along the road, if the Germans commence to
shell them with their explosive shells. The balloon is composed of one
elongated ballonette, inflated with hydrogen or some other kind of
light gas. A second internal ballonette is inflated with air, which is
required in order to maintain the shape of the balloon. By means of
the keel at the end, the balloon is oriented to the wind. On a clear
day the observation balloon rises to a height of 200 to 400 yards and
remains up for several hours, being occasionally pulled down to relieve
the observation officer who takes his position in the _nacelle_ or
basket beneath the balloon. From there he reports enemy movements by
telephone to headquarters.
I was watching an aeroplane flying very high in our direction and, as
our anti-aircraft shells were bursting beneath it, the little white
puffs of smoke of the shells' burst indicated to us that the aeroplane
was a Hun machine. Nothing seemed to daunt the aviator and as he
hovered over the observation balloon on my right I heard his machine
gun firing. A few bombs were dropped and the balloon took fire.
The observation officer in the meantime had jumped out of his basket.
He began to fall through space until his parachute opened. Then we
witnessed a thrilling race as the burning balloon and the officer
in his parachute began to descend to the ground, pursued by the Hun
aviator who was using his machine gun on the unfortunate observation
officer. Luckily the observation officer got safely to the ground.
The next target of this daring Hun aviator was the observation balloon
in front of where we were standing. The observation officer immediately
jumped out of his basket and got safely down to the ground. The Hun
aviator, however, destroyed this balloon and then retired back to his
lines, evidently having used up all of his bombs. He came back an hour
later and destroyed a third balloon, but this time his daring was
nipped in the bud as he was brought down by one of our anti-aircraft
shells somewhere near one of our rear support lines. One of his hands
had been shattered so that he was unable to manipulate his levers.
The boys had no sooner taken him prisoner and got him clear of his
machine than the German artillery opened up and with a shell blew his
aeroplane to pieces. It must be understood that our aeroplanes cannot
be everywhere at the same time. They had evidently gone on a mission to
some other locality and the Huns had probably been aware of this fact.
Hence the audacity of this aviator.
Later the same evening I was walking along the Villers-au-Bois and
Carency Road when I heard the drone of an aeroplane behind me. I turned
round and saw an aeroplane flying very fast and low. I was at that time
in the centre of the road. On both sides were tents occupied by the men
of an artillery battery who were also out at rest. Suddenly I heard
three loud reports and knew at once the Hun was dropping bombs. As I
imprudently glanced up in the air I could see the aviator leaning over
the side of his plane and the Maltese Cross on the wings, as he turned
his machine gun upon the tents around me. The observation officer was
firing what we called a "chaser" bullet. These bullets at dusk or
night show a reddish streak as they travel through the air, giving the
aviator an idea of the direction of his fire. There is usually one
chaser bullet to every five cartridges. However, this aviator was soon
brought down by our anti-aircraft picket, which was waiting for him. As
he was flying low they had no trouble in bringing his machine down.
In the early part of July I arrived at a little place called
Bully-Grenay. This town had a population of about 2,000 and was almost
four miles from Lens. We had to be very careful how we approached it
as we were within easy shelling distance from the Germans as well as
easily observable by them. This town had not suffered very much from
shell fire. One of our Majors, whose turn it was to remain out of the
line, had been sent with an advance party to see about our billets. I
was left behind in charge of the rear party with instructions to have
all billets cleaned up that we had occupied so that the next battalion
that came in would find them all right.
Later on, when I reached this town, I saw the Major surrounded by a
crowd of women. I approached to see what was the matter and then saw
one woman gesticulating and shaking her fist at the Major. He, poor
fellow, could not understand the reason of this unnecessary excitement.
After saluting, I asked him what was the matter. He informed me that
the Town Major had given him the names of the various civilians who
could accommodate officers and men, and as this lady's name was on the
list he had asked her to clean up her room for an officer. She had
resented this very much, as she thought her rooms were extra clean. The
Major's poor French had evidently been misunderstood. I spoke to the
lady in French and tried to smooth matters over. She kept a little
store which was named "_Le Pauvre Diable_" or "Poor Devil."
After I had bought a few postcards Madame told me that I could have the
room. She also informed me that the Germans often shelled the railway
station which was not more than 150 yards away from her store.
That same afternoon we were informed that our battalion was coming out
of the line. As it is customary for us to buy extra rations for the
boys when they come out of the trenches and as I was secretary of the
canteen, the Colonel authorised me to have something good ready for
the tired and weary men when they would arrive at about 3:00 A.M. in
the morning. A sufficient number of names had not been given of the
civilians who had accommodation for officers. Therefore, the battalion
being short of one billet for an officer, I volunteered to give up my
billet to this officer when he should come out of the line. I therefore
told my hostess I would be obliged to leave, saying that Lieutenant
S---- would take over my room. Madame would not hear of this, insisting
upon my accepting her room. So she and her daughter slept downstairs.
Later on, when the battalion arrived in the small hours of the morning,
and after each officer had seen that his men had received a good meal
and all been accommodated properly in their billets, they in turn had
something to eat, afterwards going to bed.
There was very little to do the next day, but we had three men wounded
as they were in the street near the railway station. The Huns were
aiming at this station in the expectation of probably hitting some
French coal and ammunition trains as they came into it. The following
night as I lay awake in bed I could hear a whistling noise as the
German shells passed over our house. I judged they were going in the
direction of Les Brebis, about half a mile beyond Bully-Grenay.
Suddenly, when everything was quiet, I heard a loud explosion. A crump
had struck the railway station. Madame from downstairs shouted to the
other officer and me that there was no danger as the Germans were only
firing at the usual target, the railway station.
On July 10th, as we were out on our training ground practising for
an attack, we observed some German aeroplanes. But our anti-aircraft
pickets had also observed them and soon drove them away.
In the afternoon as we marched back to the billets, I noticed that
during our absence several batteries of artillery had come into
this little town and were then busy firing at the Boche line. When
I returned to my billet that evening Madame told me that one of the
guns that had been firing was situated in the rear of her house. This
appeared to frighten her very much.
About 2:00 A.M. in the morning we were all awakened by a very loud
explosion. All the window panes were blown out and the glass of the
small conservatory was smashed to atoms. Madame, in a very excited tone
of voice, shouted to us to come downstairs at once, not forgetting to
bring our gas helmets. We went outside to see about our men's safety,
then returned. After dressing very hastily we descended the stairs and
were led by Madame and her daughter to the cellar which was rather
shallow, not more than ten feet deep and about ten feet wide. There
were some provisions stored in the cellar and in the corner a small
stove and a coal bin, a few chairs and a bed.
In the course of conversation Madame informed us that her husband and
another daughter had been prisoners in the hands of the Germans since
1914. At the time they had been taken prisoners they had been on a
visit to Lille. They were returning to Bully-Grenay when they were cut
off by the Germans. She had not received any news and did not know
whether they were alive or dead at that time. There are many families
in France in this predicament, and the torture of these poor people is
quite pitiful.
The shelling ceased about daybreak and I was glad to get out of the
cellar, as it really afforded very little protection. If a shell had
struck the house one was liable to be killed by the falling masonry.
Lieutenant S---- and myself went over to the billets that our men were
in and found them all safe, after which we returned to our own billet.
The inhabitants of little villages and towns near the firing line
all take risks of this kind. Many of them are killed, but they seem
to cling to their homes whilst they have a possible chance to do so.
The children when they go to school carry gas masks, which they use
when required, as they never know when the Germans will send over gas
shells.