THE HUSH! HUSH!--A WEIRD AND FEARFUL CREATURE
Something in the Wind--An Urgent Message to Report at
Headquarters--And What Came Of It--I Hear for the First Time
of the "Hush! Hush!"--And Try to Discover What It Is--A
Wonderful Night Scene--Dawn Breaks and Reveals a Marvellous
Monster--What Is It?
I had been busy in London preparing the film of the King's visit to his
troops in France, when I received an urgent message to report
immediately at General Headquarters--most important. I reported to
Captain ----.
"Can you get away in the morning, Malins? The boat train leaves early."
"If there is something doing I wouldn't miss it for worlds!" I replied.
"It's quite evident there is," he said, "or they wouldn't want you so
urgently."
"I've only got to get my supply of film stock," I said; "I'll manage it
during the night somehow, and meet you at Charing Cross in the morning."
No, I certainly was not going to miss a fight, for undoubtedly another
offensive was about to take place.
That night I managed to get sufficient film stock together. In the
morning we proceeded to France. The following morning at General
Headquarters I got the news. Reporting to Colonel ----, he told me of
the coming attack. "Do you want to get it?" he said.
[Illustration: THE FIRST "TANK" THAT WENT INTO ACTION, H.M.L.S.
"DAPHNE." SEPT. 15, 1916]
"Yes, sir, I do; and from the first line if possible. I want to
improve on the Battle of the Somme film. What time does it come off?"
"I don't know; but if you will call on--mentioning a captain at the
Headquarters of one of the corps--he will be able to put you right on
the section of the attack." With that information I left, and packing my
apparatus left for Headquarters. The captain was there.
"You are the 'movie' man, eh? Come in. Now tell me what you want."
"Where is the attack taking place, and at what time?" I asked.
"Look here," he said, unfolding a map, "this is our objective," pointing
to a certain place. "We are going to get up to the yellow line, and I
suggest that you go to ---- Brigade Headquarters. They are in a wood
just below ---- Redoubt. I will ring up the General and tell him you are
coming. He will give you all the information and assistance you require.
They know the ground more intimately than we do back here. You are
prepared to stay up there, of course?"
"Of course," I said. "I always carry my blanket with me."
"Well it comes off on the fifteenth, rather early in the morning. The
General will give you zero hour."
"Do you know the exact time?" I said. "Do you think it will be too early
for me--so far as the light is concerned?" I added hurriedly, with a
laugh.
"Well no. I think you will just manage it," he said.
Thanking him I hurried off to Brigade Headquarters. They were in an old
German dug-out of huge dimensions. There were three distinct floors or
rather corridors, one above the other. The galleries wound in and around
the hill-side, and the bottom one must have been at the depth of eighty
feet. Scottish troops were in the trenches, which were being held as
support lines. I entered the dug-out, and around a long table was seated
the General and his staff.
"General ----, sir?" I enquired.
"Yes," he said; "come in, will you? You are 'Movies,' aren't you? They
have just rung me up. Have some lunch and tell me what you want."
During lunch I explained my mission.
"Well," he said, "I am glad you are giving us a show. There is no need
to tell you what the Scottish battalion have accomplished."
Lunch finished, the General with the Brigadier-Major went into details
as to the best position from which I could see the show.
"I want, if possible, to get an unobstructed view of the Brigade front."
"'---- Trench,' is the place," he said. "What do you say? you know it."
"I think, sir, that's as good as anywhere, but it's strafed rather
badly."
"How far is that from the Bosche front line?"
We measured it on the map. It was eight hundred yards.
"Too far off; I must get much closer," I said. "Isn't there a place in
our front trench?"
"There's a machine-gun position in a sap head," said an officer. "I am
sure that would suit you, but you'll get strafed. Bosche cannot fail to
see you."
"What time is zero hour?" I asked the General.
"At 6.20," he said.
Great Scott, I thought, 6.20 summer time--real time 5.20, and in
September only one chance in a million that the sky would be clear
enough to get an exposure. Certainly if the mornings were anything like
they had been during the last week it would be an absolute
impossibility.
[Illustration: THE BATTLEFIELD OF "GINCHY." I WAS HURLED INTO THE TRENCH
IN THE FOREGROUND BY THE BURSTING OF A GERMAN SHELL, AND AWOKE MANY
HOURS LATER WITH SHELL SHOCK AND REALISED I HAD BEEN LYING BESIDE A DEAD
GERMAN ALL NIGHT. HE HAD BEEN THERE I SHOULD SAY ABOUT THREE WEEKS]
[Illustration: RESERVES WATCHING THE ATTACK AT MARTINPUICH. SEPT. 15TH,
1916]
Anyway there was just a chance, and I decided to take it.
Therefore I suggested that I should go up very early in the morning to
our front line, getting there about four o'clock. There would just be
sufficient light for me to have a look round, that is if Brother Fritz
wasn't too inquisitive. I could then fix up the camera and wait.
"What time does the barrage start?" I asked.
"Ten minutes to zero. It's going to be very intense, I can tell you
that."
"Well, sir, there is one special point I would like you to clear up for
me if possible. What the deuce is the 'Hush! Hush!'?"
At that question everyone in the place laughed. "Hush! hush! not so
loud," one said, with mock gravity. "You mean the Tanks."
"I am just as wise as ever. Anyway, whether they are called the 'Hush
Hushers' or 'Tanks,' what the dickens are they? Everyone has been asking
me if I have seen the 'Hush! hush!' until I have felt compelled to
advise them to take more water with it in future. At first I thought
they were suffering from a unique form of shell-shock."
"I haven't seen them," he said. "All I know is that we have two of them
going over with our boys. This is their line; they will make straight
for the left-hand corner of the village, and cross the trenches on your
left about two hundred yards from the point suggested. They are a sort
of armoured car arrangement and shells literally glance off them. They
will cross trenches, no matter how wide, crawl in and out shell-holes,
and through barbed wire, push down trees and...."
I turned to the General. "I certainly suggest, sir, that ---- should go
to hospital; the war is getting on his nerves. He will tell me next that
they can fly as well."
The General laughed. But quite seriously he told me it was all true.
"Then I hope I shall be able to get a good film of them," I said,
"especially as this will be the first time they have been used."
Finally it was agreed that ----, who was going up to the front line to
observe for the division, should act as my guide, and take me up in the
morning at three o'clock.
"We shall have to start about that time," he said; "it will be possible
to go there for quite a good distance over the top of the ridge. It will
save trudging through '---- Trench,' and there's sure to be a lot of
troops packed in it. In any case it will take us about three-quarters of
an hour."
"And I want at least an hour to look round and find a suitable spot; so
three o'clock will suit me very well."
"Hullo!" I said, as I heard the crack of a 5.9 crump burst just outside
the dug-out. "Can't Bosche let you alone here?"
"No," he said, "he strafes us sometimes. He put quite a lot in here the
other day, and one went clean through our cook-house, but no damage was
done, beyond spoiling our lunch. If he anticipates our show in the
morning, he will be sure to plaster us."
At night I watched the effect of the flashes from our guns. They were
rattling off at quite a good pace. What a gorgeous night! Dotted all
round this skeleton of what was once a wood, but now merely a few sticks
of charred tree trunks, and in and out as far as the eye could see, were
scores of tiny fires. The flames danced up and down like elves, and
crowded round the fires were groups of our boys, laughing and chatting
as if there was no such thing as war. Now and then the flash of the big
howitzers momentarily lighted up the whole landscape. What a scene!
Having seen as much of the war as I have done, and having been
practically through the campaign from the very outset, it may surprise
you that I had not used myself to such sights. Possibly I ought to have
done, but the fact remains that I cannot. These night scenes always
appeal to me. Every scene is so different, and looking at everything
from the pictorial point of view I wished with all my heart I could have
filmed such a wonderful scene. But even had I been able to do so I could
not have reproduced the atmosphere, the sound of the guns, the burst of
the shells, the glare of the star-shells, the laughter of the men--and
some of them were swearing. The impenetrable blackness was accentuated
by the dancing flames from the fires. It was a sight to dream about; and
almost involuntarily reminded one of a scene from the _Arabian Nights_.
It was now midnight. My guide told me to follow him. "We'll go down
below and find a place in which to snatch a little sleep." Down a long
flight of stairs we went, along corridors, then down another flight and
round more corridors. The passages seemed endless, until at last we came
to a halt beside the bunk-like beds fastened on the wall.
"What an extraordinary place; how deep is it?"
"About sixty feet," said my companion. "The place is like a rabbit
warren."
"Well, I'm glad you are with me, for I should never find my way out
alone." And I rolled my blanket round me and went to sleep.
I was awakened by my guide. "Come on," he said; "time we moved off."
I quickly got out of my blanket. Jove, how cold it was! My teeth
chattered like castanets.
"It's like an ice-house down here; let's go out and see if any of the
men have any fire left. Might be able to have a little hot tea before we
go. I have some biscuits and odds and ends in my satchel."
"Will you let me have a man to help me with my tripod?"
"Certainly, as a matter of fact I arranged for one last night."
Up we went. Along the corridors men were lying about in their blankets,
fast asleep. Holding a piece of guttering candle in my hand, and shaking
like a leaf with cold, I stepped between the sleeping men; but it was
anything but an easy task.
During the journey I missed my companion. By a lucky accident I managed
to find an exit, but it was nowhere near the one I entered last night.
Ah, here's a fire, and quickly getting the water on the boil, made some
tea; then shouldering the camera, and ---- helping me, by taking one of
the cases, we started off.
It was still very dark, but the sky was quite free from clouds. If only
it would keep like that I might just get an exposure.
We proceeded as fast as the innumerable shell-holes and old barbed wire
would allow, and made straight for the ruins of ----, then crossing the
road we followed the communication trenches along the top.
It was still pitch dark. I looked at my watch. It was 4.30.
The trenches were full of life. Men were pouring in to take up their
positions. Bosche put a few shells over near by, but fortunately nobody
was touched. He was evidently nervous about something, for on several
occasions he sent up star-shells, in batches of six, which lighted up
the whole ridge like day, and until they were down again I stood stock
still.
[Illustration: OVER THE TOP AT MARTINPUICH, SEPT. 15, 1916. I
PHOTOGRAPHED THIS SCENE AT 5.20 IN THE MORNING]
[Illustration: TWO MINUTES TO ZERO HOUR AT MARTINPUICH, SEPT. 15, 1916,
THEN "OVER THE TOP"]
Day was breaking in the east. A low-lying mist hung over the village.
I hoped it would not affect my taking.
We were now in the trenches, and daylight was gradually beginning to
appear.
"It's got to light up a lot more if I'm going to be able to film," I
said. "But thank heaven the sky is cloudless. That's the one chance."
All at once it seemed as though the sky lightened. Actinic conditions
improved considerably, and I was just congratulating myself on my good
fortune when----
"What's that, sir?" said the man at my side, who had been peering
through a periscope.
Gingerly I raised myself above the parapet and peered in the direction
in which his finger pointed.
For a moment I could discern nothing. Then, gradually out of the early
morning mist a huge, dark, shapeless object evolved. It was apparently
about three hundred yards away. It moved, and judging by the subdued hum
and a slight smoke which it emitted--like the breath of an animal--it
lived!
I had never seen anything like it before. What was it?