days and then went forward to Ypres. On April 22, 1915, we went into
battle at Ypres and for the first time in history were called upon to
meet a gas attack by the Germans.
Editor's Note.--This was the first time this inhuman method of warfare
was used by a supposedly civilized nation.
H. L. F.
At first we thought the gas we saw coming toward us was a bank of fog
and it gave us no anxiety. It was at 4.30 P.M. that the Huns turned the
gas on us, and I was fortunate to be in the first battalion at a point
where the gas was not so thick. The thickest part of the gas swept over
the 8th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th battalions. Eighty-five
per cent of the men who met this attack were more or less severely
gassed. At points the gas was so severe that it turned the brass
buttons, on the tunics of the men, green. Some of the men killed by gas
fell, but some remained standing even in death so swift was its action.
Our artillery, although short of ammunition, was our main support in
this action. Had the Germans forced a passage here, the roads to Paris,
Calais and the English coast would have been virtually open. There were
72,000 Germans opposed to 13,000 Canadian infantry in this action, but
the boys from Canada held fast.
The next day, April 23rd, a small fragment of shrapnel in my right hand
sent me to the hospital in Boulogne. Fine treatment by the American
doctors and nurses there soon had me in shape again and I was returned
to the line through the Canadian base at Le Havre. Thence I went
through Festubert to Givenchy where the old 1st Battalion went into
battle with 919 men and six hours later over 600 had made the great
sacrifice. Minor casualties left us only 137 men able to answer roll
call and several of these had to go to the hospital on account of
wounds received here.
The first week of July we went to Ploegstreet which we called "home"
for a long time. We called Ploegstreet "home" because it was so
peaceful. (The Germans dared not shell us as we were so close to their
trenches that they were afraid of hitting their own men.) The shell
craters through which our trenches ran were only thirteen yards from
the trenches of the enemy, and we could hear the Saxons who opposed us
singing songs in English which they all seemed to speak fluently.
One night I was on patrol when our party passed German patrol not five
yards distant. Neither side dared fire for fear of starting the machine
gun fire. One of the Saxons called out, "Hello, Canuck, how's Quebec,
Winnipeg and Vancouver?"
Evidently he had been in Quebec as he spoke of the St. Regis Hotel.
At Ploegstreet the British had started a "sap" forty-eight feet deep
where a tunnel, with twenty-five galleries running off from it,
undermined the town. It took two years to build and was planted with
one hundred thousand tons of high explosive dynamite. When it was
exploded it blew up the entire town and also blew 61,000 Huns "Hell,
west and crooked."
This was the only way to take the position as the elaborate trench
system of the Germans was practically impregnable. It was at
Ploegstreet that the Huns "got our goat" by showing the wearing
apparel of Belgian girls on the points of their bayonets.
After exploding the mine we explored the German trenches and found most
wonderful underground living quarters for the troops fitted with every
modern convenience.
We remained here three and a half months and then were moved to Kemmel
to the C-4 trenches, where we spent the winter. Here I was taken sick
and sent to the hospital at Bailleu, and returned to duty again at
Cambrai, and thence went to St. Quentin.
Remained at St. Quentin until September 17th, when I had a piece of
shrapnel lodge in my arm and was burned by a shell while trying to dig
out a comrade in a similar predicament, except that he died before we
got him out. I was buried, but conscious, for four hours and twenty
minutes, and I thought of every event of my life in that time. When
finally rescued, the fresh air and reaction were too much for me, and
I lost consciousness, which I did not regain until I was in England in
the Duchess of Connaught's Hospital. I had been sent there by way of
Le Havre and remained six months in bed in a plaster cast. I was then
returned to a hospital ship and taken to St. John, New Brunswick,
where I received electrical and massage treatment. From St. John I went
to the convalescent hospital at Fredericton, N. B., and was discharged
on August 19, 1918.
A NIGHT ADVENTURE
AS TOLD BY PRIVATE ALBERT FRANKLIN EDWARDS, NO. 6857, 1ST BATTALION,
1ST BRIGADE, 1ST DIVISION, CANADIAN INFANTRY
ONE night in October, 1915, while on patrol, I found an officer, and a
private, of the Prussian Guard, fooling around our wire entanglements.
They had evidently been under our fire as the officer was suffering
from three abdominal wounds and died as I was trying to drag him into
our lines.
The private was a big fellow about six feet three inches tall and was
furious at being captured. As I had him at my bayonet's point he gave
me no trouble, but when we arrived at our lines he took it out on the
sentry by spitting at him and slapping him in the face.
We sat Mr. Prussian on the firing step and told him a few things that
would not look well in this book, and he finally spoke in English,
when we called the escort to get what information we could from him.
He asked after some friends he had made at Columbia College, New York
City, where he had been educated. He told us that just before the war
broke out he had been called back to Germany, supposedly to attend a
military fête, as he was still subject to military service. He had no
idea, he said, that he was going to be sent to war and he had been
drugged and sent into battle, forced on by officers in the rear. After
we had "pumped him dry" he was handed over, together with fourteen
other prisoners, who were taken the same night, and sent to the cage,
four miles to the rear. On the way to the cage he complained to a
soldier, in the guard accompanying the prisoners, of the difficulty of
marching through the mud, which was very deep. The guard told him he
should be thankful that he was not in his (the guard's) place, as he
had to walk back again.
I should have stated before that I cut off the buttons from the
officer's uniform when he died and kept them together with his field
glasses as souvenirs. I have them still as no one has claimed them.
A MACHINE GUNNER'S STORY
BY MACHINE GUNNER GEORGE ECKHART, NO. 165688, 1ST M. G. BATT., 1ST
DIV., A.E.F.
I ENLISTED in the service of my country April 6, 1917, when we declared
war on Germany. I was sent to Fort Douglas, Arizona, in the same month,
put in the 18th Infantry, Regular Army.
On June 4, 1917, we got orders to pack up and leave for another camp,
and one night when our train came to a halt I got up from bed and said
to the boys:
"Boys, we are in Hoboken," and we all knew then where we were going.
We got on the transports the same night about eleven o'clock. There
were a lot of sad faces watching their dear boys going "Over There" to
fight to make the world safe for Democracy.
We sailed away from dear old America, June 14, 1917. When we passed
the Statue of Liberty we watched her holding the light of freedom and
strained our eyes as our transport moved out into the ocean for a last
look at her, wondering if we would ever see that dear old Statue of
Liberty again.
[Illustration: MACHINE GUNNER GEORGE ECKHART]
We had a pleasant, fourteen-day trip across the ocean. And one bright
morning we saw land. All the boys shouted "France, we have come to
you." Four hours later we were beside our dock, and got off the boats.
All the French people kissed us and were glad to see America come to
help her sister republic.
The French people shouted "Vive la America." We shouted back "Vive la
France." We had a big reception and the peasants took us around and
showed us the villages.
We did not stay there long, but moved toward the front where we could
hear the thundering of the artillery barrages. We had two months of
strenuous training with the French Blue Devils.
After completing our training period we got orders that we were going
to go to the Front. One day, before we left to undertake the biggest
job in the world, our general (General Bullard) held an inspection, and
gave us a talk.
He said, "Boys, you are going to tackle a real job tomorrow, and show
the Huns what kind of stuff the Yanks are made of."
All of the boys yelled, "We are with you, general, until the end. We
are going to give them hell! and, we won't go back until it's over,
over here."
The next day we were ready to move to the Front. The colonel gave the
command, and we marched off. We had to walk fifty miles.
As we came nearer and nearer to the front, the guns were roaring and
machine guns rattled away like fire. The first division, consisting
of the 18th Infantry, 26th Infantry, 16th and 18th Infantry, started
to sing, "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here!" At last we arrived at the
Front. Our French comrades hailed us, and were surprised and overjoyed
to see the Yanks coming to relieve them and give them a rest.
Company after company moved in and relieved the French division and as
they moved out they bid us all the luck in the world.
This front was the Lorraine front, Luneville Sector. The next day,
October 14, 1917, our artillery fired the first shells into the German
trenches.
The Germans got kind of restless and wondered who was facing them. They
sent out a patrolling party to gather information. But we boys were a
little too wise and our patrol party captured this German party and
brought them in. When they came in our trenches they asked us who we
were. I spoke up and said, "We are Americans," and the German officer
who spoke a little English said, "No! No! you are not an American. You
are English in American uniforms." But they soon found out that we
_were_ Americans and we did "treat 'em rough!"
I was now transferred to a machine gun company and was on duty one
night about 11.30. It was very cold. My loader Frank Martin and I
were talking quietly about our dear homes across the sea. Suddenly
the German machine guns opened up and we ducked down in our own gun
emplacement and could hear the bullets hissing over our heads. Then it
was silent again. We knew the Huns were getting restless so our signal
captain sent up a "very light" which lights up No Man's Land. And we
saw about 5,000 Prussian guards coming at us with bayonets fixed. I
held fast to my trigger, waiting for orders.
The lieutenant came to me and said, "George, don't get nervous. We are
going to get them in a trap." And I said:
"Lieutenant, do you think I will ever see the Statue of Liberty again?"
He said, "Cheer up, George, I will send the order soon."
So they fired another "very light" and there they were 100 yards from
where I was stationed. All was quiet. We kept still as mice.
Then suddenly a big red rocket went up which called for an artillery
barrage and I heard the shells of our artillery firing behind the
Germans so they could not go back to their own lines. This was followed
by two red rockets, meaning direct fire from our own machine guns. And
then I yelled, "Here's where the suicide club shines," and opened up.
We gave them all the "presents" they wanted. My machine gun was red
hot, and my hands were burning, but I didn't mind that. We were going
to get them and give them what they deserved.
We gave them "sweeping fire" and mowed them down like grass. Daylight
came and there were the Prussian Guards in big piles, dead and wounded.
We certainly did catch them in a trap.
That morning I went into the dugout and we boys sat around on bundles
of straw and sang some songs and told stories and jokes.
When the mail man would come around with the letters from home, we
would gather around him and listen for our names to be called.
The boys that got letters from their dear mothers had smiles on their
faces and were happy, knowing their mothers were thinking of them. And
those that didn't get letters were sad and disgusted and would have
tears rolling down their cheeks.
We stayed on that front two months. Christmas was on its way, and we
went back for a rest. At Christmas time all the boys gave ten francs
(two dollars, U. S. money) to give the little children of France a real
American Christmas.
After six days of preparation, we went to the Salvation Army hut and
had a big entertainment. Elsie Janis was the chief entertainer. After
the entertainment was over we all returned to bed.
The next day the church bells rang out and the little children ran
about wild with joy. The Yankee soldiers gave the children candy,
cakes, pies and other little presents and they could not get over it,
as they never had a Christmas like that before.
Editor's Note.--The simple pathos of this story so appealed to me,
that, knowing no words of mine could so vividly depict the feelings
of this hero, I have given it to the readers of the book without
revision. I simply desire to add that the action which he describes
in the above story was the first of the Great War participated in by
American Troops.
H. L. F.
THE FALL OF CANTIGNY
BY MACHINE GUNNER GEORGE ECKHART
BEFORE proceeding with my second story, I wish to state that Cantigny
Village was the first town ever captured by the American troops in this
war, and also the first battle we ever had. My division, the "First,"
known all over France as the "Black Jack" Division, was named after
General "Black Jack" Pershing.
After leaving Lorraine front and spending Christmas behind the lines,
we were ordered to a more active front in Picardy, where some of the
biggest battles have taken place during this Great War.
We relieved the 2nd French Colonial Division and took over their
sector. We faced the town Cantigny, which is situated twenty miles
northwest of Montdidier.
This town was hard to take, as there were two Prussian Guard divisions
against one Yankee division.
Our general said, "Boys, we are going to take that town and we will
take it inside of seventy-two hours." Us boys all felt proud and were
ready to go "Over the Top" any time the order came.
Jimmy Doyle, the loader on my machine gun, was the youngest boy in the
battalion, and he was kind of nervous when he knew we were going "Over
the Top" in seventy-two hours. He sat down in the dugout, writing a
letter to his dear mother, with the shells and shrapnel going over our
heads. He expected a letter from his mother for three months but never
received it.
So Little Jimmie put in his letter, "Mother, I am writing you this
letter and it may be the last as I am going 'Over the Top' for the
first time, and I am going to do my bit even if I am only seventeen
years old. I wrote you ten letters and you have not written me one, so
mother, dear, please write your little Jimmie a letter. Good Bye and
God bless you. Jimmie."
The seventy-two hours had come and it was growing dark. We had extra
ammunition stacked beside our machine gun, ready to open fire on the
Huns. "Little Jimmie" worked hard stacking up the ammunition. The
infantry was "standing to" waiting for the word.
Everything was quiet. We had five minutes to think of our people back
home. "Little Jimmie" said to me:
"George, you were one of my best friends. I am a kid, but if I get
killed, tell my mother I died for her and the Stars and Stripes."
The time had come and the French tanks had started their engines. The
red rocket went up. Our artillery laid down their barrage and we opened
rapid fire with our machine guns. "Little Jimmie" was feeding the gun
like a veteran.
Shells were whistling all around us. The captains of all infantry
companies yelled, "Over the Top with the best of luck and give them
Hell. Up and at 'em, boys!"
And when they went over the boys yelled and cheered, rushing onward
to the Hun trenches, "Remember the _Lusitania_," "Remember the
_Antilles_," "Remember the U. S.," "Remember dear President Wilson and
the Stars and Stripes."
They kept on gaining, facing death and danger. We followed them up with
our machine guns. The Huns started with their artillery. They thought
they could stop us but they couldn't. We always had our fighting spirit
with us.
The German Prussian Guards came over to meet us. Our infantry went at
'em, facing them. Some yelled, "Kamerad," but that didn't go with us.
We gave them the cold steel instead. We had 500 yards to go to before
we could take Cantigny. "Little Jimmie" Doyle was working hard at the
gun and he would say, "I wonder if my mother is thinking of me." We
kept moving our gun and giving them all they wanted. All of a sudden
"Little Jimmie" fell with a Hun machine gun bullet through his head.
The blood was pouring down his cheek. I went to him, gave him my first
aid packet with bandages, put it around his head,--but in vain. He was
taking his last breath. He said:
"George, good bye, I knew this was my day."
He wanted to say a few more words, but could not. He lay still without
breathing. He was dead, and he died with a smile on his lips. The
poor lad was always happy and had a smile for whoever he met. "Little
Jimmie" died for his country and died like a man.
After taking Jimmie away I ran back to my machine gun. The Prussians
were coming over, driving back the infantry. They overpowered us but
the machine gunners all said: "We are going to hold this line until the
infantry gets reinforcements." We eight machine gunners were checking
the Germans finally. Now and then we stopped firing. Then the Huns
would rush at us, thinking that they had killed us, but we were very
much alive and as soon as they advanced a hundred yards or so, we would
open up our machine guns again and give 'em Hell. Four of the machine
gunners were killed and it was up to the remaining four to hold them
back until the infantry came.
Our ammunition was getting low and I was shot through my leg by a
high explosive shrapnel, but I kept on with my machine gun until our
infantry came up with the reinforcements, and went over with a yell and
chased the Huns back and captured Cantigny. We got that town in two and
a half hours.
My leg was bleeding and I had an awful pain but I stuck to it. We went
into the Hun trenches, which we had captured, and there I was treated
by the Red Cross dressing station and then we went in and brought out
the German prisoners who were hiding in the dugouts and cellars of the
town.
Then the Germans, who were driven back to their reserve trenches,
wanted to get square on us, and fired over the poisonous gas. We got
the signal and put our masks on, and kept them on for seventy-two
hours. Mine was an old mask and it began to leak, until suddenly I
fell, and was unconscious for twenty-four hours. When I awoke I was in
the hospital, in a nice white bed such as I had not been in for ten
months. Oh! didn't I sleep. They couldn't get me up for anything.
I was nursed back to health, and, when I went back to the front, they
had a great surprise for me. I was summoned to General Headquarters and
there I was awarded the French war cross, or "Croix de Guerre," for
heroism during the battle of Cantigny. We all sang the song of songs,
"Over There," by the Yankee Doodle Boy, George M. Cohan. We used this
song all the time when we would march into battle, and sang it again
when we came out victorious.
Then I was sent home to dear America and my people were more than
pleased to see me march in a hero from "Over There."
Then they had me talking for the Knights of Columbus drive, Liberty
Loan, also the United War Work Campaign. The American people may
well be proud when their sons and sweethearts come marching home
victorious,--as they all fought well to make the world safe and a
decent place to live in.
THE RETREAT FROM MONS
BY SERGT. T. S. GRUNDY
I WAS one of the first 100,000 men of British Expeditionary Force
sent to Belgium in August, 1914. The great retreat from Mons and the
different battles (rearguard actions) that took place afterward were
some of the worst and fiercest actions that the British Forces ever
fought. Of course we know that not so many guns were used and nothing
like the barrage that is put down nowadays, but it was hard and severe
fighting with hardships that are no longer necessary today. The Lewis
machine gun, and the new types today, were not known then. We went
to the field with the old Maxim type used in previous warfare. Such
was the equipment of the first 100,000 men of British Expeditionary
Forces. Our forces were spread out on a twenty-two-mile front. Just a
mere handful of men that, without a doubt, saved Europe from Prussian
rule; although thousands do not realize this. If the enemy had known
of the weakness of our forces he would have walked across Belgium
and France. However, the enemy underestimated our forces, and the
stubborn and determined fight of, what the Kaiser called, England's
"Contemptible Little Army" saved the situation. At Mons it was a case
of, if the enemy broke through the line, there were no reserves to
bring up, so, officer and man alike, we stood to the last. When the
enemy broke through in certain parts of the lines--then came the hard
fighting. "Fritz" would break through on the left flank and endeavor to
cut us off, then came the time man after man went down, and, slowly,
we had to retreat assisted by cavalry, against, literally speaking,
hordes and hordes of Germany's best soldiers. Some companies were not
so fortunate, being completely surrounded, and annihilated, or taken
prisoners, very few escaping to tell the tale, and those that escaped
to the woods had no rations, and lived like savages, on anything that
could be found.
[Illustration: SERGT. T. S. GRUNDY]
Unfortunately not many of these men are alive today, being afterward
captured by the enemy and killed by ill-treatment in internment camps,
or starved to death in the woods. It was when the retreat was looking
very serious, and no reserves forthcoming, that the most wonderful and
thrilling incidents of the war occurred, and this is vouched for by all
who were there. When comrades were falling, one after the other, and
the Germans advancing in great masses, Angels appeared from the skies
and seemed to stop the approach of the enemy. They appeared to fall
back temporarily in sheer disorder. This was only a temporary collapse,
but it gave time for better preparations on our part, and this is what
saved us from being wiped out, as reserves were forthcoming afterward.
An incident of the enemy's method of warfare by unscrupulous means
came to my notice. We would not have lost half of the men we did, at
Mons, if it had not been for this. It was the fault of a French colonel
who was under the influence of his wife, a German woman, a spy of the
German empire, and she so used her influence over her husband that he
kept back two or three regiments of reserves for three days, under the
pretext of resting them, when they might have been up and probably
saved the situation. This colonel was afterward court-martialed and
shot, Lord Kitchener coming from England to investigate this.
Our enemy, as we have seen all through the war, has used these
unscrupulous methods. We lost 60,000 out of 100,000 1st B. E. F. Over
half our army was taken prisoners, killed and wounded. Out of my
battalion there were twenty-eight survivors--I being one of them.