World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, Canadian
I slept for about two hours that night in one of the lower bunks. In
the upper tier above me was the body of a dead German.
The Germans had built this tunnel with two objects in mind: first,
to enable them to bring forward reinforcements from the_ Zwischen
Stellung_ trench to their front line, which was a distance of 560
yards, without exposing them to our observation and artillery fire and,
secondly, that they could also withdraw their men from the front and
support trenches without suffering any casualties.
The Germans had made every arrangement with a view to the comfort of
both their officers and men. Electric light had been generated from
Vimy Village. The tunnel could shelter comfortably one battalion.
Ventilation shafts ran up from it to the surface, and there were
chambers or rooms off the main passageway to serve the purposes of
a garrison that might be isolated. Commander's post, telephones,
temporary hospital, baths with hot and cold water installation, and
depots for ammunition and food were here.
It can readily be seen that the Germans expected to remain on the spot,
but our New World troops upset their calculations.
One day on the Western front there was a duel in the air. It looked as
if the old days were to come back again, when the armies would cease
fighting and watch their respective champions in single combat. This
fight resulted in the death of Immelman, at that time Germany's most
distinguished aviator.
It was in truth a duel, no chance meeting of men determined to slay
one another, but a battle following a regular challenge and fought by
prearrangement and without interference from either side. This air
battle was witnessed with the deepest interest by the men of both
armies who were crouched in the trenches and separated only by a few
yards at No Man's Land. The fire of the anti-aircraft gun on both sides
was stilled. Captain Ball, the youthful English pilot who was recently
killed after a series of winning battles in the air, was the victor.
The story of the duel, which was one of the most sensational events of
the war, was told in a letter written to me by a friend of mine who was
one of the eye witnesses of the fight.
One morning Captain Ball, who was behind our sector, heard that
Immelman was opposite. "This is the chance I have been waiting for. I
am going to get him," declared Ball. His friends tried to dissuade him
by saying the story of Immelman's presence probably was untrue. Ball
would not listen. Getting into his machine, he flew over the German
lines and dropped a note, which read:
"Captain Immelman:
"I challenge you to a man-to-man fight to take place this afternoon
at two o'clock. I will meet you over the German lines. Have your
anti-aircraft guns withhold their fire while we decide which is the
better man. The British guns will be silent.
"(Signed) Ball."
About an hour afterwards a German airman swung out across our lines and
dropped Immelman's answer:
"Captain Ball:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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