The Children's Story of the War Volume 4 (of 10): The Story of the Year 1915Parrott, Edward
History
The Children's Story of the War Volume 4 (of 10): The Story of the Year 1915
Parrott, Edward
World War, 1914-1918 -- Juvenile literature
Sir Max Aitken tells us that the Canadian artillery, shortly after the
affair at the orchard, played a very effective trick on the Germans.
They opened fire on the enemy's trenches, and meanwhile the infantry
made a great show of fixing bayonets, rigging up trench ladders, and
blowing whistles, just as though they meant to attack as soon as the
bombardment was over. The Germans, according to their custom, promptly
retired to their support trenches and prepared to shoot down the
Canadians as they advanced. As soon as the Germans were in the support
trenches, the gunners lifted their sights and began shelling them;
whereupon the Germans rushed back to the front trenches. Still there was
no infantry attack. When the front trenches were full once more the
Canadian gunners shortened their range, and the full blast of their fire
fell upon the crowded Germans, causing great havoc. Next day the world
was told that the Germans had beaten off a desperate attack! The Huns in
the trenches, however, knew better, for that evening one of them cried
out: "Say, Sam Slick, no dirty tricks to-night!"
* * * * *
On the 26th Corporal Pym of the Royal Canadian Dragoons showed great
self-sacrifice and contempt of danger in rescuing wounded men. The
British and German lines were only sixty yards apart. An English voice
in the narrow No-man's Land was heard calling for help, and Pym
determined to try to bring in the sufferer. He crept out into a zone
swept by constant rifle and machine-gun fire, and found the man, who had
been wounded in both thigh bones, and had been lying out in the open for
three days and nights. The poor fellow was in such torment that he could
not bear to be dragged in. Pym, therefore, called back to the trench,
and Sergeant Hollowell crept out towards him. Just as he reached the
wounded man, however, he was shot dead. Pym thereupon crawled back
across the fire-swept space, to see if he could get a stretcher; but
when he considered the position, he decided that the ground was too
rough for him to drag a stretcher across it. Once more, therefore, he
recrossed the fire-zone, and at last, with the utmost difficulty,
brought the wounded man in alive.
* * * * *
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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