Three years in France with the Guns: Being Episodes in the life of a Field BatteryRose, C. A.
History
Three years in France with the Guns: Being Episodes in the life of a Field Battery
Rose, C. A.
World War, 1914-1918 -- Personal narratives, English
By the time affairs had settled down normally again, the Division was
due in the line, so the Battery pulled out for one night, before
transferring to our new zone, which was in the most northerly sector,
adjoining the one in which we had already been, and which had an even
worse reputation for unpleasantness.
After crossing the Yser Canal, the ground gradually rises towards
Pilkem Ridge, and the enemy was ensconced thereon in a kind of
stronghold known as the High Command Redoubt. Our trenches lay beneath
them, which gave us the feeling of being in a cup encircled round the
brim by our foes. During this particular tour, the Battery was split up
for the purpose of forming two forward sections, and the greater part
of the firing was done by the left section, whose position was well
inside the Salient. Its chief object was to harass a certain portion of
a hostile trench which was taken in enfilade by it! In order to
accomplish this successfully, the guns were placed in an old disused
position in a field, near La Brique, on the backward slope of a hill,
and the low gun-pits were completely covered with tufts of growing
grass. The centre pits were occupied by the two pieces and the outside
ones were speedily converted into habitations for the men.
When the trenches were not being subjected to hostile shelling, the
enemy devoted most of his time in endeavouring to destroy the numerous
O.P.’s dotted about here and there. These were constructed for the most
part of reinforced concrete, but the particular one used by us, called
“Frascatis,” had not yet been discovered, so we were free to carry out
shoots to our heart’s content.
A favourite diversion was sniping with one of our pieces, which was a
particularly accurate one, and several points of observation and
snipers’ posts were carefully registered. Then we would lie in wait,
observe some movement, and let fly one round only. This method
exasperated and annoyed the enemy exceedingly.
One of the enemy’s principal forms of amusement was to blow parts of
our front parapet away and train a machine gun on the space left
vacant, and snipe at any unsuspecting person who happened to pass
along. On many occasions we were able to bring assistance to the
harassed infantrymen, by spotting the offending snipers, and by, in
turn, sniping at them with our “How.” till we finally silenced them.
At dusk the enemy invariably harassed all roads of communication, and
dropped innumerable shells of large calibre into the stricken city; and
we made a habit of sitting at the entrance to the little shack, used as
the officers’ mess, smoking our evening pipes, interested spectators,
while the shells screamed overhead, and alighted somewhere in the town,
sending up columns of brick dust.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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