In Flanders Fields And Other Poems [10]
British reinforcements
that moved up quietly past us, going up, not back -- I could write,
but you can imagine.
We took the road at once, and went up at the gallop. The Colonel rode ahead
to scout a position (we had only four guns, part of the ammunition column,
and the brigade staff; the 1st and 4th batteries were back in reserve
at our last billet). Along the roads we went, and made our place on time,
pulled up for ten minutes just short of the position, where I put Bonfire
[his horse] with my groom in a farmyard, and went forward on foot --
only a quarter of a mile or so -- then we advanced. Bonfire had soon to move;
a shell killed a horse about four yards away from him, and he wisely took
other ground. Meantime we went on into the position we were to occupy
for seventeen days, though we could not guess that. I can hardly say more
than that it was near the Yser Canal.
We got into action at once, under heavy gunfire. We were
to the left entirely of the British line, and behind French troops,
and so we remained for eight days. A Colonel of the R.A., known to fame,
joined us and camped with us; he was our link with the French Headquarters,
and was in local command of the guns in this locality. When he left us
eight days later he said, "I am glad to get out of this hell-hole."
He was a great comfort to us, for he is very capable, and the entire battle
was largely fought "on our own", following the requests of the Infantry
on our front, and scarcely guided by our own staff at all.
We at once set out to register our targets, and almost at once
had to get into steady firing on quite a large sector of front.
We dug in the guns as quickly as we could, and took as Headquarters
some infantry trenches already sunk on a ridge near the canal.
We were subject from the first to a steady and accurate shelling,
for we were all but in sight, as were the German trenches
about 2000 yards to our front. At times the fire would come in salvos
quickly repeated. Bursts of fire would be made for ten or fifteen minutes
at a time. We got all varieties of projectile, from 3 inch to 8 inch,
or perhaps 10 inch; the small ones usually as air bursts,
the larger percussion and air, and the heaviest percussion only.
My work began almost from the start -- steady but never overwhelming,
except perhaps once for a few minutes. A little cottage behind our ridge
served as a cook-house, but was so heavily hit the second day
that we had to be chary of it. During bursts of fire I usually took
the back slope of the sharply crested ridge for what shelter it offered.
At 3 our 1st and 4th arrived, and went into action at once
a few hundred yards in our rear. Wires were at once put out,
to be cut by shells hundreds and hundreds of times, but always repaired
by our indefatigable linemen. So the day wore on; in the night the shelling
still kept up: three different German attacks were made and repulsed.
If we suffered by being close up, the Germans suffered from us,
for already tales of good shooting came down to us. I got some sleep
despite the constant firing, for we had none last night.
Saturday, April 24th, 1915.
Behold us now anything less than two miles north of Ypres
on the west side of the canal; this runs north, each bank flanked
with high elms, with bare trunks of the familiar Netherlands type.
A few yards to the West a main road runs, likewise bordered;
the Censor will allow me to say that on the high bank between these
we had our headquarters; the ridge is perhaps fifteen to twenty feet high,
and slopes forward fifty yards to the water, the back is more steep,
and slopes quickly to a little subsidiary water way, deep but dirty.
Where the guns were I shall not say; but they were not far,
and the German aeroplanes that viewed us daily with all but impunity
knew very well. A road crossed over the canal, and interrupted the ridge;
across the road from us was our billet -- the place we cooked in, at least,
and where we usually took our
that moved up quietly past us, going up, not back -- I could write,
but you can imagine.
We took the road at once, and went up at the gallop. The Colonel rode ahead
to scout a position (we had only four guns, part of the ammunition column,
and the brigade staff; the 1st and 4th batteries were back in reserve
at our last billet). Along the roads we went, and made our place on time,
pulled up for ten minutes just short of the position, where I put Bonfire
[his horse] with my groom in a farmyard, and went forward on foot --
only a quarter of a mile or so -- then we advanced. Bonfire had soon to move;
a shell killed a horse about four yards away from him, and he wisely took
other ground. Meantime we went on into the position we were to occupy
for seventeen days, though we could not guess that. I can hardly say more
than that it was near the Yser Canal.
We got into action at once, under heavy gunfire. We were
to the left entirely of the British line, and behind French troops,
and so we remained for eight days. A Colonel of the R.A., known to fame,
joined us and camped with us; he was our link with the French Headquarters,
and was in local command of the guns in this locality. When he left us
eight days later he said, "I am glad to get out of this hell-hole."
He was a great comfort to us, for he is very capable, and the entire battle
was largely fought "on our own", following the requests of the Infantry
on our front, and scarcely guided by our own staff at all.
We at once set out to register our targets, and almost at once
had to get into steady firing on quite a large sector of front.
We dug in the guns as quickly as we could, and took as Headquarters
some infantry trenches already sunk on a ridge near the canal.
We were subject from the first to a steady and accurate shelling,
for we were all but in sight, as were the German trenches
about 2000 yards to our front. At times the fire would come in salvos
quickly repeated. Bursts of fire would be made for ten or fifteen minutes
at a time. We got all varieties of projectile, from 3 inch to 8 inch,
or perhaps 10 inch; the small ones usually as air bursts,
the larger percussion and air, and the heaviest percussion only.
My work began almost from the start -- steady but never overwhelming,
except perhaps once for a few minutes. A little cottage behind our ridge
served as a cook-house, but was so heavily hit the second day
that we had to be chary of it. During bursts of fire I usually took
the back slope of the sharply crested ridge for what shelter it offered.
At 3 our 1st and 4th arrived, and went into action at once
a few hundred yards in our rear. Wires were at once put out,
to be cut by shells hundreds and hundreds of times, but always repaired
by our indefatigable linemen. So the day wore on; in the night the shelling
still kept up: three different German attacks were made and repulsed.
If we suffered by being close up, the Germans suffered from us,
for already tales of good shooting came down to us. I got some sleep
despite the constant firing, for we had none last night.
Saturday, April 24th, 1915.
Behold us now anything less than two miles north of Ypres
on the west side of the canal; this runs north, each bank flanked
with high elms, with bare trunks of the familiar Netherlands type.
A few yards to the West a main road runs, likewise bordered;
the Censor will allow me to say that on the high bank between these
we had our headquarters; the ridge is perhaps fifteen to twenty feet high,
and slopes forward fifty yards to the water, the back is more steep,
and slopes quickly to a little subsidiary water way, deep but dirty.
Where the guns were I shall not say; but they were not far,
and the German aeroplanes that viewed us daily with all but impunity
knew very well. A road crossed over the canal, and interrupted the ridge;
across the road from us was our billet -- the place we cooked in, at least,
and where we usually took our