A SUBALTERN'S STORY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2358, 14 January 1915, Page 6

A SUBALTERN'S STORY

THE TABLES TURNED. The! following narrative descriptive of recent fighting is from a letter written .by a,subaltern "which"has been forwarded. to an English paper for publication! The writer is only nineteen years of age, but it is, in readily between tile lines of hi? simple, modost narrative, to see that he has comported himself. as a man and a man of courage and resource. "Thank you so much for the parcels. It is jolly nice to get'them, as the Deutscher do not leave very much behind them, I can tell you. In this quarter of the world things are a hit lively, as the soldiery sav, in fact a bit too lively for most of us, as a German bombstein isn't oxactly a pleasant thing to have thrown at one from a mile or so away, and the continual noise is appalling and makes one quite deaf. On the 21st we had a terrific, battle, which lasted altogether for three days, and three days of it right oif, with food when one can get it and no sleep at all, is a bit trying. We left our bivouac at a place called at 4.30 a.m., and got under heavy shrapnel fire at about 8.30 p.m. After getting into artillery formation, we advanced on the German's and crossed a few fields by getting along ditches and every bit of cover we could get. My platoon only lost a few men here.

"Then we extended as we came under rifle fire and crossed a turnip field at the double (where many men were shot), and got behind a haystack which, however, wo soon had to leave, as they made it too hot for us with their guns. We left hurriedly and got behind a farm, where I left the remainder of the platoon and went up into the loft to observe what- was going on in front. A very bad cross-fire was coming from the left flank as well as from the front, which was rather disastrous. We had to leave the farmyard one at a time, as a machine-gun was playing down the lane in front. However, there was a good ditch, which we got well into. I Jiad to stay ■ here for about half an hour, as it was too hot to get up; also to bandage a wounded man who came to me.. From where I was I could see the first line about 250 yards away, and the German trenches about 600 or 700 yards away. I then advanced another 50 .yards, but had to stay in the' open until I was wanted to reinforce the first line. , By then I had collected about 80 men of .various companies, besides my platoon, but as we were there for about fivo hours about 40 men were hit, including the men on each side of ,me. We then advanced at dusk'to reinforce. By this time the farm and all the ricks behind were in flames. The Germans ran from their trenches like rabbits, but their officers, under cover of the darkness, got them back and they counter-attacked us, but wo beat them back with heavy losses. "A.Gorman attack is an extraordinary thing',' but I must say they Ere very bravo' indeed. . First you hear their trumpets blowing, also a kind of hunting horn, then the orders of the officers and the yells of the soldiers. Then follows a hail of bullets and they come on in masses, making an awful noise. We let-them'get about 40 yards off and then we let them have.it with a vengeance. What with the shrieks, yellß, horn-blowing, rifles firing, and every* thing on fire, it is as if hell were let loose. Well, we beat them back; that was the first day. The next two days the same thing happened, except that wo dug ourselves in the first "of the two nights. Then ,we were shelled all day' long for the two days and attacked at night.' At length, the third night, we wore relieved after the attacks, and the men who rolieved us counted 740 dead Germans in front of our trenches, at a distance of about 40 yards. As the average of killed to wounded is said to be ono to three, tho German casualties must have been abount 3000.

"Since then we have been fighting in woods and trenches alternately, and it is beginning to tell. It is getting on for a month since we had i\ change, and I should be sorry to say how long it is since I .had a wash. I am afraid tli'ere is no more news. We fight all day, or are under.artillery fire, and dig.