WITH THE "GASMEN" IN ACTION
A GAS ATTACK BY THE BRITISH
HOW IT IS DONE
> A remarkably interesting account is given by a correspondent of'tho "Eventing Standard," calling. himself "A British Gasman/' of the way 111 which '•'gasrinp;" Ss done i|n. Sir Douglas lHaigs army: — "Imagine," ho says, "tlio front-lino Frenches about A- —, in the lateeven•iiig. Tor the last day or so the British bombardment has been ongaged in In kind of prelude,- and the crescendo pf noise is occasionally broken by intervals of silcnco almost as nerveracking in their contrast as the previous din. Behind our lines the sun lias set in a bla>:e of glory. A glance ever the parapet :-;!io\vs the green and ißcarlot ot itho popped "No Man's it and" already, merging into the grey inists of twilght; but 150 yaTds away, like a brown earth shadow amongst tho greys, hangs the rusty barbed •wire of the enemy, and just beyond a jwliita, chalky upthrow marks his Front-line trench. The gasmen stare across the silent shadows at that white line, and for a moment they .think of the chocky-gurgling cough of the wen. who die by/gas." , '"Connect rip I" The' order, conies down the line, passed on from one hay of the trench (to another, and the 'gaaftibn immediately get busy. The front rows of neatly piled sandbags of which each fire-Btop is apparently solidly built aro pulled .out, and disclose a cavity in which show, black anfli ominous, the cowled heads of a tow of iron cyEridors. They are sunk 'An pits speoially dug .by the gasmen,' land well "bagged up," to protect them •from pdssiblo crack or puncture by jflying fragment or richochetting bullet. ■'Each cylinder weighs /about' 1301b., ; !and contains 1 sufficient compressed- gas, ; jf it could be used without. waste._ to -put an entire company out of action.
Waiting for a Breeze. ■ On top of tho cylinders lies a tangle iof flexiblo connecting pipes, three a-iid •four way joints, spigots, and sorow-iets, .and upon these, with, speinner ,the gasmen, begin work. The cylinder '■cowls are removed, revealing valve and inutted outlet, and before long the mass jof piping is straightened out and .pinned neatly in position to the back the parapet. The cylinders are all (connected up in series, and nothing relinains but to throw over the "itop of the parapet and open the valves ',in order to release the deadly fames. But something is-required to carry the gas ovor to the German lines—a. favouring breeze —and never did sailor scan the sky more intently than the gasmen watch their little, inconspicuous .Wind-' ■ gauges, fixed to the edge of the trench. . 'They must have a wind of a certain direction, and thov prefer it of a certain strength. On this occasion, tho direc- : tion is satisfactory enough, A gentle breoze holds tho wind-gauge pointers • 6teadily across No Man's Land, straight towards tho German, trenches. Hut the question of strength is more doubtful. The breeze shows signs q£ weakness, and occasionally falls to a mere, almost imperceptible zephyr. When not watohing the wind, the gasmen are watching their pipes; re- ■ peatodly feeling and testing every inoh of tube and joint; for none know better than they the danger of leakage and of ' the escape of gas in their own trenches. Presently an officer passes down the line, casting rapid though keen glances as he goes at each set of cylinders and their connecting pipes. And in every bay he pauses and whispers two words io the corporal in charge, "11 o'clock." Night lias now completely fallen. Slowly the minutes creep by, and slowly hut surely the breeze loses strength. The gasmen shake their heads. Three nights already have they waited in vain for this wind which will not blow, when it is wanted. Yet there is always hope that the' breeze will re--1 ,vive in time. Presently, the news filters down that at 11 o'clock- the. infantry, in the second litie trench, will open with rapid rifle and machine-gun lire to cover the gas discharge. Ten-thirty. Ton-forty-five. And still tho breeze is falling. At tenfifty the gasmen don their special respirators, which, in the dim light, give the wearers a'fitrange, almost inhuman appearance. Masked and goggled, • with weird, trunk-like pieces of hose ■ running from the mouthpiece to the . 'box of air-purifying chemicals strapped 'to their ohosts, thoy look like some of .the unearthly beings who people the ', books of Mr. H. G. Wells. Ten-fifty-'five. A last and most careful examination is made of the pipes and connections. Spanners and keys aro. laid ready to hand, and the men stand straining their eyes at the wind- ' gauges. Ten-fifty-nino. Not a breath disturbs the still air. The feeble'breeze -ihas ; died completely. Hurriedly the : order runs down the' lino: "Cancel, and stand by I" Behind their masks the gasmen grunt disgustedly. But suddenly—crack 1 brack!! rat-a-tat! rat-a-tat-tat !1 Tho orders to the infantry, 'have not been countermanded. The ga6meu move about unoasily. It is not for themselves thoy fear, but '■for those pipes and cylinder heads lying bare ana exposed to hail of flying fragment's. Well they know tho danger of hursts and of trenches filled .with gas and no wind to move it. But they . cannot "bag-up" without orders, and so they detail one of their number in each bay to watcli the cylinders while
the rest gather behind the traverse, as being a slightly safer spot, and wish i that their own side would "shut up . and'let the Germans go to sleep again." But far in the rear, through the din of the lighter stuff,' some big gun coughs heavily, and overhead the shell "eh-sh's" by like an aerial express train. The original infantry fire is developing into a regular bombardment, in which Fritz is not content to take all and givo nothing, and the gasmen grow profane. However, it is over an hour before the fire begins to slacken, and the order comes down to . disconnect and bag-up, and close in on , the soction's dug-out just at the back of the front line.
. c At Last! Assembled here, the men are informed that the higher powers lav,© ordain- , ed that the gas must be got oif at the first opportunity. Possibly the breeze will rovive with the dawn. When day brealtß a fair wind is .blowing-, but not . quite in the desired direction. However, it is gradually veering round. There follows a further period of weary waiting, and tlien, at last, about .8 o'clock in. the morning, the men. leave the dug-out and again take up their stations in the trench. Once more the oylinders are unbagged and connected up, a new time is set, and respirators are again donned. This time too wind leaves nothing to be desired; a steady breeze is blowing straight towards the German, trenches. But, of course, it is now broad daylight, and tho gas will be visible as soon as it leaves tho pipes. Tho gasmen know what to ex- ■ pect. They .know that as soon as the greenish-grey coluds arise outside their parapet there will bo running messengers and hurried telephoning in the ',5? German lines. They know that within a few minutes the word will have 1 reached the German big guns at the ■ back, and that. - evory piece capable of flattening out a parapet and burying them, mangled and broken, among their own cylinders will J)e concentrated
upon the front-line trench in which] they stand. J3eneath their masks their faces may bo pale and set, but tho hands which already grasp the valvewheels do not tremble, and their eyes aro fixed steadily 011 the synchronised watches pinned to the parapet. Time! Over the top the jet-pipos are flung, and then, simultaneously along almost two miles of trench, there arises a sibilant hiss, as of some monstrous and venomous snake suddenly aroused from slumber. Now the gasmeil arc working frantically with wheel and spanner and key, and the sibilant hiss increases in shrillness and volume. Outside the parapet the green poison fog is already spreading like a foul blanket over No Man's Laud. , Carried ceaselessly forward by the breeze, its outer edge is radiply approaching the German trenches, into which it will presentlv sink, spreading agony and death among those who cannot escape it. Under Fire. Behind their masks the gasmen begin to breathe more freely, and then, suddenly, on the left, "crash!" And "crash I" again, and yet again. This time on the right, somewhere close at hand. Tho men crouch lower over their cylinders. The explosions now follow one another almost too rapidly to count, and-in any case their miuds are 110 longer fitted to cotot—ore care. Only the valves must be turned, and the pipes must be watched, • and the sudden spurt of vapour which marks a leak must be checked by the application of a handful of mud, which the gas itself immediately freezes into an iron-hard and impenetrable. mass. In one of the bays, the parapet rocks suddenly and falls forward, burying the men . and their cylinders. Almost immediately the men scramble out of the debris again, miraculously unhurt; but the pipes are broken and snapped, and gas is filling the trench. With spanner and mud the thing is stopped, new connections are rigged up-, and the death vapour is again directed outside what is left of the trench. But one of tho men has had the mouthpiece of his respirator broken, and already 110 is ooughing and choking painfully. "I've got it!" he gasps hoarsely, and goes behind the traverse to suck an ammonia ampule and die slowly. Closing-up time'! Rapidly the valves are shut down, the jet pipes withdrawn and plugged and stacked away. Feverishly the men work at bagging up their cylinders again. They have finished now; they have done their bit. In the dug-out, with the shells still pounding overhead, the section's roll is called. Mose of the men answer to their names. Some are answered for by comrades as wounded and on their way to the dressing station. And for others no one answers at all. But over in the German trenches hundreds of men aro choking and gasping in agonj[ for an hour before then can die. Fritz has been made to quaff his own medicine.
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Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2913, 27 October 1916, Page 6
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1,712WITH THE "GASMEN" IN ACTION Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2913, 27 October 1916, Page 6
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