WAR SKETCHES
FROM THE BATTLE FRONT
"FIGHTING"
(By Patrick JlacGill, iiuthor o£ "The Great Push," etc.)
(Published by authority of the Wat Office, per favour of the Royal Colonial Institute.) Tho scene was I'resnoy \\ ood. lii a natural I'oki of the ground some half-a-dozen British, eoidiers were lying <{owii watching for tho enemy. He had been 6COH a few minutes before coining through tho clearing ahead, u sea of licld grey that advanced with more zeal '.hau strategy, and had been decimated by the rilies of the hidden British. £>ow liotaing could be seen in front save we dead and wounded in grey and lihufei.
"They'll be Hanking us now, iia doubt/' said one of the men, ( ail old soldier, bald and wrinkled. He nail lost Jiis hat, and his head, r' an( l shiny, tapered up like a pear. He was _atnazingly cool wider fire, and got to his leet each time that a enemy' was sighted, and fired from a standing position, fhe men did not know him; in fact, "they were all strangers to ono another. A. withdrawal makes for unusual companions; a man may lind I'imself in the shelter of a trench or a wall with soldiers whom ho has never met before, and so it was here. "There they are again," lie suddenly oxclaimed, getting to liis feet and bringing his ritlo up to his shoulder. "On. tho left, through the trees. Five rounds! Hapid lire!" The men obeyed him. Alfhough he was a private, there was something in his manner that made the men respect hiin. Ho was so cool. ... On the left front tho Germans could ))e seen advancing, coming nearer. They were met by the and several fell. The remainder sank to earth under cover of a natural hillock. The old man still stood upright and fired at those who stuck Tip their heads. Then when all was quiet lie sat down and reloaded. "They'll lio low tfor a minute, at least," he said. At tlmt moment a shell dropped very near, then .1 second and a third.
On'o of tho soldiers spoke. "I'm out of ammunition," lie said. "I've only tv- - o rounds left." "And I've 0 only ono cartridge," said another man. "I spent all mine this morning." Tho old man got to his feet and looked Tound. His eyes rested on the dead soldiers in khaki. Without a word he walked calmiy out and fumbled at the cartridgo ' pouches of the Tho smoke of 'tho exploding shells lay in tho wood like a fog, and this rose slowly and was constantly renewed. Tho 6hella were still falling, and, added to this, a hidden machine-sun was snapping viciously at the treo trunks, lhe soldiers could eacrcely see tho old man from their shelter. This pleased them, for they knew that the smoke would hide him from the eyos of the enemy. Presently ho came back, after having plundered sis or seven cartridge pouches. He threw the rounds amongst tho men, sat down, and rolled a cigarette. "I don't think they're going to advance any further,". he said. "I'm not so sure of that, said cne of the men. "Look! On the right!
There they were appearing lipw, men in grey, whose bayonets glittered as if polished. Tho old soldier got to Ins feet again. . , "Ready" ? he asked, as if a. commander born; then "Five rounds. Rapid f' ie - Again 'the enemy' recoiled, sank to earth, disappeared. At the same moment the crv of "Vorwarts"! was heard cri the left \ party of the Germans, exciting themselves by their own cries were closing in on the little band of British, one of whom had gone. He was lying on the ground with a bullet wound in his l'ead. The old man, still standing, raised ills" riflo with an easy indifference, and Sl "Givo it to them, boys," he said. "Throw tliem back." His voice was drowned by the crackle of the rifles as his men opened fire, ihe men paused, reloaded, and .fired .again. Their rifles became' almost red-hot. Manj of tho Germans fell. Those who remained alive sought cover. . . The old man looked at tho fallen soldier. "Dead?" he asked. "Dead," somebody repued. n "Well, that simplifies matters, he remarked. "We had better get out of lt- "Go back through the wood," he added "Through tho undergrowth. Tho undergrowth was thick and spring was already busy. The green of the foliage made a curtain for the men. lhey. rushed back for some twenty yards, came across an. abandoned trench, and flung themselves in. Round them the Boche was shouting, and it seemed that their last hour had come. _ „ "Tliev'TO reforming ranks, I think, Said their leader'as he elbowed lus way through the^ trench. Well be out of lt E > ven°!tf 1 he spoke a strange face looked over tho parapet. A German! He raised his rifle, ■ shoved the muzzle against the stranger's chest, and pressed the trigger. Tho enemy dropped without a word. Ten minutes later the men reached the British lines. , ~ One of them, who got wounded told the above story in hospital. Who the old man with the bald head was he could not say.
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Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3143, 28 July 1917, Page 8
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866WAR SKETCHES Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3143, 28 July 1917, Page 8
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