TOWARDS THE BATTLE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 245, 4 July 1918, Page 6

TOWARDS THE BATTLE

\ EVER UT AND MOVING ON. . (By "J.H.," in. tho "DaiTy Mail:") The man stood still, flashing his light on the faces of blanketed forms, uncertainly, questioningly, now allowing it to hover on tho tablo whore were pens, ink, blue and black pencils, a typewriter, and files of documents neatly' arranged, now flashing it back on the faces. Tn the air an irregular sigh and sob of breaths. •' _ A form stirred, placed its' hands behind its head, propped its head up two inches, and stared at the man. Then it grunted and spoke. "You from Brigade?" , The dispatch rider-the man with the light—started. "Yes; you orderly-room sergeant " Tbs blanketed one grunted oned, more.- "Chuck it 6veiv" he said in a tone- of deep resignation. The __■ dispatch rider gingerly over and * flashed his lamp while!, the sergeant read. , Another grunt _ "Operation orders. Aa "I thought. Shift again in the morning. Umph! 7.30. Always do move us In tho middle of the night. Light that candle, son./ Good-night." ■ He threw off tho blankets, pulled on his boots, and slipped on his tunic and greatcoat. He took his flash-lamp and the oporation orders and went'out into the slippory, muddy streets to seek the adjutant's billet. Adjutants are light sleepers and have the faculty of being wide awake in 'an instant. The adjutant sighed. "Another move " "Yes, sir." . "What time " "Seven-thirty head of battalion leaves .evoss-roads." A. few rapid calculations th.his head, and then, sitting up in bed, the adjutant wrote the battalion operation orders, giving time of breakfast, order'of march, and so on. ' "Bettor'send them out noiv, sir '' "Yes, they'll have to be disturbed in any case." The sergeant went back to his billet, lit his candle, filled his pipe (being a ! philosopher), a«d settled down at tho table to msko copies of the order for the company commanders, medical officer, signal officer, transport officer, quartermaster, and regimental sergeant-major. Then ho woke an orderly. The'orderly sighed, pulled on his boots, : and went off into the night to rouse the .officers 'concerned. The officers sighed arid.sent their orderlies to their respective sergeants-major or non-commissioned officers concerned. By half-past three everybody again slept.. , They ,had moved up every day for four days, every night a somewhat similar procedure. Sometimes fairly early in the evening, sometimes half-way through the night, the operation orders came. But always regularly β-i etdekwork the ,hea<l of the TOittalion passed the appointed spot a few minutes before the appointed time. Folk who need a day "or two to prepare to go away for the week-end may well wonder how it is done, for a thousand men are not'easily housed and fed in a fresh place each day. ' An officer and non-commissioned officers go ahead of the battalion, usually on bicycles, as a billeting part}'. Their task is to discover and allot the* billets. It is not always easy, for' few Trench folk have learned to speak much English, and the British soldier is, as , a rule, no linguist. The combination, though, of intense effort and vivacity with great good humour on both sides contrives to loosen understanding. So that by the time the battalion marches in, each company's billets and these of headquarters, quartermaster's stores, transport, medical inspection room are all allocated.

Immediately begins in the orderly room* the task of .unpacking part'of the oihee supplies. Tho typewriter, having been rescued from the transport, is unearthed from tho box where it ia securely nailed up, together with current files of papsrs awl letters. For tho machinery of the battalion never stops. "Orderly room" is held, returns to brigade are immediately to be made, and there begins the stream of cyclist orderlies', and dis"patch riders between the Various headquartore.

"Aro -we'moving to-morrow again?" is , on everybody's lips,'and folk answer it in , the affirmative or negative as their wishes—dependent on whether their billet is good (si , bad—may bo. A different homo, a different village, a different bed, are interesting to most, but the adjutant \aud his sergeant.are wont to sigh about it. , For to march ten miles, open up "office" in anything from a chateau to a ' barn, go to bed, get up in the middle of the night to issue orders, bo up early, pack up 'the "office" and "movo up" again is not exactly a gay life. .