The Dregs of War

Horowhenua Chronicle, 6 October 1915, Page 3

The Dregs of War

.SITItICMACY OK "Till'; ENGINEER. i. ill.' loilun ieLL el' 11UH1 ail oiucci' ol 1110 Kuyal .Engineer,> serving iu the Dardanelles. ailords a glimpse ol juotiui'ii wiaiaiv as \ ;ou od by uiu technical oliicer, wariare shorn of the old glamour ol charging cavalry and flying ai'tillcvy columns—the "dregs ol war'' - as the writer calk it:— 1 don't suppose that any corner ol our far-flung battle-line in more interesting than this one—as war goes. 1 say "a.s war goes," for this trench lighting, to which apparently every one .s everywhere reduced, i.s the very dregs of war. dashing and picturesque a.s soldiers and story-tellers used to know it. Where are the cavalry (Julie for ever. Whore the .splendid .R.H.A.i' —tlie change of scene, the march, the bivouac (daily) in new and lurther lands, t in- sen rolling for the enemy (behind a hill), the affairs of outposts, escapades, the Hank marches, and the night inarches dans la gramie bataille? They are all gone, every one, ami nothing its left but the deep and dirty trench, the immutable outlook on the immutable enemy, the made ol allov-ways ill the rear, and the mole-like progress of the saps and alleys in front. Vast plans are laid, involving tlie removal of mountains: the authorities might well begin to issue faith as an "article ol store," The engineer is supreme, and every man is an engineer. Every morning I sally forth from my dug-out to the trendies, and borrowing a periscope (the modern weapon. ..nd thank the beaven<! we have 1 thousands of them) 1 survey iu safety these same old enemy trenches, perhaps <10 yards away. Never a sign of man, of course, but we see many a shovol-ful ol earth going over the parapet and their saphead day after day steadily advancing towards us. Great is tlie excitement when a new approach is broken out by them. This then is the battle being joined all along the line, and at points we are at very dose grips, and like schoolboys, all we dare <lo it to throw stones at each other. But Ihe stones are bombs, and very tiresome tilings they arc. AN EXCITING NIGHT. A few nights ago 1 went up to ihe firing-line at 11 p.m. to see some barbell wire put out, and at a iirigade Headquarters found great excitement'—telegrams galore pouring in. Sounds oi "picking" through the soil had been heart! in one ol our galleries. The. distance had been estimated at Sft. away, and it had been ordered that if it came to two or three feet away we were to fire a mine. I Avent along with ex perieneed miners—silently, with boots off—and listened. Nothing for a long time, as we lay Avith our ears to (he dark tunnel side, two feet by four--then quite, far away, as it sounded, "pick, pick, pick"--the most e-erie and sinister sound 1 over expect to hoar, like another Avorld creeping into ours. One coulil hardly believe it was so near. Consultation had they heard usP "Which way were they moving. Should we fire the mine, or should we waitP 1 was for waiting, and so reported. \t 3 a.m. the Rounds were no nearer, so 1 turned in, but Avhile T slept took it upon himself to fire the charge, opinion being that they were close to breaking through. 1 daresay we killed a few. This would be a- really fine spot, Avith its wonderful .sandhills and glorio-js seabcach, if it weren't tor the stray metal Hying about. It is a magnificent sight, or rather .sound, at night. One cllimbs the bills and, reaching the top, turns to encompass the scene. The gullicijjjire full of the clamour of echoing rifle-lire, which, as one ascended (well-screened) track, spat and ■whirred safely above one. (Why the Turks fire, Heaven only knows. No one ifc dreaming of moving ftetween the trendies, and no man can see anything to fire at.) An occasional great trench bomb makes a prodigious noiso f0 ' very little wool. Then the shrap, continuous knocking oi the machine-gun —a very deadly gentleman, this. And through it all tho fighting men sleep on. T Avas aroused later by — r , who had come to discuss mining propositions, like a couple of company promoters. .. . The flies 1 1 Avish wo could enlist them to fight against their father. . . . T feel like a soul under the alter: nothing so comfortable as that, though, just noAv —London Times.