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Page 7
[Illustration: SCENE OF THE BLOODY BATTLES OF THE SOMME
The tide of war swept over this terrain with terrific violence. Peronne
was taken by the British in their great offensive of 1916-17; in the
last desperate effort of the Germans in 1918 they plunged through
Peronne, advancing 35 miles, only to be hurled back with awful losses by
Marshal Foch.]
The fighting-lines consisted generally of one, two, or three lines of
shelter-trenches lying parallel, measuring twenty or twenty-five inches
in width, and varying in length according to the number they hold; the
trenches were joined together by zigzag approaches and by a line of
reinforced trenches (armed with machine guns), which were almost
completely proof against rifle, machine gun, or gun fire. The ordinary
German trenches were almost invisible from 350 yards away, a distance
which permitted a very deadly fire. It is easy to realize that if the
enemy occupied three successive lines and a line of reinforced
intrenchments, the attacking line was likely, at the lowest estimate, to
be decimated during an advance of 350 yards--by rifle fire at a range of
350 yards' distance, and by the extremely quick fire of the machine
guns, each of which delivered from 300 to 600 bullets a minute with
absolute precision. In the field-trench, a soldier enjoyed far greater
security than he would if merely prone behind his knapsack in an
excavation barely fifteen inches deep. He had merely to stoop down a
little to disappear below the level of the ground and be immune from
infantry fire; moreover, his machine guns fired without endangering him.
In addition, this stooping position brought the man's knapsack on a
level with his helmet, thus forming some protection against shrapnel
and shell-splinters.
At the back of the German trenches shelters were dug for
non-commissioned officers and for the commander of the unit.
Ever since the outbreak of the war, the French troops in Lorraine, after
severe experiences, realized rapidly the advantages of the German
trenches, and began to study those they had taken gloriously. Officers,
non-commissioned officers, and men of the engineers were straightway
detached in every unit to teach the infantry how to construct similar
shelters. The education was quick, and very soon they had completed the
work necessary for the protection of all. The tools of the enemy
"casualties," the spades and picks left behind in deserted villages,
were all gladly piled on to the French soldiers' knapsacks, to be
carried willingly by the very men who used to grumble at being loaded
with even the smallest regulation tool. As soon as night had set in on
the occasion of a lull in the fighting, the digging of the trenches was
begun. Sometimes, in the darkness, the men of each fighting
nation--less than 500 yards away from their enemy--would hear the noise
of the workers of the foe: the sounds of picks and axes; the officers'
words of encouragement; and tacitly they would agree to an armistice
during which to dig shelters from which, in the morning, they would dash
out, to fight once more.
Commodious, indeed, were some of the trench barracks. One French soldier
wrote:
"In really up-to-date intrenchments you may find kitchens,
dining-rooms, bedrooms, and even stables. One regiment has first
class cow-sheds. One day a whimsical 'piou-piou,' finding a cow
wandering about in the danger zone, had the bright idea of finding
shelter for it in the trenches. The example was quickly followed,
and at this moment the ----th Infantry possess an underground farm,
in which fat kine, well cared for, give such quantities of milk
that regular distributions of butter are being made--and very good
butter, too."
But this is not all. An officer writes home a tale of yet another one
of the comforts of home added to the equipment of the trenches:
"We are clean people here. Thanks to the ingenuity of ----, we are
able to take a warm bath every day from ten to twelve. We call this
teasing the 'boches,' for this bathing-establishment of the latest
type is fitted up--would you believe it?--in the trenches!"
Describing trenches occupied by the British in their protracted
"siege-warfare" in Northern France along and to the north of the Aisne
Valley, a British officer wrote: "In the firing-line the men sleep and
obtain shelter in the dugouts they have hollowed or 'undercut' in the
side of the trenches. These refuges are slightly raised above the
bottom of the trench, so as to remain dry in wet weather. The floor of
the trench is also sloped for purposes of draining. Some trenches
are provided with head-cover, and others with overhead cover, the
latter, of course, giving protection from the weather as well as from
shrapnel balls and splinters of shells.... At all points subject to
shell-fire access to the firing-line from behind is provided by
communication-trenches. These are now so good that it is possible to
cross in safety the fire-swept zone to the advanced trenches from the
billets in villages, the bivouacs in quarries, or the other places where
the headquarters of units happen to be."
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