opposing forces contend for possession.
However, with the delicate instruments now available, it is nearly always possible to detect and follow the progress of any such sapping, with the result that the enemy will resort to one of two means to defeat the operation. He may elect to try what is known as “counter-sapping.” In this case he endeavors to drive his own sap so as to reach a point directly beneath that of the enemy, from which point he will explode a charge of powder which will destroy the upper work.
Or, if he has reason to believe that the sap is near the surface, he will direct the fire of several heavy guns on the place in the effort to cave in and destroy the tunnel. During the entire period in which we occupied any part of the line up there around Ypres, such operations were going on. We knew, and the enemy knew, that any of us were liable to be blown up most any time. Which is just another of the things that help to keep war from becoming too monotonous.
I notice that I have been using the word “saps” rather loosely. I should have brought in the “Tunnelers.” A sap, strictly speaking, is more of a trench than a tunnel but, in the old days, this whole branch of the Corps of Engineers was embraced under the title, “Miners and Sappers.” Nowadays they have the regular “Tunneling Companies.” However, the two lines of work are so closely associated and so often merged into a single operation that I do not expect to be severely criticized on this point, so we will let it go at that.
Now, these particular craters were the results of many months of work and were among the largest I have ever seen, one of them being at least two hundred feet across and three of the others were almost as large. The walls of earth, on the lips of the craters were raised up some ten feet or more above the surrounding ground and the pits inside were anywhere from ten to twenty feet deeper. At the time of which I write, the central part of all the craters was filled with water, only a few feet around the edge being available for standing room. The water was filled with things not pleasant to think about. Many men had died there and the bodies of these, together with the twisted metal, broken timbers and other debris from the blown-up trenches made a horrible mess, but, “believe it or not,” we had become so accustomed to that sort of thing that we could and did move about, eat and sleep there without the slightest compunction.
After considerable groping around in the dark, assisted now and then by the light of a flare from one side or the other, we found the end of the trench which communicated with “Germany.” Moving cautiously down this some fifty or sixty feet, we left one man there to watch. Returning to the crater we looked over the wounded men and found that only two of them still lived. One of these had a shattered leg and the other was suffering from a head wound and was delirious. We did what we could for them and then went outside and got three more whom we brought in. One of these was shot through the body and died before morning, while another had received two bullets through the legs and was unable to stand. The third, who proved to be the one who had been knocked out with the gun barrel, was but slightly injured, having been stunned by a grenade and cut in a few places by fragments. Fortunately, this one could talk English and we got a lot of information from him. Among other things, he said that he had been in this crater before and that they had orders that, if they were overwhelmed, to throw the machine guns into the water in the middle of the crater. Acting on this tip, we spent some time in fishing around and we really did find one tripod and several belts of ammunition.
Paul — that was this German’s name — when he found that we did not intend to kill him — loosened up and told us all he knew. He was a Saxon and had lived in New York for several years, but, being in Germany on a visit when the war broke out, had been immediately drafted into the army. Owing to the fact that he happened to be sightseeing in Munich at the time, as near as I could make out, he was put in with the Bavarian troops and had become a machine gunner. It was apparent that he had but little love for the Bavarians, especially the officers, and I rather think he was very well satisfied to be taken prisoner.
I met more than one like that.
Along toward morning — just as it was beginning to get light in the east — the man who was on guard in the trench came hurrying in and said that he could hear someone coming our way. Without a moment’s hesitation, the sergeant ran for the trench, calling for two men to follow. They ran down until they were concealed by a traverse, quickly hiding themselves under an overhanging roof — probably an ammunition bay. In a few moments men could be heard coming along the trench. Acting on the instructions of the sergeant, we all crouched close to the wall in silence. One after another, eight men passed us, the first six carrying a machine gun, with mount and many boxes of ammunition. The last two carried large cooking pots and sacks of something. When the last had passed, we slipped out behind them and followed until, just as they were rounding the corner leading into the crater, the sergeant called for them to halt. We all had our rifles and when those fellows turned around to see what it was all about, they simply gave a few grunts of astonishment, dropped their loads and put up their hands.
It was the easiest capture I ever saw. We made them carry all the stuff inside, and then, after disarming them, took them around to the other side of the hole and left them, with one man to watch. They were coming up to relieve the gun crew who were supposed to be in the crater and had two days cooked rations with them, in addition to the regular haversack ration. Pretty soft for us. In the sacks were several little loaves of
About this time I noticed one of the prisoners taking his little round water bottle off his belt and slipping it into his inside coat pocket. Acting on a hunch, I went over and asked one of them to give me a drink. He pretended not to understand, so I took possession of his “canteen” and helped myself. My hunch was a good one, for the bottle was filled with brandy. We quickly possessed ourselves of the others and found that they all contained the same liquor. Oh, man: that was a godsend. We let each of the prisoners take a good drink and gave the wounded men a little extra and then put the rest where it would do the most good for the cause of “democracy.” We then started a search of all the other bottles on the dead Germans lying around but found them to contain nothing but water. Paul did a little talking with the new bunch and learned that they had found a case of brandy which was intended for some officer’s mess and had appropriated all they could carry.
By then it was broad daylight and high time to consider the future. The wounded men must be cared for very soon or it would be too late. In that place, where the earth, water and even the air, were polluted with the rotten flesh of long-dead men and all the other nasty things which your imagination can supply, it was imperative that wounds be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected without delay or death would probably result. After considerable cogitation the sergeant decided upon a course which might have been thought foolish but which, as events proved, was the correct one. It was obviously impossible to get back to our lines in daylight as the ground over that way was under direct observation from Germany and not even a snake could have covered it without being detected. So he called Paul and told him he was going to send two of the last batch of prisoners out with the wounded Germans — back to their own lines — as we did not wish to be encumbered with them and he emphasized the fact that it was their only chance for life. These men were to take the wounded, one at a time, to the nearest dressing station and leave them there. The carriers were to be told that all the other prisoners were to be kept in the crater — as hostages. He figured that this would serve to prevent any shelling or other attempt at hostilities, during the day.
By utilizing pieces of board from the wrecked dug-outs, bits of chicken wire which had probably been used as revetting material and strips of cloth torn from uniforms, a serviceable stretcher was made and the first man carried out. The same procedure was carried out with the rest, only that the carriers, when they came back from the first trip, had brought a regular litter. As soon as they had departed with the last of the wounded men, we went to work and built up a substantial barricade across the trench, well outside the crater — and then settled down for a rest. Imagine our surprise when the two stretcher-bearers came back and, without a word, climbed over the barricade and went over and rejoined their comrades in the crater. We asked Paul “How come?” but he just laughed and said they were sick of the war and would rather be prisoners. Now, I cannot conceive of any Canadian, or other Britisher, for that matter, doing a thing like that but you never can tell about a German. They do and think things that are beyond our comprehension.
We took turns sleeping and the only disturbance during the day was when our own artillery put about a dozen shells into and around the crater — evidently thinking it was occupied by the enemy. No one was hurt, and, as soon as it was dark, Dan and Simpson were sent back to our lines with the prisoners — all but Paul, whom we kept in case we might have further use for an interpreter. He did not like it at all as he wanted as he expressed it, to “get
