Kings Royal Hussars
17-06-2005, 20:24
The cacophony of thunderous shellbursts and the spine chilling shriek of falling projectiles reached a terrifying crescendo of death. And then it stopped.
Captain Bettle was relieved, relieved and scared.
The shells of the Germans had almost certainly smashed hole through the densely packed barbed wire.
there was nothing the British engineers could do to repair the damage now. The attack had already begun, through his trench periscope, Bettle could make out a watery thing green mist. Gas.
He hastily issued the order to fix gas masks, and heard his men, his brothers, fumbling to fit their masks.
"Stand do! Fix bayonets, machine gunners arm weapons" He Barked.
They Hesitated.
"Do it!" Shouted Sergeant Harkey, my 2.IC "It's an assault, hurry!"
The men were raw recruits, it was madness, sending kids if merely 17 to their deaths in these muddy pits of squalor and decay. He shuddered, a bone, still partly covered in skin, protruded from the trench wall. If he were new to this hell hole I would have balked. Hell, He thought, I'm only 21, if anything, this war has made a man of me.
The stacato of machine gun fire ebbed away as the last remaining raidaers scuttled off back into the smoky abyss of no mans land.
The British had held, just. Casualties had been fairly heavy on both sides. Bettles unit had been hit particularly badly. Only 14 of the original 20 remained, and one of Bettles closest friends, Cpl Hodges was being ferried along the supply lines to a first aid post.
But it had just been a probing attack.
The combat engineers were already working to fix the shattered wire.
They would be cut short though, as the thunder of a storm of shells heralded a new attack.
Captain Bettle was relieved, relieved and scared.
The shells of the Germans had almost certainly smashed hole through the densely packed barbed wire.
there was nothing the British engineers could do to repair the damage now. The attack had already begun, through his trench periscope, Bettle could make out a watery thing green mist. Gas.
He hastily issued the order to fix gas masks, and heard his men, his brothers, fumbling to fit their masks.
"Stand do! Fix bayonets, machine gunners arm weapons" He Barked.
They Hesitated.
"Do it!" Shouted Sergeant Harkey, my 2.IC "It's an assault, hurry!"
The men were raw recruits, it was madness, sending kids if merely 17 to their deaths in these muddy pits of squalor and decay. He shuddered, a bone, still partly covered in skin, protruded from the trench wall. If he were new to this hell hole I would have balked. Hell, He thought, I'm only 21, if anything, this war has made a man of me.
The stacato of machine gun fire ebbed away as the last remaining raidaers scuttled off back into the smoky abyss of no mans land.
The British had held, just. Casualties had been fairly heavy on both sides. Bettles unit had been hit particularly badly. Only 14 of the original 20 remained, and one of Bettles closest friends, Cpl Hodges was being ferried along the supply lines to a first aid post.
But it had just been a probing attack.
The combat engineers were already working to fix the shattered wire.
They would be cut short though, as the thunder of a storm of shells heralded a new attack.