Volume 25 www.legionnl.com 29 Newfoundland Labrador Command continued ... continued ... Now, as we advanced in rushes of five or six men at a time. We would run a short distance then lie down and I could see fellows all around rising and then run a short distance, to fall wounded or dead. As we were now under a storm of bullets, the ground beneath our feet was almost like some person had drawn an harrow over it. The ground was so torn by the bullets from the German machine guns one could scarcely imagine how anyone could escape. These guns fired at the rate of three hundred bullets from each gun per minute, and there must have been more than three or four hundred of them. I have often felt since that God's hand was at work! We were advancing toward a little village by the name of Masnieres, where the German Headquarters was situated. As we got nearer to the borders of this village, we could see faces of men with their revolvers and rifles shooting through the windows. Running by the side of the village and between us and the houses lay St. Quentin Canal about sixty feet wide and filled with water. There was a bridge across this canal which could rise up with chains so that boats could pass under it. The Germans had raised this bridge on one side so that it was difficult for us to cross. Even while we were crossing one after the other, the bullets were cutting splinters out of the bridge. Certainly more than one fell around it. As we passed up the road on the other side, there was just as many boys coming back wounded as there was going up. The Germans having occupied a house in which they had eight machine guns, and these were concentrated on the cross roads which made it almost impossible to pass. Finally we dropped a trench mortar shell on the house which put them out of action and we captured the eight guns. Here Captain Butler led the charge up the hill at the back of the village, but he soon returned with several bullet wounds in him, and thus he went off down the lines. I wished I could go with him. Ten or twelve of us with the trench mortar gun, for which I had been carrying shells all day, tried to reach the top of the hill led by a brave man, Lieutenant Herder. We had to halt several times because the machine gun fire was so terrible. Seeing it was impossible to go any further, our leader gave the order to retire back to the road which was about one hundred yards behind us. In our short retreat, the man running in front of me was hit through the leg. When he fell, I jumped over him and reached the road alright. It was now near dark. Next we got into an old brick house, and after getting the food from our dead comrades, we proceeded to get something to eat. Although I was very wicked at that time I thanked God that the first day was past and I was not hurt. That night we spent in bringing up ammunition. Come the morning, we had to go with the Essex Regiment and carrying our trench mortars we helped them take the left half of the village. Then we had to go 'cleaning up'. This was to get all the snipers and otherwise hidden Germans that may be left in the village. This was no pleasant task as one never knew the moment when he would come up against five or six of these who were hiding in nearly every dark corner. Following this we got mixed up with the English Troops and became stranded. Then we received orders and were assigned to different companies. I hardly knew how I passed that night. The next day I wandered into my own "C" Company. They were expecting a relief party which came up that night. We retired back about two miles to another little village, Marcoing, where we were to stand in reserve for a day or two - so we were told, then we would go out on six week's rest. On Friday morning we received orders to move out! Many of us thought we were going out for the 'rest'. At this time there was terrible bombardment on the village we were in and, as we started down what was once a street, but was now blocked up with houses that were blown down, there was no scarcity of bodies dead or dying everywhere. At one place in particular one could walk for a hundred yards or more on dead men. To our surprise when we reached the edge of the village we found that instead of going back for a rest we had to go and meet the Germans in an open field. As we stopped for a moment waiting for our officers, the General who stood by said, "I thought better of the Newfoundlanders than to go hanging around here by this little hedge”. At that moment Captain Bartlett passed by and on hearing the General's remark answered “why, sir, what do you want them to do?" "Go and drive the 'Bosh’ back", came the reply. We were now about two hundred and fifty or three hundred in number and upon hearing these words, Captain Bartlett sprang forwards, at the same time waving his stick over his head and shouting his 'forward!' command. We all sprang forward with a shout at the same time fixing our bayonets. As I write I can almost picture those bayonets glistening in the sun.
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