In gunpowder and in supplies of ammunition he was
our master all along the line, and made use of his mastery by flinging
over large numbers of shells, of all sizes and types, which caused a
heavy toll in casualties to us; while our gunners were strictly
limited to a few rounds a day, and cursed bitterly because they could
not "answer back." In March of 1915 I saw the first fifteen-inch
howitzer open fire. We called this monster "grandma," and there was a
little group of generals on the Scherpenberg, near Kemmel, to see the
effect of the first shell. Its target was on the lower slope of the
Wytschaete Ridge, where some trenches were to be attacked for reasons
only known by our generals and by God. Preliminary to the attack our
field-guns opened fire with shrapnel, which scattered over the German
trenches--their formidable earthworks with deep, shell-proof dugouts--
like the glitter of confetti, and had no more effect than that before
the infantry made a rush for the enemy's line and were mown down by
machine-gun fire--the Germans were very strong in machine-guns, and we
were very weak--in the usual way of those early days.
Pages:
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156