JimAttrill 24 Posted December 2, 2015 Nice picture for the time. I suppose those must be 'Very' flares as carried in aircraft as well. Very was an American naval officer, and Lewis was an American Army officer so they invented a lot of useful stuff for WWI. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted December 2, 2015 Wow - I hadn't thought they were firing THAT many flares in a short time! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 3, 2015 Wow - I hadn't thought they were firing THAT many flares in a short time! Maybe there were a lot of patrols out in No man's Land that night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted December 3, 2015 You wonder, how you could possibly "patrol" in that mud, with all that light on! Did they crawl through the dirt? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimAttrill 24 Posted December 3, 2015 Hey Dieter you should get a copy of 'Goodbye to all that' which was written by Robert Graves - a writer and poet in his own right. He served as a lieutenant in the Welch Fusiliers (not to be confused with the Welsh who were a different lot). He was lucky to survive the war being wounded 3 times and even declared dead at one time. He describes trench warfare very well - how they would 'sight' their rifles on sandbags so they could fire without aiming at night. Also how the German machine guns and rifles were aimed just above the ground so if they were discovered when between the lines at night the best thing to do was to stand up and walk back - then the bullets would get you in the legs rather than in the head. What they didn't want when patrolling between the lines was flares to go off, then they would if possible hide below ground in a shell hole until the flare went out and then walk back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted December 3, 2015 Damn - war is a cruel business...! Detlev is my name, by the way, Jim. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hauksbee 103 Posted December 3, 2015 Did they crawl through the dirt? I think they did. Standing up got you shot. (Ilearned this by watching "Black Adder") Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimAttrill 24 Posted December 3, 2015 Sorry Detlev! I got confused as I have German friends with both names. Yes Hauksbee, standing up would get you killed in daylight but at night in no-man's land standing up was safer according to Graves. I'll try to find the quote for you. Are you thinking of the episode where a soldier is presented with a clock in a glass case? Very funny but also tragic in a way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimAttrill 24 Posted December 3, 2015 Got the book and I read that in the Royal Welch the sentries at night would stand with their head and shoulders above the parapet. This meant that they could see better and if wounded, it would be mostly a chest wound rather than a head wound which was mostly fatal. And when describing a raid in no-man's land he writes: "We turned to go back; finding it hard not to move too quickly. We had got about half way, when German machine guns opened traversing fire along the top of the trenches. We immediately jumped to our feet; the bullets were brushing the grass, so to stand up was safer." He liked the trench raids as if he were wounded his chances of survival were higher than if there was a full-scale battle going on with the dressing stations overwhelmed. He states this not to justify cowardice but in order to possibly stay alive which seemed unlikely at the time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
