CHAPTER XIV
THE STORM OF WAR
"Listen to that music," said Frank to his comrades the next morning, asa furious cannonade opened up that made the ground shake and filled theair with flying missiles of death.
"Too many bass notes in it to be real good music," remarked Billy witha grim.
"Maybe it's the overture just before the rising of the curtain,"suggested Bart.
"Perhaps it is," agreed Frank. "The Hun has got to start his drivesome time, and this would be just the kind of morning for it. See howheavy that mist lies on the ground? We couldn't see the Germans at adistance of fifty yards."
"It's mighty thick for a fact," observed Bart. "But I guess ouradvanced posts are on the job. They'll give us warning in plenty oftime."
"Not that we need much warning as far as I can see," said Billy."We've been ready for a long time to fight at the drop of a hat. I'llbet the Hun doesn't carry a foot of our line."
"That's where you're wrong, Billy, old scout," warned Bart. "It standsto reason that he'll get away with something at first. You take anyone man, no matter how strong he is, and if ten fellows rush him all atonce they're bound to drive him back at the start. The Huns have gotthe advantage of knowing where they're going to strike. We don't knowand so we have to spread our forces out so as to be ready to meet himat any point. Then, too, the man who comes rushing in has theadvantage of the fellow who's standing still because he's got momentum.That's why generals would rather fight on the offensive than on thedefensive. They're able to pick the time and place and the otherfellow has to follow his lead."
"I don't see why the Allies can't take the offensive," grumbled Billy."It gets my goat to let the Huns hit first."
"It does mine too," admitted Frank, "and if it hadn't been for Russiaquitting, we'd be looking now at the coattails of the Kaiser's generalsas they scooted back to Berlin. But that's a bit of hard luck that wecan't help. Russia's back-down has taken ten million soldiers from theAllies' strength. But America will make that all up in time and thenyou'll see us doing the chasing."
"It can't come too soon to suit me," said Billy. "I only wish UncleSam had started sooner to get ready."
"So do I," replied Frank. "But there's no use crying over spilt milk.We're getting ahead now with leaps and bounds. I was talking to WillStone the other day, and he'd just got back from a flying trip to oneof the French seaports. He says it simply knocked him stiff to see thetransports coming in loaded to the guards with American troops. And hesays the roads are fairly choked with doughboys moving this way.They're coming like a swarm of locusts. And there's millions morewhere they came from. Oh, Uncle Sam is awake now, all right, and don'tyou forget it! And when he once gets started there's nothing on earthcan stop him."
"Right you are!" said Bart.
"We've won every war we've ever been in and it's got to be a habit,"grinned Billy.
The old Thirty-seventh was stationed on the second line, or what iscalled in military terms, "the line of resistance." In modernfighting, when a heavy attack is expected the defending army is usuallyarranged in three lines. The first is the advanced line, and this ishardly expected to be held very long. Its chief aim is to hold backthe enemy for a while and weaken him as far as possible. Not manytroops are employed on this line nor many big guns. The chief relianceis on rifle fire and machine guns, which are so placed as to deliver awithering cross-fire and cut up the enemy divisions.
By the time the first line is driven back the defending army knowswhere the enemy has chosen to strike and is ready for him on the secondline or "line of resistance." Here the battle is on in all its fury.If here again the enemy advances, there is still a third line of"battle positions." This is practically the last entrenched positionthat the defenders have. If they are driven back from this into theopen country beyond, it becomes a serious thing for the retreatingarmy, as many of their big guns will have been lost, and their forcesare apt to be more or less disorganized, while the enemy is flushedwith the victory he has so far gained.
The cannonade kept on with increasing fury all through the earlymorning.
"Heinie must have plenty of ammunition," remarked Frank. "He'sspending it freely."
"It beats anything we've been up against since we came to the front,"observed Billy.
"It seems to be coming nearer and nearer all the time," said Bart. "Iguess this is going to be our busy day."
There was intense activity all through the lines. Orderlies gallopedfrom place to place with orders. Big motor cars rumbled up, loadedwith troops who were hastily placed in position. The big guns of theAllied forces had opened up and were sending back shell for shell overthe enemy lines.
For over two hours the artillery kept up the Titanic duel. The fog waslifting, though still heavy in some of the low-lying sections. TheThirty-seventh was resting easily on its arms, ready for whatever mighthappen.
"We may not see so much fighting after all," remarked Billy, after awhile. "The fellows in front seem to be holding pretty well. Perhapsthey'll throw the Huns back right from the start."
"Don't kid yourself," replied Frank grimly. "That first line is almostsure to go. It's expected to. It's only a forlorn hope anyway. We'llget our stomachs full of fighting before the day is over."
Even while he spoke there were signs of confusion up in front. Groupsof men came in sight evidently retreating. Machine gun crews, bringingtheir weapons with them, were hurriedly setting them up in newpositions. There would be a few discharges and then they would beforced to retreat still further. They were fighting splendidly, andputting up a dogged resistance, yielding ground only foot by foot, butto the experienced eyes of the boys there was no mistaking the signs.The enemy had broken through the first line positions.
"Well, it's nothing more than we knew would happen," remarked Frank, ashis frame tingled with the excitement of the coming fight which he knewwould soon be upon him.
"That's so," agreed Bart. "But what gets me is that the line wasbroken so quickly. I thought it would be afternoon at least before theHuns got as far as this."
The lines opened up to let the newcomers through so that they could goto the rear and re-form.
"How about it?" Frank asked of a machine gunner whom he knew, as theman limped by him, supported by a comrade. "We didn't expect to seeyou fellows so soon."
"It was the mist," was the reply. "The Huns got within thirty yardsbefore we tumbled to it. We did the best we could but they justswamped our position before we could get our cross-fire going. Even atthat we mowed them down in heaps with our rifle fire, but they kept oncoming. For every dead man there were twenty live ones to take hisplace. We put up a stiff fight, but there were too many of them. Itseemed like millions. They're coming now like a house afire and youboys want to brace."
"We're braced already," muttered Billy through his clenched teeth, ashe gripped his rifle until it seemed as though his fingers must leavetheir imprint on the stock.
There was a short period of waiting, more trying by far than any actualfighting.
Then the storm broke!
In front of them rank after rank of gray-clad troops came in sight,stretching back as far as the eye could see. The mist had whollyvanished now and the boys could see their enemy. It seemed as thoughthe machine gunner had not exaggerated when he said that there weremillions. They were like the waves of the sea.
But the stout hearts of the American boys never quailed. Time andagain they had met these men or their fellows and driven them back atthe point of the bayonet. They had outfought and outgamed them. Theyhad sent them flying before them. They had seen their backs.
The blood of heroes and of patriots ran in the veins of the defenders.Their ancestors had fought at Bunker Hill, at Palo Alto, at Gettysburg.Above them floated the Stars and Stripes, an unstained flag, a gloriousflag, a flag that had never been smirched by defeat.
Their eyes blazed and their muscles stiffened.
The
n like an avalanche the enemy struck!