CHAPTER IX
IN THE TRENCHES
In some manner, known only to himself, Anthony Stubbs, war correspondentof the New York _Gazette_, had ingratiated himself with General Petain,the French commander at Verdun. General Petain, upon Stubbs' request,agreed that the little war correspondent should be allowed to make a tourof the city of Verdun and the surrounding fortifications and view forhimself the effects of the siege thus far.
An officer of the general staff was assigned by the French commander toshow Stubbs about. It was the first time a war correspondent had beenadmitted to Verdun and the surrounding fortifications; and because of thethings that Stubbs learned on the tour, it is fitting that the readertake the trip with him.
The officer first led Stubbs to the highest point on the walls encirclingVerdun and there explained the lay-out of the contending forces. Fromthis point of vantage, commanding the battlefield, Verdun looked like thecenter of a huge saucer, with the town lying very low, while all aroundrose an even circle of crests forming the outer edge of the saucer.
The dangerous proximity of the Germans was apparent. At the time thatStubbs viewed the battlefield the armies of the Kaiser held a goodlyportion of these crests, though the battle of Verdun was less than twoweeks old.
An intermittent bombardment was in progress from Fort Tavennes, FortSoueville, Fort St. Michael and Fort Belleville, which were barkingsteadily and giving off jets of black smoke. The German cannonade soundedlike a distant roar. The shelling of Verdun was continuing.
Three hundred shells a day had been hurled into Verdun itself during thebattle, Stubbs was informed by the French officer, upon one day as manyas 750 having been counted; but the average was 300. As the two stoodthere a French aeroplane was attacked by a German gun, shrapnel burstingall around as the machine turned from the German positions and dartedback to French cover.
The terrible course of the destruction was pointed out by the Frenchofficer. The town itself had been abandoned by the civil population,and even few troops were to be found there. Such shops and houses ashad escaped the shells were closed and barricaded; and the shellscontinued to fall.
The streets were crumbling ruins, with only jagged walls remaining hereand there. The cathedral had two shell holes in the roof; the main altarwas a mass of debris and the side altar was littered with brokencarvings, statues and chandeliers.
One wing of the handsome military club was torn off and the wholeestablishment was a wreck. The archbishop's residence had its famoussculptured walls peppered with shell holes and the adjoining College ofMarguerite had its delicate stone filigree reduced almost to powder.The houses along the Meuse, flanking the principal bridge, wereliterally wrecked.
Sixteen great shells had struck the town hall; one corner of the buildinghad been torn off and the clock tower smashed. The mayor's office wasbeing used as an emergency butcher shop.
Stubbs' guide now led him to one of the inner forts of thefortifications, which was still shelling the Germans. From here Stubbsgained a view of the fighting ground of Fleury at close range. Over theentrance of the fort was a notice to the garrison that the fort was to belevelled in extremity and never surrendered.
Fleury, lying to the right of Verdun, showed not a house standing. Thegreat German guns had carried all before them. The whole village was amass of ruins. At the moment the village was in the hands of the French.It had been occupied twice by the Germans, but only the day before hadagain been captured by the French. Although Stubbs did not know it, thelittle village was to change hands a score of times more in the monthsthat were to follow.
As Stubbs' guide pointed out the various points destroyed by Germanshells, he gave the little man an account of the fighting in each spot.He pointed out the advantages of earthen breastworks as against the solidwalls of fortresses. The effectiveness of the former was very plain.
Stubbs and his guide now returned to the citadel of Verdun, whereStubbs thanked General Petain for being allowed to make the tour ofinspection. Gathered about the commander were many members of hisstaff, who joined in the conversation. Stubbs could not but beimpressed by the confidence manifested by the officers that Verduncould be kept from the Germans, and this in the face of the reverses ofthe past few days. The feeling was summarized in the closing word ofGeneral Petain, as he bade Stubbs farewell.
"_Au revoir_, Monsieur Stubbs," he said, "until you come back when ourvictory is complete!"
By a series of fierce counter assaults, the French now had driven theseasoned veterans of the German Crown Prince from Dead Man's Hill; fromHill No. 265, to the north, from Chattancourt and Charny. Back across theMeuse the Germans fled from the vicious attacks of the French. Second andthird line trenches were re-won.
But the French did not stop there. The third day of March found themstill pushing the Germans and as darkness fell that night, the troops ofGeneral Petain entrenched themselves just to the east of Thiaumont farmand Hill No. 320. A trifle to the south, Fleury was once more in Germanhands, the opposition in this sector having been too much for the Frenchto overcome. Almost due east, German guns, wheeled into position at FortVaux, captured the preceding day, shelled the reconquered positions ofthe French; but the latter stood firm. All night the artillery duel ragedand the coming of morning found both armies ready for the day's work.
The French opened the day by concentrating heavy artillery upon theGerman positions at Fort Vaux. After a two hours' bombardment, theinfantry was ordered to the attack. Fresh troops took the places inthe trenches vacated by the attacking forces and heavy guns coveredtheir advance.
A hundred yards or so from the hastily constructed German trenches, thethin French lines charged. Their ranks had been sadly depleted as theymarched across the open ground, but they stuck to the work bravely. Clearto the German trenches they ran, a second and still a third line closebehind; and then the Germans swarmed out to meet them. A fiercehand-to-hand encounter ensued with victory crowning German arms. What wasleft of the French attacking party scurried back to their own lines.
The Germans did not wait for a second attack. German buglers sounded anadvance. Again the Germans swarmed out of their trenches in countlessthousands and rushed the French trenches.
Hal and Chester at this moment found themselves at the front with ordersfor respective divisional commanders. They remained as the Germanscharged, sheltered by the huge earthen breastworks.
The fate of the German charge was the same as that of the French a shortwhile before. Beaten off after a half hour of fierce fighting, theGermans retired to the shelter of their own lines. The great German guns,silent while the infantry was engaged, opened up anew on the Frenchtrenches, dropping shells in profusion.
Hal and Chester stood elbow to elbow watching the destructive work of thegiant shells. Of a sudden a shell dropped close to them. Hal uttered acry of alarm and made a desperate attempt to drag Chester out of harm'sway. In this he was partly successful and they had dashed forward a fewyards before the shell exploded.
With the fury of the blast, great clouds of earth flew high in the air.Hal and Chester felt the ground open up beneath them and they gasped forbreath as they were precipitated into what seemed a bottomless pit. Howfar they fell they could not tell, but it seemed a long ways; and hardlyhad they struck bottom when a shower of earth fell upon them.
Fortunately for them, they were in a section of the trench that wasprotected on either side by artificial abuttments of hard dirt and stonesthrown up by the troops and these caught heavy beams and rocks and otherdebris that would have showered down upon them and crushed them to death.A great log, or such it appeared, came down lengthwise and struck theabuttments on either side of the pit into which the lads had fallen; asecond did likewise and these prevented the shower of rocks and pieces ofbig guns from going through. It was all that saved the lads.
Then more earth fell and covered these and the pit was effectuallysealed. Below there was no light, and when Hal and Chester regained theirfeet neither could see light abo
ve. They groped for each other in thedark and at last clasped hands.
"Great Scott! What's happened?" gasped Chester. "Where are we?"
"We are in a pit caused by the explosion of that shell," said Hal,quietly. "The next question is how to get out."
He put a hand above his head, but could touch nothing. He tried jumping,but with no better success.
"I can't reach the top," he said.
The lads felt around the sides of the pit. The walls were sheer. It wasuseless to think of getting up that way.
"Well, we're up against it," said Hal. "I don't know how we are to getout of here. By Jove! It's lucky we weren't killed by the shell."
"We might just as well have been as to die down here," said Chester.
"Buck up, old man," said Hal. "We're not dead yet and while there's lifethere's hope. We've been in some ticklish positions before and pulledthrough all right."
"We were never in a hole like this before," said Chester.
Hal had made his way to one side of the pit.
"Here," he called to Chester, "you climb up on my shoulders and see ifyou can reach the top."
Chester did as Hal suggested and his efforts were rewarded by touchingsomething overhead.
"What luck?" asked Hal.
"Good," said Chester. "I have touched something. Feels like a log."
"Can you pull it loose?"
"If I do we're likely to be crushed down here."
"If you don't we're likely to suffocate down here," returned Hal. "I canscarcely get my breath now. We'll have to take a chance."
"Then I'll have a try at it," said Chester. "Be ready to crouch close tothe side of the pit when I give the word. I'll come down on top of youand we'll trust to luck that the debris falls clear."
"All right," said Hal. "Yell when you're ready."
Again Chester tested the covering with his hands. At last he struck aspot where he could obtain a grip. He decided to throw his weight on itand see if it would come down. He took a firm hold and then called:
"All right, Hal! Stoop quickly!"