CHAPTER XV
THE SURPRISE ATTACK--PROMOTION
During the week that followed, the lads were confined almost entirely toregular routine work, with nothing particularly exciting. Frank Hoskins'elbow wound healed quickly, without any serious results; and Tom Rawle,who had been under treatment at the field hospital, was able to getabout the camp, although still pale and weak, and limping considerablyfrom his injury.
But on the eighth day a veritable fury launched itself upon that sectionof the American-French front, in the shape of seemingly endless brigadesof Boches that were hurled "over the top" of their own breastworks,across No Man's Land, and upon the first-line trenches of the Allies.
For several days the American and French aviators had been reportingheavy German formations in that region, evidently with the design of aterrific assault, but the allied commanders had not expected it sosoon, and in truth they were not fully prepared for it.
It was a surprise attack in every sense of the word, with all theterrible carnage that such a battle brings.
Shortly before midnight of the preceding night a terrible bombardmenthad been directed against the American-French trenches, and their hiddenartillery to the rear of them. This was kept up for about seven hours,and the duel of heavy guns shook the earth like a quake and wasdeafening.
Then, just as dawn was breaking, the infantry onslaught, participated inat some points by detachments of cavalry, began.
For three hours the Americans and the French fought stubbornly and withevery ounce of strength and determination. Whole regiments and evenbrigades were wiped out on both sides, but the Boches, who had preparedevery detail of the assault for weeks, were readier than their opponentsand filled the gaps in their lines more quickly.
By noon it became apparent that the sacrifice of lives was becoming toogreat to warrant the Allies trying to hold their first-line trenchesmuch longer, and that they must give them up, at least until they couldre-mobilize their forces for a counter-attack.
The order was therefore given for those in the rear, including food andammunition trains, field hospitals, etc., to fall back, in order to makeway for the strategic retreat of those on the front when the moment forthat retreat came.
Everything moved like clockwork, and with the greatest possible speed.And throughout it all men on both sides were shooting, shouting,shrieking, fighting, falling, while others, trapped in their dug-outs,either surrendered or fought desperately on until they fell wounded orlifeless before superior numbers.
Half a mile in the air, apparently over a point midway between what hadbeen the first-line trenches of the opposing armies, a stationaryballoon showed where Jerry and an observation officer were doing duty onthat fateful day. Jerry was operating a telephone that ran directly todivision headquarters, and hardly a moment passed when he was notrepeating some observation of the other man in the basket with him, orrelaying to him a query from the commander below.
Every detail of that tremendous battle Jerry knew. His own occasionalglimpses over the side informed him of the temporary reverses his ownarmy was suffering, while the remarks of the officer told him where theGermans were meeting their bitterest repulses, where they were drawingup their heaviest forces of reserves, what quick changes were being madein their general line of formation, and how far back their forces seemedto extend.
Slim Goodwin, busy as he was with the wireless at headquarters, foundtime for occasional glances upward at that balloon, to make sure thatthus far his friend was still safe.
And even in the thick of machine-gun fire and shrapnel, where LieutenantMackinson, Joe, Frank Hoskins and two or three others were laying a newline of communication, the wavering, swaying target was watched fromtime to time, and speculations made as to how long it could remainwithout being punctured by a bullet, thus forcing its two occupants toresort to their parachutes to make a landing.
It was now well into the afternoon. The Germans had swept into theplaces vacated by the Americans and French, and still the battle raged.It was now that Slim began to wait anxiously for the new development,which his familiarity with the secret orders issued made him know wascoming.
And finally it did come, and in a way that staggered the Boches.
The Americans and French had retreated to a general line which permitteda quick re-mobilization to the best advantage. There their front-lineranks held firm, while the new formation was being effected behind them.It was about four o'clock in the afternoon when this was complete.
Then, in concerted action, the lines opened at alternate points, andpairs, dozens, scores of the huge armored tanks rolled through, theirbig guns already blazing shells into the ranks of the disconcertedenemy.
Nothing could halt them. They climbed trench parapets, descended intogullies, came out upon level land, and over their whole path sweptdestruction to the Germans.
Unable either to resist or to stop the progress of the tanks, which werefollowed by whole divisions of infantry, the Boches were forced toretreat and not only abandon every foot of the ground they had gained,but to sacrifice a part of their own first line as well.
Scores of Huge Armored Tanks Rolled Through.]
It was one of the greatest and at the same time one of the most suddenreprisals of the war up to that time, and the victory that had beensnatched from defeat was cheered by thousands of Americans and Frenchmenas they again took possession of their own trenches, or pushed onwardacross No Man's Land to occupy those which the Germans were nowabandoning.
The sun was setting, and soon, in great measure, at least, hostilitieswould be suspended for the night.
Their work completed, Lieutenant Mackinson and his men were on their wayback to make their report when they met Slim, who had been relieved forthe night at headquarters.
"What time did Jerry come down?" Joe asked, after they had passedremarks about the various thrills of the day.
"Don't know," Slim answered, "but I saw them there at four o'clock, andthey weren't there when I looked again, about half an hour later, so youcan judge pretty well for yourself."
"Guess he had a pretty good bird's-eye view of the whole thing," saidJoe, as they passed on, to meet again before mess.
Except for spasmodic outbursts here and there, the trench duel hadalmost entirely subsided, and the heavy roar of the artillery also waspunctuated with longer pauses. Whatever the morrow might bring, thenight promised to be fairly quiet, while each side took account of stockand made necessary repairs, or altered their plans to meet the newsituation.
Our young friends were busy with wash basin, soap and water, taking offthe grime in preparation for the evening meal and wondering where Jerrywas keeping himself all the while, when suddenly a very strange thinghappened beyond the enemy's line.
Lieutenant Mackinson was the first to discover it and call the attentionof the others.
A Taube, one of the smaller, lighter, and more easily handledaeroplanes, and used in great numbers by the Germans, shot into the airat great speed from behind the Boche entrenchments. In its upward courseits path was a dizzy spiral, and, if one on the ground might judge, itspilot seemed to be seeking a particular air channel. At least that wasthe way it looked.
Then, from almost the same point from which it had come into view, halfa dozen other planes rose into the air, following in the path of thefirst, and also flying at top speed. Up to then there was nothing sovery strange about the whole procedure. It simply indicated that thosemanning the American and French anti-aircraft guns, and the aviators ofthose two armies, should get ready to repel an enemy air raid.
But the queer thing occurred when every one of the pursuing planesopened up their machine-guns almost simultaneously upon the first. Andeven this might have been considered a well-designed hoax, were it notfor the unmistakable evidence that the first aeroplane, the Taube, hadbeen hit.
Still going at maximum speed, and now on a straight line toward theAmerican side, without seeking a further height, the Taube several timeswavered, and, a momen
t later, almost turned over.
But the pilot righted her, and even as the pursuers began gaining, andstill kept up an incessant fire, he pointed her nose downward toward theAmerican lines.
Four American planes sailed off and upward to meet the oncoming Germanair armada. But from the ground it could be seen that the man in theobserver's place in the Taube was making desperate signals.
The American planes maneuvered in such a way as to encircle the Taube,and yet at close enough range to examine her without particular menaceto themselves. There were several seconds of criss-crossing and risingand descending, and then as a unit the American planes left the Taubeand started after the German craft, which had hesitated, as thoughuncertain what further course to follow.
Several volleys of shots were exchanged, and the other German planesturned back toward their own lines. The Taube continued on its wavering,crippled, downward course toward the allied lines.
"Looks as though a couple of our men had been reconnoitering the Germanlines in one of their own make of machines," said Lieutenant Mackinson,as the Taube came within a hundred yards of the ground and rightedherself for a landing.
There was a general rush toward it as it hit the ground. Of its ownmomentum it rolled to within a two minutes' run of where the lieutenantand the others had been standing. In another instant it was entirelysurrounded by a crowd of curious American soldiers.
But if they were surprised at seeing seated therein two men in theuniforms of the United States army, their feelings hardly compared withthose of Lieutenant Mackinson, Joe, Slim and Frank Hoskins, as theyrecognized, stepping out of the Taube, Jerry and the observation officerwith whom he had occupied the stationary balloon practically all of thatday.
"Who are you?" "What happened?" "Where have you been?" and a score ofsimilar questions were fired at them by the other soldiers as Jerryshook hands with his friends, and the officer smilingly made away tofile his report.
"Well, to put it briefly," Jerry said, in answer to the general demandsfor information, "we were anchored off there most of the day in anobservation balloon. Late in the afternoon a shell cut our cable, andalmost before we knew it we had been carried behind the German lines.
"The fight was still commanding the attention of almost everyone, andafter descending a little by permitting some of the gas to escape, wejumped over the side of the basket and came down on our parachutes. Ilanded in a deserted barnyard, and the officer hit the earth only ashort distance away.
"While we were hiding there, debating just what we should do, alongcomes a Taube, and its pilot decides to make a landing almost at thatsame place. Well, the officer being a pretty good pilot, we decided tohave that machine. We got it, and I guess that pilot's head aches yetwhere I plumped him with the butt of my gun when he wasn't expectinganything of the kind.
"But some other German aviators saw the affair, apparently recognizedour uniforms, and hardly gave us time to make a decent start.
"Say," Jerry concluded, "they certainly did pebble us with machine-gunbullets! I saw two bounce off the propeller, and one broke a wire on theleft wing, making us flap around rather uncertainly for a few minutes.It was a great race, though, and we considered our greatest danger layin landing on this side. We knew it would be recognized for a Germanplane, and we were afraid we'd be fired on before we could make ouridentity known."
Led by the lieutenant and Jerry, the party tramped back to where,shortly, mess was to be served.
"That air certainly does give a fellow an appetite," said Jerry, as hesplashed more of the clear cold water over his face.
An orderly stepped up to Lieutenant Mackinson and handed him a large,officially stamped envelope. As he tore it open and read the brief notewithin, a pleased smile spread over his face. From the same envelope heextracted three smaller ones. He handed one to each of the lads who hadaccompanied him over on the _Everett_, according to the way they wereaddressed.
Opening them, the boys could hardly suppress their jubilation. Strippedof their official verbiage, the letters informed the young men that eachof them was made a corporal, Joe for valorous service in saving thelives of "three Americans entombed in a cave; Slim for heroism andpresence of mind in saving and bringing back to the lines an Americansoldier," and Jerry "for coolness and courage, and for the informationgathered behind the enemy's lines."
Brighton Boys in the Radio Service Page 15
