Our Despatches from the Front (No. 109).
Page 18
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
With An Ambulance Unit in the Vosges THE END OF THE LINE,
16th September, 1916.
My work now lies amongst the artillery, and I see every size of gun from the-famous 75 mm. to the gigantic naval gun of — mm., I heard that if I put the size the Censor would delete it. This week I have met for the first time some complete batteries of "auto75s," and they seem to me rather different from anything I have seen
described before. , (Considerable portion censored here.) These batteries are quite distinct from the heavy guns drawn by heavy tractors, the medium-sized guns drawn by " camions," the anti-aircraft guns mounted directly on" camions," and the " autocanons ". or armoured cars with a small quick-firer, naval type, of 37 mm. bore.
Five Types of Automobile Artillery.
The five foregoing types of what one may call " automobile artillery" I have seen myself, but there is also a sixth type, I believe EN 111111111111= Not the least important of the crew of the " auto-75 " are the motorcycle despatch riders, and in the case of the batteries I saw they were mounted on Rover motorcycles.
nglish Motorcycles With the French Army.
Quite a large number of the motorcycles in use down here are of English make' Triumphs predominate, but there are also B.S.A.s, New Hudsons, Sunbeams, and Douglases. The French riders all speak very highly of their English mounts, and in the majority of cases they are very clever and daring riders. One speaks of the roads .here as good, but there is usually a patdh of mud at each edge, and the lot of a motorcyclist passing a convoy is no happy one.
Getting Ready for the Winter.
We are already beginning to settle down for the winter, for the nights have become very keen, and on the mountain tops col the Vosges we have already seen snow. Accordingly there is a great patching up of canvas and mica windscreens and side curtains, and a great adjusting of carburetters to give the easiest possible starting. When a car is continuously in the open a slight frost is sufficient to make starting up a matter of some difficulty.
Putting the Clock Back Not Welcomed.
The changing of "summer time" also is not an unmixed blessing for us, for it will mean an extra hour's night driving each day. The pessimists, in fact, look upon it as the actual advent of winter, and if the sudden jump of the clock does not coincide with a fall of snow they will be grievously disappointed. At any rate, they are well prepared, as goat-skin coats or Canadian sheepskin coats have already been served out. Needless to say the Canadian coat is preferred as being less highly scented.
A Puzzle for the Scientist.
A few nights ago we experienced an inexplicable phenomenon. The Bodies were preparing to attack, and the usual artillery duel was in progress, yet, although we were barely a mile and .a half distant, the guns were quite inqudible to us.
The.wind was not strong, but wa: certainly towards the German lines while the air was cold and rathei damp ; these, I am afraid, are the only data that I can give.
Dinner Disturbed by the Boches In fact, a few of us were havinE a convivial little dinner party wher the order to stand to arrived, an the -order was our first intimatior that anything was happening Generally the sound of the guns— and the shells, too—gives us ample warning before any orders are re ceived. As it was, we left our little dinner, or what remained of it hurriedly, and a few minutes latei were crawling along the military " single track" road through the forest in absolute darkness, a mar riding on the front wing as lookout.
Change Gear Quietly or- On this road it is necessary tc change gear quietly, even talking it discouraged, while a cigarette end is absolutely " dqen.du," the penalties for infringing these regulations vary from machine gun bullets to shrapnel and high explo. sives of considerable size.
Improvements are continually effected out here in every t onceivable manner ;the war demands only the best and most up-to-date. Improvements of methods, of conditions, of munitions, of equipment, nothing is too small to be neglected.
An X-ray Kelly-Springfield.
A notable addition to one of the field hospitals is a Kelly-Springfield lorry, equipped with a motor generating set for X-ray work. The body consists of two portions, the forward half, just behind the driver's seat, contains the generating set, and the rear portion forms a store and workshop for the equipment. The single-cylinder Aster engine is directly coupled to the generator, and the switchboard is mounted over the dynamo. When running the set the sides of this forward portion open out, thus giving free access to all parts.
Praise for the Machine.
It would be impossible to describe the car in detail, but every portion of the equipment has received the utmost thought, and space is economized without sacrificing efficiency and accessibility. The driver's sole adverse criticism is that the radiator of the lorry is in constant need of replenishing, and as the outfit has 18 months of 9.ctive service to its credit—formerly as a transport lorry—and is still in good condition it is evident that its merits are considerable.