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Our Despatches from the Front (Non 101),

17th August 1916, Page 12
17th August 1916
Page 12
Page 13
Page 12, 17th August 1916 — Our Despatches from the Front (Non 101),
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With a Field Ambulance Unit During the Present Great Advance in France. A Visit to a French Tractor School.

B.E.F., July, 1916.

Non-skids Torn to Pieces in a Day.

While stretcher cases are being brought into the field dressing station, under the conditions which I have described, it is our job to do our best to lessen the number of wounded at that station. Our vehicles have to travel along a road which passes over the old German trenches. The roads are in such a terrible condition that we often tear a set of Parsons non-skids to pieces in one day. The tires are not a bit at fault but the roads certainly are.

A Medley of Traffic.

At night we have to travel through a medley of traffic consisting of troops which are either going to, or returning from, the trenches, cooking wagons, ammunition wagons, and all the impedimenta of modern warfare. I will agree that it seems a bit congested, but when I tell you that everyone knows his job and all simply think of their own business, it is not quite so difficult to get through as you would imagine.

The "Racing" Caterpillar.

One night, during a recent battle, I remember travelling along a road, which was a little clear, and having to pull out to pass a Caterpillar which was returning from taking up a big gun. When I had passed the tractor, I noticed that the road was, blocked by troops coming the other way, and I found myself behind another Caterpillar, which was in front. In the pitch darkness, travelling without lights, of course, we could hardly see a

thing, and the only noise we could hear was the horrible din of the two Caterpillars. I had to travel for a mile in this position, fearing every moment that the Caterpillar in front might slow down or perhaps the one 'behind start " racing."

The Cheerful Wounded.

We ambulance drivers are fortunate in being in a position to convey the men who are wounded with some degree of comfort. During the day, whilst waiting for the vehicle to take its shattered burden we can see some distance ahead of us ant-like figures moving about midst bursting shrapnel and the sound of machine guns. The inwardness of this is known to us at night, when we have to bring in the wounded. They generally talk quite a lot, telling us cheerfully how the operation was carried out, and the tale of another's bravery. We get the whole affair reconstructed under conditions which heighten the imagination.

Sleeping While Driving at 20 m.p.h.

remember a narrow escape which I recently had whilst driving to the rear with a load of wounded at night. Sleep seemed impossible to combat, and my eyes closed for just an indefinite fraction of a second whilst I was driving a load of wounded possibly. at 20 miles an hour. I only know that I went to sleep by the shock of waking. No serious consequences resulted, but I was extremely wakeful for many

weari

ness. hours after in spite of my wean Wounded Cheer Rather Than Depress One.

In the atmosphere of war, doing a job like my own it is rather curi

ous that the wounded rather cheer thandepress one. How can we possibly feel depressed when those who have passed over the parapet, as they think, to practically certain annihilation, take it all with a cheerful spirit and only think of the good time to come.

The Wasteful Side is Apparent.

I have lived with the wounded, slept with the wounded, watched men of the finest physique draw their last breath, but I have never had an impression other than the wastefulness of the whole business. It remained for me to come back to civilization to understand and realize the real horrors of war. The sight of those maimed, limbless men, outside a hospital in England, brought tears to my eyes. This was the first time I had realized what war actually meant.

A.S.C., M.T., Admiration of the Infantry.

If I have said anything which will make that womanly sympathy meted out to these men more full of understanding, I shall be glad. My own feeling for them is one of inexpressible admiration, and all the roses and sweetness which our womanhood bestows upon them cannot be beyond what they deserve. Each man deserves an epic.

FRENCH TRACTOR SCHOOL, August, 1016.

The war has been responsible for the creation of a class of military motorists capable of taking a motor vehicle into any position in which a. man can walk. These specialists are the conductors of the fourwheel drive tractors now very extensively employed by the Allied armies for the haulage of their heavy artillery. It was by the courtesy of the French War Office officials that I was allowed to enter the school in which these heavyweight acrobats are being trained. It was typical of the French system that the school should be a broad avenue, the two ends of which had been closed, and then lined with rough wooden sheds comprising workshops, offices, storehouses, and guard rooms. The vehicles, comprising motorcycles, touring cars, lorries, four-wheel drive tractors, rear-wheel-drive tractors and caterpillars, remained in the openair in company with a battery of heavy guns.

Tractors are Used by All Armies for Gun Hauling.

Perhaps it is worth while ex. plaining that the modern method of hauling guns, and particularly the heavy types, is by means Of petrol-driven tractors. This is common to all armies, though the methods are not uniform. The French have a decided preference for the four-wheel-drive tractor, a type of machine which was specialized before the war by Renault, Panhard-Levassor, and Latil, and to a smaller extent by Schneider. The Jeffery Quad has been added to these, although really being of an entirely different type. . This American machine is a lightly-built tractor with a medium size motor, and is not provided with a winch. The French maChines are heavier and much more powerful, and by reason of a motor-driven winch can undertake tasks which would not be attempted with the machine minus this fitting.

"Where Do the Recruits Come From?"

This class of driving being so entirely special, the first question which arose on entering the schools was Where do the recruits come from I" In answer the captain in charge of the school called for cards of the men under instruction. The first one drawn out happened to belong to a soldier described as a pro

fessional chauffeur ; the second was a commercial traveller. There was no end of variety, for among the trades and professions were noted a singer from the Paris Opera, house, a tailor, a taxicab driver, a clerk, a man of private means, -a gardener, a labourer, and finally a well-known comic from the Folies Bergere music-hall. This artist was discovered a little later in the stores department, where his natural wit did much to relieve the natural dulness of the establishment.

15 Days Training Sufficient to Make a Good Driver.

The pupils without previous driving experience were first put through a course on ordinary lorries in a, manner which has already been described for the French lorry school. On an average 15 days are sufficient to make these men very capable commercial motor drivers, and at the end of that time they are transferred to the tractor section. Three weeks instruction with the tractors make the men effiGient to leave for the Front to haul heavy guns or trailers loaded with ammunition or stores into positions not easily a-ccessible to a pedestrian not burdened with anything more cumbersome than his own clothing.

The Tractors Do Not Work On Made Roads.

In the neighbourhood of the school there is a vast amount of very hilly forest land which may be considered as typical, on a smaller scale, of conditions in the Vosges mountains. As they already know how to drive, the tractor pupils from the very beginning work away from made roads. I was introduced to the first of the machines—a. Renault with a trailer in tow—on a narrow, muddy lane by the side of a lake. On the left was -a, drop of 6 ft. into the lake, and on the right a high bank. From this lane a sharp turn had to be made into .a. narrow clearing in the forest. The road—if it is permissible to describe as a road a mere track through the forest—at first mounted up at a ratio of 1 in 10.

Laying Cable by Means of Renault Tractor,

The Renault ploughed its way through the muddy surface without. any fuss, pulling its trailer behind it. After a dip the road appeared to make a bee line for the sky ; careful , measurements by the officers revealed that the angle was 1 in 3. Here the differentials were locked, the trailerunhooked, 'and the tractor proceeded alone, laying out cable from its drum as it proceeded. It would have been a difficult climb had the surface been good, but it must be remembered that the road maker had never been present and the naturally greasy soil made it no easy task to climb the hill afoot. An instructor walked ahead of the tractor and looked down upon and gave instructions to the driver. The sprag could not be expected to act immediately on such soft ground, so two men followed behind, ready to scotch the wheels if the motor stopped. Their opportunity came after a few warning explosions in the exhaust box.

Arresting a Backward Movement.

The engine stalled owing to a blockage in the petrol pipe, and before the apprentice driver had applied his brakes the tractor began to move backwards. A sharp order from the officer, the blocks were dropped, and the retrograde movement arrested. A few minutes later the climb was continued, and when sufficient cable had been paid out the tractor was again stopped, all brakes set, the scotches put behind the wheels, three turns of the cable put round the capstan, and the order given to haul away. Without any difficulty the trailer, with its load and crew of two men, was slowly hauled up that greasy bank. When it had almost been brought home, the cable snapped, but theincident merely served as an opportunity for the trailer man to use his brakes, and enabled the under officer to give a lesson in the making of knots. It is difficult to give any idea of the difficulties of a climb like this merely by giving the percentage of the gradient.

(To be continued.)


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