Front matter

Harold Baldwin

"Holding the Line"

By

SERGEANT HAROLD BALDWIN

Of the First Division, Canadian Expeditionary Forces

With Illustrations and Diagrams

CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1918

Copyright A. C. McClurg & Co. 1918

Published, February, 1918

Copyrighted in Great Britain

W. F. HALL PRINTING COMPANY, CHICAGO

Dedication

With deep affection and reverence, I humbly dedicate these reminiscences to the memory of the best pals that ever lived, and who shared with me the joys and sorrows of those never-to-be-forgotten days in France and Flanders when we held the line, and who have paid the supreme price—

Major Campbell Captain Scanlon Major Hopkins Private Skerry Private Shields Private Hood Private Small Private (Runner) Jocelyn Private Ruth Private Wellbelove Captain Meikle Captain Curry Major Tanaille Captain McGee Lieutenant Mundell

Prefatory Remark

When war's alarm sounded in Canada, like many thousands of young men, the spirit of adventure was strong within me and here was an opportunity, as I thought, to kill two birds with the same stone—gratify my love of adventure and serve the Empire at one and the same time.

I have endeavored to give an exact picture of my surroundings, with its accompanying feelings and sensations, from the time I stepped into the ranks until I got my final Blighty, and if my word picture will have the effect of making any man get into khaki, I will be more than repaid, because the cause of the world's liberty demands the active cooperation of every able-bodied man who can get into the game.

There may be a protest in the minds of some against the swearing habit of the soldier. I firmly believe that if he were deprived of the power to express himself profanely when occasion seemed to warrant, his efficiency would be materially hampered. And, therefore, I have no apology to make. Even the chaplains have been known to swear quite violently at times.

Since beginning the work of putting my data into book form, the United States has accepted the gauntlet of battle thrown down to her by German militarism, and the prospect of American lads and British Tommies fighting shoulder to shoulder in the cause of democracy and the world's freedom has inspired me with a new hope and faith in the outcome, and I am resting content in the unshakable belief that when the might of the Greatest Republic gets into action, the murderous tiger of German autocracy, with its fangs dripping blood from the lives of countless innocent victims, will in short order receive its final death thrust.

Chicago, January, 1918 H.B.

Introductory

While adventure of every kind and character abounds on all sides in the trenches, in billets and in the rear of the front line, yet the grim seriousness of the business soon possesses a man with but a single idea in life, especially when in the vicinity of No Man's Land—to get the Hun and get him as quickly as he can.

In these pages I have but lightly touched on the awfulness in the sections of country over-run by the human devils. I have two reasons for so doing: First, because I do not believe it lies in the power of human ken to adequately describe the inferno created by the Hun, and, secondly, if I were to devote my lines solely to that phase of my life while in active service, every page should be deeply edged in black, because—"I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul."

Such is not my purpose. I am blest by nature with the most intense optimism and this spirit has never deserted me but once; and I think under the same strain it would have taken leave of any man; and since I returned from the front I am more than ever determined that for the balance of my time on earth I shall endeavor to radiate optimism whenever and wherever I can. I think I will live the longer for so doing, and maybe those who come within the zone of my voice and my pen may also be the better for the dissemination of my love in the joy of living.

Therefore, the purpose I have undertaken has been to faithfully relate my experiences, and those of my chums, from the point of view of one who looks at the brighter side of life while undergoing the most severe test of grit and endurance that ever tried mortal men.

Contents

CHAPTER

I Answering the Call II En Route to Valcartier III Canada's War Camp IV Soldiers in the Making V Crossing the Atlantic VI Land Ahoy VII Salisbury Plain VIII Life in the English Camp IX Getting Ready to Go X Leaving for France XI Landing in France XII My Baptism of Fire XIII In the Front Line XIV Saxons and Prussians XV Training for Runner XVI By the Wayside XVII Steenvoorde XVIII Ypres XIX Battle of Ypres XX Hell Let Loose XXI Hanging On XXII Here They Come XXIII Fighting for Our Lives XXIV The Boches Balked XXV Fun and Fury XXVI Yser XXVII The Fun of It XXVIII Leaving Yser XXIX More Hell XXX The Last Fight XXXI The Aftermath XXXII In Heaven XXXIII Back to Earth XXXIV Home Epilogue

Illustrations

Harold Baldwin ... Frontispiece

The Bull-Dog Behind the Flag

The Remains of a Once Prosperous Village

Instruments of War and Peace Working Side by Side

Our Nest (Dugout) Is on the Right

Meals Are Any Time When One Is Hungry

What a First-Line Trench Looks Like

German Shell Exploding Near British Battery

A Monster British Gun

Moving a Gun into Position

A Winterly Morning

Writing to the Old Folks at Home

What Is Left of Ypres Cathedral

There Are Leisure Hours Even in the Front Trench

Cleaning-Up Time

Diagram No. 1

Diagram No. 2

The Yser Canal

Two Tommies Talking It Over

Ready for a Raid on the Enemy's Trenches

The Raiding Party Going to "Give 'Em Hell"

The "War Twins"

Feeling Good in Blighty

Holding the Line