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Updated: May 28, 2025
And later still these and all other guns left us to seek new positions in the rear so that only we of the infantry remained. Daily there had come orders to "Stand-to" in full marching order, to evacuate; at which all ranks expostulated angrily.
It was Friday, I remember, when, as we were all sitting in our billets thinking that we were to leave on Sunday, a fresh thunderbolt arrived. A message was sent round to us all to stand-to and be ready to move off that evening. Before the appointed day! What could be up now?
Then, quite suddenly, when hope had almost died in his heart, he felt the ground rise steeply. He lay very still, a star-rocket from the Turkish side lit up the place, and there in front was a rampart with the points of bayonets showing beyond it. It was the Russian hour for stand-to. He raised his cramped limbs from the ground and shouted 'Friend! English!
In point of fact the whole operation was carried out with surprising quietness considering its difficulties, but ears strained to catch the faintest sound from the front naturally magnified the disturbance from the rear. Stand-to was at 3.45 a.m., and there followed one of those "dreary, doubtful, waiting hours" which to some temperaments seem more unbearable than anything that follows zero hour.
Even the morning "Stand-to" with that mysterious dread of unknown dangers that it invariably brought gave us nothing worse than an hour of chilly waiting and later, the smoke of the Germans' cooking fires. There were none for us. It was as simple as algebra. Smoke attracted undue artillery attention the Germans had artillery; we had not. They had fires; we had not.
We notice that the big shells only are being used and we notice that they are concentrating entirely on the German front line, immediately ahead and to the right and left of where we have our position. We are more than a little interested. There is decidedly something in the wind. We wait, but nothing happens. We have stand-to and get our reliefs for guard.
Our line was thus drawn in a curve right round the south of Messines Hill, which twinkled with points of fire at every morning 'stand-to' from the tiers of trenches which honeycombed its face. Contrary to expectations, the centenary of Waterloo passed without incident during this tour, in spite of the Huns' reputed fondness for such celebrations.
There must be a sap leading up there, for the bombers certainly have not advanced overground. I've been looking out for them since stand-to. Who is this anxious gentleman?" A subaltern of the battalion on our right was forcing his way along the trench. He addressed Wagstaffe. "We are having a pretty bad time with Bosche bombers on our right, sir," he said.
While we were in these trenches the enemy fired the dry yellow grass in "No Man's Land" a few nights after their capture of our line at Sanctuary Wood, near Hooge, with the flame projectors or "flammenwerfers." A hurried "stand-to" was ordered, as we thought a similar attack was about to be made. But the fire died down and we saw no signs of the enemy coming over.
Soldiers who had learned from experience how difficult it was for their enemy to keep a skirmish line even when his officers were behind with pistol and machine gun persuasion, now grew sick of this imaginary war in Archangel. One company going out to the front on March 27th, was actually singing in very jubilation because they were getting away from battalion mess and "stand-to" for riot-scare.
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