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Then it had been mainly infantry fighting at close range; now it was the labored pounding of heavy guns, the pushing ahead of trench-work preparatory to another pitched battle. Considering what had taken place here less than a month before the plain immediately before us seemed peaceful enough. Nature certainly works mighty fast to cover up what man at war does.
In addition to defending Balaklava, it was upon them that the brunt of any assault by a Russian army acting in the field would fall. They would have an equal share of the trench-work, and had five miles to bring up their siege guns and stores; whereas the French harbor was close to their camp.
Suddenly the storm dies away, and perfect silence reigns once more. It was a false alarm. Some watchman, deceived by the whispers of the night breeze, or merely a prey to nerves, has discerned a phantom army approaching through the gloom, and has opened fire thereon. This often occurs when troops are new to trench-work.
These latter were the ones to suffer most from hunger, in spite of Government relief and the fact that they had plenty of money; for they had done most of the trench-work, and had been well paid. The native stadt covered altogether an area of at least a square mile, and was full of surprises in the shape of pretty peeps and rural scenery.
While it was too far behind the lines to be in grave danger of enemy raids, yet such danger existed to some extent. Wherefore the presence of the "Here-We-Comes" for the paradoxical double purpose of "resting up" and of guarding the railway Function. Still, it was better than trench-work; and the "Here-We-Comes" enjoyed it for a day or so. Then trouble had set in.
Why should we add to this dismal recital the appalling sufferings of the soldiers, helpless victims to bad management at home and shameful neglect in the field, the long, freezing nights of trench-work under a driving rain, "without warm or water-proof clothing, the trenches two and three feet deep with mud, snow, and half-frozen slush, so that many, when they took off their shoes, were unable to get their swollen feet into them again, and might be seen barefooted about the camp, the snow half a foot deep on the ground," creeping for shelter into "miserable tents pitched as it were at the bottom of a marsh, where twelve or fourteen unhappy creatures lay soaking without change of clothing" until they were called out again to their worse than slave-labor, disease, brought on by exhaustion, exposure, overwork, and deficient food, sweeping the men off by thousands, and yet no sufficient supply of medical stores and no adequate number of medical attendants, not a soul seeming to care for their comfort or even for their lives, so neglected and ill-treated that "the wretched beggar who wandered about the streets of London led the life of a prince compared with the British soldiers who were fighting for their country, and who were complacently assured by the home authorities that they were the best-appointed army in Europe."
On the occasion alluded to, two of the men remained standing after the first fire, and the Provost-Marshal was obliged to put an end to their sufferings, by placing the muzzle of a piece at each of their heads. March to Estremadura. A Deserter shot. Riding for an Appetite. Effect the Cure of a sick Lady. Siege of Badajos. Trench-Work. Varieties during the Siege. Taste of the Times.
In good strategy and diplomacy, the break-up of Germany should come from other quarters. There is considerable typhoid arising from the trench-work, but I heard it stated in medical circles that the Servian troops, with their milder climate, had found a new way of healing wounds.
For certainly there is nothing which reconciles a man so readily to toil as to see another voluntarily sharing it with him, for thus the compulsion seems to be taken away; and the most agreeable sight to a Roman soldier is to see his general in his presence eating common bread or sleeping on a coarse mat, or taking a hand in any trench-work and fortification.
One day's trench-work is as like another as the days themselves; and like nothing better than serving an apprenticeship to the double calling of grave-digger and game-keeper, for we found ample employment both for the spade and the rifle. The only varieties during the siege were, First, The storming of Picuvina, a formidable outwork, occupying the centre of our operations.
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