Over The Top
The bombs keep raining over the entire sector for hours. There is nothing for any of you to do except wait for it to end and pray that none of the shells land on your dugout. Death by machine gun fire is one thing; being buried alive is quite another.
Suddenly, the shelling stops.
All the men in the dugout look at each other intensely and a few even begin to laugh out loud.
– “Now then,” sighs the freckled youth, “I think we can get you that wire you wanted.”
In less than ten minutes, you are given a large spool of communication wire, which you and George must now unwind from the rear lines back to the forward trenches. Once there, the wire will be cut and hooked up to a telephone, where it will be used to report enemy movements and request supplies.
George and you stumble along the communication trench which has since been reduced to a zig-zagging ditch of pock-marked craters. Before long, you arrive back at the forward trenches, where you are met by Sergeant Wilkes.
– “Drop that wire and get your rifles!” he urges, “The Jerries might attack any minute now.”
You take your place atop the firesteps amidst the rush of hundreds of men taking aim with their rifles and guns. You peer over No Man’s Land and see only a devastated field full of large holes and twisted trees.
The wait is excruciating and all is silent. Then, out of nowhere, you notice a large, green cloud hovering over No Man’s Land, slowly drifting towards you.
At that moment, the order is given for everyone to put on their gas mask. You fumble for your gas pouch and pull out the spectral jumble of rubber and glass. To your horror, however, you realize that the lenses of your mask are cracked, which will make it virtually impossible for you to see.