Fighting the Boche Underground

by H. D. Trounce

Whilst in London and some two days before I left to return to the trenches in France, General Pershing and his staff arrived in Liverpool and came on down to London. Since our declaration of war I had been trying very persistently to transfer to our own army, but had not had much success. General Pershing and his officers were stopping at the Savoy Hotel. I immediately called on some of the engineer officers, being delighted to see and talk to some real American men again after such a long time. The officers were much interested and did their best to straighten matters out so that I could be at once transferred. Unfortunately, there was some red tape to unentangle, and finally I was advised to hand in my written resignation as a British officer and ask the British authorities to accept it on the grounds that I wished to join my own army, and thought my experience would be of value in training our men. Accordingly I mailed my resignation from London to my commanding officer and returned to the trenches.

On my return to the Cambrai sector I found my section were engaged in salvaging enemy timber and other material from the old German lines near us. After a short time at this work I was ordered to take command of another of our company sections who were at that time building new dugouts near the Hindenburg trenches close to Bullecourt. There had been a recent mining alarm there, but our fellows had, as I was informed, satisfactorily disposed of it. In the course of a few days I received a "chit" (note) from the brigade major of the infantry occupying the sector, stating that "suspicious noises believed to be enemy mining" had been reported from a Lewis-gun party who were occupying a "Mebus" (old German pill-box) at the end of Lump Lane, the latter a forward trench which served as a communication between two firing-trenches. Accompanied by an experienced miner I visited the "Mebus" and we both listened for some time. We heard the enemy working, but could get nothing satisfactory from this spot. A short distance from the "Mebus" in No Man's Land we found an old dugout entrance which had been half filled in with loose earth. We carefully crawled down this and listened. Very soon we heard the Germans talking and walking past in the gallery below us, going past us and in the direction of the "Mebus." One man would go down while the other remained on top in order to cover against surprise. Every time we moved whilst listening in this entrance a shower of dirt would slip and run down the sides of the gallery, making considerable noise. This was not pleasant, as we expected the Huns to hear it. We reported the situation to the infantry and advised their withdrawing their post from the end of Lump Lane. In addition to the Lewis-gun post there was a bombers' post of four to six men within twenty yards of the former. The infantry company commander was very loath to act on our advice, particularly as the "Mebus" was an admirable observation-post.

The next day the divisional commander visited this sector of his front and, hearing of the suspected mining, ordered me to report to him. At the battalion dugout I repeated to him the advice I had given the company commander, with the result that he promptly instructed the latter officer to withdraw the posts referred to.

In order to play safe, we at once started to counter-mine from trenches a little farther back. A few days later the Huns fired a mine almost directly under the "Mebus." The infantry occupying the former post would most certainly have been all killed.

It was quite evident that, although the trenches above had been captured from the Boche, below ground the old tunnels had not been destroyed at this place. Usually, as the Huns retired in the Hindenburg line, they destroyed the galleries below as well as barricading the trenches on top.

Our work in the Hindenburg trenches was most interesting. Relics of the former inhabitants were around everywhere, buried or half buried in the trench above and lying around in the galleries below. Uniforms, equipment, bombs, ammunition, even black bread and sausage, cigars, beer, and numerous other things were found. The work of cleaning them out was a big task. All dugouts have a peculiar "fug" of their own, but these German dugouts were particularly unpleasant. The work of repairing the tunnels and rebuilding these parts which they had destroyed was given to us. Most of my company were split into small parties, and our work extended for several miles along this front. Some six or eight of our men would be detailed to dugouts or other work, and each of these parties would have usually from fifteen to twenty infantrymen to assist them.

At this time the Australians were having some very heavy fighting at Bullecourt. The enemy had made over twelve counter-attacks in attempting to recover the positions lost. The roads through Croisilles and up to the trenches were badly shelled. The alertness of the military police stationed at crossroads certainly saved many casualties. The familiar "shelling up the road, sir," often prevented our running into bad spots. We would wait for a short while and then go on.

Our men, instead of marching up the roads in artillery formation, would in the daytime hike across the fields in groups of two or three, usually trying to avoid battery positions. This undoubtedly reduced our casualties. We gave them always a contract task to do, such as placing three or four sets of timber, excavating the necessary dirt and camouflaging the latter.

After long experience we found this method the most satisfactory. When their work had been passed by the shift non-com., they could go out to their camp. These section camps were approximately from a mile to a mile and a half back of the trenches. For a time whilst in the Bullecourt trenches we occupied dugouts in a chalk quarry in the support-line. When things were fairly quiet we would ride right up to this point on our motorcycles. These chalk dugouts were also the regimental headquarters and first-aid post. In a cubbyhole opposite ours in these quarters I met one of the most genial M.O.'s (medical officers) I ever knew. His good humor was infectious and his light, cheery badinage to his patients of the utmost value. On the 18th of July, after having been up on our two days' shift, I said good-by to this officer, thinking I would be back again in another forty-eight hours. On my arrival at the section-camp I was greeted with the news that my resignation had been accepted and that my name had appeared in the official paper, the London Gazette with the following announcement: "Temp. Lieut. H. D. Trounce relinquished his commission and is granted the honorary rank of second lieut., Royal Engineers—July 15th."

I had been serving in the trenches as a civilian since the 15th of July. As a matter of fact, I left the quarry at the right time. On July 19th the Huns were shelling them with 250-mm. shells. Most of them burst on top, each making craters about 30 feet wide and about 15 feet deep, though one with a defective fuse did not burst, but penetrated through some 18 feet of hard chalk to our dugouts and buried itself 15 feet below the floor about 10 feet away from our bunk. Fortunately it did not burst there, though 4 or 5 men were killed by the timber it smashed as it came through. The total penetration was over 40 feet.