In summer we played some cricket matches, and were never beaten, though once, one lovely summer evening, we adjourned for dinner at the end of our opponents’ second innings having fifty runs to get to win. When we came out to get the fifty it was so dark that we only pulled it off by one wicket.

In June, 1917, there was a conference of sniping officers at Boulogne, and here I first met the Commandants of the S.O.S. Schools of the other armies: Lt.-Col. Sclater, D.S.O. (2nd Army), Major Pemberthy (3rd Army), Major Michie, D.S.O. (5th Army) and the Major commanding the School of the 4th Army. All the above are well-known throughout the B.E.F. for the splendid work they did.

One point which we always tried to impress on all who came to the school was the vital necessity for snipers and observers to take immediate action when anything unusual and not normal was seen. I give the following instance to illustrate this essential.

One day I had been ordered to visit a certain battalion in order to go round their sniping posts and to look over their telescope sights. As through some mistake their telescope sights were in the line, I had to use my own rifle to demonstrate with.

At this time I was shooting with a .350 Mauser, which, of course, carried special ammunition, and after the lecture, as there was still some light left, I wandered up to the line through the darkness of a large wood. Here there was a railway cutting, across which our trenches and those of the Germans opposing us lay. My batman was carrying my rifle, and I descended into this cutting, where we had a post. The Germans, at a distance of about 250 yards, had also a strong post across the cutting. Four or five privates were keeping a look-out upon the German line, but none of them had telescopes, and the moment I used mine I saw a German officer who was standing up and giving directions. I at once took my rifle only to find that my servant had left the cartridges behind.

Although I could see the German officer quite clearly through the telescope of the rifle, it was getting so dark that I could not pick him up with the open sights of one I borrowed, so that an accurate shot was out of the question; but with the telescope I was able to get an inkling of what he was doing. Very obviously, he was superintending the placing of a trench mortar into position with which to bombard the post in which I was; for I could see quite a movement of men, and earth was being continually thrown up.

It rapidly grew quite dark, and I went back and reported the matter to the proper authority. Now the proper authority was, I thought, not very much interested, and although I put the case very strongly, and said I was sure the minenwerfer would bombard our post next day, it appeared from subsequent events that he took no action, nor did he ring up the guns and ask them to demolish the German minenwerfer that night as I begged him to do. The result was that shortly afterwards our post was demolished, with loss of life.

There is no doubt that on that evening the star of the German officer was in the ascendant, for had I had a cartridge, the chances were enormously against his ever having left the trenches alive, as I had the range from the map and knew the shooting of my rifle to an inch.

CHAPTER VIII
WILIBALD THE HUN

[This and the following chapter are representative of the two sides of sniping—i.e.—shooting and observation. The incidents occurred.]