The First Gas Attack, April 22, 1915

The document that I found talks about a first hand account of the first ever gas attack. It was written by Anthony R. Hossack who joined the Queen Victoria Rifles at the beginning of the War and served with them on the Western Front from early 1915 till after the Battle of Arras, where, in July 1917, he was wounded, returning to France at the end of February 1918, when he was attached to the M.G. Battalion of the 9th (Scottish) Division, and, after coming through the retreat from St. Quentin, was taken prisoner in the battle for Mt. Kemmel.

More curious than anything was a low cloud of yellow-grey smoke or vapour, and, underlying everything,a dull confused murmuring.Plainly something terrible was happening. What was it? Officers, and Staff officers too, stood gazing at the scene, awestruck and dumbfounded; for in the northerly breeze there came a pungent nauseating smell that tickled the throat and made our eyes smart. The horses and men were still pouring down the road. two or three men on a horse, I saw, while over the fields streamed mobs of infantry, the dusky warriors of French Africa; away went their rifles, equipment, even their tunics that they might run the faster.

One man came stumbling through our lines. An officer of ours held him up with levelled revolver, "What's the matter, you bloody lot of cowards?" says he. The Zouave was frothing at the mouth, his eyes started from their sockets, and he fell writhing at the officer's feet. "Fall in!" Ah! we expected that cry; and soon we moved across the fields in the direction of the line for about a mile. The battalion is formed into line, and we dig ourselves in."

This document shows one of the bad sides of advancement in war technology. The side that no one likes to see. The side where the new weapon is seen as a murderer. The side thats covered in blood. This was the first time that the horrible weapon known as poison gas was ever used. Imagine having something that you have never seen before attacking you, making your eyes water, making it impossible to breath, and then finally killing you. Its scary. Its like playing a friend of yours in a video game you have never played and them using tricks that you don't know against you. Its unexpected and you don't understand what happened or how they did them. Its almost unfair, sort of cheating. One side has technology that the other doesn't. It wasn't even until September of the same year that Britain got the technology.

Gas Attack Visuals

Background/Close analysis of WWI document

I chose a document from WWI that corresponded to the use of gas bombs during the war. Although the passage was only a short journal entry from a soldier, there was no extensive use of words needed. It is clear to see that they were powerful and widely used weapon amongst the war.

According to firstworldwar.com, the French were the first to use all gas-related weapons. They used these weapons against the Germans, who were the first to conduct in-depth studies of the grenades and in turn used them on a larger scale. The first type of bomb-shell the French used caused the enemy to undergo a “violent fit of sneezing,” says firstworldwar.com. It was fired in liquid form and would vaporize in the below freezing degree weather. This weapon also came in the form of Mustard Gas. Mustard Gas was an odorless chemical which caused both internal and external blisters. There was hardly any protection against this gas which caused it to be beneficial for those who were not the enemy. The other forms it came in was tear gas, phosgene and chlorine, all dangerous and popularly used as weapons.

According to Wikipedia.com, “The killing capacity of gas, however, was limited – only four percent of combat deaths were due to gas. Because it was possible to develop effective countermeasures against attacks, gas was unlike most other weapons of the period. In the later stages of the war, as the use of gas increased, its overall effectiveness diminished.”

As one can see, although gas weapons came in multiple shapes and forms, it was used universally by many throughout WWI. Although it was not as powerful as machine guns and other rifles of that sort, it was a quick and efficient way to get the enemy scared and out of hiding.

Sources:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/weaponry/gas.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poison_gas_in_World_War_I

Primary Document from WWI

Memoirs & Diaries - The German Gas Attack at Ypres, April 1915

Utterly unprepared for what was to come, the [French] divisions gazed for a short while spellbound at the strange phenomenon they saw coming slowly toward them.

Like some liquid the heavy-coloured vapour poured relentlessly into the trenches, filled them, and passed on.

For a few seconds nothing happened; the sweet-smelling stuff merely tickled their nostrils; they failed to realize the danger. Then, with inconceivable rapidity, the gas worked, and blind panic spread.

Hundreds, after a dreadful fight for air, became unconscious and died where they lay - a death of hideous torture, with the frothing bubbles gurgling in their throats and the foul liquid welling up in their lungs. With blackened faces and twisted limbs one by one they drowned - only that which drowned them came from inside and not from out.

Others, staggering, falling, lurching on, and of their ignorance keeping pace with the gas, went back.

A hail of rifle fire and shrapnel mowed them down, and the line was broken. There was nothing on the British left - their flank was up in the air. The northeast corner of the salient around Ypres had been pierced. From in front of St. Julien away up north toward Boesinghe there was no one in front of the Germans.

Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. III, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923

Extra Credit Post: Secondary Source About Project

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/origins_01.shtml

One point this source makes about the Causes of WWI, is that there are many theories about the German's initial involvement the war. Many people believe that the Germans had been planning for an all out attack on the allied forces long before the war had even broke out. Historians believe this because the leaders of Germany had met roughly 18 months before the war, and it was clear that Wilhelm and many of his advisers were, to say the least, feeling particularly aggressive, and inclined to potentially spark a war.

Picture of Fred Garett

This is a picture of the Austrialian Corps, which Fred Garett was a part of. I could not find a specific picture of him but I know he was part of the cavlery unit which is pictured above. Also, because of the fact that these soldiers are on camel, I can concur that they fighting near the Middle East, which is where Fred was stationed.

extra credit

http://www.u-boats.info/ww1.php

this link talks about what U boats were and shows how valuable a weapon they were in World War 1

Medic Littler

Thomas Fredrick Littler joined the Cheshire regiment at the early age of 17. He trained in Aberystwyth in 1914 before beginning work at Siddley Deasy in Coventry. When he turned 18, he signed for Foreign Service and left England for Rouen in March 1916. His diary explains his experience of WWI in northern France for 11 months however he sustained a leg injury which led to him returning to England. He returned to France in 1918 until the end of the war.

June 9th 1916
We fell in at 8-30p.m and entered "Wood Street communication trench" and passed the old fire trench and went up "New Wood Street" which was only about 2 ft deep, then got on the top, passed our front line which was being held by "The Rifle Rangers", through a gap in the barbed wire, we were paced out so many paces per man as a digging task, and told to dig ourselves in as quickly as possible.

We worked hard for about 2 an hour when the Germans opened heavy machine gun fire on us and swept us like a blanket, and being only 100 yds from the enemy lines it proved very trying, we carried on, off and on, for : of an hour when, when he got more machine guns sweeping that sector, by this time my part of the trench was about 18" deep so I could lie in it.

The machine guns keep on sweeping and the enemy opened out a "miniweffer" (trench mortar) barrage, four of our rifles were laying on the ground about 4 ft away and these got a direct hit, that was the last I saw of my rifle, also blew the trench away and left us as it were on the open ground.

The man in front of me called for help and on going to him I found he had a piece of shrapnel in the left shoulder blade, this was Private Joe (Hurnival of Runcorn), also he was hit on the lower middle part of the back, many men at this time were calling for help, out of our Platoon we had three casualties L/Cpl Fineflow who was hit in the back and the pieces had pierced the lungs he was vomiting a lot of blood, and Pte Edward Coalthorpe (of Chester) who was hit in ribs and left arm, one man in No10 Platoon was also hit, Stretcher Bearer Mostan, he was serious as he was hit in the lower part of the stomach and between the legs, after we had got the wounded away we returned to billets, it was 6a.m. 

During this time, Thomas Littler was a trained medic in the fight against the central powers. Medics had the same fears as rifleman because they had to man the front lines. In this passage, Littler had to run up with the soldiers, dig his own trench and also charge the other side. Not only did medics have to look for injured soldiers, they also had to look out for themselves as not to get killed.

Floyd Gibbons

This is a picture of Floyd Gibbons after he was injured in battle

Thomas Edward Shirley - Background + Analysis

Robert Shirley found his father, Thomas Edward Shirley's World War I diary. In 1916, Thomas and many other Dartmouth undergraduates were drafted into the French Ambulance Corps. They duty was to Today, men and women are not allowed to keep diaries but in 1917, they were. When on the battlefield, men would split into groups to complete different tasks.

The ambulance groups experienced much of what the soldiers were. They woke up very early, and they immediately were assigned to the trenches. The men viewed the scenes of broken buildings and destroyed cities. During this time, they used black men to repair bridges. Around the trenches were multiple graves. The sight was terrible. Overall, these troops had a good look into the war and experienced the aftermath of combat.

Background and Analysis of TF Littler's First Diary Entry

Background:
Thomas Fredrick Littler's diary takes place in 1916, right in the middle of World War I. When Littler turned 17, he joined the Cheshire Regiment right when the war had just begun. He was stationed in four different locations for training before being sent off to war: Aberystwyth, Cambridge, Northampton and Norwich. In March of 1916, Littler was sent off to fight in WWI for the Foreign Service. After being shot in the leg in April 1916, Littler had no choice but to go back home. He got married in England and began a career in engineering, which would eventually lead him back to France where he had been fighting in a war years earlier. Many of his posts describe his struggle in battle, as he watched many of his comrades around him die of disease and war.

Analysis:
Littler's description of war conditions sounds extremely harsh. He talks about how many man were knee deep in mud, indicating that weather conditions were poor. Additionally, in this specific entry he described fighting in an abandoned town. All of the people had evacuated because the area was subject to heavy fire constantly. Littler describes how everything in the town had been destroyed except for one crucifix that remained untouched. This indicates that many of the soldiers may have been devout Christians who intentionally avoided shooting down the crucifix, or perhaps it was a mere coincidence that the cross still stood, since many Ottomans were not Christian.

Source (TF Littler's Diary, published by his descendants): http://www.first-world-war.co.uk/thediary.htm#06061916

Jack Morris Wright

In Boston New work

Founded at http://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/memoir/Wright/Jack1.htm

Thomas Frederick LIttler

After surviving a leg injury, TF Littler returned to France to care for the wounded. Not only are people being killed by modern war weapons the Spanish Flu also is a killer. In the picture, soldiers are bringing back wounded on nothing more than a stretcher. This shows the extreme difference between the the modern killing technology and the outdated medicine and other means of caring for the wounded or sick. During the War both sides invested much more money in things like airplanes and tanks because they though this would win them the war. They didn't invest very much money into caring for their troups and so many more died from things like gun wounds and illnesses that could have been cured. Another main cause of death is that if people accidentally or purposly got themselves into a freak accident that made them inadequate for battle they were killed. Therefore this war was especially bloody because of all the different ways people could be killed. In the passage i chose, LIttler talks about the Rum that the soldiers got. I'm sure that any person in such a situation would want to drink their troubles away because nobody has any idea how terrible this war would be. He also talks about alll the people in his platoon that were lost. He writes that he could not possibly write down everything that happened and most likely that is because he is trying to forget it. Although he does mention some that died, he is still in shock from the amount of death and the fact that he still is alive.

T.f. Littler was born in 1897 and fought in France. His diary is from 1914-1919. He trainer in Norwich and Northampton before going to England where he then went to France. He met his wife in England. The following is from July 1st 1916.

"After having had our rum issue we stood to till 7-25a.m when we put up a smoke screen and went over the top at 7-30 with the London Scottish and Queens Westminster Rifles, we took four lines of trenches from the Germans, but were driven back by midday to our original position, our losses were very heavy although we took many prisoners, I could not attempt to write all that happened this day, so I'll leave a cutting from the paper here. The casualties from my Battalion were A Company 112, B Company 62, C Company 91, D Company 25, in my platoon we lost the following men Lieutenant Leigh, who had taken over from Lieut. Larne, was wounded the left arm blown off, Private Harry Wakefield, Private Wilfred Carter, killed, Private Jack White, Private Frank Walker, missing, and Private Harry Frodsham, Private Sam Mellor, and Private George Parker wounded, L-Cpl R Eaton, and L-Cpl Harry Carveley wounded, the following men died of wounds during the following week Sgt Piers, L-Cpl J Kinsey, and Private Albert Clarke, Private Jack Perrin, and Private Sidney Jones, we left the line this night being too weak in numbers to hold it, and got back to Souastre about 12-30 p.m."

Image to Supplement Document

This is a picture of TF Littler that was taken during the war, with his dog, during his training in Aberystwyth.

This is a picture of Thomas E. Shirley. I am unsure when this was taken.

Citation:
http://www.dartmouth.org/classes/57/tes00.htm

WWI Battles and Burials

This picture shows the aftermath of just one small battle during WWI. These are a few out of the millions of soldiers that were killed and had to be buried.

U Boat image

George Ludovic Alexander Picture

Here is a picture of George Ludovic Alexander.

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Here is a picture of a soldier during World War I and he is sad and sitting in an area that had been destroyed. Many soldiers were traumatized by this and suffered from shell shock which cause many to want to go home. I thought that this related to my diary entry because George wanted to go home as did many soldiers at the time. In the poem that I blogged about in the beginning he talked about after the dark there always comes light and I really admired his positive outlook. In this picture the soldier seems as if he is in the "dark" or the rough times and George's thoughts were that later he would eventually come out and arrive back in a positive and happy environment.

Pictures found at:

http://www.awm.gov.au/visit/images/PAIU1989_140_01_1.jpg

http://www.webmousepublications.com/itow/gla/gla-1918.gif

Museum Plaque

Floyd GIbbons was nothing but a simple man "armed with a pencil and notebook". He was writing about the war and found himself in the heat of a great battle. Sadly, he was not as lucky as any other soldier in the midst of battle. He was running towards the opposition with machine guns being fired at him in a mad flurry. He was able to dodge most of this attack, but was hit in the shoulder, and when a bullet ricocheted off a rock, he was hit in the eye. He was still pulling himself along before the last bullet but he was soon knocked back. He described a sensation of glass breaking upon the impact. He did not go unconscious, but thought that he was dead. He was forced to pinch himself to see if he really did still live. His eye was torn in half, but he did keep his life.

Another New Document

Through the night we sped on our way down the Aegean Archipelago, and the following evening, a Sunday, saw our real encounter with the U-boat that had dogged us so relentlessly. Without one moment's warning, a terrific explosion occurred, made hideous by the splintering into matchwood of great timbers, the crash of falling glass and the groaning of steel girders wrenched asunder, followed by the hissing rush of escaping steam from the ship's boilers.

Nobody needed enlightening as to the fact that the old Arcadian, which had so often completed the Eastern trip, had received a "Blighty" one, and was shortly due for Davey Jones's locker.

If doubts existed, these were soon dispelled, since, having given one convulsive shudder from end to end, the great ship began to settle down on her port side with the loose deck paraphernalia slithering about in all directions and dropping into the sea.

To get away easier, I discarded my military boots, and donned a life-belt. On reaching the side of the ship and peering over, one of the two small boats which had survived the explosion was to be seen putting away full to overflowing with men. Nothing else remained but to make the descent into the sea by a rope conveniently to hand, and this I attempted.

Unfortunately, my equilibrium on the ship's rail was disturbed by someone in great haste to be among the rescued, and, falling, my arm became jammed at the wrist between two steel uprights employed as supports.

For moments that seemed long years, I was dangling from the side of the rapidly sinking Arcadian, but was rescued just in time from that perilous position by two comrades, one easing my weight from underneath the shoulders while the other wrenched the caught arm from the fixture.

I do not know the identity of my rescuers to this day. Seizing the means of escape, I shinned quickly down into the sea - my hands suffering badly from rope-burns, and was surprised to find the water comfortably warm. My attire consisted of trousers, shirt and socks.

This account was written by Trooper Reginald Huggins who enlisted in 1915. This takes place in 1917. He was aboard the boat Transport Arcadian in the Aegian Sea. During the time the Submarine Blockade was in full swing trying to defeat Great Britain at sea. The ship was led to the African coast by a Japanese Destroyer, who was there for their protection. When they were in sight of the coast they spotted a submarine, so they took shelter in a skinny river in North Africa's cost where they were bottled up for 3 days. After 3 days they set back out to sea, but later on encountered the U boat, who without hesitation, destroyed the boat with a torpedo and forced the writer of the diary to abandon ship.

"Our real encounter with the U-boat that had dogged us so relentlessly. Without one moment's warning, a terrific explosion occurred." In this quote he is talking about being torpedoed by a German U boat. U boats were submarines built and operated by the Germans. "U" stands for undersea boat. The submarines were mostly used for economic warfare blockading the British convoys and trade ships that were bringing supplies from the British Empire to Great Britain. They were also very powerful, and useful in destroying enemy vessels, and were a great advantage in sea battle. They were gas powered and armed with torpedos, making them particularly dangerous because they could stay under water for weeks at a time and sneak up on ships and destroy them. They were vulnerable though when they surfaced for oxygen because they were powered by gasoline engines.

All information came from here:

http://www.firstworldwar.com/diaries/torpedoed.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-boat

Analysis of John Bruce Cairnie

John Bruce Cairnie, born of September 22, 1889 in Thurso, Caithness, was the son of Davide Dandie Cairnie, and Mary Bruce Wilson. He attended the Miller Institute in Thurso, and later to Edinburgh University, where he graduated M.A. in 1911 and B.Sc. in 1912. He then attended teachers' college.
In October 1917 he sailed to join the 3/4 King's African Rifles as a lieutenant. He kept a diary from then on until January 1919 as he sailed for home.

On January 26, 1915, he was doing a platoon drill and bayonet fighting, and ammunition, preparing for the war. The soldiers had been leaving on random destinations, and some people were hopeful that they would be brought to Edinburgh Castle or Inverness. After his afternoon parade he found himself and two of his fellow soldiers on a similar mission. A man named Russel, and Jim Matheson were selected to go with him. They paraded for 15 minutes, before realizing that they were supposed to do picket duty at the Herring Green crossroads with orders to stop all cars and take inventory.

Analysis and Background

A War Nurses's Diary takes place in the Belgian Military Hospital that were staffed by English surgeons and nurses. The environment of these military hospitals consisted of lots of expensive and high tech (for this century) machinery with millions of wounded soldiers, marines, and even nurses. “I am resolved to put all my strength at the service of my adopted country, since I cannot do anything for my unfortunate native country just now...” --letter from Marie Curie to Paul Langevin, January 1, 1915. Madama Curie was the founder of the "petite Curie" which was new and improved van vehicle that carried X-rays to the Front. These vans were operated by the Red Cross Foundation, which became a huge organization due to World War I. The X-ray system was the most interesting and necessary department in the entire hospital. Madame Curie was one of the first to discover radium. She woke up every morning around 5 am to start taking X-rays of the people in terrible pain. The summer rain made them put upp tents and covers for the machines and other hospital items. Some activities the patients enjoyed included, three times a week band playing, beds and mattresses were brought out in the shade of the trees, while officers and soldiers visited their wounded friends. "Meals were served outside to them, and the staff had a long table under the trees where they took our meals." Round at the back were the huts where they had entertainments. Many different people were involved in enlightening the patients faces and making them feel as strong as possible.

The larger significance of this snippet of a nurse's diary talks about the suffering of the soldiers and that their living conditions were nothing compared to what we have today in our hospitals. The staff inside the hospitals focused on keeping the soldiers who were wounded or sickness to express a positive attitude even though it was probably the last thing on their minds. Lastly, Madama Curie, the nurses in the hospitals, etc all were a huge impact on the technological advancement during World War I.




The picture above shows some of the nurses and doctors in the war and how little amount there are compared to now. The person in the black uniform and who seems more unique than the others is Madame Curie and she is famous for discovering radium.

Analysis of Stapleton Tench Eachus

I am penning these as I find myself sitting at one of the dining tables at the Salvation Army rest for soldiers in London, Blighty. Am on my way back to France after 14 days furlough and seven days extension which was granted to me by the Royal Engineer Records Chatham. I left Stafford this morning with my little boy at 11.37 am and went first to Warwick where I left Derrick in the care of Mr. and Mrs. Kendrick at 48 Avon Street. I think that these forced partings from the little chap, who is so dear to me, have caused me deeper and more cruel pain, than all other pains that I have known. If there is such a thing as love in this world, it must be surely just like that, how little Dux is loved by me. Left Warwick at 5.58 pm and arrived at Paddington at 9.10 pm. Took a bus to Victoria station and passed by the Marble Arch and Saint James Park, which was profusely decorated with flags and bunting in honour I suppose of the visit of the American president, who arrived today. At Victoria station went into the free buffet, and had a sandwich and cup of tea. Wreaths in the evergreen and other laurel decorations were hanging up everywhere and welcome greetings to the soldiers were emblazoned in large letters upon the walls, one inscription ran something like this “We pray for all who have died and we thank all for bringing us victory and peace” another ran “Welcome home the nation thanks you”. Was directed by a gentleman to board a small motor lorry, which had two seats down the centre and a roof, something after the style of the well known Irish “stage coach”. This vehicle took a party of us to the pace where I am now and where I have engaged a bed no 182 for the night for the price of half a shilling.

This diary was written by Stapleton Tench Eachus, who was a British soldier. He was born in Stafford, England in 1889. After finishing school, Stapleton joined the post office where he worked until 1910, he then enlisted with the South Staffordshire Regiment before moving to the Warwickshire Yeomanry. Stapleton fought with the Warwickshire Yeomanry in Egypt before he transferred to the Royal Engineer's Signals. Stapleton was sent to France in 1916, and over the next 3 years, he wrote in tiny notepads a set of 15 diaries about his adventures in the Great War, which was what Worl War 1 was called. The diary entry above was written in 1918, when Stapleton was at rest at Salvation Army. He is talking about how he recently visited his family, and discussing his reception by the general public.

At the start of the entry, Stapleton writes "Many months have elapsed since last I made any notes", which shows how little time soldiers have for anything while at war. Every minute they have to be alert and ready for battle, so obviously Stapleton has not had time lately to do something he enjoys, which is writing in his diary. He also writes about visiting his family for two weeks. He seemed really excited about the visit, but also upset that he had to leave his family once again. He described his little boy, and I could feel the sadness radiating from the entry as he left his child. He writes, "I think that these forced partings from the little chap, who is so dear to me, have caused me deeper and more cruel pain, than all other pains that I have known. If there is such a thing as love in this world, it must be surely just like that, how little Dux is loved by me." Out of all of the suffering, pain, and death he has seen in his life as a soldier, the pain that hurts him the most is the pain of leaving his boy. This shows how little he got to see his family, and how long the soldier has to be away from his family. Finally, at the end of his entry, Stapleton describes the welcome he got from the public. There were wreaths and signs that said “We pray for all who have died and we thank all for bringing us victory and peace” another ran “Welcome home the nation thanks you”. This shows the support system the soldiers had in the war, as well as the nationalism displayed during the war. The country was proud of the soldiers representing it, so it used many different obvious signs and decorations to showcase this.

New Diary Entry - Nearly Buried Alive on the Battlefied

"One section was busy with digging a common grave for the dead. We took away the papers and valuables of the dead, took possession of the eatable and drinkable stores to be found in the saddle bags attached to the horses and, when the grave was ready, we began to place the dead bodies in it. They were laid close together in order to utilize fully the available space. I, too, had been ordered to "bring in" the dead. The bottom of the grave was large enough for twenty-three bodies if the space was well utilized. When two layers of twenty-three had already been buried a sergeant of the artillery, who was standing near, observed that one of the "dead" was still alive. He had seen the "corpse" move the fingers of his right hand. On closer examination it turned out that we came near burying a living man, for after an attempt lasting two hours we succeeded in restoring him to consciousness. The officer of the infantry who supervised the work now turned to the two soldiers charged with getting the corpses ready and asked them whether they were sure that all the men buried were really dead. "Yes," the two replied, "we suppose they are all dead." That seemed to be quite sufficient for that humane officer, for he ordered the interments to proceed. Nobody doubted that there were several more among the 138 men whom we alone buried in one grave (two other, still bigger, graves had been dug by different burial parties) from whose bodies life had not entirely flown. To be buried alive is just one of those horrors of the battlefield which your bar-room patriot at home (or in America) does not even dream of in his philosophy."

This diary describes the wartime experiences of a German soldier during WWI. He describes the scene of a mass burial of soliders that were buried in rows of 23 and stacked 2 people high. This seems pretty normal for WWI because of how often people were getting mowed down my machine guns or blown to pieces by mortars. However, at this particular burial site, one man noticed that one of the men being buried still had life in his limbs. He saw that man move his fingers. The grave diggers had buried a man alive next to almost 50 other bloody bodies without even taking a second look to make sure he was dead. The supervisor of this burial asked the people who were doing the actual burying if they made sure everyone was dead before they buried them. A simple "yes" was enough to convince the supervisor that no living soldiers were being buried. They knew that there were almost definitely live soldiers being buried still, but they simply kept going.

This entry kind of disturbs me because of how little the supervisor of the grave seems to care about burying people alive. He didn't even go over to check on more of the bodies while they were being buried and when he found out a solider had been buried alive, all that he needed to continue burying all of the bodies his eye could see was a simple "yes" that made sure that all of the buried bodies were dead. This passage also shows just how much violence was going on in WWI. There were so many motionless, bloody, disfigured bodies laying around that some people couldn't even tell if they were dead or not. The grave diggers were just burying everything that was on the ground without paying much attention to what they were actually burying so they wouldn't fall behind with their work. No soldier should need to add to his list of fears the fear of being buried alive by a man from his own side of the fight.





http://wwi.lib.byu.edu/index.php"/VIII_NEARLY_BURIED_ALIVE_ON_THE_BATTLEFIELD

A German Deserter's War Experience: VIII

NEARLY BURIED ALIVE ON THE BATTLEFIELD