Just near our battery and in several other places I saw graves with rough crosses with the writing in German meaning “an unknown English soldier”. I have forgotten the exact words in German (“Unbekannter englischer Soldat”). Graves of our troops killed in the break away. When the German army couldn’t crush the British army because the British army ran away quicker than the German army could follow. I have never seen crosses erected to Germans by us. One night our wagon lines got badly bombed, we loosing 26 horses but no men fortunately as we made it a most definite rule that whenever we moved into a new position before anything was done even the horses fed if it was near night everyman had to set to and dig rough holes at least 2 feet deep and big enough for two or three or a few more as they wanted, to sleep in. It then takes a direct hit to get you. About 12 small bombs were dropped round the camp, most within 3 feet of some posys and several taupalines covering them were torn to pieces. Some of the horses had been dug in then and next day we dug the rest of the horses in but it is a big job to dig 160 horses down below the surface and not usually considered worth while, though now we always build walls about 4ft high round them.
In 1916 everyone used to laugh at bombs, in 1917 you had to give orders not to light fires and to get under cover, in 1918 there was no such need at all for any order. Before dark everyone always saw where he would spend the night and there were never any lights showing.
Next day we were to move up for a stunt. Our infantry were in our side of the 1914-16 line by this and we were going to push on. The Major and I reconnoitred a posy about 1000 yards from the line. It was a most unhealthy spot altogether any in that region, and again for the third time we were to be the foremost battery. We chose a position on the top of the ridge in front of us. On one side there was a big wood and in front and in rear a small clump of trees, with a big avenue connecting them on the other side. So we were really in a sort of a clearing about ½ a mile square. There were a few old shell holes from 1916 and a couple of decayed trenches, but it was still practically virgin country. I took some men from each gun up there that afternoon and we dug pits for ammo and planted aiming posts for the guns.
Hubert You have been to an artillery school and know everything. How would you like to have to take a battery to within 1000 to 500 yards of the enemy in the middle of a very dark night and fire an accurate barrage before daylight in the morning. How we did it always was this. Either put No 1 or 6 guns down along side some unmistakable point marked on the map or pace the distance from a couple of defined points to your directing gun, so get your position accurately. This is most essential and also difficult. Then get in front of No. 1 gun with a compass or director. Set either to true east and get a man with each aiming post to hold a torch along side their heads so you can see them. When you have both posts in a true east line, side lift the gun onto them. Then put out your night light on one post and a torch on the dial sight of No.2 gun measure the angle between the line of the posts and No.2 dial sight, add to or subtract from 180 degrees & put on No.2 dial sight, then put a torch over No1 dial sight & lay No2 onto the light with that angle on. Then plant posts by aid of a torch. The posts will then be parallel and due east. Repeat with all the guns. Now you have only to measure an angle right or left of the east gridline on your map and give that angle to your guns and your lines are parallel. Of course that is when you are firing as we were in a general easterly direction. In every position the aiming posts were automatically laid out true east so anyone would know how he stood if he had to work out a shoot without the person who laid the lines. If you desired to register you would measure the angle between due east and the point you desired to register on. Put that on to the guns and correct till you hit the point. Then if the angle you finished at was not the same as the map angle alter your posts the amount of the difference.
*Link to the Corrector page & Arndell’s notes from 1917
Of course all our guns have the new muzzle velocity corrector range drum on and although each would have the same range on the range drum the quadrant elevations would be different in any correction was required for calibration, the difference being automatically added by the setting of the range drum. Also each fuze bar was set for loss of M.V. and so although each gun had the same correction they had a fuze lengthened for any loss of the M.V. of the shell. It is much simpler than adding range for loss of M.V. and working out a correct correction for every gun. A correction must be made for all shell fuzed with 106 fuze as per range table and this is most essential. No other corrections for fuzes need be made. No difference in range need be made for H.E shrap, or phosphorous shells, but a correction is necessary for thermite & gas which must be adhered to as per range table. It is not safe to fire within 200 yards of our troops with thermite gas as these shells are very uncertain in flight & you should multiply the 100% zone in range table by 4, for safety. During all these operations we have learnt very much by firing at a point in the morning and being able by reason of advances to go and examine that place in the evening.
We were to move forward at dusk that night, cart up 300 rounds a gun get the guns in and camouflaged but (by) dawn. I didn’t like the job as I knew how he shelled the rotten hole. The major detailed me to get the battery up & Zendher (Lieutenant Oscar Charles Zehnder) came with me, he himself staying behind till I reported the guns were in. the guns were to move one every hour starting at 8.30PM thus giving each gun time to be in action in the new position before the next moved. I took the twelve full wagons and one gun up when these turned up. It was a pitch dark night and the bombs were bad. We went straight across country. I was walking and guiding the leading teams round the shell holes, the remainder following closely. Several times we – Zehnder was with me, stumbled over dead bodies. In about 20 minutes we got in the big avenue I spoke about. There was a road of sorts, but he was shelling occasionally but with big stuff 5.9s at least.
Here we met with the 110th bty coming the other way. They were mixed up with the 2nd bty, and two cable carts laying wire. All were in a hopeless traffic block and it was only by scientific working that we got all the batteries separated, and then after an hour had gone. It was marvellous we didn’t have a casualty. We had great difficulty finding the position which was only marked by a few sticks which it was far too dark to see. Just as we were getting near the place a 5.9 burst within inches of Zehnder and myself covering us with dirt. It was lucky we went (weren’t) hurt or the battery would have been in a most hopeless fix. We got there at last but he was right onto the position with 5.9s & 77 yellow cross (refers to German 77mm artillery shells that used a chemical payload of mustard gas, indicated by a yellow cross painted on the shell casing) and things were in a mix. Twelve teams in the dark where no one can see a yard under shell fire, and in a place where there was a very deep trench on one side & a belt of barb wire behind us, a ditch to cross and any amount of big shell holes take handling. Thank goodness the Major wasn’t there. It only wanted him to cause a catastrophy. We extricated things in time just trusting to luck not to get blown out, but it was very nervy work. Then each team had to do 6 trips. It was only the work of the drivers and a couple of N.C.O.s (non-commissioned officers) that pulled us through and got all the ammo up. And of the whole show we never got a casualty. I recommended one N.C.O for a D.C.M. (Distinguished Conduct Medal) for the work he did extracting teams, getting ammo through and finding a road when the one we were using was blocked. He got a M.M. (Military Medal) out of it. As the guns came up we got the lines of fire out & laid them on S.O.S (“Support or Suppression” fire, a pre-planned defensive measure where artillery was laid on specific areas to be ready to fire immediately if infantry troops sent a distress signal) then got the camouflage out and the ammo under the camouflage. What made me practically anxious was that I knew that at 4.30 sharp Fritz put down a very severe counter preparation over this country so severe that scarcely anything could live above ground & I wanted to get the team right away and all the men out of the road before. Sure enough at 4.30 he started.
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