A TEST OF NERVES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16285, 19 January 1915, Page 7

A TEST OF NERVES.

EXPERIENCES IN THE TRENCHES UNDER SHELL FIRE. A member of the Hon. Artillery Company, in a letter from the front, describes his experiences under shell fire La the trenches. "We've realised ottr ambition, and have been in the trenches for 36 hours (he says), including 24 hours in the firing line. For about the first 12 hours we were in extremely comfortable trenches, lined with efcraw and covered over with, straw hurdles in the reserve line. " Then we went straight into the firing line, where, though, very cramped, the trenches were also comfortably lined and covered in in parts. The covered part of the trench I was in with a friend waa about sft by 3ft by 4ft. "To fire it was, of course, necessary to get into the sloping entrance, but we, like the majority, had not any occasion to fire at all, and only went out to observe for certain periods during the day and night. " About 25 yards in front of ns were some barbed-wire entanglements, then the ground sloped down to the river, which we could not see, and rose on the other side where the German trenches were 600 yards away. " Their trenches in our line of fire -were only occupied by snipers, and not many of those, so we were not troubled much by rifle fire, but they very nearly got us during an artillery bombardment. "They had evidently got the range of cur support trenches and ours very accurately. They started on the former first, and I hear seven men of the regiment in. them were killed, and then they turned \ their attention to our section of the line. "Fortunately, in a way, they were using large common shell, and not shrapnel. The shells used to burst-on impact, and tear a large hole in the ground, oausr ing the sides and top of the trench to fall in and bury the men in them; bet the shells have evidently got to fall very close to accomplish this result, as the one* nearest to u£—one in front of the entanglements and one 12 yards behind us— - ''.■ although they made the place shake and moved the roof, did no further damage. , " It is certainly very nerve-trying when ywu know you are the target for the guns. All you can do is to ait and listen in your confined space. First you hear the guns fire three or four at a tame, then you hear the shells whistling nearer and nearer till they burst, with just enough interval between them to give you time to wonder whether the next will be nearer than thelast. After the burst pieces of shell hum Bke wasps over you, and then lumps of earth keep falling on the roof and into the entrance of the trench for about half a, minute afterwards. That, at anyrate, is my experience of close shell fire."