Bandolier

“ It is looking farther afield to where, on a low platform behind a neat row of sandbags, the sentries are standing immobile beside their rifles. Their bandoliers are strapped across them, their bayonets are fixed. Their backs are turned to you. They look forward with an air of strained attention. They are the look-out men in the fire-trench.
Piles of sandbags and a great deal of timber-work, timber flooring, and timber supports, as neat and prosaic as a street excavation in London, is what the eye sees. ”

“ The reason for this smaller supply of ammunition is not quite obvious, unless it be that the Army always have an ammunition and baggage train, whereas the Navy endeavour to carry as much as possible on their persons. It is a point open to debate as to which equipment is the better, but the bandolier system has great advantages. The cartridges are more easily got at in a hurry, and men are not apt to lose half their ammunition by leaving their pouches open. This generally occurs when advancing to the attack by rushes, and a serious wastage occurs. ”

“ In the other case the bluejacket is provided with braces on to which two bandoliers are fastened, one going across the body, the other passing along the belt which carries the haversack, bayonet, water-bottle, and the two ammunition pouches. These two pouches carry—one 60 rounds, the other 40; the bandoliers 25 each, which with 10 rounds in the magazine of the rifle, total 160. Now the marines have only two pouches, both carried in front on the belt, in each of [282] which are carried 30 rounds. ”

“ With a calmness which bespoke experience, despite the light of battle which blazed in their eyes, the new men brought and distributed fresh bandoliers of ammunition to those who had gone before, then took their places alongside to aid in its expenditure. ”

“ The match is very dangerous, either when bandoliers are used, or when soldiers run hastily in fight to the budge barrel, to refill their bandoliers. I have often seen sad instances thereof. Marching in the nights to avoid an enemy or to surprise one, or to assault a fortress, the matches often discover you, whereby you suffer much, and he obtains much. In wet weather, the rain deads the powder and the match too, and the wind sometimes blows away the powder, ere the match can touch the pan ”

“ The role of this Battalion will be to deliver an immediate counter-stroke against any hostile counter-attack.
13. Prisoners’ escorts, messengers, etc., when returning to their Companies from the rear, will take back six bandoliers of S.A.A. from the forward dumps.
14. Dress:—Fighting order, with packs instead of haversacks. Every N.C.O. and man will carry:—
1 No. 23 rifle grenade. 2 Aeroplane flares. 4 Sandbags. 1 Bandolier extra S.A.A.—Carried in the pack. 1 Lewis gun magazine
[84]
Parties of men specially selected to deal with dugouts will carry two No. 23 rifle grenades. ”

“ Quentin to Cambrai and the road from Eitenham to Bray. Not alone by the roadside are the brave resting, they sleep in folds of the earth, on little hillocks, in the shade of broken spinneys, by the banks of canals and on the verge of disbanded trenches. Over one heap of earth can be seen a bayonet topped with a helmet or cap, over another a rifle with its barrel stuck in the ground. Crosses stand to [96] unknown soldiers, British, French or German, crosses with names stand singly or in clusters, telling of the men who have given up their life in the great war. ”

“ Every afternoon several guns visited the marsh which had been the scene of one of the earlier combats, and in addition to bringing back sometimes ten or twelve couple of birds, such articles as rifles, jingals, and sword bayonets were frequently added to the bag. How enjoyable it was to be killing, or even frightening, something a little less imposing when in the bag than human beings; and how absurd it seemed to be once more using a 12-bore instead of a rifle or 12-pounder on the actual ground which only a month ago was strewn with the bodies of men who had fallen in action! ”

“ The highway led straight through the forest. Many roads emptied into it, and from every road debouched a stream of horses, men, and guns. The battalion went into column of twos, then into column of files, to make room. On the left of the road, abreast of the Marines, plodded another column of foot—strange black men, in the blue greatcoats of the French infantry and mustard-yellow uniforms under them. Their helmets were khaki-colored, and bore a crescent instead of the bursting bomb of the French line. But they marched like veterans, and the Marines eyed them approvingly. ”

“ Other hands had been trained in serving the gun, so that the places of any disabled in action could be replaced. The service at the Parrot was not all that was required of the men forming the gun crew, for each was also a first or second boarder, a pumpman, or something else, and to each number one or two weapons were assigned, as musket and pike, sword and pistol, battle-axe. When the order to board the enemy was given, every man knew his station and his proper officer. ”

“ I snorted, whereat the entire platoon held their sides, and I was mad enough to turn a machine gun on them.
Hanging from the belt is the entrenching tool and handle; it is shaped like a tiny grub hoe. One would be apt to be amused at the idea of digging a hole with a toy like that, but under shell fire you could dig a hole quicker with that little tool than with a pick and shovel.
Next is the haversack worn on the left side and the water bottle on the right. In the pouches attached to the belt and braces a hundred and twenty rounds of ball ammunition are carried. ”

“ Each man was told to keep fifteen rounds by him at all costs to meet a charge. Sergeant X bent steadily over his rifle, pumping lead into the dark patch where the enemy appeared to be. Sometimes I could hear guttural voices and harsh words of command, somewhere away there in the blackness the enemy were lying. I could see clearly for about forty yards. Would masses of dark shapes suddenly appear? They should have ten rounds from the rifle, then six from the revolver, and then the bayonet would be left. ”

“ Halted at “company front,” that is, with the two ranks in long lines, the captain ordered us to load. At the command the men half turn to the right, but keep the rifle pointing forward and up; the rear rank men also come close to the front, so that the muzzles of their guns are in advance of the front rank men. Standing thus they open the breeches of their guns, thrust in the clips, shove the bolt handle forward and turn it down—and then somebody’s gun goes off! So you see why the rear rank men have their guns where no one will be hit, and why the captain stands off at one side. ”

“ They are the boys who weave the “curtain of fire” which you read about in the French official bulletins as checking an infantry charge; which demolish the barbed-wire entanglements to let an infantry charge get into a trench. If a general wants a shower of bullets over any part of the German line he has only to call up the eighteen-pounders and it is sent as promptly as the pressure of a button brings a pitcher of iced water to a room in a first-class hotel. A veteran eighteen-pounder crew in action is a poem in precision and speed of movement. The gun itself seems to possess intelligence. ”

“ The boats of the contrabandistas are generally rigged as feluccas, and painted black; they are built sharp as a pike-head, and carry a heavy brass gun, which, in harbour, is usually concealed under a pile of old boxes and casks, with a tarpaulin thrown over it, while in cases of emergency, various pistols, pikes, and cutlasses, make their appearance in the hands of the brown-visaged, black-bearded, red-sashed, and rather pictorial-looking ruffians, whose chief occupation is to sleep and lounge about their decks by day. ”

“ Notwithstanding the want of our artillery, which being on board of a schooner, towed by the boats of the squadron, was still at a considerable distance, and the state of the wind, which prevented the squadron from approaching the shore, our troops, after landing and taking possession of one of their field-pieces and a tumbril, had, by a spirited advance, driven the enemy before them, at the point of the bayonet, through the woods, which were most obstinately maintained by them, and had forced them to retire towards their works and loop-holed barracks. ”

“ During the heavy cannonade that took place between the flotilla and the stockade, Maha Bandoola, who was superintending the practice of his artillery, gave his garrison a specimen of the discipline he meant to enforce, in this last struggle to retrieve his lost character and reputation. A Burmese officer being killed while pointing a gun, by a shot from the flotilla, his comrades, instantly abandoning the dangerous post, could not be brought back to their duty by any remonstrances of their chief ”

“ MARINES AT BLANC MONT The battalion groped its way through the wet darkness to a wood of scrubby pines, and lay down in the slow autumn rain. North and east the guns made a wall of sound; flashes from hidden batteries and flares sent up from nervous front-line trenches lighted the low clouds; occasional shells from the Boche heavies whined overhead, searching the transport lines to the rear. It lacked an hour yet until dawn, and the companies disposed themselves in the mud and slept. They had learned to get all the sleep they could before battle. ”

“ That express messenger was too deadly—and too game; so the bandit merely spurred his horse, lay low on his neck and swept across the desert. When he came to a little swale between some sandhills he dipped into it, pulled up, dismounted and waited. The sun was setting behind the gory hills now, and glinted on a rifle which the bandit drew from a gun-boot which a broad sweat leather half concealed. ”

“ Sometimes a tremendous affair, heavies, field guns and trench mortars all pounding away together, creeping barrage, smoke screens and the rest of it. Elsewhere and at other times, nothing, Infantry well ahead of the guns, going forward almost into the blue, with nothing heavier than machine guns to support them. ”

“ Then the word was given for the advance, and the infantry went off in long strings of men armed with alpenstocks and ropes. Ropes were used for lowering each other down bad places, and for stringing the men together when they got on to the snows to save them from falling into crevasses, etc. But the exciting point of the day was when the artillery proceeded to move down into the ravine; the guns were all carried in sections on the backs of mules, as well as their ammunition and spare parts. ”

“ I flung myself on the nearest trooper, whose rifle was already raised, and taken by surprise he loosed his weapon. With it I beat the next ten men's rifles down, and they clattered on the beach. That made the others pause and look at me.
"The man who fires the first shot dies!" said I, striving to make the breath come evenly between my teeth for sake of dignity, yet with none too great success. ”

“ The captain, poor, outwitted man, had laid his rifle beside the boat. It was too late now to bring it into decisive action. Keeping close together, the defenders warded off the first rush with whatever came to hand. The rifle was recovered; but Blue Shirt, recognising that it represented victory, struggled for it determinedly. A spear was thrown at close quarters straight for the captain's neck, but one of the men deftly twitched it off, a feat that so enraged the warriors that they made him their special target, until at last one of their spears pierced his hand. ”

“ The shifting horde raised clouds of dust above the line, from which the bare, treeless prairie stretched away southward for miles. There was not a soul on it except United States cavalrymen, who were spread out in a long line, each man being placed at a regular interval from his neighbor. To the front of the troopers, the captain in command sat his horse, holding his watch in his left hand to determine the correct time, while in his right he carried a cocked revolver. ”

“ The Majestic therefore fought on both sides. Throughout the whole ship the stalwart, half-naked men heaved at the huge guns. Everywhere, from stem to stern, was exhibited in full swing the active processes of sponging out, passing along powder and ball, ramming home the charges, running out, working the handspikes, stepping aside to avoid the recoil—and the whole operation of working the guns, as only British seamen know how to work them! ”

“ Boats were dragged from floors to a sally-port at the rear of the courtyard. Here firearms, ammunition, food, and baggage were placed in readiness. Guns which could not be taken were burned or broken. Ammunition was scattered in the snow. All the stock but one solitary pig, a few chickens, and the dogs was sacrificed for the feast, and in the barracks a score of men were laboring over enormous kettles of meat. Had an Indian spy climbed to the top of a tree and looked over the palisades, all would have been discovered; but the French entertainers outside kept their guests busy. ”

“ Of this species of force, six pieces form a battery, then called a brigade: each gun is dragged by four or six horses; by four, if the brigade be intended to act with infantry—by six, if it belong to what is called the horse-artillery. In the former case, eight gunners march on foot beside each field-piece, two riding à la postilion; in the latter, the gunners are all [Pg 270] mounted and accoutred like yeomanry cavalry. Then the tumbrils and ammunition-waggons, with their train of horses and attendants, follow in rear of the guns ”

“ There can be no flinging of men and horses on shore; slowly, laboriously, in carefully arranged order of precedence, the contents of the transports must be conveyed to the beach. The main body of Infantry first, to protect the landing of the horses, guns, wagons, stores, etc.—for now, at last, all hope of concealment has vanished, and every step will be taken as in the presence of an enemy, beginning with the position taken up by the troopships, which must lie well out of range of field Artillery, though every furlong farther off land will be a handicap. ”