The next few days seemed an eternity7, for it was greatly feared that, even though we had received official warning for France, the Battalion’s departure might be delayed on account of mumps8; at least four huts just now being quarantined with that disease. Notwithstanding many pessimistic prophecies emanating9 from the M.O. (Capt. James Moore), the fateful day arrived, and the Battalion, less its horses and half the transport section, which had been sent on in advance under Lt. Proctor, entrained at Milford Station at the usual army hour for such operations (1.10 a.m.), one ten ack emma.
[14]
The London and South Western Railway seemed determined10 to make up for all its past bad behaviour, and by ten o’clock the same morning we were all safely tucked away on board His Majesty’s Transport “Victoria” with part of the 66th Imperial Divisional Headquarters and some drafts. Nothing of any importance happened during the voyage, and no “subs” were sighted, so far as we knew, so that by noon we had arrived at Boulogne. A short march brought us to St. Martin’s Camp, during which we were carefully scrutinized11 by the inhabitants, who shouted many unintelligible12 comments at us, but which by the expressions on their faces we interpreted to be of a complimentary13 nature. A host of small, stockingless boys accompanied us all the way from the boat to the camp, asking the most extraordinary questions in broken English, and generally ending by “cigarette?” or “bully beef?”.
St. Martin’s Camp, situated14 as it was on the side of a hill, and about five kilometres from Boulogne, did not commend itself to us in any way, and there was nothing of interest there except the odd Y.M.C.A. or Salvation15 Army Hut. The men slept about ten in a tent and the officers were billeted all together in a kind of barn; blankets and bed rolls were freely distributed, and having vainly applied16 for leave to visit the City we turned in to dream of our dear ones or to wonder what fate had in store for us during the next few months. There is nothing on earth quite so trying as waiting for[15] orders, especially when confined to a camp like St. Martin’s, but we were not to be kept in suspense17 very long, for at midnight (which, as has been mentioned before, is about the usual Army hour for such things) orders were received to move, and by 8 a.m., 12th February, the whole Battalion had entrained for a destination “Somewhere in France.”
The poor old despised London and South Western Railway was a perfect paradise to the cattle trucks of this train, but what did anything matter now?
By 8 a.m. the following morning we had detrained at Houdain, at that time the centre of the rest billets occupied by the 3rd Canadian Division, and after staying one night in the village of Divion, where we had our first introduction to Company messing, we finally reached a place called Haillicourt, from where we could hear the guns all day and could see the flares18 along the front at night—and so the war was getting nearer every minute, or rather we were getting nearer to the war, and strange to tell the nearer we got the better we thought we liked it.
It might be well at this point to state that we were under orders to join the 3rd Canadian Division, and it was generally understood that we were to take the place of the 60th Battalion, which, although the junior Battalion of the 9th Brigade, was held in very high esteem19 as a fighting unit. The reason given for this most unusual proceeding20 was that the 60th Battalion, being originally recruited in Quebec, could not get sufficient reinforcements from its own Province, and in conse[16]quence was receiving both officers and men from the Province of Ontario. This method of recruiting was evidently frowned upon by superior authority, and the 116th Battalion had been chosen out of many others in England as an alternative to the 60th Battalion, and as a means of overcoming the Provincial21 question of reinforcements.
Now, as already stated, the 60th had a wonderful record, and individually they were as fine a lot of men as one could meet anywhere; therefore, it is only natural that the news that they were soon to be broken up should cause consternation22 in the ranks, not only of the 9th Brigade, but the whole of the 3rd Division; and this did not increase the popularity of the 116th.
(As later pointed23 out by our C.O., we were not only the “baby” battalion of the Canadian Corps24, but we were also the “orphan” battalion.)
In addition to our family troubles we were without field kitchens or transport, which made things far from comfortable, and it is certain that during this period our inexperience proved to be our salvation. We were fresh and eager to do credit to the name of our unit and our Commanding Officer (Col. Sharpe), whose untiring energies had succeeded in gaining a place for us in France; so we dealt with our experiences as we found them and passed through them to others.
Whilst at Haillicourt the Battalion was inspected by Major-General Lipsett, G.O.C. 3rd Division, and by Lieut.-General Sir Julian Byng, G.O.C. Canadian Corps,[17] and after about two weeks’ training in the new platoon formation we were moved to Faucquenheim, in order to be closer to the other battalions25 of the 9th Brigade. The real reason for this move was made obvious during the next few days when orders were received on the 5th March for the Battalion to be split up in the following manner:—
A. Company was to go to the 58th Battalion;
B. Company to the 60th Battalion;
C. Company to the 43rd Battalion;
D. Company to the 52nd Battalion.
The object of this being to give the Battalion training in actual warfare26 with men who were already experienced in front line work. Further, each Company was split up so that one platoon was apportioned27 to each Company of the different Battalions as above, and all that now remained of the youthful 116th was an ardent28 desire to get through the “baptism of fire” with as much glory and as few casualties as possible.
On the 11th March the 9th Brigade, composed of the 43rd, 52nd, 58th and 60th Battalions, moved into the trenches29 at the foot of Vimy Ridge31, accompanied by their unwelcome but willing guests from the 116th. Apart from working parties and general trench30 routine, which to the inexperienced is all more or less exciting (especially the working parties), nothing of any great military value was accomplished32 during this tour, and by the 25th of the month our Battalion was reassembled at old friend Houdain, where the experiences of the past[18] fortnight were feverishly33 discussed and compared. It was generally conceded that trench warfare had not all the advantages the instructors34 at Bramshott had claimed for it, and that “Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty” was not such a rotten song after all.
Several of the Companies had encountered mud in the trenches, well over their knees, and, as military overcoats are not constructed for mud wading35, a great many of the men in these Companies, following the advice of the “old” soldiers in the Battalions to which they were attached, had cut their coats in accordance, not with orders from the 9th Brigade, but with the depth of the mud encountered. As these tailoring alterations36 were for the most part made by means of the Service Jack37 Knife the results were hardly in keeping with (K.R. and O.), and by the look on the C.O.’s face when he inspected the Battalion for the first time after its reassembly at Houdain there was certainly trouble in store for somebody.
The next day saw about 200 brave, but ragged38 warriors39, lined up outside Battalion Orderly Room, awaiting sentence for destroying Government property. The sentences were not severe, but the Battalion tailor had his hands full for a while.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
battalion
|
|
| n.营；部队；大队(的人) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
hustle
|
|
| v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
bustle
|
|
| v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
haven
|
|
| n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
inundated
|
|
| v.淹没( inundate的过去式和过去分词 )；（洪水般地）涌来；充满；给予或交予（太多事物）使难以应付 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
subsided
|
|
| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
eternity
|
|
| n.不朽，来世；永恒，无穷 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
mumps
|
|
| n.腮腺炎 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
emanating
|
|
| v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的现在分词 )；产生，表现，显示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
scrutinized
|
|
| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
unintelligible
|
|
| adj.无法了解的，难解的，莫明其妙的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
complimentary
|
|
| adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
salvation
|
|
| n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
applied
|
|
| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
suspense
|
|
| n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
flares
|
|
| n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
esteem
|
|
| n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
proceeding
|
|
| n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
provincial
|
|
| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
consternation
|
|
| n.大为吃惊，惊骇 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
corps
|
|
| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
battalions
|
|
| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
warfare
|
|
| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
apportioned
|
|
| vt.分摊，分配（apportion的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
ardent
|
|
| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
trenches
|
|
| 深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
trench
|
|
| n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
ridge
|
|
| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
accomplished
|
|
| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
feverishly
|
|
| adv. 兴奋地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
instructors
|
|
| 指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
wading
|
|
| （从水、泥等）蹚，走过，跋( wade的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
alterations
|
|
| n.改动( alteration的名词复数 )；更改；变化；改变 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
38
ragged
|
|
| adj.衣衫褴褛的，粗糙的，刺耳的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
39
warriors
|
|
| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |