To Hell And Back by Susanna De Vries

Author:Susanna De Vries [De Vries, Susanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2016-06-27T16:00:00+00:00

COURTESY AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL, G00937

One of the Anzac field guns in action.

These were still optimistic days, when we expected British and French soldiers down south to join up with us at any moment. We always believed, hearing their guns and daily reports coming through, that they were arriving at such and such an hour. Today it was to be five o’clock in the afternoon.

The village of Krithia had been taken, and Heaven knows what else besides. At any instant now the British and French ought to come pouring over the top of Achi Baba. The optimists among us believed the fall of Constantinople was only a matter of days. The Marines were as confident as we Australians and the expectation that the whole affair would be over within a week or two was the one thing that kept them going. But they were a homesick lot.

Our guns soon quietened down—no doubt shortage of ammunition—and Cliffe left his post and came across where the trench was deeper, to stretch his legs. The English lieutenant was sitting just above and the two men drifted into conversation.

I had the luck to find a magazine with a sentimental love story inside. I carried it to my funk-hole, made a comfortable bed and read until the springs of romance welled in me. I fell asleep to dream of governesses, dukes and heiresses who smiled encouragement on poor broken-down gunners. When I woke up it must have been midday, as the sun was not far from the centre of the sky and there was not a foot of shade.

I looked around and found that nothing had changed. The men sat in the same places and talked with effort. Cliffe spoke to Wilkinson and the sergeant lay beside his gun. I yawned and sat up, flapped at the flies and swore.

Throughout the endless afternoon nothing changed. At times our guns opened fire and Cliffe observed for them. At times I peeped over the parapet, hoping to snipe a Turk, and at times the machine gun rattled away. There was little movement on either side. The armies rested after the big attack. I don’t know who was best pleased when the light grew dim and orders came through to return to headquarters.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.