WW1 "Private Peaceful" - Ryan Donnelly

  

THE WAR DIARIES

It is now 01:00hrs and I haven't slept properly in five days. I can't remember the last time I had a hot bath, I can't remember the last time I had anything hot! It's hard to get to sleep around here because its so cold and damp, not to mention the Fritz is hammering us with shells. I have to get up now so I stand up, put on my helmet and load my rifle. Before I start my duties I have one last look at the letters I received from my family and then I report to the sergeant.   We start to gather up dead bodies and we are ordered to throw them into no man's land. I ask the sergeant “Shouldn't we bury the dead sir?” The sergeant replies “No time for that now, boy!” I am heart broken for the families of these dead soldiers but I can honestly say I'm glad it's not me.   It is now 04:00hrs and replacements are arriving. I can't believe that people are still volunteering for this war. When I see their young faces it reminds me of when I arrived here. Replacements don't get a lot of respect around here, mostly because they're replacing good men. Some of us are now greeting the replacements and telling them stories about previous battles that we have fought. As we are telling them stories we are enjoying cigarettes that the replacements have brought from Scotland , while cleaning our rifles and bayonets.   The sergeant has ordered us to extend the trench. We start to mark out where the trench will be. I get my shovel and run a line down the damp mud to mark where we start digging, and all of a sudden a German machine gun starts firing. We drop to the ground as fast as lightning and scurry back into the trench, that's when we start to fire back. We hear a loud screech in the distance. Everyone knows its German artillery and we are waiting for it to hit us. The artillery attack is just short of the trench and luckily no one is injured.   It is now 07:00hrs and it has started raining. I look through my binoculars but I can't see much because of the mist. I can now see the figure of a man so I call for the sergeant. The sergeant comes running over and takes a look. He shouts, “Load your rifles and fix your bayonet's!” and we do just that. Every one including the sergeant stands on the firing step and we are ordered to open fire. One or two Germans fall but the rest keep coming. We open fire again and this time a few fall like skittles in a bowling alley. We don't have time to load our rifles again so we point our bayonets out of the trench. Within five seconds the Germans go straight into them. There are a few Germans left and they retreat but the trench fills up with gas and I am lucky enough to scramble to the reserve trench along with another couple of soldiers. I am out of breath because I have to hold my breath to get away from the gas. I put on my gas mask in case any more gas bombs go off.   It is now 10:00hrs and we are still gathering up dead bodies. These dead men still looked shocked and wear the death mask, their mouths wide open, full of green bubbles and showing green around their mouths too.   The mist is disappearing and the sky is brightening up. We decide not to start extending the trench, as there is no one around to give us into trouble. The sergeant died during the gas attack and his replacement hasn't arrived yet. Most of the replacements that came here today were dead within six hours. I'm on borrowed time; I've been here for three years.   It is now 13:00hrs and the new sergeant has arrived. He looks fierce and brave and there are rumours going round the trench that “he's killed twenty Germans with his bayonet alone”. We are all excited about the changes he might make. Having a sergeant like this boosts our morale.   By Ryan Donnelly.