Читать книгу Over There with the Marines at Chateau Thierry онлайн

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On the evening of the third day they received an order to make a quick march to a shell-shattered village on the front line.

“Now we’re going to see some real fighting,” Tim prophesied to his friend, as they prepared to obey the order.

He was not mistaken.

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Phil and Tim had made good use of their time while in training at Paris Island, so that when they were ordered on board a transport to steam for “somewhere in France,” they could boast of being “Jacks of all trades and masters of all” in the hyperbolic parlance of Sea Soldier excellence. They could do pretty nearly everything from the fitting of gun gear to the operation of a wireless outfit or a portable searchlight. Moreover, they were both well qualified to handle machine guns, and Phil was drawing an extra $3 a month as a rifle sharpshooter.

The company to which Phil and Tim belonged was stationed just outside the village. They reached this position at about 2 p. m. and had little more than completed their digging-in operations, when the word was passed along that they would “go over the top” at 4:30.