Letters from John Hardie to his family, 1917-1918 - Part 5

(2)
came back into the reserve lines, which is
about the worst place at the front as Fritz
can shell you there without being afraid
of any dropping on his own lines.
We were there for some time doing night
work, such as laying cables, and carrying
ammunition  then one night they shifted
us back the other side of Ypres.  That was
when our boys captured Zonnebeke. Well
after the stunt we went up again to
make roads to bring up the guns.
You just ought to see the state the
country is in  There isn't one inch
of it that hasn't been torn by shellfire
of course it is our guns that do most of
it.  The night we were making the road
old Fritz sent over a few shells as we were
going up.  Our guns were silent for a long
time and then suddenly the S.O.S. went
up, and they opened.  I think there were about
a thousand guns firing over our heads.
You can imagine the row.  The German guns
closed up altogether and we never lost
a single man on that job.  If the enemy send
over one shell on this front our fellows usually
throw back about ten, and if he sends more
it always ends in our chaps giving him 

a barrage.  We were withdrawn from the 
line about the eight of October to reorganise
for the hop over on the 12^th. On the 10^th
we came back and camped outside Ypres
at a place called Hill fire corner.  I forgot
to say I had been transferred to the ninth
Machine gun [[Company?]]  You see they had
suffered very [[?]] a battle only a
few days before and were very weak.
At eight-O-clock on the night of the 11^th
we left the camp for the line and then began
the march through pouring rain, and a constant
bombardment of H.E.s and gas shells.  Every
little track was congested with troops going up
for the battle, which was to be one of the
biggest things of the whole campaign.
We were slipping and sliding all over the
place, and falling into shell holes,
and to make matters worse we were loosing
men every few yards.  Well we got to our
hopping off place at twenty minutes past five
in the morning, wet to the skin and
dead beat.  Five minutes later our barrage 

[[?]] and [[?]] than ten we were away
[[?]] thin [[w?]] forget the sight, and
a [[?]] thing I didn't feel the least bit
frightened.  I never saw the sky lit up with
such a display of lights before.  It really was
a pretty sight.  But we hadn't gone far
before Fritz got his guns onto us.  Battalion
after Battalion got practically cut to pieces
I don't know how it was our team got
through.  Several of them had their clothes
torn with bits of shell [[?]] I got a small
splinter in the h[[and?]] [[?]] & got about
five hundred ^yards when we were held up
You see they expected the attack and had been
preparing for sometime  The Passchendaele ridge
also the Village of the same name was to have
been our final objective. A piece of the ground
we had to take was some that the Tommies
left seven days before, and would you believe
it, there were some of the poor fellows who
had been wounded still living in the shell
holes.  A lot of our wounded got drowned
in the liquid mud.  In the valley beyond
our starting point the mud was up to
our waist.  You can form an idea how hard
it was to tackle the enemy under such
conditions.  I got hit just a little while after 

5
reaching our first objective, and had
to crawl, and flounder, through a swamp
to get onto the main track out.  After
about half an hour of such going
I reach the first dressing station
which was a German pill box that
had just been captured.  I had intended
to get my wound dressed there, but
what I saw there was the cause of me
going on as there were stretchers lined up
outside besides those inside waiting
their turn.  You see it was an advanced
dressing station.  Well I hadn't gone far
before I came across my Battalion which
was in reserve sheltering in a railway
cutting. I don't think I will ever forget
the sights I saw along there. Chaps whom
I had seen alive only a day or so before

were lying in little groups just as they were
killed by the shells and all the way
down the road it got worse.  This was
the Mennin Road I heard afterwards
what was left of our boys
went up and helped in an attack just
after I came out.  I heard poor Bob Pearse
got slightly wounded, and when 

6
coming out got killed by a shell.
I think I told you before about having
to make my way out for about five miles
or to the fifth dressing station. ^You just ought
to have seen the traffic on that Mennin
Rd.  On one side there were fresh troops
coming up, on the other a constant
stream of wounded going out.  Nearly all
the stretchers were carried by German
prisoners as our bearers were about wiped
out. In the centre guns were being brought

up, and also an endless line of shell

carriers. The German guns continually

hitting the road, but instead of getting

afraid and mixed up the traffic

still went on. Sometimes a gun and
its team would get hit; there would be
a bit of a halt until they shoved the
broken gun and the dead over the side
of the road, and everything went on as
before. When I got about two miles from

the front lines, I came across the guns

which had been brought up during

the night: They had been placed in

position just off the road, and were blazing

away. Further down there were eight inch

7
guns also out in the open.

We must have had thousands

of guns on that sector.

Well there is very little else I

could tell you about that part

except Ypres, which is only a 

heap of ruins There isn't one

building standing in the

whole of what was once a

beautiful town. The streets

are still kept in good order

and the cellars are used 

for billeting troops. In some places

it is just like a town under

ground. There are heaps of

things I would like to tell 

you but a person never knows 

when a letter may be opened

One thing I will say though

(8)

is that our boys got cut to 

pieces in this last affair

They all say it was the 

worst they ever were in.

Battalion after Battalion just

seemed to melt away

before the German Guns.

And I know for a fact that

our guns fired about ten times 

as much as Fritz so you can

form an idea ^of what it was 

like.
I reached a dressing station  about

two-O-clock on the Saturday
afternoon about fifteen miles 

from the line and had my

bit of a scratch seen to for the 

first time. My word it was

lovely to get a nice hot drink

of tea again, and everyone 

was so good to us.

 

(9)

At every place we stopped 

we got a drink of hot tea

and a bag of biscuits.

On the train it was the same

(on which we travelled 

all the next day and part 

of the night.) About midnght

we landed at Abbieville,

a small town on the lower part of the Somme. I went

there for a couple of weeks

and then took the train 

again for Ha[[rn?]]e, which we

reached after 

travelling all night.

We got on the boat at 

nine-O-clock next morning

and moved out into the

bay, where we stopped 

until dark that night

PR00519

Australian

War Memorial

(10)

When I woke up next morning

we were off Southampton.

Everyone was quite pleased,

and even the seriously wounded

were quite cheerful.

I know at one time I never

expected to see England again

We were not shifted off the

boat until dark that night

and then had another train

ride until after midnight.

It took us from Friday evening

until nearly monday morning

to reach Northampton from the

Hospital in France.

The boat we came in on was 

the [[Warialda?]], belonging to

the Adelaide S.S. [[boy?]].

Well dear ones I will draw this 

to a close now.

Hoping all well and 

happy.

I am 

your loving son ^ and brother

John Hardie

(1) Brighton [[offnil?]] 2[[?]]^th

Dear Mother and Father, 

just a little more scribbling hoping

all are well and also to let you know how I'm getting on

The doctor told me several days ago that I'm unfit for further

general service and also that I was booked to sail by the 

first boat for [[?]]. I know how pleased you will be over 

that. If I know the exact date I would send a cable

but of course it might be quite a while yet before they

send me away. I had one operation in France and as it was

unsuccessful ^[[emg?]] [[I?]] expected another here. I went under X rays

and the doctor says the piece is very small and is in

such a difficult position that it would be better to leave

it alone. I'd rather have it out as it may trouble me later

on. still if he thinks it is allright it may come right

Really it seems to good to be true me going home

Of course it will be a long time before I can wear 

a boot again. Still I [[?]] to be well on the road

(2)
All the country we passed through was beginning to

take on a look of spring. All the little shrubs and bushes

were beginning to bud and blossom. I was a pity we were 

so packed in otherwise the journey would have been very

pleasant. Well we landed at [[?artre]] late on the night 

of the 6^th and spent a very enjoyable time in that town

until the 9^th when I rejoined my Battalion behind the lines

at Armentieres. I was put on several working parties to the

front line and did other jobs round Ploegsteert, Armentieres

and towards [[Menines?]] ridge, until the 28^sh when my Btn

went into the hold the line at La Ba[[ss?]]iville.

Everything was marve^llously quiet and very seldom a shell

[[harred?]] over. We were only there for five days and were then

withdrawn to supports at [[?]] using our stay

in the front line we had only a few men hit.

The biggest danger was from our own guns. Late one night

the enemy [[trench mortar?]] [[?]]