dies later. we then go on to R.A.P our first case we clear from the R.A.P, later we clear from our “shell hole relay” We get three squads knocked out during the afternoon. a squad of Hienies, the patient + escort, I have Fritz’s a 44th man + a patient. then Dicky Davidson. Chuck Sweeney + the patient, Hugh Carruthers + Harry Stewart get hit + sent to Blighty. On our way out we have to crawl into a sewer for half an hour. we go on to pick up Dicky’s body. a never to be forgotten trip we hastily go get to Brigade Hqrs with poor Dicky’s body we are kept in the pill box a long time on account of the heavy shell fire. we have to wear our gas masks most of the time as his shells all have mustard gas in them. There were lots of dead on the Menin road as well as bearers + patients. Fritz blew us + a bunch clear onto the road. we leave Hqrs at 8 PM. we pass two
▸ Where was he?
▸ The war at this time
Attrition at Ypres
Late October 1917 sees the war at its most grinding. In Flanders, the Canadians prepare for a third assault. In Russia, the Provisional Government is on the verge of collapse. In Italy, the army retreats from Caporetto. The Allies are stretched thin across multiple fronts, waiting for American strength that is still months away. Germany, too, is exhausted, but the imminent loss of the Eastern Front will free dozens of divisions for the West.
