bodies out of the trench so
that we need not step on them. To tie up and assist wounded was a mere
matter of routine. In no other way could I have withstood the awful
strain. I was hit, slightly, on several occasions but never severely
enough to necessitate my going out. A dug-out in which I had a table
where I wrote reports and figured firing data was hit no less than
three times while I was in it, finally becoming a total wreck. The
fact that I was not killed a hundred times was due to just that many
miracles--nothing less. My leather jacket and my tunic were cut to
shreds by bits of shell, a bullet went through my cap and another
grazed my head so close as to raise a red welt, but that same old
"luck" which had become proverbial in the battalion, still held and I
was not seriously injured.

Our troubles were not all caused by artillery fire by any means. Fritz
had a large and varied assortment of "Minenwerfer" with which to
entertain us at all hours, day and night. A good many people, even
among the soldiers themselves, think that Minenwerfer or "Minnie" for
short, is the name of the projectile or torpedo, while, as a matter of
fact, it is the instrument which throws it; a literal translation
being "mine-thrower." In the same way they often speak of the
shells thrown by trench mortars as "trench mortars" themselves. Now
the family of "Minnies" is a large one and includes every device, from
the ancient types used by the Greeks and Romans, with springs of wood,
to the latest and most modern contraption in which the propelling
power may be steel springs, compressed air or a small charge of
powder. In its smallest form it is simply a "rifle grenade," somewhat
similar to a hand grenade or ordinary "bomb," to which is attached a
rod of brass or iron which slips down into the bore of the regular
service rifle and is fired with a blank cartridge. Other and newer
types are without this rod but have vanes or rudders affixed to the
rear end which serve to guide the projectile in its flight. These
usually have a hole through the center through which the bullet passes
and can thus be used with the regular service ammunition. This whole
class, embracing everything from the small "pineapples," fired from
the rifle, to the monstrous "aerial torpedoes," are commonly spoken of
as "fish-tails."

The shells from the trench mortars proper, and most of the
"fish-tail" family, are somewhat similar to ordinary artillery shells
in that t