Into the trenches…

- The Willing Two
- The Chippewa Falls Home front
- On Wisconsin

The following are two poems written during World War I. A man involved in the battle in the Ypres salient wrote the first in spring of 1915. An American poet as a response wrote the second: 28

“On Flanders’ Field”

In Flanders’ Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing fly,
Scarce heard amidst the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived felt down, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders’ Field.

Take up our quarrel with the foe!
To you from falling hands we throw
The torch. Be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders’ Field.

Written by Lieut.Col. John McRae

“America’s Answer”

Rest ye in peace, ye Flanders dead!
The fight that you so bravely lead
We’ve taken up. And we will keep
True Faith with who lie asleep.
With each a cross to mark his bed,
And poppies blowing overhead,
Where once his own life blood ran red;
So let you rest be sweet and deep
In Flanders’ Field.

Fear not that you have died for naught,
The torch ye threw to us we caught;
Ten million hands will hold it high,
And Freedom’s light shall never die!
We’ve learned our lesson that ye taught
In Flanders’ Field.

Written by R.W. Lillard

 

The Willing Two

Photos Courtesy of the Chippewa County Historical Society

Norman Cameron James Ackley

Norman Cameron and James Ackley were two graduates of the 1907 class who accepted the nation’s call to arms and traveled overseas in the Great War. The following is a short summary of their history in the service:

Norman H. Cameron-

“Born June 27, 1890.Joined the Canadian army at Windsor, Ont, In April, 1917. Trained in England. Assigned to the 20th Canadian Inf. Bn. Sailed in April 1917. Promoted to Lance Corporal. Fought at Ypres, Mons, and other campaigns. Returned to the U.S. and was mustered out May 31, 1919.”29

Lieut. James B. Ackley-

“ Born February 28, 1889. Entered Officers’ Training Camp at Fort Sheridan, Illinois Aug.28, 1917, where he received his commission. Assigned to Machine gun Company, 168th Inf., 42nd Div. Promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Sailed for overseas Dec. 30, 1917. Was in action at the Lorraine Front. Returned to America June 15, 1918 and was mustered out December 10, 1918.” 30

Ypres (Ieper) is a small Belgian town that was the site of some of most terrifying battles of the war. At the end of the fighting there were approximately 850,000 total Allied and German casualties.31Norman would have been involved in what was referred to as the Third Battle of Ypres, or ‘Passchendaele’ as it is called today.32 The battle lasted from July 31, 1917 through November 6, 1917. The combination of torrential downpours, and the destruction of drainage systems caused the area between the trenches to become a giant mud puddle, which was so deep in some places soldiers drowned in the mud. A combination of the horrendous weather, the length of the battle, and the German use of mustard gas made Ypres one of the most memorable and tragic battles of the War.33

Lorraine refers to an area in southeastern France that was part of the larger Western Front of the Great War. This area was used to try out the new technologies of warfare including gas, flame-throwers, grenades, tanks and ground support from aircraft, and trench warfare.34 In general the Western Front became the site of some of the bloodiest and horrific battles. There was no “flank” or area in which to get around the enemy, therefore those fighting on the Western Front were in a constant struggle to gain every small advantage and land area. The never-ending tug-of-war between the Allies and the Germans resulted in many casualties, and small territorial gains. 35

While both of these graduates fought for different lengths of time, and in different areas of France there is one experience that they both shared; the devastation and destruction of trench warfare. The advancement of modern rifles, artillery, and machinery made it virtually impossible to fight in the mode of earlier wars. With the rapid fire capabilities, one could not simply walk across a field firing his weapon. Thus trench warfare became a necessity for both sides.

The depth and width of the trenches varied, but the general layout was the same for many of the lines. The front of the trenches were generally around ten feet high, and both the front and the back were built up with sandbags to absorb bullets and shell fragments. Since the front part of the trench was so high, there was also a step along the bottom ridge so that soldiers could fire over the top.36 Trenches were not normally built in a straight line down one side of the battle area. Instead they were built in a more zigzag type pattern, resembling that of a zipper. This was to prevent mass destruction and killing in the case of the enemy getting inside a trench.37

For more than four years this would be how millions of men from around the world would experience life; within trenches dug into the ground, in the cold, wet, muddy, and lonely conditions. The scenery that greeted many of these men was nothing more than a wasteland, or “No Man’s Land” which existed between the enemy’s trench and your own. James Ackley, and Norman Cameron were a part of the millions of men who chose to fight for their country. The atrocious conditions that they lived in, the lack of privacy, the company of rats and other animals, and the constant threat of the enemy is plight that however desolate, was shared by many men between the years of 1914 and 1918.

 

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