November 12, 1917
Dear Mary,
Now
that I am ready, I will tell you how it went down during the battle of
Passchendaele at your request. We began attacking on October 12. I remember
that morning to be very gloomy as the grey skies showered us, letting the
pouring rain dampen the dirt beneath our feet. I also remember overhearing some
of our guys worriedly discussing how Commander Arthur Currie had predicted 16
000 casualties just for us, Canadians. In the end it was astonishing and upsetting
to discover how very accurate his estimation was. The rain was a big problem
because the muddy floor it created made it harder to move quicker and bring
artillery closer to the front lines to attack. Even when we only continued to
attack after the rain subsided, the Germans on top of the ridge easily fired
their rifles, shells and everything they had at us. Hundreds of bodies fell scattered
on the mud. On November 6th, after taking a week to sort things out
among the divisions, we the 1st division, and the 2nd
division were placed in the front lines. In more or less three hours we pushed forward
up to our objective lines and won over Passchendaele. In those first two hours,
as I was thinking how crazy it was to not have received any major battle scars since
I joined the forces, I just (barely) took a shot in the leg. I managed not to
take a direct hit because I stopped that German’s heartbeat before he could
even get a good aim. I’m still in the hospital though which is why with all my
spare time, I’m able to reply to your letters a lot sooner than usual. Although
the nurse right now is insisting that I get some rest so I’ll be sending
another letter in a bit. Remember to keep me updated with anything and
everything going on with you two. Tell Sammy that I miss him lots I’ll be
seeing him soon.
Lots
of love, James Carter
(Sources:
(Sources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Passchendaele)
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