Today was another horrible day in the trenches. I had a close call with another gas attack; my mask was broken so I had to think fast and take one from a dead man. When the gas shell landed under me, I knew I had mere seconds before my face would begin to burn and I would be unable to breathe. The mask’s seal barely separated me from the deadly gas around me, which seemed as if it wanted to consume me alive. Being able to only see a few inches in front of me, I followed the voices of my comrades over no man’s land and into another trench for safety. Well, it was safer than being in the gas anyway; we were still under heavy shell fire. Our numbers few, we decided to stay put for a while until the rest of our company arrived. Our greatest fear was that they would be pushed back, and we would be stuck behind enemy lines. Many sleepless hours passed until they came, and all I could think about was the horrid stench of my dead and comrades. Many of the new recruits were dead, as well as Jimmy, one of my close friends. Anyways, reinforcements arrived and managed to push the enemy into retreat, and our terror subsided considerably. After this victorious battle, we took time to bury the dead, including Jimmy. I can not believe he is gone. I refuse to believe it. I will wake up and this will all be over. All of it.
http://www.historychannel.com/letters/stull_holt.html
November 9, 1918
I slept beside Jimmy’s grave last night, the night which seemed like a dream, however when I awoke I was finally able to accept his death. We were ordered to pursue the retreating enemy and push them back as far as possible. All of us were weary of this war, and were not motivated in the least to do this. However, for fear of being shot by our own side, we began our march. Two of our men fell of thirst or heatstroke; I do not know the details, however they remained behind. We reached and enemy encampment and knew what was going on. They retreated knowing we would follow them, and would then set a trap for us at their outpost. Our commanding officer ordered us to take cover, however there wasn’t any; the enemy made sure of that. Grenades and gun fire rained down upon us. Our only choices were to retreat or to die. However, our officer ordered us to advance, which we did, dodging grenades and having bullets narrowly miss our weak, vulnerable bodies. I do not know why we advanced, why we obeyed a man telling us to run to our deaths, but we did, and many of us did indeed die. When we got up close, it was apparent that we outnumbered them, and somehow we managed to slaughter the lot of them and take their position. Very few of them were able to flee, and we realized that with this consistent pattern of retreat they could no longer fight this war. I know I will be going home soon. God I hope so.
http://www.historychannel.com/letters/edward_luckert.html
November 10, 1918
I have a very good feeling I will be going home soon. Earlier today we advanced many kilometers over the barren, muddy, scarred land with almost no sight of the Germans. We took another of their abandoned encampments, which is where I am currently stationed at. One of our officers told us that we would not be moving until we were given a response from Germany. I do not see how they have any choice but to surrender. With the aid of the Americans, we have advanced more than we had the entire course of the war. Well… I do not wish to speak of war anymore. I have seen more of that than I ever could have wished. If I could go back and decide whether or not to join the army again, I would definitely decline. Once it is over, I will go straight back to my farm, to my beautiful French wife and my beautiful French children, my children whom I will never allow to go through something as disgusting as this. Oh how I miss them…
http://www.historychannel.com/letters/albert_smith.html
November 10, 1918
We received word that Germany has surrendered. The war is over! The bombardments have ceased and there are no more "over the top" attacks. All that is left to do is to wait here until their armies are pulled back. I am going home tomorrow for sure! Thankfully for me I have a previous life to go back to, unlike those poor fellows who enlisted coming straight out of school. I should bring my son a few souveniers on my return. Oh, and my daughter! My newborn daughter, my wife being only only five months into cenception when I enlisted. She must be very beautiful. I had hoped to see her before she made her first steps, and now I will be able to. Hopefully the crops and animals have all been taken care of and are in good condition. Oh I'm so anxious to get back!
http://www.historychannel.com/letters/john_douglas.html
November 11, 1918
I am currently on a train car heading home. Several of my comrades are here, having our last meal together. It will be a shame to not see them again... I only wish we had met under other circumstances. However, would we have bonded like this if we had met outside of war? This I cannot say. I will be sure to write many of them often. God, I am so relieved to finally be going home! I have mixed feelings toward the war. On one hand, it was a good once in a lifetime experience, good serveice to my country, and a good bonding experience between my comrades and myself. On the other hand, I will probably be scarred for life, suffering from flashbacks and old war wounds. Anyways, that is all behind me now; I can now spend the rest of my years in peace with my family.
