W.C. Kelso Account of November 30, 1917
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Early On [November] 30, 1917, Wagoner Springston and I left the tractor shed for Station 137a at Gouzeaucourt. We arrived at the station at 7:00 a.m., where we got orders to report to a Canadian Captain. The Captain told us to go ahead with the same work we had been doing the day before. So we got a Tommy to take us out in his tractor for our tractor was out in the old second line trenches that the British had captured on November 21. It had broken down the night before and we had to walk in. It being so far out, we didn
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[page 2] shell, as we called them, dropped near us and a large piece of shrapnel went into the Tommy
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[page 3] has broken through and is coming over the ridge.
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[page 4] dugout and wrecked the extrance. That is the thing that saved us. We stayed in silence for about a half hour while the Sergeant was looking through a small hole where the door of the dugout used to be. Finally he came down and said that the German front line had passed and that their second line was on their way. He asked me and Springston up but Springston didn
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[page 5] British had down in a quarry. That was another thing that saved us. It was now going on to 12:50 p.m. Everybody was asking what time it was about every 15 minutes somebody would ask the time. The British were now counter-attacking. We could hear their guns going. The Germans were now in Gouzeaucourt. We could look into Gouzeaucourt from where we were. The Sergeant in charge told us that we might be saved if the British counter-attack was successful. About 1 o
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[page 6] British in Gouzeaucourt. The boys down below asked if it was getting dark. We called down it wouldn
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[page 7] fierce. At last this fellow called come on Yanks but watch the star lights so Springston and I advanced and followed the patrol through the British front line. Then they sent a British Corporal along with us to the second line. After going through the second line we were all right for back of them were bunches of troops that had just come in from some other part of France. There were different bunches of them singing Take me back to Blighty and all the time Fritz was dropping shells around but it didn
Details
| Title | W.C. Kelso Account of November 30, 1917 |
| Creator | Kelso, W.C. |
| Source | Kelso, W.C. Account of November 30, 1917. 30 November 1917. World War I Collection. A1771. Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Description | In this firsthand account, Sergeant W.C. Kelso, described his experiences at the Battle of Cambrai on November 30, 1917. He wrote about the German offensive and barrage, and how he escaped capture by hiding in a dugout with over 50 other soldiers for hours. This account is from the Unit Records of 12th Engineers (Railway), 3rd Army. |
| Subject LCSH | Cambrai, Battle of, 1917; Bombing, Aerial; Great Britain--Armed Forces; United States. Army. Engineers, 12th (Railway), 3rd Army |
| Subject Local | World War I; WWI; Dugouts |
| Site Accession Number | A1771 |
| Contributing Institution | Missouri History Museum |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond those allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Missouri History Museum: 314-746-4510 |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. Contact the Missouri History Museum's Permissions Office at 314-746-4511 to obtain written consent. |
| Date Original | November 30, 1917 |
| Language | English |