On the American Engineers who fought at Cambrai by Hubert W. Kelly - n.d.
Transcript
On the American Engineers Who Fought At Cambrai. This is a tale for those who cry, American came when the fight was done; Of bloody Cambrai when Americans lay Beaten and brained by the hand of the Hun. This is a tale for those who say, American came at the end of the fray; For Americans fell when the Boche brought hell Before Cambrai. This happened up at Cambrai to a corps of pioneers, The first in France, the first to fight of Railway volunteers; Their only trails were daring rails to bear the troop and shell; Their frontier lay up Cambrai way--the border- land of Hell. They sang and slaved, and day by day the gleaming steel crept on; They worked from early morn till eve, and some from eve till dawn; And inch by inch they laid the line, as eastward roared the guns, For well they knew that Cambrai must be taken from the Huns. The British smashed the German line-- The Boche struck back again, But Britain staggered but a step before the mass of men Which swept across the ridges like a shining scythe of steel, And sharp must be the scimitar that makes the British reel. The pioneers were caught unarmed within the cruel curve; The British line was staggering--alas , without reserve. The pioneers could fight or flee, and if they turned and fled, Why--they were non-combatant-and nothing would be said. But these were men whose honor code was not the rules of war; They did not run because they were a non-combatant corps, They stayed and fought, and well they fought, and all the world may say, That accents of American were in the mad melee.
Transcript
[page 2] They fought with stones, they fought with clubs, they fought with pick and spades, While hid machine guns burned the air with furious tirades; Though shrapnel burst, and fallen cursed, and Taubes Whirred over head, They fought like fiends, and when they fell, they knew they could have fled. Many a Boche was found that day with head wide open laid By some resisting Yankee pick or blow from Yankee spade; And faces new were seen behind the British bayonet, But he who fell and gave his gun had nothing to regret. Up Cambrai way, on fields swept o
Details
| Title | On the American Engineers who fought at Cambrai by Hubert W. Kelly - n.d. |
| Creator | Kelly, Hubert W. |
| Source | Kelly, Hubert W. On the American Engineers who fought at Cambrai. World War I Collection. A1771. Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Description | Poem written by Hubert W. Kelly of Company D of the 12th Engineers Light Railway about the fighting at Cambrai. |
| Subject LCSH | World War, 1914-1918--Poetry; United States. Army. 12th Engineers; Cambrai, Battle of, 1917 |
| Subject Local | World War I; WWI |
| 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 | n.d. |
| Language | English |