"Our company was tasked with taking control of a bomb crater about 15 yards in front of the German lines to set up a listening post. As we went over the top, one of our fellows put his head and shoulders over the parapet and was immediately sniped through the head.
We got about 100 yards when we were met by a cross-fire of machine guns and rifle fire. But we still advanced. Those who got to the crater were killed immediately, others got entangled in the barbed wire and riddled with bullets.
At the same time, shells were raining down. I tried to help this NCO. His features were blown away but I recognised him by his identity disk as one of my pals. He was one of two brothers. After three hours of shelling, everything ceased.
At 3am, we crawled into the crater and carried on wiring.This crater alone had cost us 53 casualties so far.
The roll-call the following morning was somewhat pathetic. Each time a name was called out and no one answered, we had to say if we’d seen the fellow killed or knew if he was wounded. There were very few of the original men I joined with. The idea under which the battalion was formed, that of friends serving together, has long since passed." - Pvt. Harry Drinkwater, 15th Birmingham Pal's Battalion, Western Front, May 24th 1916. #ww1 #reality #stayzero