Quote Originally Posted by Jock Scot View Post
I have heard those stories too, but sadly those of that generation and the next are no longer with us. Oh, how I wish that I had paid attention to those stories!

I have just been talking to my brother about this and he remembers Grand Father talking about this. Apparently the German gunners, Machine Gunners and Artillary put paid to that idea as they were pretty good on working out the ranges of the relieving troops and their way in, even in the dark and were not averse to upsetting the parade!
Yes, I feel the same way.

I was being told these stories about 50 years ago, and the conversation with the teller would hop from one incident to another, so that timing and location of the events became jumbled in my mind. I wish I had got them to write it down...

Your mention of German shooting reminded me of being told that my man's lot were trained to return three shots to every one the Germans fired, to the extent that when they captured one of the enemy, and brought him through the trenches, he searched around for the machine guns they were convinced they were facing.

Another is about the sporting way the troops behaved towards each other (some of the time), often talking to each other over no-man's land if the distance was not too great. The Germans quickly learnt when afternoon tea-break was, and would make a spirited, if not very serious attempt, to spoil it. 'Oi, Fritz..! Turn it up! Not now, mate, we're trying to 'ave a cuppa-tea..!' and that sort of thing. To me, that's the real history.