Letter To Vimy Ridge

My Dearest Mary, April 8, 1917 We are at Vimy Ridge now. I am sitting in my dugout, endlessly gazing at the artillery barrage outside. The sun is starting to set, and the light is pouring the entrance. Today have been a harsh day, and I will take some time to write a letter to you before I slumber. The significance about writing to you today is because it may be my very last letter. Tomorrow, we are going on an all-out assail. It is going to be the day that will not only change my own fate, but also fate of thousands of warriors. I have been through a lot in the past battles, but the war has never been as devastating. Thousands
We woke at 4 o’clock in the morning to the echoes of the rain, then hastily practised some drills with my platoon. Before long, we took defensive sniper positions until noon, when we were able to stand down for only a short moment. The trenches are flooding, but we must not get off guard. In the afternoon, our armory exploded after being struck by a shell. The unfortunate ones have perished in the explosion, and we also lost many crates of guns and hand grenades. In the bright side, the guns that got destroyed were just more of the infamous Ross Rifle. These guns are a pain to carry around. The length and weight limits our mobility through the battlefield which isn’t a problem if it’s worth extra inconvenience. However, these guns are not even good for the trench warfare! I was almost killed when the gun got overheated, because I could not hold off the advancing wave of enemy. My comrade tried to take them down but his gun got jammed by the dirt! Luckily, we were miraculously saved by a perfectly shot shell. Many of us are stripping guns off the dead British soldiers, specifically the Lee Enfield. This is not legal, but it is our last resort. My sergeant just told me today that a group of British is coming soon to inspect this situation. Finally, we got signaled “all safe.” We were able to return to our dugouts after a long and extremely tiring day. Even so, we don’t have time to rest just yet. The moment I am writing this, we are
The smell of the rotting corpses builds up more when it is hot. When it rains, the trenches erode so much we constantly have to enforce it. The trench does not have drainage, so we are forced to operate in waist-high water. Many of the comrades get infected with gruesome diseases such as the Trench Foot, as a result of staying soaked in dirty water for too long. The trenches are infested with mice, insects, diseases, and human corpse. Even worse, the trenches smell like chemicals and rotting carcass. We are always cold, wet, and hungry. Large pests such as huge rats dwell in the trenches, feeding off the bodies of the fallen. In here, we often see rats that grow to the size of a cat! Smaller pests such as Lice will even feed off the ones still alive. Lice thrive in our clothing and hair, and the only time I can get slightly cleaner hair is when it rains. However, corpses are the worst in the trenches. It takes up space, smells horrific, and filled with