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Written by Linton in France and published in the "Inverell Times"

“DAWN OF VICTORY”
———O———
THE THOUGHTS OF A SERGEANT


Staff-Sergeant Linton Moore, in the course of a letter to us from "Somewhere in France”, says:-
"Somewhere in France”. The words appeal to me, since I have become so familiar with the life out here. I can imagine thousands of wives and mothers reading these words after getting the long-wished-for letter, saying to themselves, "If only I knew!"
Knew what? Ah! if only they knew where their loved ones were and what they are doing. Australia has given her best; the cream of the Empire have answered the call to fight for freedom. •
As I sit by the roadside there sounds in my ears the thud of many feet. Tramp! tramp! all in perfect harmony. like the roar of our guns. They fill one with pride, those men, as they pass on their way to that mysterious little place called “Somewhere”.
I am carried away with their joviality. On and on they go, and soon their voices fade away in the distance. Alas! I see them no more. To-night they will stand where life and death meet in the common cause.
I hear the merry voices of soldier players in the football field just across the way. The men are out. for recreation, trying to forget the dull monotony of the last few days in the line. Here are the remains of a onetime beautiful park, the natural beauties of which those infernal machines of war have failed utterly to destroy as yet. The little stream flows on; the trees, the flowers and the fields display their summer charm, and quietly seem to deny the common enemy, and to murmur, “You may destroy us, but we shall rise again.”
But above everything else is the havoc caused by our guns to strong concrete fortifications. There are shell holes galore, some of them ten feet deep with a diameter of from ten to twelve feet, the result of our continual bombardment. Just now everything is calm, for our guns which were but a few hours ago pouring forth, like some high volcano, lava of death and destruction, have been suspended momentarily, giving one the feeling that all is peace again.
These are the moments when one’s thoughts fly homewards, only to be perturbed by the sudden bursts of the guns once again. Battery after battery opens fire, warning us of the oncoming' storm. .. And as th e storm wind rises to greater and greater fury, it seems, it is with the increasing intensity of the fire of our guns.
The distant. volleys of the opening batteries have .gradually become merged in the dull throb of others which have followed systematically. Storm after storm approaches, until the earth fairly rocks beneath one. And as the guns belch forth like the loud clashing roll of thunder one mutters, “All for freedom”.
Looking back upon the early days of the war, when the number of heavy batteries at our command could almost be counted on the fingers of both hands, one marvels to think that our ‘contemptible little army’, fighting against such odds, managed to check that murderous advance of the enemy with their innumerable guns. Now the scale has been turned, and today we find ourselves with guns superior in number to those of the enemy. For thirty months the cry has been "More guns, more shells, more men."
Today those problems are partly solved and we have faith, yea, more confidence, in our ultimate victory.
Still there remains our midst another peril, and one which must be solved by the people themselves – the food problem. We have come to the stage in the of nations when one realises that victory for the Allies is sure. Yet remember, nothing would he too mean or dirty for the enemy to stoop to if only he could bring us to our knees. He is trying very hard just now, but his land forces are weakening, his navy is not able to take to the seas, and his people are getting sick of the war.
Yet notwithstanding these odds against him, he is as persevering as ever he was before. The submarine menace been a very serious business and it has only been with the cooperation of the very best brains in the motherland that the navy has kept it somewhat under control. That his problem will be solved we have no doubt.
But it means time, and it is up to us to help in every way possible to rid the country of menace by economising in the daily consumption of food. Our armies in the field have always been rationed. - But it is not possible for “Tommy “ to be overfed. He gets as much food as is good for him, and no more. .So let “Tommy” be your example for, after all, it is he who is sacrificing his all for the Empire.
People who betray their country in the hour of need by failing to make sacrifices are not worthy of the name of citizens. They are greater enemies than our common enemy, the Hun. Let me impress on every individual at home that not until every problem has been solved can one even hope for peace.
It has been said that the latest scare of the Hun is their last bid for victory. For my part I do not think so. We have got to face the problems, which, in their turn, will have to be solved. But let the people of the Empire work and fight shoulder to shoulder, and the great day will arrive when our enemy will be at our feet. And I call to the people at home to work and move as one to the end, to the days when clouds shall disappear and the sun shall set on the world at peace for the next centuries, and perhaps forever. Throw aside all selfish ideals and as citizens of the morrow, let us in the last hour leading to victory be as one, fighting the good fight for the rights and lives of smaller nations.
And may it go down in history that we ere the creators of an everlasting peace. Think always of your lads out here. Think of the sacrifices they have made for freedom, and when you go to sleep in safety do not forget that millions sleep ‘midst shot and shell and are risking everything for you and liberty.
But they now know they are nearing the ‘Dawn of Victory’.
 

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