INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH***
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INTO THE JAWS OF DEATH
by
PRIVATE JACK O'BRIEN
With Illustrations
New York Dodd, Mead and Company 1919 Copyright, 1919, by Dodd, Mead and Company, Inc.
TO LIEUT.-COLONEL J. F. L. EMBURY AND THE
OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE 28TH NORTHWEST
BATTALION, I RESPECTFULLY DEDICATE THIS BOOK
CONTENTS
Foreword
Chapter I
Chapter II
"My comrades, and what became of them, as told to me in letters, by my old chum Bob Goddard."
The Red, Red Road to Hooge
"The Iron Sixth"
ILLUSTRATIONS
28th Battalion leaving Winnipeg on the 27th of May, 1915
General Ketchen
As I looked when I left Germany; As I looked before I saw Germany
FOREWORD
Having been asked by the Author of this Book, No. 73,194 Private Jack O'Brien of the 28th Northwest Battalion, to write a few words as an introduction to the story which he is placing before the public, it gives me much pleasure to do so.
The 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade raised and organized from the four western provinces of Canada has done its share and at the time of writing it is still doing its share in the field against the common enemy. The 28th Northwest Battalion, originally under the Command of Lieut.-Col. J. F. L. Embury, C.M.G., has taken its share in all the engagements in which the 6th Canadian Infantry Brigade took part, including St. Éloi, Hooge, three engagements on the Somme, 15th September, 26th September, and 1st October, 1916, as well as the general engagements of Vimy Ridge, Fresnoy, Lens on the 21st August, 1917, and Passchendaele, and in each of these engagements, alongside the remaining Battalions of the Brigade--namely, the 27th City of Winnipeg Battalion, 29th Vancouver Battalion, and the 31st Alberta Battalion--never failed in gaining all of the objectives which had been set for the Brigade to carry. Whenever any special raids to obtain information and identifications were called for, the 28th Northwest Battalion invariably volunteered for such duty, and their efforts were always crowned with success. In fact the record of the Brigade throughout the campaign has been an outstanding one, and the various matters which Private Jack O'Brien refers to in his book will be of the greatest interest to all members of the Brigade, past and present, as well as to the general public in Western Canada.
The feat accomplished by this young soldier in escaping from the Germans, whilst held as a prisoner of war, is in itself worthy of special notice and he was only successful in his third attempt. His conduct and record in the field is one to be proud of, and I have no hesitation in introducing him to the readers of his most interesting book. As a soldier he has done his duty and is deserving of every support in the circulation of his war story.
H. D. B. KETCHEN,
_Brig.-Gen. comm'd'g 6th Can. Inf. Brig._
10th April, 1918
