Life, 1918-10-24 · page 10 of 34
Life — October 24, 1918 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains WWI-era satirical content depicting "The Onward Rush" - a narrative about American troops ordered to advance near Hun (German) trenches despite being told to hold position. A colonel becomes furious when his orders are disregarded. The central cartoon shows a Major confronting officers, criticizing their failure to follow orders to hold rocks near enemy lines. Below is a sketch titled "Mayor Ladies' Auxiliary Corps" satirizing women's military auxiliary groups, showing an instructor addressing recruits. The right section, "What They Think of That Boy," presents relatives' reactions to a seventeen-year-old's enlistment through brief quotes expressing relief, concern, and maternal worry. Additional small sketches address military topics like sentinel duty and shoe merchants selling boots to soldiers—typical wartime satirical commentary on civilian and military life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
590 The Onward Rush T was during the last American offen- sive. Certain troops had orders to advance to cover afforded by rocks near the Hun trenches, and, for strate- gical reasons, to remain there in re- serve. The Yankee soldiers reached their stopping point under heavy fire from the Huns, and then disregarded all orders and kept straight on and took the Hun trenches. Presently the colonel came up in a furious rage, because his orders had been disregarded. “Major, your definite orders were to hold your men at those rocks. Why didn’t you do it?” “Colonel,” he retorted hotly, “if that pig-faced Crown Prince and all his army couldn't stop them, how in h do you suppose I could?” © BIT HELPS What They Think of That Boy (Who at seventeen has just enlisted) HE Woman Across tHe Way: Well, it will certainly be a relief for all of us. I hope it will do him good! His Uncte (in the service): They ought to hold him back and give him more schooling. His Sister: Of course he ought to! His Heap Master: What a pity! His Fatuer: My boy, I've said all I could to stop you. Now go to it! His Morner: Oh, my boy! my boy! Mayor Ladies’ Auxiliary Corps: 1 AM AFRAID PRIVATE JONES WON'T dO. JUST LOOK AT THE FRIGHTFULLY ANTI-BELLUM WAY SHE IS TAL INSTRUCTOR, Orders Frightfulness ENTINEL (on post): Halt! Who's AWFORD: The Allies are learn- there? ing from experience their mistakes Orricer: An officer of the camp with in the war. family. Crassuaw: Yes; they see now they riese SEVEN-LEAGUE BOOTS IT 18 THE CUS- “ Advance and be sterilized.” should have built bomb-proof hospitals, TOM, Stk, TO PAY BEFORE TRYING THEM ON. Medieval Shoe Merchant: 1x BuyiNG