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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6be1fd0 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #54816 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/54816) diff --git a/old/54816-8.txt b/old/54816-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 8499def..0000000 --- a/old/54816-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8594 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of My .75, by Paul Lintier - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: My .75 - Reminiscences of a Gunner of a .75mm Battery in 1914 - -Author: Paul Lintier - -Release Date: June 1, 2017 [EBook #54816] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY .75 *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - -MY ·75 - - - - - MY ·75 - - _REMINISCENCES OF A GUNNER - OF A ·75m/m BATTERY IN 1914_ - - FROM THE FRENCH OF - - PAUL LINTIER - - WITH A PREFACE BY - - FRANCES WILSON HUARD - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK - GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - - -PREFACE - -BY FRANCES WILSON HUARD - -_Author of "My Home in the Field of Honour"_ - - -All during the three weary years of this great war _real_ pleasures -have been few for those of us whom Fate has destined to be more or less -closely associated with the daily tide of events. - -As I look back at present I feel that one of my first treats was when -I came upon Paul Lintier's newly published volume called "Ma Piece." I -read it, reread it and recommended it to those of my American friends -who, able to read French, clamoured for some real human document; the -war as seen by an actual participant. - -Aside from the clear, concise style, devoid of any pretentious literary -flourishes, the incidents were what gripped me. They were the direct -answer to those thousand and one questions that we, the civilians shut -up in the army zone, tortured by fear and anguish, asked ourselves and -asked each other a hundred times a day. - -Soldiers and diplomats, critics and littérateurs, wives and sweethearts -all over the fair land of France devoured and discussed the book. And -little did I dream that it would one day be my privilege to write a -preface introducing to my compatriots this _chef d'oeuvre_ already -recognised by the French Academy, the winner of the Prix Montyon. -This I may truly say is the greatest pleasure yet fallen to my lot. -Pleasure, alas! not unmixed with pain, for were it not a nobler task -to extol the virtues of the living than sing the praises of those gone -before? - -It was not my fortune to have known Paul Lintier. He fell in the very -flower of his manhood, unmindful of the sacrifice for country, ignoring -his glorious contribution for the safety of future generations. But -with his passing on the Field of Honour, something besides a son, a -soldier, and a poet was lost to France--lost to us all. It is such -spirits as his that make a country great, make the world worth while. -It is for such reasons that we should treasure all the more carefully -his only contributions to posterity. - -His name, yesterday unknown, now justly stands graven on the records -of all time. This humble artilleryman lost in the masses of the -combatants, jotted down on his knees a work that shall stand as one of -the most immutable witnesses of the conflict; a book that long after -we have gone will remain; an incomparable document, a magnificent -offering to those who later on shall study the souls and gestures of a -generation of heroes by whom France was saved. - -Some one has said, and wisely, that what most pleases us when perusing -a book is to find the author corroborating our own thoughts,--giving -voice to our unborn sentiments--providing us with material for -comparison. If this be true, then there is no reason why "My ·75" -should not live on forever. - -Further than a really great literary talent, this book reveals the -profound and generous soul of the entire "Jeunesse Française" ready -to sacrifice itself without counting, for the highest ideal that ever -inflamed a people. - -The admirable patience, the great good humour, the intelligent -cleverness and heroic devotion together with the plain, simple courage, -all the deep-rooted, undreamed of qualities of the French Race, are to -be found within its covers, making it a monument to stoic virtue. - -How we love them, all the "Camarades"--Hutin, Deprès, Bréjard, -Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel--and the others--the four million others who -on August second, nineteen hundred and fourteen, stood willing, ready, -to perish for their ideal, glad to offer their lives with a smile. - -The dedication to "Captain Bernard de Brissoult, whose glorious death -facing the enemy, drew from eyes burned by powder and long vigils, -the terrible tears of soldiers," is one of the most touching things -I know, and I should like to feel that all those of my compatriots -who close the book have shed a tear of admiration and regret for Paul -Lintier, who died for France, March sixteenth, nineteen sixteen, in the -twenty-third year of his age. - - New York, - - July, Nineteen hundred and seventeen. - - - - -I. MOBILIZATION - - -War! Every one knows it, every one says so. It would be madness not to -believe it. And yet, in spite of all, we hardly feel excited; we don't -believe it! War, the Great European War--no, it can't be true! - -But why shouldn't it be true? - -Blood, money, and more and more blood! And then we have so often heard -people say: "Now there'll be war," and nevertheless we remained at -peace. And it will be so this time. Europe is not going to become a -shambles because an Austrian Archduke happens to have been murdered. - -And yet, what are we hourly expecting as we sit here in nervous -idleness in the barracks, unless it is the order for general -mobilization? Sergeants of all ages arrived yesterday at Le Mans, and -every train to-day has brought others. Since réveillé a man dressed in -coarse corduroy has stood at the window watching the artillerymen and -horses coming and going in the square. Every now and then he takes a -brandy-flask from his pocket and has a pull at it. - -I was lying on my bed. Hutin, the chief layer of the first gun, was -spread-eagled on his, smoking, his knees in the air and his heels -drawn up under him. Noticing that my pack was crooked, I got up, -mechanically, and put it straight. - -"Hutin!" - -"Yes?" - -"Come and have a drink!" - -"All right!" - -The barrack square was less noisy than usual. There were no drivers -just returned from the polygon unharnessing their teams in front of the -stables. No word of command was heard from officers directing firing -practice underneath the plane-trees. In a corner one of the guards of -the artillery park was oiling his guns. A cavalryman, both hands in -his pockets and the reins slung over one arm, was leading his horse to -the trough or the forge. Over by the wall of the remount stables, in -the full glare of the sun, a few orderlies were grooming their horses -in a listless fashion. A continuous stream of men on their way to and -from the canteen--like a black line of insects crossing a white gravel -path--marked out one of the diagonals of the square. In front of the -canteen there was a scramble for drinks. It was hot. - - * * * * * - -Midday, and we are still waiting for news. Suppose all this should only -turn out to be another false alarm! - -White-clad gunners, with nothing to do as there is no firing practice, -are strolling about the courtyard in search of news. In the Place de -la Mission inquisitive onlookers press close up to the railings; it is -difficult to say why. The majority of them are women. In front of them -a few gunners pass with a smile and a swagger, already assuming the air -of brave defenders. - -Near the guard-house which serves as a visitors' room, but where no -visitors are allowed to enter on account of the fleas which infest -it at this time of year, wives, mothers, sisters, and friends have -come to see their soldiers. All make a brave attempt to hide their -feelings. But their expression betrays their anxiety, which has lined -their foreheads and sharpened their features. There are dark rings -round their eyes, and the eyes themselves are restless and sunken. -They continually avert their gaze, lest the fears and forebodings -which no one can banish should be read in their faces. When they go -away, through the little door under the chestnut-trees, after having -watched the soldiers disappear down the passage at the end of the -barracks, their feelings suddenly find vent in a sob, at which they -are themselves surprised. Rapidly, and almost shamefacedly, pressing -a rolled-up handkerchief to their lips, they turn aside into the Rue -Chanzy, as if all the men there did not understand their trouble.... - - * * * * * - -At four o'clock I went out with Sergeant Le Mée by special permission -of the Captain. We went to my room in the Rue Mangeard to leave Le -Mée's outdoor uniform there, together with a bag and some papers. - -We were about to have dinner. I had just uncorked a bottle of old -claret, when Le Mée caught hold of my arm. - -"What's that?" - -Up from the street a loud murmur came through the open window. At the -same moment something magnetic, indefinable and yet definite, shot -through both of us. We looked at each other, I with the bottle held to -the brim of the glass. - -"At last!" - -Le Mée nodded assent, and we hurried to the window. In the street -below, near the artillery barracks, surged a dense crowd. All faces -reflected the same expression of stupor, anxiety, and bewilderment. -In the eyes of all shone the same strange gleam. Women's voices were -heard--voices that quavered and broke.... - -"Well, Le Mée, here's to your health and let's hope that in a few -months we shall have another drink together!" - -"Here's luck to us both!" - -Grasping our swords we ran back to the barracks. That night we once -again slept in our beds. - - - _Sunday, August 2_ - -My kit was ready. I had rolled up some handkerchiefs in my cloak. - -A sergeant came in: - -"Now then, all of you go to the office!" - -The sergeant began distributing the record books and identity discs. - -On one side of mine was inscribed: "Paul Lintier," and, underneath, -"E.V. (engagé volontaire) Cl. 1913"; on the other: "Mayenne 1179." - -A fly was buzzing about in the office. For one moment there rose up -before me a vision of a battlefield--with dead men lying stretched -out on the edge of a pit, and a non-commissioned officer hastily -identifying them before burial. - -The "Great Event" had at last come to break the monotony of our barrack -life, and no one thought of anything else. It was almost as if a -sort of blindness prevented us from looking ahead and confined each -man's attention to the preparations for departure. This indifference -astonished me, and yet I myself shared it. - -Was it decision or courage? To a certain extent, perhaps.... Did we -really believe there was going to be war? I am not too sure of it. It -was impossible to realize what war would be--to gauge the whole horror -of it. And so we were not afraid. - -From one of the barrack windows I saw the following scene: - -A young man, promptly called up by the general mobilization, had just -come out of a house opposite. He was walking backwards, shading his -eyes from the sun in order to see the face of some one dear to him who -stood at one of the second-floor windows. A fair-haired woman, very -young and extremely pale, watched him with longing eyes from behind the -muslin curtains, doubtless afraid to let him see her distraught face -and tear-stained cheeks. She was standing close behind the curtains, -her hand on her breast, with the fingers spasmodically stretched out -in an attitude eloquent of grief. As he was about to disappear from -view in a bend of the road, she suddenly opened the window wide, and -showed herself for an instant. The man could not see her. She took two -unsteady steps backwards, and sank into an arm-chair, where she sat -huddled up, her face in her hands, and her shoulders shaken with sobs. -Then, in the semi-darkness of the room, I caught sight of a servant -with a Breton cap carrying a baby to her.... - - * * * * * - -At noon we left the barracks in order to take up the quarters which had -been assigned to us a little way down the Avenue de Pontlieue. - -The 10th and 12th Batteries of the 44th Regiment of Field Artillery -were to assemble upon a war footing in the cider-brewery known as -Toublanc. - -We had nothing to do except shake down straw bedding. A gas-engine was -throbbing with an incessant double beat which got on one's nerves after -a while. On the doors of the available buildings were crudely chalked -the numbers of the regiments to which they were allotted. - -The stables were installed in a shed open on one side, at one end of -which casks containing harness were piled up. These stables would have -been quite comfortable if they had not smelt so horribly owing to the -dirty lavatories adjoining them. - -The men's quarters had been arranged in a kitchen garden full of black -currant-bushes and peach-trees, and consisted of an old, tumble-down -outhouse, which seemed to have escaped complete destruction solely -owing to the vines and virginia creepers growing over it, which, in -a clinging embrace of closely woven branches and tendrils, held its -crumbling walls together. The grapes were already large and fat, -promising a fine harvest. I wondered where we should be when the time -came for them to be gathered. - - * * * * * - -No one troubled to ascertain whether war had been declared. After all, -the declaration only meant a few words already spoken, or about to be -spoken, by diplomatists. The war was already a reality. We felt it. The -only question which occupied our minds was when we were to start, and -this nobody could answer. - -The men were cheerful, unconcerned, and much less nervous than -yesterday. Personally, I did not feel weighed down under the -intolerable burden of anxiety which I had expected to crush me at -such a time. I wanted to ask all my comrades whether they really -believed that in a few days we should be under fire. And if they had -answered "Yes," I should have admired them, for, if I remained cool and -collected before the yawning chasm opening out before us, it was merely -because I had not yet realized its depths. - -I kept repeating to myself: "It is war--ghastly, bloody war ... and -perhaps you will soon be dead." But nevertheless I did not feel in the -least afraid; I did not believe that I should be killed. I realize now -that it is true that, in the presence of a dead person one has loved, -one does not at first believe that he (or she) is dead. - - * * * * * - -I have written these notes sitting on a packing-case, using the bottom -of an upturned barrel as a table. A stable-guard, after eyeing me a -moment or two, came and looked over my shoulder. - -"Lord!" said he, "you've got it badly!" - - - _Monday, August 3_ - -We don't yet know whether war has been declared, but Metz is reported -to be in flames and some even say taken. Some French aeroplanes and -dirigibles are said to have blown up the powder magazines there. There -is also a rumour that Garros has destroyed a Zeppelin manned by twenty -officers, and that on the frontier our airmen have been tossing up as -to who shall first try to ram an enemy airship. The Germans are said to -have crossed our frontier yesterday in three places. But yesterday we -heard that our soldiers, in spite of their officers, had broken through -on to German soil. The rumours going about are numberless, and the most -likely and unlikely things are said in the same breath. - -What are we to believe? Nothing, of course. That is best. - -But we thirst for news, and yet, when any is brought in, we shrug our -shoulders incredulously. Nevertheless, when a success is reported we -are so anxious to believe it that the majority of sceptics only require -a sufficiently vigorous affirmation in order to accept it as true. - -I intend to note down every day both fables and facts. But at present -I am not in a position to distinguish between what is true and what is -false. - -I am only endeavouring, in these hurriedly scribbled pages, to give -some idea of the different elements which go to form the state of mind -of an individual soldier lost among a crowd of others. In this sense -fact and fable are the same thing; but later on, if this notebook is -not buried with me in some nameless grave out yonder, these notes may -perhaps serve to form a history of legend. A history of legend--that is -as much as I dare hope to achieve! - - * * * * * - -I have an hour or two free for writing, and am using a bench as a desk. -Behind me the horses keep stamping intermittently on the cement floor -of the shed. It would not be so bad if these lavatories did not smell -so abominably. - -We have been informed that we are to start on Friday. To Berlin! To -Berlin! - -Berlin! That's the objective. It was in everybody's mouth! But did -we not mark time to the same refrain in 1870, almost at this time of -year? And what happened afterwards? The recollection made me shiver. -Superstition! - -Is England going to come into line with us against Germany? England is -the great unknown quantity at the present moment. Nevertheless, she is -hardly mentioned here. - -To Berlin! To Berlin! - -The cry echoes on all sides. - - * * * * * - -Although I had begun to convince myself of the reality of events, the -excitement of departure and the irritation caused by knowing nothing -definite had set my nerves jangling and prevented me from realizing to -the full the approaching horror. - -We had harnessed our horses and formed the gun-teams. - -A gun in a 75 mm. battery is composed of the gun itself and ammunition -wagon, each with its limber, and each drawn by six horses harnessed -in pairs. The detachment consists of six drivers, six gunners, a -corporal, and a sergeant, who is the gun-commander. But my gun, the -first of the 2nd battery, is also accompanied by the section-commander, -the battery-leader, a trumpeter, and the Captain's orderly with his -two horses. In all, eighteen men and nineteen horses. Of the eighteen -men, seventeen are serving their time. For nearly a year now they have -led the same life; each day they have executed the same manoeuvres -together. One detachment, therefore, is a real entity, and forms a -little society by itself, with its habits, likes and dislikes. - -Bréjard, the section-commander, really commands it himself, as he did -before the general mobilization. So nothing seems changed. Hubert, the -new gun-commander, a reservist, has his thoughts centred on his young -wife, whom, after only a few months of married life, he has had to -leave at his farm, where the corn is still standing. - -Bréjard, who must be about twenty-four, is tall and spare, with -unfathomable grey eyes, an obstinate chin, and rather strong features. -He enlisted when very young, and, by dint of hard and methodical work, -passed into Fontainebleau high up in the list. - -Corporal Jean Déprez affords a contrast to Bréjard. Dreamy and -imaginative, bored by regimental life, and far from reconciled to -the prospect of many months of war, Déprez, as far as the Service is -concerned, is a weakling to whom any exercise of his authority, small -though it is, goes against the grain. He has momentary flashes of wit, -and, although as a rule very unenthusiastic and rather moody, he is -nevertheless an amusing conversationalist at times, and is a staunch -friend. The lack of work in the barracks has for some part thrown us -together, and both were pleased to find ourselves side by side when the -moment came to take the field. - -With Corporal Déprez on one hand, and Gun-layer Hutin on the other, I -had not the least feeling of loneliness in the tremendous excitement -of mobilization, and the hourly expectation of the breaking of the -storm. - -Hutin is a little fellow with a thick crop of black hair and a -moustache. His regular features are lit up by a pair of attractive dark -brown eyes of rather roguish expression. Energetic, quick-tempered, -fairly ambitious, intolerant, quick to make up his mind, and extremely -intelligent, capable of real friendship and even devotedness, I have -grown fond of his spontaneous and varied character. - - * * * * * - -In the Avenue de Pontlieue the commandeered horses were standing in -line. There were hundreds of them, heavy, pot-bellied, docile animals, -with splendid manes and shaggy fetlocks. They were held by men in -smocks, standing motionless on the curb, chafing at the delay and -longing for their dinner. Near-by, along the wall of the artillery -barracks, was collected a heterogeneous medley of carts and lorries, -also requisitioned. - -A motley crowd was thronging the avenue--women in light-coloured summer -dresses and soldiers in uniform and canvas clothing presenting an -incongruous appearance. Reservists were arriving in groups. Almost all -looked quiet and undisturbed, and some even wore a cheerful air. One -or two were obviously drunk, and others looked as though they were. -I only saw one who was crying. He was sitting on a heap of straw, -engaged in fixing a brand-new yellow strap to his revolver-holster, and -tears were falling on his clumsy fingers as he fumbled with the stiff -leather. I put a hand on his shoulder, whereupon he half turned round -and said, with a jerk of his head: - -"Oh, my God! My wife died in childbed last week.... There's the -baby-girl--only eight days old--left all alone with nobody to look -after her!" - -"What have you done with her?" - -"Well, the only thing I could ... took her to the Infants' Home." - - * * * * * - -It is when the post comes in that the men look saddest. - - * * * * * - -We are confined to quarters, but the non-commissioned officers are -allowed to take the men, two or three at a time, to the _abreuvoir_ as -the café opposite is called. - - - _Tuesday, August 4_ - -Yesterday evening at nine o'clock, by way of a purely theoretical -roll-call, the Lieutenant opened the door of our den. - -"Every one all right in there?" - -"Yes, sir, thank you! Warm as pies!" - -"Nothing you want?" - -"Yes, sir, we'd like to start!" - -"Oh! to start, would you?" - -This morning Pelletier, the trumpeter, a Parisian who seems able -to turn his hands to almost anything, began sharpening our swords. -Standing in front of a bench in his shirt-sleeves, he worked an -enormous file with a horrible screeching noise which sent cold shudders -down one's spine and set one's teeth on edge. From time to time he -paused in his work, and, with furious thrusts and slashes, tried the -points and edges by cutting up some old deal cases lying in a corner. - -From the depths of our quarters, where we live in an atmosphere -alive with the most ridiculous rumours, waiting for orders to -entrain, the tumult of the general mobilization in the streets and -on the neighbouring Paris-Brest railway line sounds like incessantly -reverberating thunder in an atmosphere charged with electricity. - -One of my fellow-countrymen, Gaget, who is clerk to the Artillery -Staff, told me that war has not yet been declared. He is in a position -to know. His mother has written to him from Mayenne saying that my -family believe me to be already at Verdun. I wonder if my letters are -not being delivered.... - - * * * * * - -This afternoon Déprez went to the laundry to get his washing. In the -shop a young woman, the wife of a corporal of artillery who joined the -colours this morning, threw her arms round his neck and began to cry. - -He came back much upset. - - * * * * * - -Some of the men have gone with their horses to bring back our war -material from the station. The park is arranged on the wide footpath of -the Avenue de Pontlieue, where the plane-trees shelter our 75 mm. guns -and ammunition wagons. Women stop to look at them, and some shake their -heads despondently. - -It appears that we are to entrain to-morrow evening. We are beginning -to get thoroughly bored here, and do not know how to fill in our -time. I am going to get some sleep in our den at the farther end of -the kitchen garden, where it is cool and shady. The sun, through the -open door, only lights up a large rectangle of straw, covered with -haversacks and gleaming weapons. The weather has been splendid to-day, -fine and clear, and, now that twilight is near, the air is beginning -to hum with those midges which fly round and round in circles and are -supposed to herald fine weather. - -I was able to get out for a moment. Some women, their eyes swollen with -crying, looked at us with pity, and spoke to us--the first young men to -go--in voices full of sympathy: - -"When do you start?" - -"To-morrow--perhaps the day after." - -"Where are you going?" - -"We're not sure--either Verdun or Maubeuge." - -"Well, the best of luck!" - -"Thanks so much.... Good-bye!" - -Good luck!... I hope so!... It is a sort of lasting farewell they bid -us, out of the fullness of their hearts, before we start for the Great -Unknown. - - - _Wednesday, August 5_ - -War has been declared since the 3rd, and fighting is in progress all -along the frontier. - -Serious losses have already been reported. Eleven thousand French -and eighteen thousand Germans are said to have fallen in the opening -engagements. Whether these figures mean killed or injured I do not know. - -The news, true or false, damped our spirits for a few moments. But -our extraordinary indifference soon gained the upper hand. Besides, -has there ever been a more favourable occasion for revenge--for the -_Revanche_--than this. - - - _Thursday, August 6_ - -The Germans have entered Belgium, in spite of the convention of -neutrality. I don't think this will surprise anybody. But what does -astonish us, and what must also astonish the enemy, is the fierce -resistance the Belgians are making. - -The Germans have just failed in a massed attack on Liége. If the -Belgian Army alone has managed to worst them, what hopes dare we not -entertain? - -England is joining us. That is now certain. With the French, English, -Russians, Belgians, and Serbians allied, we ought soon to see the last -of this military Power which is supposed to be so formidable. The news, -official this time, made us all the more impatient to leave Le Mans and -the wearying quarters in which we live. - -On the Paris-Brest railway trains full of infantry, cavalry, and -equipment have been passing incessantly. Grinding and screeching they -laboriously roll over the bridge which spans the Avenue de Pontlieue, -and which is heroically guarded by obese Territorials, wearing dirty -canvas suits, and armed with Gras rifles with fixed bayonets. A crowd -of women with children in their arms or clinging to their skirts are -waiting there beneath the noontide sun. They stand for hours on end, -watching the procession of military trucks decorated with greenery -and illustrated with crude chalk drawings. Clusters of soldiers are -to be seen on the foot-boards, and in the brake and guards' vans. In -the avenue clouds of dust are raised by commandeered horses which, -harnessed to forage wagons, are being tried there, and which, under -the unaccustomed yoke, become refractory, lash out, and finally get -entangled in the traces. The women separate hurriedly, dragging their -children with them, in order to avoid a prancing horse or the oncoming -wheel of a wagon. But nevertheless, obstinate, excited, and as if -intoxicated with the noise, light, and continual movement, they stay -there in spite of all discomfort. Whenever a train passes a broadside -of shrill cries rises from their groups, which collect, separate, -disperse, and are again encompassed by the dangers of the avenue. - -In front of the Toublanc cider-brewery flowers and ribbons in bunches, -sprays, and cascades carpet the pavement and smother the gun-carriages, -ammunition wagons, and limbers. Women and girls arrive with armfuls of -hortensias, iris, and roses. Their faces lit up by the sun and by the -excitement of the moment, appear and disappear among the flowers. As -the sentinels are not allowed to let any one approach too close, they -throw their bouquets from a distance. Artillerymen, who have nearly -finished loading up their trucks, thank them by blowing kisses which -put them to flight. - -I saw one girl fastening a huge tricolour bunch on the bayonet of -one of the sentinels--evidently her lover. The steel shone amid the -blossoms. - - * * * * * - -Women timidly bar the way to the horsemen in order to decorate their -bridles and saddle-bags with garlands. And overhead the splendid August -sun beats down, shedding a golden light on the dust of the roadway and -the green of the trees, and lighting up the faces of the women and the -flowers. - - - _Friday, August 7_ - -For some time now I have observed the first gesture of a soldier who -has just received a letter. He tears it open hurriedly, and, without -pulling it out of the envelope, rapidly fingers it to see whether it -contains a postal order.... - -I was out to-night with Déprez, when a woman, powdered and painted, -with podgy cheeks and a chest and stomach forming an undivided mass of -shaking fat, accosted us: - -"Forty-fourth?" - -"Yes." - -"Do you know Corporal X? Give him the best wishes from Alice. He'll -know.... Alice is my name.... You won't forget?... Poor old Joe!..." - -Then, as we prepared to go on our way: - -"Won't you come in?" she said, with the usual glance of invitation. - -"No, thanks," answered Déprez politely, "we haven't got time." - -After we had gone a little farther, he added: - -"That's a message which I'm shot if I'll deliver!" - - - _Saturday, August 8_ - -At last we have received orders to entrain. Our first taste of war -has been a sort of flower-show. A crowd of women and grey-haired men -were waiting for us under the trees on the other side of the avenue. -Children, their tiny arms full of flowers, ran up to us; their -mothers waved their hands and smiled. But how sad the smiles of these -women were! Their swollen eyes told a tale of tears, and the lines -lurking round their lips, despite their smiles, showed that another -breakdown was not far off. The younger children--and quite tiny ones -came toddling across the street--were obviously finding the day's -proceedings finer than a circus. They laughed and clapped their hands -with delight. - -We passed the fag-end of the morning getting the limbers and wagons -ready and furbishing up the harness. Twelve o'clock struck. As the hour -of departure approached the tumult in the avenue calmed down, and the -crowd waiting in the shade became gradually quiet. - -There was almost complete silence when the Captain gave the order, in -clear resonant tones: - -"Forward!" - -Like an echo there rose from the crowd a loud hurrah, through which I -nevertheless distinctly heard two heartrending sobs. - -Never was there a brighter August day. The limber-boxes and gun-wheels, -the straps and hooks of the harness--even the muzzles of the guns -themselves--were festooned with flowers and ribbons, the bright hues -of which were blended together in a harmony of colour against the -iron-grey background of the guns. - -This morning the Captain, Bernard de Brisoult, said to us: - -"Take the flowers they offer you, and decorate your guns with them. -They are the only send-off the women can give you. And, whatever you -do, keep calm! Then they'll be much braver when you go off." - -The streets, through which we proceeded at a walking pace, were gay -with flags and bunting. The departure of the soldiers, many of whom -would never return, was attended with a degree of composure and good -order which was really admirable. The gunners, sitting motionless on -the limber-boxes or walking beside the horses, smiled and laughed -merrily as the women by the wayside waved them farewell. We felt moved, -of course, but it was rather the emotion of the crowd in the street -which affected us than any feeling born in our inner selves. - - * * * * * - -Entraining was effected easily and expeditiously. As it was very hot, -the gunners hoisting the material on to the trucks had discarded -their vests, and, with red faces, their shoulders to the gun-wheels, -they united their efforts whenever the gun-commanders gave the word -"Together!" which was echoed down the whole length of the train. The -drivers had great difficulty in getting their teams into the boxes. The -old battery horses were used to the manoeuvre, but the commandeered -animals resisted obstinately. Girths were slung round them, two by -two, and they were hauled by force on to the foot-bridges. Once in the -vans they had to be turned round and backed into position so that four -could stand on each side. This operation was accompanied by a deafening -din of iron-shod hoofs on the wooden floors and partitions. The horses -once safely installed and secured face to face in their places by -picket-lines, the stable-pickets began to arrange the harness and -forage in the space between the two lines. - - * * * * * - -Just as the train was starting I was attacked by a sort of dizziness. -Something in my chest seemed to snap, and I felt almost choked by a -sudden feeling of weakness and fear. Should I ever come back? Yes! I -felt sure of it! And yet, I wonder why I felt so sure! - - * * * * * - -CONNERRÉ-BEILLÉ. I am sitting on a truss of hay between my -eight horses. At every moment, in spite of my whip, they bite at the -forage and nearly pull away my seat. The door of the van is opened -wide on the sunny country. - - - _Sunday, August 9_ - -The train rumbled on for fifteen to eighteen hours. A long journey like -this is best passed as a stable-guard. I made myself comfortable on -some shaken-up hay, and, cushioning my head in a well-padded saddle, -eventually fell asleep. - -The horses, almost all of which were suffering from strangles, -slobbered and sneezed over me, and eventually woke me up. It was -already day. A thick summer mist was floating over the fields at a -man's height from the ground. The sun, breaking through it in places, -lit up myriads of shimmering grass-blades, dripping with dew. - -Sitting at the open doors of the vans, their legs dangling over the -side, the gunners watched the country flit past. The empty trains -passing us in the opposite direction frightened the horses, which -neighed and whinnied. No one--not even our officers--knew whither we -were bound, and the engine-driver himself said that he didn't know, but -that he was to receive orders on the way. - -The Territorials guarding the line greeted us as we passed by holding -out their rifles at arm's length. We waved our whips in answer. - -"Morning, old chap!" - -"Good luck to you, boys!" - - * * * * * - -RHEIMS. First the canal, then a glimpse of the town, and then -open country again, with fields of ripe corn yellow in the morning -sun. There were only a few sheaves to be seen. The crops were standing -almost everywhere, motionless in the heat, casting golden lights on -the gently rolling hills and quiet beauty of the countryside. I felt -as though I could not see enough of it. In a few days, perhaps, I -should no longer be able to see the splendour of the sun-kissed corn -and the gorgeous mantle it throws over the symmetrical slopes of the -harvest-land like a drapery of old lace lightly shrouding a graceful -Greek form. - -The train rolled slowly on towards Verdun. In each village, from the -gardens adjoining the railway-line, girls and children threw kisses to -us. They threw flowers, too, and, whenever the train stopped, brought -us drinks. - -It was already dusk when, after passing the interminable sidings and -platforms of Verdun, with its huge bakeries installed under green -awnings, the train finally came to a standstill at Charny. We had -been travelling for more than thirty hours. Before we had finished -detraining it was quite dark. - - - - -II. APPROACH MARCHES - - -We were crossing the Meuse. The sun had gone down and the river, -winding its way between its reedy banks and marshy islands in the -afterglow of the crimson western sky, looked as though it was running -with blood. To-morrow, or perhaps the day after, the appearance may -have become reality. I do not know why these blood-red reflections in -the water affected me so much as this last moment of the evening, but -so it was. - -Night fell--a clear night, in which I uneasily sought for searchlights -among the stars. By the wayside, in one of the army cattle parks, -countless herds lay sleeping. The country would have been absolutely -still and silent had it not been for the muffled rumble of our column -as we marched along. The last reflections of the daylight and the first -beams of the moon, just rising in the east, were welded together in a -weird, diffused light. - -We were marching eastwards, and, as the road skirted the dark mass of -a steep hill, the moon rose clear ahead over the gloomy pine-trees, -which stood out like silhouettes on the horizon. Soon the battery -entered a dark wood, where the drivers had difficulty in finding the -way. Nobody spoke. Occasionally the moon peeped through the trees, and -showed up a horseman. It almost seemed as if the yellow light threw off -a palpable golden powder; the brasswork of the equipment and the tin -mugs of the men shone as though they were gilded. One man passed, then -another, and the shadows, clear cut on the road, seemed to form part of -the silhouettes of the horsemen and magnify them. Of the rest of the -column, lost in the night of the forest, nothing could be seen. - -We had been told that the enemy was not far off, somewhere in the -plain stretching beyond the hills. At every cross-roads we were afraid -lest we should take the wrong turning and find ourselves in the German -lines. Besides, this first march of the campaign, at night-time, -had something uncanny about it which scared us a little in spite of -ourselves. - -The column came to a halt just outside a village. Troops were camping -on both sides of the road, and lower down, in one of the fields a -gloomy artillery park had been formed. Despite the hour--nearly -midnight--the heat was oppressive, and the stars were lightly veiled by -a thin mist. The bivouac fires cast flickering shadows of soldiers in -varying stages of undress, some of them naked to the waist. - -A little farther on, in a meadow where the 10th Battery was already -encamped for the night--men and horses lying in the damp grass--we -parked our guns. - -We had to lie on the bare ground, and between drivers and gunners -a competition in cunning at once arose as to who was to have the -horse-cloths. Most of the men stretched themselves out under the -ammunition wagons and guns, where the dampness of the night was less -penetrating. But I was still on stable duty, and had to keep watch on -the horses, which were tied side by side to a picket-line stretched -between two stakes. The animals not only kicked and bit each other, -but their collars kept getting loose, and one or two, succeeding in -throwing them off, ambled off into the fields. I spent the night in -wild chases. One little black mare in particular led me a dance for -several hours, and I only caught her at last by rustling some oats in -the bottom of a nose-bag. - -Grasping my whip, and wet up to the knees with dew, I had surely -fulfilled my task as stable-picket conscientiously. - - - _Monday, August 10_ - -At 3 a.m. the grey shadow of a dirigible passed overhead beneath the -stars. Friend or enemy? - -At daybreak the park began to stir. Men draped in their rugs emerged -from between the gun-wheels and from underneath the limbers and -stretched themselves, yawning. We set about digging hearths and -fetching wood and water, and before long coffee was steaming in the -camp kettles. - -On the Verdun road infantry regiments--off to the firing-line no -doubt--were already defiling, the long red-and-blue column rippling -like the back of a huge caterpillar. The battalions were hid, for a -moment, by the cottages and trees of the village. But farther ahead, on -the corn-clad slopes of the hills, one could just distinguish, in spite -of the distance, the movements of troops marching on the thin white -ribbon of a road. - -We waited for the order to harness. - -The meadow in which we had camped for the night sloped down, on the -one side, into marshy ground watered by a stream issuing from a mill -and running through the rank grass, and was bounded on the other by -a rampart of wheat-sheaves. To the east a high hill of symmetrical -contour, covered with yellow barley and tawny wheat, gave one the -impression of a golden mountain shining in the sun. - -Behind the horses tied together in parallel lines the harness made -black patches in the grass. Some of us had slept there under our rugs. -Saddles, propped up on their pommels, served as pillows to the men, -who, half undressed, with bare chests, slept soundly. I would willingly -have slept too, for I was tired out with running about all night, but -I could not help thinking of my mother, and of the anxiety the news of -the hecatombs of Alsace must have caused her. She had no idea of my -whereabouts and would be certain to think that I should be in the thick -of any fighting in progress. - -On the road columns of artillery succeeded the regiments of the line. -It was nine o'clock, but so far no sound of battle had yet reached us. -A driver, shaking his rug, woke me, and I started up. In my turn I -roused Déprez, who was sleeping near me. Was it the guns? No, not yet. - -Officials news came that the Alsace army, whose headquarters were -at Mulhouse, had been defeated by the French in a great battle at -Altkirch. The beginning of the Revenge!... But there was talk of fifty -thousand dead.... - -Held spellbound by a sort of magnetic fascination Déprez and I riveted -our gaze on the lofty line of hills to the east which stood between us -and Destiny. Yonder were others like ourselves, masses of men in the -plains and in the woods, men who would kill us if we did not kill them. - -Overcome by the heat, I allowed my thoughts to dwell on these and -similar reflections, and in vain endeavoured to banish from my mind the -horrible picture of the fifty thousand men lying dead on the fields of -Alsace. Eventually I fell asleep. - - * * * * * - -They have just killed, by means of a revolver-shot behind the ear, a -horse which had broken its leg. The carcass is going to be cut up, and -the best portions distributed among the battery detachments. There -seems no likelihood of going into action to-day. - - * * * * * - -The soup-kettles had been put on the fires. On the side of the hill, -where the corn stood in sheaves, the men were building straw huts in -which to pass the night. - -As the sun sank, damp vapours began to rise from the stream and the -marshy ground adjoining it. Side by side on our bed of straw Déprez and -I, booted and spurred, our revolver holsters bruising our hips, fell -asleep with our faces upturned to the stars, which seemed to shine more -brightly than usual in the eastern sky. - - - _Tuesday, August 11_ - -Shortly after dawn we were ready to start. Some of the 130th Infantry -had arrived at the next village, called Ville-devant-Chaumont, to take -up their quarters there. Pending the order to advance I entered into -conversation with a little red-haired foxy-faced sergeant: - -"Ah," said he, "so you're from Mayenne.... Well, I don't know whether -many of the 130th will ever get back there.... There was a scrap -yesterday.... Slaughter simply awful!... My battalion wasn't touched, -but the two others!... There are some companies which don't count -more than ten men, and haven't a single officer left.... It's their -machine-guns which are so frightful.... But what the devil can you -expect? Two battalions against a whole division!" - -"But why didn't the third battalion join in?" - -"Blessed if I know.... You never know the reason of these things." - -And he added: - -"Some of our chaps were splendid.... Lieutenant X, for example.... He -jumped up, drew his sword, and opening his tunic he shouted to his men: -"Come on, lads!..." And he was killed on the spot.... The flag?... -That was taken by the enemy, retaken by one of our captains, and then -again captured. Finally, a chap with a good-conduct badge got hold of -it, and managed to hide it under a bridge before he died. One of the -sections of the 115th found it there.... And then the artillery came up -at last.... Three batteries of the 31st. They soon made the blighters -clear off.... They abandoned two batteries, what's more!" - - * * * * * - -Orders came to unharness. What a heat! Transparent vapours rose from -the ground and made the horizon quiver. From time to time we heard the -muffled sound of the guns but more often we mistook the noise of the -carts on the road for firing. Fleecy white clouds forming above the -crests of the hills gave one the impression of shells bursting. For a -moment their appearance was most deceptive. - -I saw one of the men of the 130th coming back from the firing-line in -a wretched condition, without cap, pack, or arms. It seemed wonderful -that he should have managed to drag himself so far. With staring, -frightened eyes he looked nervously from one side to the other. The -gunners surrounded him as he stood there, with bent shoulders and -hanging head, but he only answered their questions by expressive -gestures. - -"Done for!" he murmured. "Done for!" - -We couldn't hear anything else. His lips kept moving: - -"Done for!... Done for!" - -Down he flopped in the middle of us, and immediately fell asleep, -his mouth wide open and his features contracted as if with pain. Two -gunners carried him into a neighbouring barn. - -I heard to-day that a priest of Ville-devant-Chaumont had been arrested -on a charge of espionage and sent to Verdun. - -We availed ourselves of our leisure in order to wash our linen and have -a bath in the river. Then, stretched naked on the grass, we waited -until the sun had dried our shirts, socks, and underlinen, which lay -spread out around us. - - - _Wednesday, August 12_ - -The French are fond of heroic legends. I have now found out the truth -about the affair in which two battalions were said to have been cut up, -and there is not the least resemblance to the highly coloured yarn of -the little fox-faced sergeant. - -On August 10 the officers of the 130th had not the slightest suspicion -that the enemy were so close. A few men were taken by surprise as they -were going down to the river, unarmed and half undressed. Immediately -afterwards the fight began, and the 130th defended themselves bravely -against superior numbers, at first without any support from the -artillery, which, having received no orders, remained in its quarters. -At last three batteries of the 31st arrived and succeeded in repelling -the German attack. We were the victors. - -As for Lieutenant X, who, according to the sergeant, had been killed as -he stood bare-chested encouraging his men to attack, it appears that, -in reality, he fell into the river called the Loison. The chill of the -water, together with the excitement of the first brush with the enemy, -set up congestion, but he is now reported to be perfectly fit again. -That is fortunate, for he is a valuable officer. - -Several of his men, charging too soon, also fell into the river, which -flows right across the fields between very low banks. There they -remained as if entrenched, with the water up to their waists, and -fought as best they could. The flag of the 130th was never even taken -out of its oil-skin case. - -The whole day was spent in sleeping, cooking, and in bathing in the -river. Some of the drivers with their teams were told off to transport -the wounded of the 130th to Verdun. - -When night fell we stretched ourselves out on the grass under the clear -sky and sang in chorus until we gradually fell asleep. - -If only those we have left behind anxiously waiting for news could have -heard us! - - - _Thursday, August 13_ - -To-day some of the 130th brought back a grey German military coat, a -pair of boots, a Uhlan's helmet, and a sort of round infantryman's cap, -looking like a small cheese. These spoils were hung up in a barn, and -attracted a crowd of gunners. They belong to a sergeant-major who was -proudly exhibiting them to the spectators, calling special attention to -a small rent in the back of the coat. - -"That's where the bullet went in that did for old Steinberg," said he. -"His name's marked inside.... See?" - -And he drew himself up, beaming. - - - _Friday, August 14_ - -We had started off again at dawn, and now stood waiting for orders. The -Captain had sent the battery forward down the lane leading to the main -road to Verdun. The horses splashed about in the water running out from -a drinking-trough hard by, and spattered us liberally with mud. After -waiting till the sun was well up, we unbridled and gave the teams some -oats. - -Reserve regiments of the Army Corps began to file by--the 301st, 303rd, -and 330th. The men were white with dust up to the knees. Stubbly beards -of eight days' growth darkened their faces and gave them a haggard -appearance. Their coats, opened in front and folded back under their -shoulder-straps, showed glimpses of hairy chests, the veins in their -necks standing out like whipcord under the weight of their packs. These -reservists looked grave, resolute, and rather taciturn. - -They swung by with a noise like a torrent rushing over pebbles, the -sight of our guns bringing a smile of pleasure to their faces. The -foremost battalions climbed up the hill. There were so many men that -nothing could be seen of the road, nor even of the red breeches. The -moving human ribbon scintillated with reflections cast by kettles, -shovels, and picks. - -We had filled our water-bags, and some of the soldiers, as they -streamed past, replenished their drinking tins from them. Then they -strode on, their lips glued to the brims, restraining the swing of -their step in order not to lose a drop of the precious liquid. - -At last the battery moved on. But it was only to camp at Azannes, about -a mile south-east of Ville-devant-Chaumont, where we were hardly any -nearer to the enemy. On the road a continual cloud of dust was raised -by guns and wagons, motors full of superior officers, and squadrons of -cavalry escorting red-tabbed Staffs. The horses were smothered in it, -and our dark uniforms soon became grey, while our eyebrows and unshorn -chins looked as if they had been powdered. Paris motor-omnibuses, -transformed into commissariat wagons, put the final touch as they -lumbered by, and left us as white as the road itself. - - * * * * * - -"Limber up!" - -"What?" - -"Limber up, quick now, come along!" - -The order was repeated by the N.C.O.'s, and the Captain, who passed us -spurring his horse, said simply: - -"We are going into action." - -Then, followed by the gun-commanders, trumpeters, and battery-leaders, -he set off at a gallop. - -We passed through Azannes, where we were to have camped. It is a -wretched-looking village, full of manure-heaps, and composed of -low-built cottages eloquent of the fact that here no one has thought it -worth while to undertake building or repair work of any kind. It is not -that the surrounding country is barren, but the perpetual threat of war -and invasion has nipped all initiative in the bud. The poorer one is -the less one has to lose. - -After passing Azannes the column lapsed into silence. The road skirted -the cemetery, in the walls of which the infantry, at every few yards, -had knocked loopholes through which we caught glimpses of graves, -chapels, and crosses. At the foot of the walls lay heaps of rubble and -mortar. Farther on, near the edge of a wood, the field had been seared -by a narrow trench, covered with lopped-off branches bearing withered -leaves, and showing up against the fresh green grass like a yellow -gash. - -In front of the trench barbed wire had been stretched. The enemy, -therefore, was presumably not far off. - -Amid the monotonous rumble of the carriages we tried to collect our -thoughts. The prospect of the first engagement brought with it an -apprehension and dread which clamoured for recognition in each man's -mind. There is no denying the fact. - -The battery rolled on its way through a large wood. The road, almost -blindingly white in the midday sun, formed a striking contrast to the -arch-shaped avenues of sombre trees, whose green plumes towered above -us at a giddy height. - -By the side of the road stood a horse with drooping head and the -viscous discharge due to strangles running from his nostrils; he did -not even budge as the guns and wagons thundered on their way. It seemed -almost a miracle that the bones of the poor beast's haunches had not -broken through his skin. His flanks, heaving spasmodically, seemed -to meet behind his ribs, as if they had been emptied of flesh and -entrails. He was a pitiful sight. In the shade of a bridle-path yet -another abandoned horse was still browsing. - -Between two clumps of trees lay a pond bordered by reeds and rushes, -its surface shimmering like a silver mirror--an effect which was -heightened by the dark woodlands in the background. In the distance the -magnificent line of lofty hills which had hidden the horizon from us at -Ville-devant-Chaumont, and which we had now flanked, formed an azure -setting to the picture. On one side of the road stood a farmhouse. In -a small paddock near the flood-gates of the pond we saw a freshly dug -grave in the shade of an elder-bush. A cross, roughly fashioned out of -a couple of branches tied together, was planted in the newly turned -soil, and a ruled leaf torn out of a pocket-book, stuck on to some -splinter of the wood, bore a name roughly written in pencil. - -On emerging from the forest our batteries, which up to then had been in -column of route, rapidly deployed down the side of a long valley, half -hidden by the oat-crops, through which infantry, whose presence could -only be guessed, caused ripples to flow like those raised by a puff of -wind on still water. - -Where was the enemy? What were these positions worth, and from what -point could they be observed? Was the infantry on ahead protecting us? -In a fever of excitement we formed up in battery in a neighbouring -meadow. The limbers retired to the rear and took cover in the woods. -Bréjard at once ordered us to complete the usual protection afforded -by the gun-shields and ammunition wagons by piling up large sods of -turf which we hacked up with our picks. As far as the eye could reach -stretched the motionless oats, like masses of molten metal under a -sky of unbroken blue. As the gun-layers could not find as much as a -tree or sheaf to serve as an aiming point we had to plant a spade in -front of the battery. I should not have suspected the strength of the -artillery--more than sixty guns--waiting for the enemy in this field, -had I not seen the batteries take up their positions, and had it not -been for the observation-ladders upon which, perched like large black -insects on the points of so many grass-blades, the gun-commanders were -to be seen surveying the land to the north-east. - -We were ready for action, and lying behind our guns awaited the word -"Fire!" No sound of battle was audible. - -A gunnery officer brought some order to the Captain, and the latter, -waving his képi, signalled for the limbers to be brought up. - -"Hallo! What's up now?" - -"We're off," answered Bréjard, who had overheard the orders. - -"Aren't the Germans coming then?" - -"I don't know. That officer told the Captain that after this the fourth -group would be attached to the seventh division." - -"Well, and what then?" - -"Well, the fourth group has got to go." - -"Where?" - -"Probably to camp at Azannes." - -Rather disappointed at having done nothing we returned westwards by the -same road, bathed in an aureole of crimson light cast by the setting -sun. - -The horse with the strangles was now lying down in the ditch. He was -still breathing, and from time to time tossed his head in order to -shake off the wasps which collected in yellow clusters round his eyes -and nostrils. - -We encamped at Azannes, and the horses, tethered under the plum-trees -planted in fives, wearied by the march, the dust, and the heat, let me -rest and dream away my four hours' duty. - -The night was clear, illuminated by the Verdun searchlights which -stretched golden fingers into the sky. A magnificent mid-August night, -scintillating with constellations and alive with shooting stars which -left long phosphorescent tails behind them. - -The moon rose, and with difficulty broke through the dense foliage of -the plum-trees. The camp remained dark except for occasional patches -of light on the grass and on the backs of the horses as they stood -sleeping. My fellow-sentry was lying at the foot of a pear-tree, -wrapped in his greatcoat. In front of me the plain was lit up by the -moon, and the meadows were veiled in a white mist. Both armies, with -fires extinguished, were sleeping or watching each other. - - - _Saturday, August 15_ - -I was helping Hutin to clean the gun. - -"Well, Hutin, war's a nice sort of show, isn't it?" - -"Well, if it consists in fooling about like this till the 22nd -September, when my class will be discharged, I'd rather be in the field -than the barracks. We've never been so well fed in our lives! If only -that lasts!..." - -"Yes, provided it lasts! Only, there are Boches here." - -"Who cares?" - -"And then, we don't get many letters." - -"No, that's true; we don't get enough," said Hutin with some -bitterness, viciously shoving his sponge through the bore. - -And he added: - -"And as for the letters we write ourselves, we can't say where we are, -nor what we are doing, nor even put a date. What is one to write?" - -"Well, I simply say that it is fine and that I am still alive." - - * * * * * - -Always the same silence along the lines. That has lasted for days now. -What can it mean? For us, pawns on the great chess-board, this waiting -is agonizing, and stretches our nerves to that painful tension which -one feels sometimes when watching a leaden sky, waiting for the storm -to break. - -To-day I saw General Boëlle, whose motor stopped on the road quite -close to our camp. - -He is a man with refined features, of cheerful expression, still -youthful-looking despite his white hair and grizzled moustache. - - * * * * * - -The classic popularity of war trophies has not diminished. Quite a -crowd collected round a cyclist who had brought back from Mangiennes -two German cowskin bags and a Mauser rifle. - - * * * * * - -It is astonishing how quickly instinct develops in war. All -civilization disappears almost at once, and the relations between man -and man become primitively direct. One's first preoccupation is to make -oneself respected. This necessity is not implicitly recognized by all, -but every one acts as if he recognized it. Then again, the sense of -authority becomes transformed. The authority conferred on the Captain -by his rank diminishes, while that which he owes to his character -increases in proportion. Authority has, in fact, but one measure: the -confidence of the men in the capability of their officer. For this -reason our Captain, Bernard de Brisoult, in whom even the densest -among us has recognized exceptional intelligence and decision under a -great charm of manner and invariable courtesy, exercises, thanks to -this confidence, a beneficial influence upon all. And yet his actual -personality, as our chief, makes little impression upon one at first. -Captain de Brisoult never commands. He gives his orders in an ordinary -conversational tone; but, a man of inborn tact and refinement, he -always remains the Captain, even while living with his men upon terms -of intimacy. It is hard to say whether he is more loved than respected, -or more respected than loved. And soldiers know something about men. - -In the rough masculine relations between the artillerymen among -themselves there nevertheless remains a place for great friendships, -but they become rarer. The ties of simple barrack comradeship either -disappear or harden into tacit treaties of real friendship. The -mainspring of this is rather egoism than a need of affection. One is -vividly conscious of the necessity of having close at hand a man upon -whose assistance one can always rely, and to whom one knows one can -turn in no matter what circumstances. In the relationships thus solidly -established, without any words, a choice is implied; they are not -engendered by affinities of character alone. One learns to appreciate -in one's friend his value as a help and also his strength and courage. - - - _Sunday, August 16_ - -I have only just heard of an heroic episode which occurred during -our expedition on Friday. It might be called "The Charge of the -Baggage-train." - -During our march through the woods towards the enemy we were followed -at some distance by our supply wagons. When we turned, we passed them, -and they resumed their position behind the batteries. The head of the -column had almost reached Azannes when the rear was still in the thick -of the woods. Suddenly a lively fusillade was opened from the depths of -the trees on the right and left of the train, and at the same time the -noise of galloping horses was heard from behind. The N.C.O. bringing up -the rear behind the forage wagon, who was riding near the cow belonging -to the Group, which was being led by one of the gun-numbers, convinced -that the enemy's infantry was attacking the column from the flank while -a brigade of cavalry was coming up from the rear, yelled out, "Run for -your lives! The Uhlans are coming!" The gunners jumped on the vehicles -wherever they could, and, suddenly, without any orders, the column -broke into a gallop. The men followed as best they might. But the -horses of the forage wagon, restive under the lash, reared, backed, and -jibbed, kicking the cow, which, in her turn, pulled away from the man -leading her, first to right and then to left, finally breaking loose -and setting out at a gallop behind the wagons in a thick cloud of dust. - -A few seconds afterwards the cavalry which had been heard approaching -came up. It was the General of Artillery, who, with his Staff and -escort of Chasseurs, had routed our baggage-train. As for the -fusillade, it came from two companies of the 102nd of the line, who, -concealed in the woods, had opened fire on a German aeroplane. - -The weather is getting worse. Already yesterday evening the storm -gathering on our left had made us prick up our ears as if we heard -gun-fire. At breakfast-time we were surprised by a heavy shower, and -had to abandon the kettles on the fires and take shelter under the -wagons and trees. To-day it has been raining slowly but steadily. If -this weather goes on we shall have to look out for dysentery! - -Sitting on blankets in a circle round the fire, which was patiently -tended by the cook, we drank our coffee. My comrades asked me to read -them a few pages from my notebook, and wished me a safe return in order -that these reminiscences, which to a great extent are theirs also, -might be published. - -"Are you going to leave the names in?" - -"Yes, unless you don't want me to." - -"No, of course not. We'll show them to the old people and children -later on, if we get back." - -"If I am killed, one of you will take care of my notebook. I keep it -here--see?--in the inside pocket of my shirt." - -Hutin thought a little. - -"Yes, only you know that it's forbidden to search dead men. You'd -better make a note in your book to say you told us to take it." - -He was quite right, so on the first page I wrote: "In case I am killed -I beg my comrades to keep these pages until they can give them to my -family." - -"Now you've made your arrangements _mortis causa_," said Le Bidois, who -was reading over my shoulder. And he added: - -"That doesn't increase the risk either." - -Le Bidois is a thin, lanky fellow rather like the King of Spain, for -which reason Déprez and I have nicknamed him Alfonso. Every day we fire -off the old Montmartre catch at him: - - _Alfonso, Alfonso, - Veux-tu te t'nir comme il fô!_ - -We also call him "the Spanish Grandee." He never gets annoyed. - -"A jewel of a corporal!" as Moratin, his layer, always says. - - * * * * * - -Some of the 26th Artillery have brought back two ammunition wagons -abandoned by the enemy at Mangiennes. Painted a dark colour they -resembled the old 90 mm. material with which we used to practise when -training at Le Mans. They were followed by two large carts, of the -usual type used by the Meuse peasantry, long and narrow in build, -full of packs, tins, képis marked 130, camp-kettles already blackened -by bivouac fires, belts with brass buckle-plates, and caps with dark -stains on them. On the top bristled a heap of bayonets and rifles, -red with rust and blood. A large blue flannel sash, sopping wet, hung -behind one of the carts, and trailed in the muddy road. These were the -remains of the unfortunate infantry killed at Mangiennes. - -This spectacle, rendered the more harrowing by the rain, moved us more -than all the stories we had heard about last Monday's fight. - -As I was taking some horses down to drink I saw, near the gate of the -loopholed cemetery at Azannes, some soldiers who had fallen asleep, -stretched out anywhere, exhausted and half undressed. They might have -been taken for dead men. That is how I think the Mangiennes people -must have looked. And these remains also conjured up a vision of the -trenches where they were lined up. - -In the absolute silence which for eight days now has reigned all along -the line we have almost forgotten the work of death for which we have -come here. - - * * * * * - -At nightfall, after swallowing some hot soup, we returned to our -billets, which are in a large barn where it is possible to get a good -sleep in the straw. Soldiers of every rank and regiment were swarming -in the village, the blue dolmans of the Chasseurs and the red breeches -of the Infantry giving a welcome dash of colour to the sombre uniforms -of the Artillery and Engineers as they all jostled together in the -street. Some of them, carrying in each hand a pailful of water, shouted -and swore at the others to let them pass. - -It was still raining, and from the manure-heaps by the side of the road -thick clouds of steam arose. The cavalrymen had made hoods of their -horse-cloths, and many of the foot-soldiers were sheltering their heads -and shoulders under sacks of coarse brown canvas which they had found -in the barns or wagons. The whole of this muddy multitude was almost -silent and solely bent upon getting back to their billets. Almost the -only sound was the squelching of many feet in the mire. Four sappers, -scaling a ladder to a loft from which hay was crowding out through a -dark, wide-open window, looked like a bunch of black grapes hanging in -mid-air. - - - _Monday, August 17_ - -It was still raining when we started. Carts full of debris continued to -pass us, each more heavily laden and each more dreadful to see than -the last. - -I heard that a Chasseur, whom I noticed yesterday morning mounted on a -little bay horse, had been surprised by a party of Uhlans. They bound -him hand and foot and then, with a lance-thrust in the neck, bled him -as one bleeds a pig. A peasant who had witnessed the scene from behind -a hedge told me of this devilish crime. He was still white with horror. - - * * * * * - -Last night the horses lay in mud and dung. This morning their manes and -tails were stiff with mire, and large plasters of manure covered their -haunches and flanks, giving them the appearance of badly kept cows. As -for us, besmeared with dirt up to the knees and with our boots a mass -of mud, we looked more heavy than ever in our dark cloaks, which were -wet through and hung in straight folds from our shoulders. - -We again started off, this time to take up fresh quarters at Moirey. -From Azannes to Moirey is little more than a mile, but the road was -blocked with wagons, and at every instant we had to halt and draw to -one side. - -The Captain gave the word: - -"Dismount!" - -The men, tortured by diarrhoea, availed themselves of the opportunity -and scattered into the fields. - -At Moirey we encamped under some plum-trees planted in fives, where -we were as badly off as we had been at Azannes. Under the feet of the -horses the grass immediately became converted into mud. - -The first thing to do was to cover over with earth the filth left there -by troops who had preceded us. The question of sanitary arrangements -is a serious one. It is true that a sort of little trenches called -_feuillées_ are dug on one side of the camp, but many men obstinately -refuse to use them, and prefer to make use of any haphazard spot at -the risk of being driven off by whip-lashes by others of more cleanly -disposition. A regular guard has to be kept round the guns and horses. -It is useless for the officers to threaten severe punishment to any -man taken in the act outside the _feuillées_. Nothing stops them. The -Captain keeps repeating: - -"What a set of hogs!" - - * * * * * - -To-night the sound of the guns is quite close. Perhaps we shall go into -action at last. - -It was a difficult job to find any wood fit to burn. Such as there was -was damp and when burning gave off a thick acrid smoke which the wind -blew down upon us. We had to fetch the water for the soup from more -than 300 yards away, and then keep a constant look-out to prevent the -horses from getting at it. The bread just given out was mouldy, and we -had to toast it in order to take away the musty taste. - -When it is time to water the teams the only street of the village is -thronged with horses either led or ridden bare-back. Six batteries -are encamped round Moirey, and there is only one pond into which a -thin stream of clear water, not more than two fingers thick, trickles -from a fountain. Every twenty paces one has to stop and manoeuvre in -order to avoid kicks, and the men, annoyed by the delay, swear at each -other without reason. After four or five minutes one advances another -twenty paces, and, when finally the pond is reached, the men and beasts -sinking ankle-deep in mud, it is only to find that hundreds of horses -have left so much drivel and slime on the water that our animals refuse -to drink. - -It is reported that there has been a great battle near Nancy and that -we have won the day. Why don't we advance also? - - - _Tuesday, August 18_ - -Lucas, the cyclist of the battery, succeeded in finding two bottles of -champagne, which he hid in a corner of the guard-house where Le Bidois, -who was on sentry duty, kept an eye on them. - -Lucas is a young draughtsman of talent. His character is faithfully -reflected by his face--fresh, mobile, perhaps a little feminine. You -meet him in the morning and he seizes you by the arm: - -"Oh, my dear chap ... such a pretty little woman ... a perfect -dream!..." - -And the same evening he will say: - -"Oh, my dear chap ... such a fraud.... No, not a word!... What a fraud!" - -It appears that at Damvillers, a neighbouring village, he has made the -conquest of a little woman who sells tobacco. And he still manages to -get hold of cigarettes, writing-paper, liqueurs, and even champagne, -whereas no one else has been able to lay hands on any of these luxuries -for some time past. - -When night fell he gave us a sign, and Déprez and I followed him to the -door of the guard-house in which loomed the lanky figure of Le Bidois, -who was leaning on his sword. The guard-house is an old tumble-down -hut only kept erect by the ivy growing round it. The door only boasts -one hinge, and the worm-eaten steps leading to the loft are crumbling -into dust. But still we found it a snug enough place in which to drink -our champagne. - - - _Wednesday, August 19_ - -The first gun has a team which is the joy of the whole battery. This -is owing to Astruc and his off-horse Jericho. Astruc, with bright -brown eyes and a face like a carrion-crow, is not much taller than -a walking-stick and has hardly any legs. Jericho is a vicious brute -that kicks, bites, and refuses to be groomed. Astruc holds long -conversations with him, and every morning greets him like one greets an -old friend who is a little crabbed, but of whom one is really fond: - -"Well, Jericho, old boy, what have you got to say? Have you been -dreaming of German mares?" - -Bréjard pointed out to Astruc that Jericho is a gelding. - -"Oh!" retorted Astruc, "I expect he gets ideas in his head all the -same." - -But to-day Jericho was in a specially bad temper, and wouldn't let -himself be bridled in order to be led down to the watering-place. - -"What's up, old chap?" asked Astruc. "Oh, I see what you want! You -haven't had your quid this morning, have you?... It's your quid you're -after." - -And he held out in the hollow of his hand a pinch of tobacco which the -horse swallowed with avidity. When Astruc is astride his near-horse, -Hermine, Jericho bites his boot, and the more Astruc whips him the -harder he clenches his teeth. - -"Well," says Astruc, "I bet that if I leave Jericho in a mêlée he'll -eat as many Boches as he can get his teeth into. If only we'd a hundred -more like him!" - -And looking the horse full in the face he added: - -"It's odd, you know! The brute's got a naughty twinkle in his eyes ... -just like one of those girls...." - -A corps of pontoon engineers passed by our camp, their long, -steel-plated boats loaded on carts, keel uppermost. Some foundered -horses, tied behind the vehicles, followed with hanging head and -limping step, a look of suffering in their bleared eyes--a pitiful -sight. Far down the road, winding its way through the long valley and -white under the morning sun, one could see the column toiling up a hill -as if ascending to the blue sky. At that distance men and horses seemed -no more than a swarm of black ants, but the steel bottoms of the boats -still glinted in the sunshine. In front of us the long line still -passed slowly by. - - * * * * * - -The men's health is excellent, but the horses stand this new life -less successfully. Last Friday we had to leave one on the road, and -yesterday an old battery horse named Défricheur died in his turn. We -had to prepare a grave for him, and four men had been digging for more -than an hour in the hard and rocky ground when the mayor of Moirey -arrived on the scene. The grave had been dug too close to the houses, -so they had to drag the heavy carcass farther on and begin digging -again. Unfortunately the measurements of the new grave had been badly -calculated, and Défricheur, a proper gendarme's horse, could not be -crammed into it. The men were heartily tired of digging and so, with -a few blows of their spades and picks, they broke his legs and folded -them under his belly, so that at last he could be squeezed into the pit. - -The hill which had limited our horizon at Ville-devant-Chaumont ... was -still to be seen rising on the east in solitary splendour, its outlines -traced as if by compasses. Beneath the azure sky it shone like a mass -of burnished bronze. - -Moirey lies in the lap of a valley and consists of a few dilapidated -cottages roofed with broken tiles. No matter from which side one goes -away from the village it is instantly hidden by an intervening spur of -the hills, so that one can only see the top of the roofs and the short, -rectangular steeple covered with slates. - -As we were grooming our horses in a field through which a brook bubbled -along amid the iris, a bevy of white-capped girls came down from the -village. - -The only means of getting over the river was a narrow bridge. This we -barred by standing a couple of horses athwart it, and, by way of toll, -demanded kisses. The girls, their rosy-cheeked faces smiling under the -spreading butterfly-wings of their caps, at first hesitated. Then one -of them took a run, jumped, and splashed into the water. The others -learnt wisdom from her example and decided to pay the toll. - -"Come on now! Just a kiss, you know!" said Déprez. "That's not so dear -in war-time!" - -They paid conscientiously. - - - _Friday, August 21_ - -To-day there was a fog when we awoke. Almost immediately the Captain -gave the word to harness, and five o'clock had not yet struck when we -started. The road was cut up into ruts by the artillery which for three -days had been passing over it, and we were so shaken on the limbers -that we could scarcely breathe. - -Luckily the column was advancing at a walking pace. - -The fog had collected at the end of the valley. On the right enormous -and regularly formed mounds rose like islands out of the sea of mist. -I could not take my eyes off their symmetrical curves, as perfect as -those of Cybele's breasts. - -Farther on the road straggled across a plain, the ample undulations -of which reminded one of the rise and fall of the ocean on days when -there is a swell. In every direction it was studded with wheat sheaves, -but there were few trees except an occasional group or line of poplars -welded together by the fog in an indistinct mass of dark green foliage. - -Not a sound of battle was to be heard. - - * * * * * - -On the way we fell in with some baggage-trains and ambulances, and -learnt from their drivers that the enemy was still far away. - -Nevertheless the country had already been prepared for battle. A -farmhouse by the roadside had been fortified, the windows barricaded -with mattresses and small trusses of straw, while a few loopholes -had been knocked in the garden wall. The fields were furrowed with -trenches as far as the edge of a wood, where some abatis had been set -up. Earthworks had been thrown up along the sides of the road, and in -front were heaped ladders, a couple of harrows, a plough, a roller, and -several bundles of straw. Two carts had been placed athwart the road, -but they had been pushed one to each side and lay thrown back with -their long shafts pointing upwards. - -We still rolled on across this desolate country. So similar were its -aspects that it almost seemed as if we were not advancing at all. - -At last the fog lifted, and, suddenly, before we were able to guess -that the end of the dreary scenery was near, a magnificent view opened -out before us as if by enchantment. We were on the crest of a hill -between two valleys, on one side of which thick woods descended in -leafy terraces to the hollow of a narrow dell in which, through a -meadow of vivid emerald green, a little black river trickled on its -way. The forests surrounding this meadow, as if placed there in order -to embellish and enhance its beauty, looked like a magnificent ruff -of low-toned olive tints. In front of us, just where the road turned -off at an angle, a spur of woodland rose with the forbidding aspect of -a fortress. On the right, forming a contrast to the quiet and peaceful -little river, a broad valley, with symmetrical slopes lightened here -and there by corn standing yellow in the sun, opened out wide and -invitingly. The river flowing through it was hardly visible, but the -roads, villages, and the railway line were quite distinct. On the one -hand lay Vélosnes, and on the other Torgny, their white walls and red -roofs showing up on the green background of the fields. - -There was nothing in the scene to suggest that war was on foot, and -gun-shots heard from a distance were no more startling than the noise -of carriage wheels. - -It was a fine morning, to which the mist, softening the outlines of -the landscape, lent additional charm. The narrow S-shaped road we were -following plunged into the valley. The horses made efforts to keep back -the guns, and especially the ammunition wagons, which were pushing them -down the slope. Their shoes slipping with the dislodged stones, they -braced their backs and felt their way cautiously. - -The river at this point constituted the frontier between France and -Belgium. A custom-house official was leaning up against the parapet of -the bridge. - -One of the men called out to him: - -"No fine linen or lace to-day, old man!" - -And another: - -"Suppose there's no duty on melinite, is there?" - -The official grinned. - -The first Belgian village, Torgny, afforded a contrast to the French -hamlets through which we had been passing since dawn. Our villages are -tumble-down, dirty, and redolent of manure and misery. Torgny, on the -contrary, was clean and bright, the windows of the houses boasting -not only curtains but even, sometimes, embroidered blinds, while the -shutters, doors, and window-joists were painted light green. - -On all sides we were greeted with smiles by the placid and open-faced -villagers. Through the windows of the cottages we could see red-tiled -floors, and in the semi-darkness of the interiors the glow of brasswork -on stoves and lamps reflected by carefully polished furniture. - -Our column halted in the village, the men carefully wedging the wheels -of the vehicles to prevent them from backing down the slope. A woman -and a fair, slightly built girl were sitting in front of their house, -of which the lower half was a mass of wistaria. We asked them where -the road led to, and a conversation began in which not only mother and -daughter took part, but also the grandmother, a wizened little woman -with a wrinkled face out of which peered a pair of bright brown eyes; -she had come out to see what was happening. They talked with a drawling -sing-song accent, which nevertheless was in no way disagreeable to our -ears. - -"Have the Germans come as far as this?" - -"Yes, they've come, only they didn't do any harm.... They hadn't -the time. Five or six of them came down from the woods up -there--cavalrymen. But they went back almost at once. Some of the -villagers saw them. There were also some French cavalry here, in blue -and red uniforms." - -"Chasseurs?" - -"I suppose so. They are so nice and polite.... At first, as there -weren't many of them, we almost quarrelled as to who should have them. -When the Uhlans came out of the woods they saw the French and went in -again." - -"And the Belgian soldiers?" - -"Not seen any of them," said the old lady. "But my granddaughter saw -some at Arlon last year." - -"Yes," chimed in the girl, "and they are better dressed than you." - -We prepared to make ourselves comfortable in the chairs which had been -brought out for us, and chatted while waiting for the order to advance. - -"You ought to be very grateful to us," said the grandmother. "We -stopped them, and they hadn't reckoned on that! They thought we were -sheep and found we were lions--yes, lions! They even say so themselves!" - -We willingly acquiesced. - -In future we shall always be able to count upon the goodwill of the -Belgians, for we owe them a debt of gratitude. That is no more solid -basis for affection than that which underlies the feelings of a -benefactor towards his protégé. Nothing is more soothing to the spirit -than a sense of superiority and legitimate pride. - -There can be no doubt but that the blood so bravely shed for us in -Belgium will be productive of more friendship than twenty years of -sustained efforts to maintain the French language and culture against -the rising tide of Germanization. And, forty years later, when we -meet a Belgian, we may be sure that he will remind us, in his pleasing -accent: - -"Yes, but you know ... without us in 1914...." - -It will be a pleasure to him to recall all that France owes to his -glorious little country. More, he will be grateful to us for the debt -we owe her. - -"Oh, of course it has cost us a lot to defend our neutrality," said -the old woman. "It is awful what the Germans have done in our country. -They seem to have a special hatred for the women. There was one down -there.... We knew her quite well.... And they first cut off her breasts -... and then disembowelled her.... And they've done that to countless -others! Oh! its too awful! They must be worse than savages. You must -tell your people about it, when you get back--about that, and about -everything else we've had to suffer. But you won't do the same when you -get into Germany, will you?" - -She added: - -"I am very old--over seventy--and I had never seen war in Belgium." - -The poor old woman spoke almost without anger, but in a trembling voice -and with infinite sadness. - -We encamped at Torgny. As soon as the horses had been picketed and -the oats distributed, Déprez and I hurried to the wistaria windows to -ask if we could buy a little milk and some eggs. The old woman was -most upset; it seemed that she had already given everything to the -Chasseurs. But she sent us a little farther on to the house of one of -her daughters who, she said, would milk the cow for us. She added: - -"We've a good loft here, where you would be quite comfortable and warm -in the straw. So come back to sleep in any case." - -We knocked at the door she had pointed out to us a couple of houses -farther on, and were received as though we had been expected. - -"It's some artillerymen, mother," said a young woman, who was nursing a -child in her arms. "They want some milk." - -Her mother came out of the next room. - -"I'll go and milk the cow," said she. "Good evening, messieurs; please -sit down; you must be tired." - -Lucas had somehow managed to find some eggs. - -"Shall we make you an omelette with bacon?" asked the daughter. "It -won't take long. But do sit down. I'm sure you've been standing about -enough to-day!" - -Almost immediately the fat began to sizzle in the pan. - -At every moment infantrymen and Chasseurs knocked at the door, and the -two women distributed the milk from their cow, refusing all payment. -When there was no more left they were quite wretched at having to -disappoint the men who continually arrived on various quests. - -"We've given all we had. I'm so sorry!" they said. "We've only a small -bowl left for the baby. You see, we've only one cow!" - -A Chasseur brought back a kettle he had borrowed; another asked for the -loan of a gridiron. Never has Frenchman been more warmly welcomed in -France. - -The fair-haired girl, with whom we had been talking shortly before, -came back carrying an earthenware milk-jug in her hand. - -"Have you any milk, auntie? There are some soldiers who want a little. -They're ill, some of them." - -"Oh, darling, I'm so sorry! There are only a few drops left for baby!" - -"Oh, dear!..." - -The girl saw us seated at table round the smoking omelette, and smiled -at us as though we were old acquaintances. I told her that if I ever -returned home I should perhaps write a book about what I had seen in -the war. - -"And will you please tell me your name, so that I can send you the book -as a souvenir to you and your family. You have all been so good to us -Frenchmen." - -"My name is Aline--Aline Badureau." - -"What a pretty name--Aline!" - -She prepared to go. - -"I hope that you will return home," she said to me, "so that you can -send us your book. But I'm sure you'll forget. They say that Frenchmen -forget very soon." - -I protested vehemently. - - - - -III. THE ATTACK. THE RETREAT - - - _Saturday, August 22_ - -We slept in the barn which the kindly old woman had placed at our -disposal, and in which the hay was deep and warm. At three o'clock -in the morning one of the stable pickets came to call us through the -window. We harnessed our horses as best we could in the darkness. - -An extremely diffused light was beginning to spread over the -countryside, and the mist, rising from the meadows, dimmed the -clearness of the dawn. We marched on through the powdery atmosphere. -The fog was so thick that it was impossible to see the carriage -immediately ahead, and from our places on the limber-boxes the lead -driver and his horses looked like a sort of moving shadow. - -Eventually we reached the little town of Virton. All the inhabitants -were at their doors, and offered us coffee, milk, tobacco, and cigars. -The men jumped off the limbers and hurriedly drank the steaming drinks -poured out for them by the women, while the drivers, bending down from -their horses, held out their drinking-tins. - -"Have you seen the Germans?" we asked. - -"Only one or two came to buy some socks and some sugar. I hope they -won't all come here. Will they?" - -"Aren't we here to prevent them?" - -The women's open faces, framed in their dark brown hair, were perfectly -calm. Fat little children, like cherubs sprung to life from some canvas -of Rubens, ran by the side of the column as we moved on, and others, a -little bigger, kept crying: "Hurrah for the French!" - -Our batteries joined up behind a group of the 26th Artillery on the -Ethe road--a fine straight highway, flanked by tall trees. In the fog -the sheaves in the fields looked so much like infantry that for a -moment one was deceived. A few ambulances were installed in one of the -villages. A little farther on some mules, saddled with their cacolets, -were waiting at the end of a sunken road. - -We had hardly passed the last houses when suddenly rifle-fire broke out -with a sound like that of dry wood burning. A machine-gun also began to -crackle, staccato, like a cinema apparatus. - -Fighting was going on quite close, both in front of us and also to the -right, somewhere in the fog. I listened, at every moment expecting to -hear the hum of a bullet. - -"About turn!" - -"Trot!" - -What had happened? Where were the batteries which had preceded us? We -turned off to the right. The firing ceased. The march in the fog, which -kept getting thicker, became harassing after a while. At all events we -were sure, now, that the enemy was not far off. - -Finally, at about seven o'clock, we halted. Not a sound of the battle -was to be heard. We unbridled our horses and gave them some oats. The -men lay down by the side of the road and dozed. - -Suddenly the fusillade broke out again, but this time on the left. I -asked myself how our position could have altered so in relation to that -of the enemy. A few minutes ago the fighting was on our right. Perhaps -it was only a patrol which had gone astray. I gave up thinking about -it. Doubtless the fog had confused my sense of direction. - -This time the firing sounded more distant. A single detonation, like a -signal, was heard. I thought at first that it was one of the drivers -whipping up his team, but a minute later the crackling of rifles broke -on our ears in gusts, as if carried by a high wind. And yet the air was -quite still, and the fog floated, motionless, on all sides. - -Suddenly the sun broke through and the mists disappeared as if by -magic, like large gauze curtains rapidly lifted. In a few moments the -whole stretch of countryside became visible. The cannonade began at -once. - -On the right were some meadows in which flocks were feeding, and, -farther on, a line of wooded hills, in the lap of which nestled a tiny -village. - -On the left and towards the north the horizon was hidden by a -semicircle of hills through which a river wound its tortuous course, -draining the stubble-fields on either side. A large, bowl-shaped -willow-tree made a solitary green blotch on the background. - -A battery was evidently already installed there, four dark points -indicating the position of the four guns. As we stood waiting on -the straight road, the perspective of which was accentuated by the -trees flanking it on each side, the twelve batteries of our regiment, -followed by their first lines of wagons, formed an interminable and -motionless black line. - -The Captain gave the order: - -"Prepare for action!" - -The gun-numbers who had been lying beneath the trees jumped to their -feet and took off the breech-and muzzle-covers which protect the guns -from dust when on the road. This done, they got the sighting-gear -ready, and saw that the training and elevating levers were in good -working order. - -We were surprised in our work by an explosion quite near at hand. -Above the stubble-fields a small white cloud was floating upwards. It -expanded, and then disappeared. And suddenly, near the bowl-shaped -willow-tree, six shrapnel shells burst, one after another. - -I felt an odd sensation, as if my circulation was growing slower. But I -was not afraid. For the matter of that, no immediate danger threatened -us. Only I had an intuition that a big battle was about to begin, and -that I should have to make a great effort. - -The gunners anxiously riveted their eyes on a point of the horizon -where shells were now falling almost incessantly. Of course none of -them would have confessed to their anxiety, but there was a significant -lull in the conversation. I do not know what we were waiting -for--whether the fall of a shell or the arrival of orders. - -For my part I excused myself for feeling apprehensive. The baptism of -fire is always an ordeal, and the motionless waiting on the road had -worked on my nerves. The enemy need only have lifted his fire in order -to hit us as we stood there, defenceless, in column formation. - -Besides, such emotions are only skin-deep. Even if anxiety could -plainly be read in every man's face we still kept smiling and inwardly -resolved to do whatever might be necessary in order to make the coming -battle a French victory. - -The Colonel passed by, accompanied by Captain Manoury and a Staff of -Lieutenants. He gave us a quiet but searching look, which seemed to -gauge our mettle and encourage us at the same time. The small group -of horsemen made off rapidly, ascending the slopes which were being -bombarded by the enemy. - -"Attention!" - -We were going into action. - -On the side of the horseshoe-shaped ring of hills sections of infantry -were deploying and advancing by successive rushes. Of a sudden men rose -up and ran across the fields, and again as suddenly, at an inaudible -word of command, threw themselves down, disappearing from view like so -many rabbits. They went on farther and farther, and at last we saw -their outlines silhouetted against the sky-line as they crossed the -ridge of the hill. - -It was about ten o'clock, and very hot. From the unknown country on -the other side of the hills came the awe-inspiring roar of battle. The -rifle-fire crackled continuously and the noise of the machine-guns -sounded like waves beating against the rocks. The thunder of the heavy -guns drowned, so to speak, the general din, and blended it into a -single roar, similar to that of the ocean in a storm, when the waves -gather and break with dull thuds amid the shriek of the wind as it -lashes the waters. - -The battle-line seemed to lie from east to west, the Germans holding -the north and the French the south. - -"Forward!" - -First we had to cross a meadow traversed by a stream almost hidden in -the high grass. The gunners took the off-horses by the bridle and urged -them forward, while the drivers whipped up their teams into a trot. The -sun was shining under the wheels of the ammunition wagon as it suddenly -proved too much for the horses and sank heavily up to the axle in the -mud. It was eventually dislodged by some strong collar-work. - -Where on earth were we going to? We seemed to be bound for the -bowl-shaped willow-tree, near the heights from which the German -machine-guns, for more than two hours, had been riddling every square -inch of ground. Why were we being sent there? Were there not plenty of -excellent positions on the hills? We should inevitably be massacred! -But still the column advanced at a walking pace towards the sloping -field in which shells were falling at every moment. - -Why? Why? Death had reigned supreme there ever since the fog lifted. We -were riding into the Valley.... - -I felt a choking sensation grip my throat. And yet I was still capable -of reasoning. I understood quite clearly that the hour was come for me -to sacrifice my life. All of us would go up, yes!--but few would come -back down the hill! - -This combination of animality and thought which constitutes my life -would shortly cease to be. My bleeding body would lie stretched out -on the field; I seemed to see it. A curtain seemed to fall on the -perspectives of the future which a moment ago still seemed full of -sunshine. It was the end. It had not been long in coming, for I am only -twenty-one. - -Not for an instant did I argue with myself or hesitate. My destiny had -to be sacrificed for the fulfilment of higher destinies--for the life -of my country, of everything I love, of all I regretted at that moment. -If I was to die, well and good! I was willing. I should almost have -thought that it was harder!... - -We continued to advance at a walking pace, the drivers on foot at their -horses' heads. Presently we reached the willow-tree. A volley.... -From far off came a sound at first resembling the whirr of wings or -the rustle of a silken skirt, but which rapidly developed into a -droning hum like that of hundreds of hornets in flight. The shell -was coming straight at us, and the sensation one then experiences -is indescribable. The air twangs and vibrates, and the vibrations -seem to be communicated to one's flesh and nerves--almost to the -marrow of one's bones. The detachment crouched down by the wheels of -the ammunition wagon and the drivers sheltered behind their horses. -At every moment we expected an explosion. One, two, three seconds -passed--an hour. The instinct of self-preservation strong within me, I -bent my shoulders and waited, trembling like an animal flinching from -death. A flash! It seemed to fall at my feet. Shrapnel bullets whistled -by like an angry wind. - -But the column still remained motionless in the potato-field, which -was so riddled by gun-fire that it was difficult to steer the vehicles -between the shell craters. - -Why were we waiting? How we wished that we could at least take up -a position and reply to the enemy's fire! It seemed to me that if -only we could hear the roar of our ·75's the dread of those deathly -moments would become less intense. But we seemed to be merely awaiting -slaughter; the minutes dragged by and we still remained motionless. - -Some shells, which for a moment I thought had actually grazed the -limber, hurtled by and shook me from head to foot, making the armour -behind which I was sheltering vibrate. Fortunately the ground was -considerably inclined, and the projectiles burst farther back. I -perspired with fear.... Yes, I was badly frightened. Nevertheless I -knew that I should not run away, and that I should, if necessary, let -myself be killed at my post. But the longing for action grew more and -more insistent. - -At last we started off again, progressing with difficulty across the -furrowed field. The drivers could hardly manage their horses, which had -been seized with panic and pulled in all directions. - -Hutin gave me a nod: - -"You are quite green, old chap!" he said. - -"Well, if you could see your own face ..." I answered. - -A shell fell, throwing up a quantity of earth in front of the horses -and wounding the centre driver of the ammunition wagon in the head, -killing him instantly. - -"Forward!" - -Near the crest of the hill we took up our position on the edge of an -oat-field. The limbers went off to the rear to shelter somewhere in the -direction of Latour, the steeple of which could be seen overtopping the -trees in the valley on our left. Crouching behind the armoured doors of -the ammunition wagons and behind the gun-shields, we awaited the order -to open fire. But the Captain, kneeling down among the oats in front of -the battery, his field-glasses to his eyes, could discover no target, -for yonder, over the spreading woods of Ethe and Etalle, now occupied -by the enemy, a thick mist was still floating. All round us, behind our -guns, over our heads, and without respite, high-explosive and shrapnel -shell of every calibre kept bursting and strewing the position with -bullets and splinters. Death seemed inevitable. Behind the gun was a -small pit in which I took refuge while we waited for orders. A big bay -saddle-horse, with a gash in his chest from which a red stream flowed, -stood motionless in the middle of the field. - -What with the hissing and whistling of the shells, the thunder of -the enemy's guns, and the roar from a neighbouring ·75 battery, it -was impossible to distinguish the different noises in this shrieking -inferno of fire, smoke, and flames. I perspired freely, my body -vibrating rather than trembling. The blood seethed in my head and -throbbed in my temples, while it seemed as if an iron girdle encircled -my chest. Unconsciously, like one demented, I hummed an air we had been -singing recently in the camp and which haunted me. - - _Trou là là, ça ne va guère; - Trou là là, ça ne va pas._ - -Something brushed past my back. At first I thought I was hit, but the -shell splinter had only torn my breeches. - -The battery became enveloped in black, nauseating smoke. Somebody was -groaning, and I got up to see what had happened. Through the yellow fog -I saw Sergeant Thierry stretched on the ground and the six numbers of -the detachment crowding round him. The shell had burst under the chase -of his gun, smashing the recoil-buffer, and effectually putting the -piece out of action. - -Kneeling side by side, Captain Bernard de Brisoult and Lieutenant -Hély d'Oissel were scanning the horizon through their field-glasses. -I admired them. The sight of these two officers, and of the Major who -was quietly strolling up and down behind the battery, made me ashamed -to tremble. I passed through a few seconds of confused but intense -mental suffering. Then it seemed as though I was awakening from a sort -of feverish delirium, full of horrible nightmares. I was no longer -frightened. And, when I again took shelter, having nothing else to do -as we were not firing, I found I had overcome my instincts, and no -longer shook with fear. - -A horrible smell filled the pit. - -"Phew!" I ejaculated hoarsely, "what a stink!" - -Peering down I perceived Astruc in the bottom of the hollow. In a voice -which seemed to come from the bowels of the earth he replied: - -"All right, old son! Don't you worry ... it's only me. I'm sitting in -a filthy mess here, but all the same I wouldn't give up this place for -twenty francs!" - -Over the crest of the hill came some infantry in retreat. The sound of -the machine-guns approached and eventually became distinguishable from -the roar of the artillery. - -The enemy was advancing and we were giving way before them. Shells -continued to fly over us, and entire companies of infantry fell back. - -The officers consulted together. - -"But what are we to do?... There are no orders ... no orders," the -Major kept repeating. - -And still we waited. The Lieutenant had drawn his revolver and the -gunners unslung their rifles. The German batteries, possibly afraid of -hitting their own troops, ceased firing. At any moment now the enemy -might set foot on the ridge. - -"Limber up!" - -The order was quickly carried out. - -We had to carry Thierry, whose knee was broken, with us. He was -suffering horribly and implored us not to touch him. In spite of his -protests, however, three men lifted him on to the observation-ladder. -He was very pale, and looked ready to faint. - -"Oh!" he murmured. "You are hurting me! Can't you finish me?" - -The rest of the wounded, five or six in number, hoisted themselves -without assistance on to the limbers and the battery swung down the -Latour road at a quick trot. - -We had lost the battle. I did not know why or how. I had seen nothing. -The French right must have had to retire a considerable distance, for, -ahead to the south-east, I saw shells bursting over the woods which -that morning had been some way behind our lines. We were completely -outflanked, and I was seized with qualms as to whether our means of -retreat were still open. We crossed the railway, some fields, and a -river in succession, and approached the chain of hills, wooded half-way -up their slopes, which stretched parallel to the heights the army -had occupied in the morning. These were doubtless to be our rallying -positions. The drivers urged their horses onwards while the gunners, -who had dismounted from the limbers in order to lighten the load, ran -in scattered order by the side of the column. The narrow road we were -following was badly cut up, the stones rolling from under the horses' -hoofs at every step. Half-way up the steep incline we found the way -barred by an infantry wagon which had come to a standstill. A decrepit -white horse was struggling in the shafts. The driver swore and hauled -at the wheels, but the animal could not start. - -One of the corporals shouted out: - -"Now then, get on, can't you?" - -Get on!... As if he could! The driver, without leaving hold of the -wheel which he was preventing from going backwards, turned a distracted -face towards us, almost crying with baffled rage. - -"Get on? How am I to get on?" - -We lent him a hand and succeeded in pushing his wagon into the field so -that we could pass. - - * * * * * - -It was about two o'clock in the afternoon, and the heat was stifling. -The battle seemed to have come to an end, and the only gun-shots -audible came from far away on the left, near Virton and St. Mard. - - * * * * * - -The column stretched out in a long black line on the hill-side as we -crawled upwards through the woods crowning the summit in order to find -a road by which we might gain the plateau. The horizon gradually opened -out before us. Suddenly, from the direction of Latour, a machine-gun -began to crackle; I hurriedly lifted my hand to my ear like one who -drives away a buzzing wasp. - -"They're firing at us!" cried Hutin. - -Bullets began to hum past. Machine-guns had opened fire on us from the -top of the positions we had just vacated. One of the horses, wounded, -fell to its knees and was promptly unharnessed. A gunner, shot through -the thigh, nevertheless continued to march. - -Close by, in a valley where we were sheltered from the fire, we found a -spot where one corner of the field cut a wedge out of the forest. Here -we parked our three batteries and waited for orders. I saw at once how -critical our position was. There was no road leading to the plateau -through the wood, and several vehicles of the 10th Battery, which had -ventured to try a bridle-path, soon found it impossible either to -advance or go back. One of the guns had sunk up to the axle in the -muddy ground. - -The only means of retreat, therefore, was to cross the bare fields -on the right or left and once again run the gauntlet not only of the -machine-guns, but also, perhaps, of the enemy's field artillery, -which by now had had time to come up. The longer we waited the more -problematical became our chances of escaping unscathed. - -Besides, I could not help wondering how long the route across the -plateau was likely to remain available. We were already outflanked, -and in front of us the Germans were still advancing down the -crescent-shaped hills. They had doubtless already occupied Latour. - -The Major still waited for orders. He hardly spoke a word, but every -now and then his jaws contracted spasmodically--a sign of nervousness -we soldiers knew well. He was "cracking nuts," as the men say. He had -dispatched a corporal to ask for instructions, but no one knew where -the Staff was likely to be found at that hour. The army was in full -retreat. - -Eventually a dragoon galloped up and drew rein in front of our -officers. We anxiously crowded round him. He brought information that -the retreat of the army was being effected on the right by the Ruettes -road. The enemy, he said, had already taken Latour, and was advancing -towards Ville-Houdlémont. - -The column immediately leapt into life. Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel, -riding on alone ahead, showed us the way. Again the machine-guns broke -out in the distance, but this time no bullets whistled past us. For a -few moments we were stopped by a paling, which we broke down with our -axes. The open space we had to cross was short--a meadow capping the -rising ground between the trees. We eventually reached Ruettes by a -narrow lane on both sides of which rose steep banks. - -Near the church stood a General without any Staff, and accompanied -solely by three Chasseurs. - -The Tellancourt road was a veritable river. - -In the breathless hurry and bustle of the retreat we had to make our -way through the crowd by force. Such battalions as still possessed -their Majors went on in front with the artillery column. And, tossed -about from right to left like bits of cork in the swirl of a current, -dragged this way and that in the eddies, sometimes pushed into the -ditch, and sometimes carried off their feet by the torrent, the -tattered remnants of troops surged down the road. Wounded, limping, -many without rifle or pack, they made slow progress. Some made an -effort to climb upon our carriages, and either hoisted themselves on to -the ammunition wagons or let themselves be dragged along like automata. - -While the retreat of the infantry divisions continued along the -highway, we turned off down a steep road to the right and reached the -plateau. The day was drawing to a close, and the shadow of the thick -woods at Guéville, between us and the sun, was projected on to the side -of the next hill. Here there were no stragglers, but the ditches were -full of wounded, resting for a moment before continuing the painful -ascent. Many of them looked as though they would never get up again. -Some were lying half hidden in the grass. - -There was already something skull-like about their faces; the eyes, -wide open and bright with fever, stared fixedly from out their sunken -sockets as though at something we could not see. Their matted hair -was glued to their foreheads with sweat, which slowly trickled down -the drawn, emaciated faces, leaving white zigzag furrows in the dirt -of dust and smoke. Hardly one of the wounded was bandaged, and the -blood had made dark stains on their coats and splashed their ragged -uniforms. Not a complaint was to be heard. Two soldiers, without packs -or rifles, were trying to help a little infantryman whose shoulder had -been shattered by a shell, and who, deathly white and with closed eyes, -wearily but obstinately shook his head, refusing to be moved. Others, -wounded in the leg, still managed to hobble along with the aid of their -rifles, which they used as crutches. They implored us to find place for -them on the carriages. - -We contrived to make room for them on the limbers. At every bump and -jolt a big bugler, whose chest had been shot clean through by a bullet, -gave a gasp of pain. - -In the fields by the roadside lay torn and gaping packs, from which -protruded vests, pants, caps, brushes, and other items of kit. The road -itself was littered with boots, mess-tins, and camp-kettles crushed by -the wheels and horses' hoofs, shirts, bayonets, cartridge belts with -the brass cases shining in the dust, képis, and broken Lebel rifles. -It was a sight to make one weep, and, despite myself, my thoughts went -back to the retreat of August 1870, after Wissembourg and Forbach.... -And yet for a month past we had heard continually of French victories, -and had almost begun to picture Alsace reconquered and the road into -Germany laid open. Nevertheless, at the first attack, here was our army -routed! With some astonishment I realized that I had taken part in a -defeat. - -We reached the edge of the Guéville woods, which were being defended by -the 102nd Infantry. Arms and equipment still bestrew the road, which -had also been cut up into ridges by the artillery and convoys. The -wounded on our lurching and jolting wagons looked like men crucified. - -I questioned the big bugler: - -"Shall we stop? Perhaps this shakes you too much?" - -"No! Anything rather than fall into their hands." - -"Yes, but still...." - -"No, no--that's all right." - -And he bit his lips to avoid crying out. I was very tired, and my head -felt at the same time heavy and yet light. My one desire was to sleep, -no matter where. - -Hardly were we out of the wood when the battery halted in a field full -of wheat-sheaves near a village called La Malmaison. I threw myself -down on some straw. If we stayed there we should certainly not even -be able to sleep; the enemy was too close, and we should probably be -attacked at night. And my one thought was to sleep, to get far enough -away to sleep. I waited for the prophetic order "Unharness!" which -would leave us in this field to fight again in an hour's time--perhaps -at once. But other orders arrived, and off we rumbled once more, -through La Malmaison, which we found congested with troops in disorder. -Night fell. I had now reached the extreme limits of fatigue and began -to be less conscious of what was going on around me. As if in a dream -I saw the men huddled on the limber-boxes, their heads rolling on -their shoulders, and the drivers lurching from side to side on their -horses like drunken men. I still seem to hear a gunner of the 26th -Artillery, who, sitting on the ammunition wagon, was telling how the -three batteries which preceded us this morning on the road to Ethe were -caught by the German machine-gun fire and taken in column formation, -and how he himself had been able, thanks to the fog, to escape almost -alone. - -We went on through the night, our wagons creaking and rattling -with a sound almost like a sort of cannonade. One of the whips was -dragging.... For a moment I thought I heard a machine-gun.... What an -obsession!... The column rolled on through the darkness, the monotonous -rumble of the wheels unbroken by an order or word of any kind. - -About midnight, after a very long march, we again reached Torgny, -and encamped there. The roll was not even called. I threw myself -face-downwards on some hay in a barn, and it seemed to me, as I fell -asleep, that I was dying. - - - _Sunday, August 23_ - -This morning they let us sleep until past eight o'clock. After getting -up we at once led our horses down to the big stone trough in the -middle of the village. The church bells were ringing. So there were -still Sundays! Somehow that seemed strange! I was still sleepy and my -numbed limbs ached abominably, so that it was torture to get into the -saddle. How I longed for a day's rest! - -As I was returning to the camp, Déprez at my side, we met Mademoiselle -Aline, in a light pink dress of flowery pattern, and very daintily -shod. She was doubtless going to Mass. She recognized us and waved her -hand, smiling. - -At the camp we found them waiting for us. - -"Hurry up now!" - -"Bridle!... Hook in!" - -"What? Are we going into action again?" - -"Seems like it.... I don't know," answered Bréjard. "Now then!" - -The two batteries now forming the Group, our own and the 12th (the 10th -had been taken by the enemy in the Guéville woods), started off along -the Virton road. It seemed that we were never to get a moment's respite. - -But almost immediately we halted in double column on the grass by -the side of the road. On the hill-side were strong forces of French -artillery in position, the motionless batteries showing up like black -squares on the green slope. - -The roll was called. One or two were missing from my battery. Bâton, -the centre driver of the gun-team, had been wounded in the head, -and had been left behind in the hospital at Torgny. Hubert, our -gun-commander, had disappeared, and so had Homo, another of the -drivers. The last time that I had seen Homo he was wandering across a -field swept by the German guns, a wild look in his eyes. - -Lucas, the Captain's cyclist, was also missing, and this worried me -especially. He is always so cheerful, open-hearted, and amusing, and is -one of my best friends. - -There was no news at all of our entire first line, conducted by -Lieutenant Couturier. Standing in a circle round the Captain the -detachments were reorganized. The battery had only three guns left, and -it was necessary to send to the rear the one with the broken hydraulic -buffer. - -How tired I was! As soon as I stayed still I began to fall asleep. - -Hutin opened a box of bully-beef for the two of us. - -"Hungry, Lintier?" - -"Not a bit.... And yet I've not eaten anything since the day before -yesterday!" - -"Same here. Do you think we shall have any more fighting to-day?" - -"I suppose we shall...." - -Hutin thought a little. - -"There's only one thing I love," said he, "and that is to be there." - -"Yes, it's splendid." - -"It's odd that we don't hear the guns to-day." - -"They don't seem to have taken advantage of their victory yesterday in -order to advance." - -"Well," said our gun-layer, "in my opinion we've fallen into an -ambuscade. They were waiting for us there, and they had got all the -ridges nicely registered. That's how they had us! But all that will -change!" - -"I hope so! Oh, Lord, how tired I am! And you?" - -"So am I!" - -We each ate without much relish four mouthfuls of bully-beef and shut -the box again. Besides, the column was already beginning to move. - -Striking across country we reached Lamorteau, a large village on the -banks of the Chiers, where we encamped near the river and waited for -orders. - -The scene was soon brightened by smoke rising straight up in the still -air of the morning, which was already hot. The men made their soup -and the drivers went off to draw water for the horses, which were not -unharnessed. - -Suddenly, on the bridge spanning the Chiers, Lieutenant Couturier -appeared at the head of his column, accompanied by Lucas. The latter -ran up to me. - -"There you are!" - -"There you are!" - -"You devil! You did give us a fright!" - -We grasped each other's hands, and that was all. But I felt immensely -relieved. - -Hubert was also with them. Conversation became lively round the -camp-kettles, in which the soup was already steaming. Afterwards, no -orders having arrived, we slept, and at nightfall returned to Torgny to -camp there once more. - -The Major ordered the horses to be unharnessed and, supposing therefore -that no danger threatened, I stretched myself and gave a yawn of -satisfaction. Then we bivouacked. What work! The guns are placed about -twenty yards apart. Between the wheels of two guns are stretched the -picket-lines, and, when the horses have been tethered to them, and the -harness arranged on the limber draught-poles, the park ought to form a -regular square. - -We took off our vests, for it was still hot. Déprez was distributing -oats among the drivers who stood holding out the nosebags. Somebody -suddenly cried out: - -"An aeroplane!" - -"A German aeroplane!" - -Right overhead, like a big black hawk with a forked tail, an aeroplane -was circling round and round. There was an immediate rush for rifles. -Lying on their backs in order to shoulder their guns, and half -undressed, their open shirts showing hairy chests, the men opened -a brisk fire on the German bird of prey, which was flying low. The -startled horses neighed, reared, and pulled this way and that, many -breaking loose and galloping off across the fields. The aeroplane -seemed to be in difficulties. - -"She's hit!" - -"She's coming down!" - -"No! She's only going off!" - -The men still continued firing, although the machine had been out of -range for some minutes. - -At the drinking-place in the only street of the village there was -always the same crowd of men taking their horses to be watered, some -mounted bare-back, others led; the same shouting and swearing to get -room at the trough, greetings from those who recognized each other, -oaths from others leading their animals who were hustled by the men on -horseback--in short, all the life and movement of an artillery camp. A -Chasseur, shouting profanely, forced his way through the throng. He was -assailed with cries. - -"Here, you aren't in a bigger hurry than any one else!" - -"Yes, I am! Get back to camp quick! I've got orders!" - -"What's the matter now?" - -"All you chaps have got to clear off! No time for amusement, this, you -know; the Germans are coming up. There'll be some more fun in a minute!" - -He spurred forward, and we hurried back to our guns. Was it a surprise? -We limbered up at full speed, and before we had even had time to button -our shirts the first gun left the park. - -"Forward! March.... Trot!" - -We had thrown the nosebags, still half full of oats, on the ammunition -wagons and gun-carriages, and once on the way it was necessary to lash -them so that they should not be shaken off. Hastily throwing on their -clothing, the men jumped on to the limbers as best they could, while -the battery moved forward at a brisk pace on the uneven road. - -We kept continually looking over our shoulders, towards the hills on -the east dominated by Torgny, from which direction we expected to see -the heads of the enemy's column emerge at any minute. I momentarily -awaited the crackling of a machine-gun or the scream of a shell. - -The road in the distance, as it wound through the valley, was black -with horses and ammunition wagons advancing at a trot and raising thick -clouds of dust. Batteries were also to be seen rolling across country. -What was the meaning of this sudden retreat? The whole day long we -had only heard the guns from far off, towards the north. We had now -even ceased to hear them altogether. Had we been surprised, then, or -nearly surprised? But one never knows what has really happened on such -occasions! - -We took up our position on the ridge between the Chiers and the Othain, -where the whole country, its contours and colours continually changing -in the bright sunshine, had seemed to smile at us upon our arrival. -It seemed to me as though the memories awakened by the majesty and -stillness of the scene were deeply rooted in the past. I felt as though -I had aged ten years in one day--a strange and painful impression. - -Our guns were pointing towards Torgny and the plateau above it. At -any moment the order might come to bombard the unfortunate village. -Possibly, even, a shell from my gun might blow to bits the very house -which had given us shelter, and kill the woman whose hospitality had -meant so much to us! That was an awful thought! Oh, this ghastly war! - -But night fell, and as yet the Captain had seen no signs of movement -on the plateau. Behind us the narrow valley of the Othain was slowly -becoming shrouded in shadows. The limbers were stationed 200 yards -from the battery. All fires were forbidden--even lanterns might not -be lit, as our safety on the morrow might depend upon our remaining -undiscovered. The night was clear, but a thin mist partially veiled the -light of the stars, and there was no moon. Motionless, and clustered -together in dark groups, the horses quietly munched their oats. A -far-reaching reddish glow lit up the eastern horizon--doubtless La -Malmaison on fire--and as the darkness deepened other lights appeared -on the right and left of the main conflagration. On every side the -villages were burning. Against the fiery sky the haunches of the -horses, their heads and twitching ears, and the heavy masses of the -guns and limbers stood out like silhouettes. - -Standing side by side with our arms folded, Hutin and I watched the -flaming countryside. - -"Oh, the brutes, the savages!" - -"So that's war, is it?" - -And we both lapsed into silence, struck dumb by the same feeling of -futile horror, and filled with the same rage. I saw a yellow gleam pass -across the dark eyes of my friend--a reflection of the holocaust. - -"And to think we can't prevent it!... That we're the weaker! Oh, Lord!" - -"That'll come in time." - -"Yes, that'll come ... and then they'll pay for it!" - -We threw ourselves down on the straw heaped up behind the guns. A -searchlight from Verdun swept the country at regular intervals, and -the inky sky was lit up by the visual signalling. Huddled together we -gradually fell asleep, a single sentry, wrapped in his cloak, standing -motionless on guard. - - - _Monday, August 24_ - -It was still night when I was awakened and saw a dark shadow standing -over me. - -"Up you get!" - -"What time is it?" - -"Don't know," answered the sentry who had roused me. The villages were -still burning. Feeling our way, and almost noiselessly, we harnessed -our teams, and the limbers came up. A steep decline ... the stones -rolled. In the darkness the horses might stumble at any moment. The -brakes acted badly, and we hung on to the vehicles, letting ourselves -be dragged along in order to relieve the wheelers, which were almost -being run over by the heavy ammunition wagon. - - * * * * * - -At early dawn we passed through a slumbering village. Stretched on -the ground under the lee of the high wall surrounding the church five -Chasseurs were sleeping. Twisted round one arm they held the reins -of their horses, which, standing motionless beside them, were also -asleep. A pale, cold light was breaking through the fog, which had -collected at the bottom of the valley. It was very cold as we marched -along in silence, the men snoring on the limber-boxes. We were going -westwards--retiring, that is to say. Why? Were we not in a good -position to wait for the enemy? Suddenly a silver sun shone through the -mist, surrounded by a halo of light. - -After a long halt in a lucerne-field manured with stable refuse, the -smell of which remained in our nostrils, we took up position on a hill -near Flassigny. But hardly had we done so when fresh orders arrived, -and we started off again, always towards the west. In the space between -two hills we caught sight of a distant town--doubtless Montmédy. - -About midday we halted in a valley near the river. - -"Dismount! Unharness the off-horses. Stand easy!" - -The sun was burning hot, and not a breath stirred in the heavy air. -Our bottles only contained a little of the Othain water, brackish and -tepid, but at any rate it served to wash in. The men went to sleep in -the ditches, the horses standing motionless, exhausted by the heat. - - * * * * * - -The evening was already advanced when our Group received instructions -to push on to Marville, presumably to camp there. - -I recognized the place, for we had passed through Marville on our -way to Torgny. At that time it was a pretty little town with flowery -gardens and river-side villas surrounded by dahlias. Now, however, -the place was deserted. Large carts belonging to the Meuse peasantry -were waiting, ready to start, piled high with bedding, boxes, and -baskets. In one of them I caught sight of a canary-cage side by side -with a perambulator and a cradle. Women, surrounded by children, were -sitting on the heterogeneous heap, crying bitterly, while the little -ones hid their heads in their skirts. Some dogs, impatient to be off, -were nosing uneasily round the wheels of the carts. We asked these poor -people where they were going. - -"We don't know! They say we've got to go.... And so we're going ... and -with babies like these!" - -And they questioned us in their turn: - -"Which way do you think we'd better go? We don't know!" - -Nor did we. Nevertheless, we pointed out a direction. - -"Go that way! Over there!" - -"Over there" was towards the west.... Oh, what misery!... - - * * * * * - -We bivouacked on the outskirts of the town. Near-by flowed a river, -on the opposite side of which two dead horses were lying in a -stubble-field. - -The Captain of the 10th Battery, which we had believed lost, arrived on -horseback at the camp. He told the Major that in the Guéville woods he -had managed to save his four guns, but had had to leave the ammunition -wagons behind. His battery had taken up position somewhere on the hills -surrounding Marville on the south-east, and he had come to get orders. - - * * * * * - -The rent made by a shell-splinter two days previously in the seat of -my breeches was causing me great discomfort. Divided between the wish -to patch it up and the fear lest the order might come to break up the -camp before I had finished, I let the quiet hours of the evening pass -without doing this very necessary work. - - - _Tuesday, August 25_ - -I was awakened by the sun, and stretched myself. - -"A good night at last, eh, Hutin?" - -Hutin, still asleep, made no answer. Déprez called out: - -"Now then, oats!" - -Nobody was in a hurry. Two men, a confused mass of dark blue cloth, -quietly went on snoring amid the straw strewn under the chase of the -gun. Suddenly I thought I heard a familiar sound, and instinctively -turned to see whence it came. - -"Down!" cried some one. - -The men threw themselves down where they stood. In mid-air, above the -camp, a shell burst. In the still atmosphere the compact cloud of smoke -floated motionless among the thin grey mists. - -"It's that aeroplane we saw yesterday we've got to thank for that," -said Hutin, who had been fully awakened by the explosion. - -"Yes, but it was too high." - -"That's only a trial round to find the range. We shall get it hot in a -few minutes, you'll see!" - -"Now then, bridle! Hook in! Quick!" - -The camp at once became full of movement, the gunners hurrying to -their horses and limbers. In the twinkling of an eye the picket-lines -were wound round the hooks behind the limbers, and the teams were -ready to start. Again came the whistling of an approaching projectile. -The men merely rounded their backs without interrupting their work. -High-explosive shells now began to fall on Marville, and others, -hurtling over our heads, swooped down on the neighbouring hills which -the enemy doubtless believed manned by French artillery. The drivers, -leaning over their horses' necks, whipped up the teams, and the column -made off at a trot to take up position on the hills to the west of the -town, which dominated the Othain valley and the uplands on the other -side of the river, whence the enemy was approaching. A veritable hail -of lead, steel, and fire was raining upon Marville. One of the first -shells struck the steeple. The town was not visible from our position, -but large black columns of smoke were rising perpendicularly into the -sky, and there was no doubt that the place was in flames. Amid the roar -of the cannonade, which had now become an incessant thunder which rose, -fell, echoed, and rolled without intermission, it was difficult to -distinguish between shots coming from the enemy's guns and those fired -from ours. After a time, however, we were able to recognize the short -sharp barks of the ·75's in action. - -"Attention! Gun-layers, forward!" - -The men hurried up to the Captain. - -"That tree like a brush ... in front...." - -"We see it, sir!" - -"That's your aiming-point. Plate 0, dial 150." - -The men ran to the guns and layed them, the breeches coming to rest as -they closed on the shells. The gun-layers raised their hands. - -"Ready!" - -"First round," ordered the gun-commander. - -The detachment stood by outside the wheels of the gun, the firing -number bending down to seize the lanyard. - -"Fire!" - -The gun reared like a frightened horse. I was shaken from head to foot, -my skull throbbing and my ears tingling as though with the jangle of -enormous bells which had been rung close to them. A long tongue of fire -had darted out of the muzzle, and the wind caused by the round raised -a cloud of dust round us. The ground quaked. I noticed an unpleasant -taste in my mouth--musty at first, and acrid after a few seconds. That -was the powder. I hardly knew whether I tasted it or whether I smelled -it. We continued firing, rapidly, without stopping, the movements -of the men co-ordinated, precise, and quick. There was no talking, -gestures sufficing to control the manoeuvre. The only words audible -were the range orders given by the Captain and repeated by the Nos. 1. - -"Two thousand five hundred!" - -"Fire!" - -"Two thousand five hundred and twenty-five!" - -"Fire!" - -After the first round the gun was firmly settled, and the gun-layer and -the firing number now installed themselves on their seats behind the -shield. On firing, the steel barrel of the ·75 mm. gun recoils on the -guides of the hydraulic buffer, and then quietly and gently returns to -battery, ready for the next round. Behind the gun there was soon a heap -of blackened cartridge-cases, still smoking. - -"Cease firing!" - -The gunners stretched themselves out on the grass, and some began to -roll cigarettes. - -Another aeroplane; the same black hawk silhouetted against the pale -blue sky which at every moment was getting brighter. - -The men swore and shook their fists. What tyranny! It was marking us -down! - -Suddenly the enemy's heavy artillery opened fire on the hills we were -occupying as well as on a neighbouring wood. It was time to change -position, since for us the most perilous moment is when the teams come -up to join the guns. A battery is then extremely vulnerable. - -Before the enemy could correct his range the Major gave an order and -we moved off to take up a fresh position in a hollow on the plain. -The wide fields around us were bristling with stubble, and on the -left a few poplars, bordering a road, traced a green line on the bare -countryside. In front of us and behind stretched empty trenches. -Marville was still burning, the smoke blackening the whole of the -eastern sky. The sun was now high in the heavens, and poured a dazzling -light on the stubble-fields. We were suffering badly from hunger and -thirst. The din of the battle seemed continually to grow louder. - -At the foot of some distant hills, still blue in the mist on the -south-eastern horizon, the Captain had perceived a column of artillery -or a convoy and large masses of men on the march. Were they French -troops, or was it the enemy? He was not sure. The mist and the distance -made it impossible to recognize the uniforms. - -"We can't fire if those are French troops," said he. - -Standing on an ammunition wagon he scanned the threatening horizon -through his field-glasses. - -"If it's the enemy, they are outflanking us ... outflanking us! They'll -be in the woods in a moment.... We shan't be able to see them.... Go -and ask the Major." - -The Major was no better informed than the Captain, the orders he had -received saying nothing about these hills. He also was using his -field-glasses, but could not distinguish the uniforms of the moving -masses. In his turn he muttered: - -"If it's the enemy they're surrounding us!" - -A mounted scout was hastily dispatched. We remained in suspense, a prey -to nervous excitement. - -A single foot-soldier had stopped near the fourth gun. He had neither -pack nor rifle. We questioned him: - -"Wounded?" - -"No." - -"Where have you come from?" - -The Captain signalled for the man to be taken to him. The soldier, who -had thrown away his arms, did not hurry to obey. - -"What are those troops down there?" asked the Captain. "French?" - -"I don't know!" - -"Well, where do you come from?" - -The soldier waved his arm with a vague, comprehensive gesture which -embraced half the horizon. - -"From over there!" - -The Captain shrugged his shoulders. - -"Yes, but where are the Germans? Do you know whether they have turned -Marville on the south?" - -"No, sir.... You see, I was in a trench.... And the shells began to -come along--great big black ones.... First they burst behind us, a -hundred yards or more.... Then, of course, we didn't mind 'em. But soon -some of them fell right on us ... and then we ran!" - -"But your officers?" - -The man made a sign of ignorance. Nothing more could be got out of -him. Just at that moment a shell came hissing through the air, and he -at once made off at full speed, crouching as he ran. A few dislocated -words came back to us over his shoulder: - -"_Ah! Bon Dieu de bon Dieu!_" - -The shell burst on the other side of the road, and the moment after -three others exploded nearer still. The Captain had not ceased to -follow through his glasses the doubtful troops which, by now, had -nearly reached the woods. We waited anxiously, standing in a circle -round him. - -"I believe they're French," said he. "Here, Lintier, have a look! -You've got good eyes." - -Through the glasses I was able to distinguish the red of the breeches. - -"Yes, they're French, sir. But where are they going to?" - -The Captain made no reply, and I understood that once again our army -was in retreat. - -A shower of shells poured down on the field behind us. - -The enemy's fire, too much to the left and too high at first, was -getting nearer, and was now corrected as far as training went. -Our lives depended on the whim of a Prussian Captain and a slight -correction for elevation. - -Just at that moment some sections of infantry suddenly appeared on the -edge of the plateau and hurriedly fell back. A company of the 101st had -come to man the trenches behind our guns. - -The air began to vibrate again, and more shells fell, this time right -on the top of us. A splinter brushed by my head and clanged on the -armour of the ammunition wagon. Another shell plumped down in the -trench full of infantry. One, two, three seconds passed; then came a -groan and a cry. A man got up and fled, then another, and, finally, the -whole company. Their heads held low, and with bent knees, they scurried -off. Behind them a wounded man hastily unstrapped his pack, threw both -it and his gun to one side, and limped rapidly away. - -A road orderly arrived with an envelope for the Major. Orders to -retire. We limbered up, and moved off at a walking pace. Under the -bright sun the stubble-field, with its entrails of black earth laid -bare by the gashes torn by the high-explosive shells, seemed to possess -something of the horror of a corpse mutilated with gaping wounds. -Near the points of burst clods of earth had been blown to a distance, -and, round the edge of the hole, the soil was raised in a circular -embankment. We were still threatened by sudden death. Some one asked: - -"Why don't we go quicker?... We shall get done in!" - -But I fancy that all of us were conscious that fatalism--which is, I -believe, the beginning of courage--had got a grip on us. The enemy -was firing without seeing us, and his shells seemed like the blows of -Fate descending from heaven. Why here rather than there? We did not -know, and the enemy assuredly did not know either. In that case, what -was the good of hurrying? Death might as easily overtake us a little -farther on. Useless to hurry, then; absolutely useless.... In front, -our officers, heel by heel, rode on, talking. - -In the trench in which the shell had just burst a single soldier -remained behind. He was stretched out face downwards on a heap of straw -which he had gathered under him for greater comfort. Blood was oozing -from a wound in his back, making large black stains on the cloth, and -the straw underneath him was dyed crimson. Another splinter had hit -him in the back of the neck; his képi had fallen off and his face was -buried in the straw. All eyes were turned on him as we passed, but not -a word was said. What can one say about a burst shell or a dead man? - -Another defeat! Just as in 1870!... Just as in 1870! We were all -obsessed by the same paralysing thought. - -"They are devilish strong! Look at that!" said Déprez, pointing towards -the plateau where, as far as the eye could reach, swarms of French -infantry could be seen retreating. Latour, six hours' fighting; to-day, -hardly more. Beaten again! Oh, God! - -We felt a blind rage against those who had fallen back. We did not -retreat last Saturday when we were in action by the willow-tree. - -In the distance, towards Marville, columns of artillery were trailing -over the bare fields. A blue and red squadron was raising clouds of -dust. Waves of infantry, diminishing but still noticeable, dust-covered -cavalry, and black lines of artillery could be seen as far as the -horizon, moving under the scorching sun. The guns had ceased to roar -and there was absolute silence. The earth, parched and hot, exhaled a -vapour which seemed to follow the movements of the men. It was almost -as if the entire plateau had begun to march. - - * * * * * - -At Remoiville we came upon a beautiful château of the Early Renaissance -period, with severe lines of long terraces and lofty turrets over which -floated a white flag with a red cross. In the village not a soul was to -be seen. Doors and windows were all closed. A few hens were scratching -about on a manure heap, and a pig, which two gunners were killing in a -little sty black with refuse, raised piercing and discordant squeals. -And yet, on the threshold of one of the last houses, a wretched ruin -in the shadowy interior of which we caught a glimpse of a varnished -wardrobe, two old women, bent with age, watched us as we passed with -eyes which were hardly perceptible under their furrowed eyelids. Only -their fingers moved. Their silent and fixed stare, as keen as a steel -blade, followed us like a reproach. Oh, we know it well, the bitter -remorse of a retreat! A deep sense of shame oppressed us as we filed -through these villages which we were powerless to protect, which we -were abandoning to the fury of the enemy. Things in them assumed an -almost human expression; the fronts of the forsaken dwellings wore an -air of dejected suffering. Fancy, no doubt! Just imagination--but -poignant and vivid imagination, nevertheless, for to-morrow all these -villages might be burning and we, from our camp on the hills, should -see the crops and cottages flaming when the sun went down. - - * * * * * - -It seems that the Allies have beaten the Germans in the north and in -Alsace. At any rate the Communal and Army Bulletins, which are given -us sometimes, say so. Then how is it that we are saddled with this -terrible reproach by things and people whom we cannot defend against an -enemy too superior in numbers? - -We waited some time at Remoiville, and then set off across the river, -which boasted a single bridge. The crossing was carried out in good -order. Then, by the only road, across the valleyed country where dark -green forests alternated with fresh pasture-land, the retreat of the -4th Army Corps began. - -The western horizon was limited by a long range of blue hills of -magnificent outlines. It was doubtless upon these that the French -intended to stop and entrench themselves. - -On the right of the road the interminable procession of artillery -and convoys continued: guns of all calibres, ammunition wagons, -forage wagons, carts, supply and store vehicles, division and corps -ambulances, and peasants' carts full of bleeding wounded, their heads -sometimes enveloped in lint turbans red with gore. Keeping to the left -the infantry marched abreast in good order down the road, which was -already badly cut up. In front of us rolled a 120 mm. battery. One of -the corporals had half a sheep hanging from his saddle. - -The 10th Battery had lost all its guns, for when, about one o'clock, -the infantry gave up all resistance, the gunners could not limber -up, the enemy's fire having almost completely destroyed the teams. -Captain Jamain had been hit in the thigh by a shell splinter. We caught -sight of him as he lay stretched on a hay-cart among the wounded -foot-soldiers. - -The forest, very dense and very dark in spite of the blazing sun, -deadened the tramp of the infantry on the march and the rumble of the -wheels. - -In the ditches some foundered horses were standing with drooping heads -and half-closed eyes glassy with fatigue. Occasionally a wheel fouled -them, but they did not budge an inch. They would only lie down to die. - - * * * * * - -As it turned out, however, the 4th Army Corps was not going to await -the enemy on the hills which, in a series of ridges, commanded the -plain and the forest. Some one told me that the whole of Ruffey's Army -was falling back behind the Meuse. The general retreat continued along -the highway, but our Group turned aside down a by-road which led first -to a village swarming with troops, and then zigzagged up the wooded -hill-side. - -We began the ascent. The sky had suddenly clouded over and the air -became sultry. A few drops of rain fell. The main road below, over -which the tide of retreating troops ebbed ceaselessly on between the -poplars bordering it on either side, looked like a canal filled with -black water and moved by a slow current. - -The column halted, and we carefully wedged the wheels. The men were -tired, and hardly any words were spoken. The silence was only broken by -the jingling of the curb-chains as the horses stretched their necks, -and by the patter of the rain on the leaves. - -We advanced another hundred yards or so, and at the next turn of -the road stopped again. A peasant's cart, filled with bedding, upon -which were sitting a woman--obviously pregnant--and an old lady, both -sheltering under a large umbrella, tried to pass the column. But -several of the ammunition wagons, of which the wheels had been badly -secured, had slid backwards and barred the way. A girl was driving the -heavy cart, which was being laboriously dragged up the hill by a mare -in foal between the shafts, and a colt in front, the latter pulling in -all directions. Both the girl and the animals stuck pluckily to their -job. - -"Now then, come up!" - -The mare threw herself into the collar, and, with our aid, they -eventually reached the head of the column, after which the way was -clear. The girl stopped the cart for a moment and caressed the nose -of the heavy animal, from whose haunches steam arose in clouds. We -exchanged a few words. - -"Where are you going to?" - -"We don't know. At any rate we must cross the Meuse.... We're late, -too. All those who had to go went this morning, when we first heard the -guns. But we didn't; we thought we would wait a little longer and see -what happened. But after all we had to go too. Best to go, isn't it?" - -"Yes," we told them, "you'd better go." - -"And the Germans are perfect savages, aren't they?" - -"Yes." - -"They'll burn our houses ... we shan't find anything when we come -back--nothing but ashes. Oh, it's awful!... Can't you kill them all?" - -"If only we could!..." - -"Now then, come up, old girl!" - -The cart moved on. - -"Good luck!" cried the girl over her shoulder. - -"Thanks--good luck!" - -Near the top of the hill was a large clearing in the woods, from which -the forest appeared like a magnificent mantle thrown over the shoulders -of the neighbouring crests, rounding their edges and softening their -outlines. From this point we could see the whole of the Woevre plain -we had just crossed as well as Remoiville and the plateau of Marville, -where, standing sharply out against the bare fields, was the dark line -of poplars near which we had been in action in the morning. - -Here, in a field where the oats were only half cut, we prepared to -wait for the enemy. Our mission was to cover the retreat of the 4th -Army Corps, which still continued below on the main road over which an -interminable procession of Paris motor-omnibuses was now passing. The -sky had become overcast, and the heavy clouds banking up behind us, to -the west, threatened to shorten the daylight. - -Advancing round the edge of the wood, in order not to reveal our -presence, the battery finally came to a halt on the outskirts of the -sloping forest, behind some clumps of trees which afforded good cover. -We unharnessed and placed the horses and limbers against the background -of foliage of which, from a long distance, they would seem to form -part. We hoped to have a quiet evening, especially as the next day -would probably be a very strenuous one. The two batteries which at -present formed the Group, that is to say only seven guns, would have to -hold up the enemy a sufficient time to ensure the retreat of the Army -Corps. But we hardly gave any heed to the morrow, being too tired to -think or reason. - -We had still to take the horses to the pond in the village at the foot -of the hill, and started off down a steep and narrow path through the -wood. The only street of the hamlet was still crowded with troops. -Through the open window of the mayor's house I saw General Boëlle. He -looked grave but not worried, and I searched in vain for a sign of -uneasiness in his expression. - -Infantrymen had piled arms on both sides of the road in front of the -houses. A flag in its case was lying across two piles. At the door of -the vicarage at least two hundred men were crowded together holding out -their water-bottles. The curé, it appeared, was giving them all his -wine. Some Chasseurs, their reins slung over their arms, stood waiting -for orders, smoking, their backs to the wall of the church. I overheard -some of their talk. - -"So Mortier's dead, is he?" - -"Yes. Got a bullet in the stomach." - -"What did he say?" - -"Nothing much.... He said, 'They've got me!' and he lay down clutching -his stomach with both hands. He rolled from side to side and said: -'Ah-a-a-ah! They've got me!' His horse, Balthazar, was sniffing at him. -He hadn't let go of the reins ... still held 'em just like I'm holding -these, over his arm. I heard him say, 'Poor old boy!' He was all -doubled up, and groaned and panted 'ouf-ouf!' and then all of a sudden -he stretched himself right out at full length.... One more Chasseur -less! His face wasn't a pretty sight, and I shut his eyes for him. Then -I broke off a branch from a tree and covered his face with it, as I -should like some one to do to me if I went under.... Must cover up the -dead somehow.... After that I came back with Balthazar." - -When we had climbed back up the hill and regained our clearing many -of the foot-soldiers had already left, while others were strapping on -their packs and unpiling arms. We were informed that only one battalion -was to stay there and support us. I wondered what awful attack the next -day might hold in store. - -A Captain of infantry accosted Astruc, who was astride Lieutenant Hély -d'Oissel's big horse. - -"Hallo there, gunner!" - -"Sir?" - -"Well I'm shot if it isn't Tortue!" - -"Tortue, sir? Who's Tortue?" - -"Why, the horse I lost. That's him! There can't be any mistake. -Dismount now, quick, and hand him over!" - -Astruc protested: - -"But, sir, this horse belongs to our Lieutenant! I must take him back -to him. What would he say to me!" - -"Well, I tell you to dismount. I suppose I know my own saddle, don't I? -And Tortue ... why, she knows me.... There! You see there's no doubt -about it. It's Tortue all right, my mare which I lost at Ethe." - -"But, sir, this is a horse, not a mare." - -The officer examined the animal more closely. - -"Oh! ah! Why yes, it's true! Now that's odd ... most extraordinary! I -could have sworn it was Tortue...." - - * * * * * - -Night fell, the mist enveloping the trees round the clearing. Under -the black clouds passed yet another aeroplane, blacker even than they. -Could the pilot see us at that hour? If so we might expect a shower of -shells at daybreak. The machine pitched and tossed in the sky above the -clearing, for the wind had risen and was blowing in gusts from the west. - -We had strewn some cut oats round the guns, as the night was chilly, -and it looked like rain. The wind, freshening into a gale, wrapped our -cloaks tightly round us and almost seemed to move the men themselves. -No light of any kind was to be seen on the plain over which our guns -were pointing, and which soon became shrouded in the impenetrable -darkness ahead. In one corner the clearing cut into the forest, and -here, where the thick brushwood rose like a black wall on either side, -we were allowed to light a fire. The wind blew in gusts on the flames, -which it first nearly extinguished and then rekindled, making the -shadows of the men flicker fantastically on the ground. - -I was tired out--artillery fire creates an irresistible desire -to sleep--and I was also rather hungry. Not feeling possessed of -sufficient courage to wait for the meat to be cooked and the coffee -brewed, I devoured my ration of beef raw and stretched myself out in -the oats behind the ammunition wagon, where I was sheltered from the -wind. - - - _Wednesday, August 26_ - -Réveillé came at dawn, and we woke to find a thick fog enveloping the -battery. We were soaking with dew, and our benumbed and swollen limbs -moved jerkily and with difficulty. The uncertain half-light awoke in -us a feeling of anxiety and dread which, still heavy with sleep as we -were, it was hard to throw off. - -Wrapped in our cloaks and standing motionless round the guns, we had -leisure to examine our situation in this clearing in the middle of -the forest. On the right, according to our officers, it was not known -whether there were any French troops. On this side the woods stretched -uninterruptedly from the ridges we were occupying as far as Remoiville. -On the left the movements of the 4th Army Corps were to be carried -out. It is said that normally an army corps takes ten hours to effect -a retreat along a single road. And this retreat had already been in -progress for more than fifteen hours. - -Our position in the clearing was difficult in itself, and might -become positively perilous if the fog did not lift. Nothing could be -distinguished at a distance of fifty yards from the guns, and the enemy -might advance in the plain, threaten the retreating army, and take us -by surprise. - -On all sides of us, therefore, were the woods and their shadows, the -Unknown and Unexpected. In front of us the enemy hidden in the mist; -behind, the Meuse; danger everywhere. - -The thought of the Meuse was especially disturbing. When it should -become necessary for us to retire in our turn, the Germans, whom there -would be nothing to check on the right, might reach the river before -us. Possibly we should not find a single bridge left standing. We might -have to sacrifice ourselves for the defence of the army. - -The hours dragged by. The mists seemed to be collecting on the flank of -the hills facing the Meuse, whence they were wafted by the west wind in -filmy, trailing clouds which gradually curled over the crests of the -hills, floated towards us, enveloping our batteries for an instant, and -then slowly sank down on the plain. - -I have written these notes on my knee, my back resting against the -brass bottoms of the shells in the ammunition wagon, which was opened -out like a wardrobe. The men were standing about smoking, waiting for -orders. - - * * * * * - -At last, about eight o'clock, the sun shone over the top of the hill -and the fog, like a kind of impenetrable gauze, began to draw away in -front of us. One by one the trees reappeared, only the tops of the -loftiest remaining shrouded in the mist. Nothing stirred. The road, -black yesterday with men and horses now appeared absolutely white -between the meadows damp with dew and vividly green under the first -rays of the morning sun. - -Lying flat on our chests in the grass in front of our guns, on a sort -of natural terrace between the stones descending the slope, we scanned -the plain. After a time everything seemed to move, and one had to make -an effort to dispel the illusion. - -The men are saying that we may have to stay here two days. Surely -that cannot be possible? Somebody asserted that he had heard the -instructions given to the Major by a General: - -"You'll stay there," said he, "as long as the position is tenable. I -rely on your instinct as an artilleryman." - -Another man supported the first speaker. - -"Yes, that's right. He said, 'Solente, I rely on your instinct as an -artilleryman.' Why, I heard him myself." - -We also heard that last Saturday's engagement would be known as the -Battle of Ethe. - -"No," said another. "It will be called the Battle of Virton." - -"Ethe, Virton!... What the devil does it matter what it's called. -Seeing that we've had to retreat!..." - -"Oh, yes, but all the same," said the trumpeter, "we ought to know. -Suppose you get back to your people and they ask you what engagements -you've been in. You'll answer, 'I've been fighting in Belgium.' 'Yes,' -they'll say, 'but Belgium is a big place--bigger than our commune! Were -you at Liége, or Brussels, or Copenhagen?' You would look a silly fool!" - -The other shrugged his shoulders. - -With the help of a bayonet we opened a box of bully-beef for the four -of us, and fell to. The only sound was that made by the hatchet of -one of the men who was chopping down a small birch-tree which might -conceivably interfere with the fire of his gun. - -The silence was too intense, the immobility of the countryside too -complete. The enemy was there. We neither heard him nor saw him, but -that only rendered him the more sinister. The unwonted calm, when we -had braced ourselves up for battle, was terrifying, and our nerves -became overstrained. - -I supposed that the retreat of the 4th Army Corps had by this time been -accomplished. Time passed, and the French army was still falling back, -while the enemy advanced cautiously, threading his way through the -woods. - -Suddenly, about two o'clock, a machine-gun began to crackle quite close -by in the forest. A horseman galloped through the clearing and drew -rein beside the Major. We at once limbered up. - -Was our retreat cut off? The staccato rattle of the machine-gun was -now accompanied by intermittent rifle-fire. We had to cross the -clearing diagonally in order to reach a forest path. Quite calmly, and -determined to save our guns, we got our rifles ready. But the column -crossed the close-cropped field without our hearing a single bullet, -and we gained the wood in safety. We had to hurry, for the road, even -if still open, might be closed at any moment. - -Leaning over the necks of the horses in order to avoid the low-hanging -branches which threatened to drag them from their saddles, and gauging -by eye the narrow passage between the trees, the drivers urged their -teams forward with whip and spur. - -The road was still open.... We arrived at Dun-sur-Meuse, where we had -to cross the river. The Captain assembled the non-commissioned officers: - -"The bridge is mined. Warn your drivers to take care of the sacks on -each side of the bridge. They're full of melinite." - -In order to let us through the sappers threw some planks across the pit -they had opened up in the centre of the bridge. - -The hindmost vehicles of the column had not advanced two hundred yards -on the other side of the Meuse, when a loud explosion shook us on our -seats. The bridge had just been blown up. Behind us a large white cloud -of smoke curled up in thick volutes, masking half the town. - - * * * * * - -As we stood waiting for orders in a field, our guns in double column, -some one called out: - -"There's the postmaster!" - -"At last!" - -"Letters! letters! A man to each gun!" - -For eight days we had been waiting for news, and each man drew a little -aside in order to be alone as he read. - - * * * * * - -It seems certain that the battle of Saturday the 22nd will be known as -the battle of Virton. - - - _Thursday, August 27_ - -It had poured all night, and rain was still falling when we rose. -The thought of all the misery such weather must inevitably cause -spoiled the satisfaction we experienced at feeling fit and fresh after -ten hours' delicious sleep in a well-closed barn. Our horse-cloths -thrown over our heads like hoods and flapping against our calves, we -silently marched in scattered order along the churned-up road, our feet -squelching in the mud, and finally regained the park under the lashing -rain. - -The horses, motionless, glistening with water but resigned, endeavoured -unceasingly to turn their tails to the rain. The stable-pickets had -succeeded in lighting fires but they had had to dig new hearths, for -those of the day before were swamped and black pieces of charred wood -were floating in them. - -The men's cloaks were streaming and hung heavily in stiff folds from -their shoulders. Some of them had turned up their capes in order to -protect their heads. The gunners stood round about, holding their red -hands to the fire. - -"Beastly rain! Two days more like this and we shall all get dysentery!" - -"I'd rather die of that than be killed by a shell," said Hutin. - -"No use trying to make coffee," growled Pelletier. "The fire doesn't -give out any heat.... It would take hours." - -"It's the wood that won't burn. It only smokes." - -"Blow on it, Millon!" - -We turned our boot soles to the heat in order to dry them. The rain -hissed and spat in the fire. - -"All the same," said the trumpeter, "if we hadn't been betrayed things -wouldn't have gone like this!" - -I grew annoyed. - -"Betrayed! I was waiting for some one to come out with that!" - -"Well, I mean it; betrayed! I heard about it yesterday.... It was -a General who delivered up the army plans. I know what I'm talking -about!" - -"Pooh! Camp gossip!" - -"I heard the same thing," affirmed another. - -"Simply camp gossip! From the moment we got scratched that was bound -to come sooner or later. If you're beaten it's because you've been -betrayed! The French can't be the weaker! Lord, no! It's impossible, -of course! But you know there are five German army corps in front of -us. That makes two to one.... No ... well, all the same. Even with two -to one we can't be beaten, can we? And, if we are, we at once begin -to whine about betrayal! Wasn't it you who were always saying that -Langle de Cary's army ought to come up and help us? Eh? Well, it's all -simply because you don't feel strong enough to tackle the Boches by -yourselves." - -"All the same, traitors exist right enough," said the trumpeter with -a sage nod of the head. "There always have been traitors, and there -always will be, to sell France." - -"Idiot!" said Hutin peremptorily. - - * * * * * - -Almost all my comrades thought as I did. A few properly equipped -reinforcements would have enabled us to get the upper hand. Even alone, -here behind the Meuse, we could have managed to stop the enemy. - -Besides, during the days of defeat we had just been passing through, -what a moving picture of our country had been revealed to us! An army -immediately victorious cannot plumb the depths of patriotism. One -must have fought, have suffered, and have feared--even if only for a -moment--to lose her, in order to understand what one's country really -means. She is the whole joy of existence, the embodiment of all our -pleasures visible and invisible, and the focus of all our hopes. -She alone makes life worth living. All this united and personified -in a single suffering being, begotten by the will of millions of -individuals--that is France! - -In defending her one defends oneself, seeing that she is the sole -reason for being, for living. One would prefer to fall dead on the spot -rather than see France lost, for that would be worse than death. Every -soldier feels this truth, either vaguely, or distinctly and clearly, -according to his powers of perception and affection. - -And yet, in the camp, these things are never talked of. The reason -is that words which, in peace-time, too often veiled by their gross -grandiloquence these deeper and finer feelings, would be insupportable -now. This passion, for it is a passion, lies deep down in the heart -with other sacred and inmost emotions, to give outward expression to -which would be almost to profane them. - - * * * * * - -"Come on, now! Harness! Hook in! We're off." - -The rain had soured the men's tempers. - -"Now then! Be careful with your horse, can't you? You might have killed -us!" - -"Untie your horses so that we can get the picket-lines, will you?... -All right, damn you, I'll do it myself." - -"There's a silly fool! Fine place to tether a colt to--the wheel of an -ammunition wagon. He's ripping up the oat-bag. Pull him off, can't you?" - -Cramone, threatening his team with his whip, repeated for the twentieth -time: - -"I'll teach you how to behave, you brutes!" - -"There's another dish lost," shouted Millon. "Who's the idiot who -didn't pick it up yesterday?" - -"Can't you pull your infernal mules back a bit?... We can't limber -up.... Never seen such a fool!..." - -The men pushed and tugged at their horses, which, face to the wind, -continued pulling this way and that in a vain attempt to prevent the -rain stinging their ears. Bréjard lost his temper. - -"Lord, what a set! Can't you keep your horses straight?... Look at that -off-leader!... Can't you see he's got entangled?..." - -"Thought we were going to have a rest to-day!" - -"I suppose the Germans are resting, aren't they?" - -The start was difficult. During the night the wheels of the vehicles -had sunk deeper and deeper into the softening soil, and the horses' -hoofs kept slipping on the slope. - -Once on the road the battery broke into a trot, the mud splashing in -sprays from under the feet of the horses. Some of the gunners, attacked -by colic, stopped in the ditches, and then, still doing up their -breeches, ran along by the side of the column in order to overtake -their vehicles. - -We were going to extend a strong artillery position on the heights of -the Meuse valley. From the hills near Stenay the sound of the guns -reached us in gusts, and, some distance off, above the woods, we could -see the shrapnel shells bursting. The rain had stopped, and the sky, -dark a moment previously, suddenly cleared and assumed a uniformly -light grey tint. - -In a meadow by the roadside some peasants, fleeing before the tide of -invasion, had set up their nightly camp. A large green awning sheltered -their cart and formed a tent at the same time. Two shafts projected -from the front end, pointing skywards. An old man and two women--both -pregnant--with half a dozen children clinging to their skirts, watched -us go by. - -The road rose stiffly upwards, and the column slackened its pace to a -walk. I heard one of the women say to the old man, as she gave him a -nudge with her elbow: - -"Go on, father!" - -The old man hesitated, but she insisted: - -"You must!" - -He seemed to make up his mind, and approached us, shifting from one leg -to another. Then, with a red face, he muttered: - -"No! Can't ask for that at my time of life!" - -He was about to go, but we stopped him. - -"Ask for what, old fellow?" - -"For a bit of bread, if you've got any over. It's for the children!" - -"Yes, of course we have! We never eat it all!" - -As a matter of fact we seldom get enough bread. The loaves have to be -sorted out, and, when the mouldy parts have been thrown away, the -ration is usually more than halved. The old man walked by the side of -the limber while the men searched in their bags. - -"Here you are!" - -Two loaves, almost fresh, were held out to him. - -"With an onion and a good set of teeth they're eatable!" - -"Thanks.... Thank you so much.... But I'm afraid you'll be short -yourselves!" - -"Oh, no! That's all right, old chap! Why, we get a wagonful of those -every day!" - -He made off, a loaf under each arm. I saw him hunch his shoulders and -dry his eyes with the sleeve of his coat. - -A shower of shrapnel shells suddenly burst in the distance, over the -dark woods. - -"Swine!" growled Millon between his teeth. He had given up his bread. - -He shook his fist towards the enemy. - -Once in position to sweep the uplands on the right bank of the Meuse, -we dried ourselves in the sun. - -In the afternoon a few horsemen, Uhlans presumably, appeared on the -edge of a distant wood. A broadside of shells quickly made them seek -cover again. - - - _Friday, August 28_ - -"Alarm!" - -"What?" - -"Come on, up you get!" - -"What's the time?" - -"Don't know.... It's still dark." - -"All right, then, we'll get up. Hutin, come on, get up!" - -I shook Hutin, who growled in answer: - -"All right! Oh, Lord, I was so comfortable there!" - -The noise of shuffling straw filled the barn. - -"What's the time?" repeated somebody. - -"Look out there! There's a rung missing in the ladder." - -Noises of feet scraping against the ladder. An oath. - -"Get the lantern!" - -"Where is it?" - -"Hanging behind the door." - -The men groped about for their belongings. - -"My képi!" - -"Dashed if I can find the lantern! Come and help, can't you?" - -"Sure it can't be two o'clock yet." - -"Come along now, hurry up," cried a sergeant, opening the door. -"Anybody else still asleep?" - -No one replied. Outside, it was very cold, and the night was dark. Not -a star was to be seen. Fires had been lit in the middle of the village, -and coffee was on the boil. The church, a diminutive chapel magnified -by the light from below, had almost the air of a cathedral, its spire -lost in the inky blackness of the sky. Fantastic shadows danced on -the walls, and the windows were momentarily lit up by red or green -lights. A crowd of poor people fleeing from the enemy were sleeping -in the nave, together with some soldiers who in vain had sought -shelter elsewhere. Through the front entrance, which was wide open, -the interior of the church looked mysterious, filled as it was with -fugitive lights and shadows, like those cast by a building on fire. -Under the vivid reflections of the stained-glass windows on the flags -I caught a glimpse of prostrate human figures. In the square, soldiers -coming and going between their fires threw enormous shadows on the -ground and on the walls of the houses. - -Why this alarm? Had the enemy succeeded in crossing the frontier near -Stenay? We set off behind the infantry, whose tramp, tramp sounded like -the movement of a flock of sheep on the road. The night was alive with -moving but unseen forms. The breathing of hundreds of men on the march -was felt rather than heard; every now and then, as if from far off, -came a half-lost word. All this invisible life in movement seemed to -give off currents which traversed the night air like electricity. - -In the distance we heard the sound of the guns towards which we were -marching. - -Soon the first streaks of dawn lit up the wooded hills, which reared -their severe yet splendid crests between us and the Meuse. We passed -through Tailly--a village at the bottom of a ravine, consisting of a -few cottages, a church, and a cemetery. - - * * * * * - -When we arrived at Beauclair, in the valley of the Meuse, the -engagement appeared to have finished. - -In front of the church the infantry who had just been in action were -resting amid their piled arms. The majority were pale--but some were -very red. They had thrown themselves down on the bare ground in the -sun, and not one of them moved a muscle. The stiffened features of -the sleepers were eloquent of tragic weariness as they lay there with -open coats and shirts, showing glimpses of naked chests. All were -indescribably dirty, their legs plastered with mud up to the knees. - -The battery halted outside the last houses of the village, and we at -once set about making coffee. A hulking Tommy came up to ask for an -onion. We questioned him: - -"So they've not succeeded in crossing the Meuse yet?" - -"Oh, yes, they have!... One brigade got over all right ... but the -artillery had mown down the bridges behind them, and so we had a go at -them with fixed bayonets.... Lord! you don't know what that's like, you -chaps!... A charge!... It's awful!... Never known anything like it! If -there _is_ a Hell, I expect there's bayonet fighting always going on -there!... No! I mean it! Off you go, shouting.... Then one or two fall, -and after them lots of others.... And the more that fall the louder -you've got to shout so that the others will come along. And then when -at last you get to close quarters with 'em, why, you're just raving -mad, and you thrust and thrust.... But the first time you feel your -bayonet sink into a chap's stomach, you feel a bit queer.... It's all -soft, you've only got to shove a bit!... But it's harder to withdraw -clean! I was so damned gentle that I upset my fellow--a great big fat -chap with a red beard. I couldn't pull my bayonet out ... had to put -my foot on his chest, and felt him squirm under my tread. Here, have a -look at this!..." - -He drew out his bayonet, which was red up to the cross-bar. As he went -away he stooped down and plucked a handful of grass to clean it. - -The hours passed. The enemy appeared unwilling to make another attempt -to force the passage of the Meuse. - -We heard that d'Amade had made a flank attack on the opposing German -army, and had taken Marville. - -D'Amade! Well done, d'Amade! But ... was it true? - -At Halles, a mile and a half from Beauclair, we encamped at the foot of -some high hills. The guns, which for some time past had been silent, -again began to thunder. The enemy was bombarding the heights above us. - -As billets for the night we had been given a spacious barn. But when at -dusk we went there to get some sleep we found our straw covered with -foot-soldiers, rifles, and packs. - -The artillerymen began swearing: - -"Hallo, what the hell's all this? No more room left?" - -There was a scrimmage to let us find places. - -The barn had a loft above it to which a ladder gave access, and the -floor of which was worm-eaten. We stuffed up the holes with hay. - -"There we are! As usual, the artillery above, and the infantry below. -That's all right.... But mind you don't take the ladder away!" - -"Take care of your feet.... O-o-oh!" - -"Why couldn't you say you were in the straw?" - -"Now then, up you go!" - -Five or six artillerymen were on the ladder at the same time. It bent -beneath their weight. Below, a foot-soldier stood motionless, holding a -candle in his hand. - -"Look out! Don't want your spurs in my face, you know!" - -"Growl away, old chap! Let's get up." - -"The floor's giving way!... They'll fall through." - -"Go on, climb up! It's less dangerous than the shells!" - -"Damn it all, move up a bit, you fellows; otherwise there won't be room -for all of us!" - -"Don't go there! There's a hole.... You'll fall on the Tommies down -below!" - -Downstairs the infantry were grumbling: - -"Can't you keep quiet, up there, eh? We want to sleep! And the straw's -all falling in our mouths!" - -"If only it would stop yours!" - -"Look out, you're on my stomach!" - -"Sorry. Can't see an inch in here.... Can't you raise the lantern over -there?" - - * * * * * - -Again came the sound of a shell bursting in the distance. I hesitated -whether to take off my spurs and leggings, although I knew quite well -that I should sleep better without them. But, if there was an alarm, -should I be able to find them in the straw? Finally, I decided to keep -them on, nor did I unstrap my revolver holster, which was chafing my -side. I tightened my chin-strap so as not to lose my képi. - - - _Saturday, August 29_ - -Réveillé came at two o'clock, together with orders to start at once. -The Germans, we heard, had crossed the Meuse. But our artillery had no -doubt registered the course of the river. I could not understand why we -had not heard the guns. - -In the darkness of the early dawn the road showed up yellow between the -blue-grey fields. On the way I recognized the yew-trees of a cemetery -in which some dead were being buried the day before. - -We stopped in column on the steep ascent towards Tailly, and waited for -orders. The day broke behind the hills and gradually overspread the -whole horizon. - -One by one the regiments of the 7th Division climbed up from the -ravine and passed us. The men looked haggard and tired. Their eyes -were hollow, and the faces of the youngest, drawn and sallow with -privations, were furrowed with lines. The corners of their mouths -drooped. Bending forward under the weight of their packs, in the -attitude of Christ bearing the Cross, the infantry toiled up the hill -as though it were a Calvary. At every hundred yards or so they halted -and re-hoisted their burdens with a jerk of their shoulders. Some of -them were holding out their rifles at arm's length, as though it were a -balance which helped them to march. Others were complaining that they -had had nothing to eat for two days. One of the 101st, a pale, lanky, -thin-faced fellow, with feverishly bright eyes, halted close to us and -stroked the chase of the gun. - -"Lord," said he to Hutin, "you might as well put a shell through my -chest! At least there'd be an end of it!" - -"Aren't you ashamed to talk like that?" - -The other made a vague gesture, shrugged his shoulders, and went off -dragging one leg after him. - -As soon as the infantry had gone by we were ordered to take up our -position on the plain, near the edge of the wood behind which the -regiments of the line were retreating. - -I heard the Major repeat the order received to the Captain: "Prevent -the enemy from setting foot on the plateau. There are no more French in -front of you!" - -"So we are still covering the retreat! A vile job!" said Millon, the -firing number, a good little Parisian chap, with a face like a girl. - -In our present position we ran as great a risk from the rifle and -machine-gun fire as from the shells. Not far off on the edge of the -plateau, near the brush-shaped poplar, was a dark little copse whence -at any minute bullets might come buzzing about our ears. The Germans -might get their machine-guns there without being seen, rather than risk -coming out into the open. And what might we expect then? Oh, well!... -After all, that is what we had come there for. - -"If we hadn't been sold, things would have gone very differently," -growled Tuvache, a Breton farmer, who was brave enough under fire, but -who suffered from bad _morale_. - -And, still obsessed by the idea of treason, he added: - -"And the proof is that they've been able to cross the Meuse without -hindrance." - -Bréjard made him stop talking. - -"Why, you're worse than the others, you are! We're fighting from the -North Sea right down to Belfort, aren't we? Well, then, how can you -judge by one wretched little corner? Perhaps we're letting them advance -as far as this in order to surround 'em afterwards.... Some of you -chaps always seem to know more than your Generals.... And besides, all -this time the Russians are advancing. You let things be.... We shall -have 'em some day, never fear! And then they'll pay for this!" - -We awaited the appearance of the heads of the enemy's columns, which -from one moment to another might emerge from the Tailly valley. - -The plateau, shining with dew, had assumed that absolutely silent -immobility one so often notices in the country in the early hours of a -sunny morning. - -Four black points suddenly appeared far down the road! Was it the -enemy's advanced guard? No. We were soon able to recognize three -stragglers and a cyclist. A troop in column of march followed them out -of the valley. In this order they could not be Germans. The column, -which proved to be a battalion of the 101st, passed by, and disappeared -down the road leading to the wood. But, in the rise and fall of the -valleyed country stretching on the north-west as far as the dark masses -of distant forests, Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel had discovered through his -field-glasses large masses of men marching westwards through sunken -roads which almost hid them from our view. Were they the enemy, or were -they the French troops which were occupying the heights of the Meuse -near Stenay and which were now retiring? - -We had already experienced the same terrible uncertainty at Marville. -The Captain climbed up into an apple-tree in order to see better, -and the Major also tried to recognize the mysterious troops. But -neither could distinguish anything. A mist--the dampness of the night -evaporating--was already rising from the ground and veiling the -horizon. If those were German columns, they would threaten the flank of -the retreating army. A scout was sent off at a gallop to reconnoitre. -Time passed, and the columns disappeared. At last the scout came back; -the troops were French. He had seen parties of Chasseurs flanking them. - -Our feet wet with dew, we once again became motionless and awaited the -enemy. - -About midday we received orders to move to the edge of the plateau, -and take up position behind a clump of trees, in order to command the -Tailly valley and the hills on the south of Stenay. And, continually, -successive regiments of infantry emerged from the forest and passed us, -falling back. - -"Dashed if I can fathom it!" said Hutin. - -"Nor can I!" - -It was very hot, and we were thirsty, but our water-bottles were empty. - -We continued to wait until dusk, but the enemy did not appear. - -Night had fallen when we were sent to encamp on the other side of the -woods. - -The moon was rising clear of the tree-tops. The regular clatter of -hoofs and the monotonous roll of the vehicles blended together into a -sort of weary cradle-song, and made us sleepy after a time. In order -to suffer uncomplainingly all the hardships and miseries of war, we -would have asked no more than one hour of affection, of sympathetic -tenderness, in safety, at evening-time, after the long day spent in -watching or fighting. - -The road was level, and we were hardly shaken at all; no one spoke, and -most of us slept or dozed. - -No sound disturbed the stillness of the warm night save that of the -column on the march. Gradually we lost ourselves in pleasing reveries -and memories of the past, forgetting present dangers and distress. On -we jogged through space and time.... Lyons at night-time ... long rows -of lamps lighting the wharves and reflected in the Rhône ... above the -river the amphitheatre of Croix-Rousse with its lights scintillating -like golden points, and above them, again, the stars.... Where did the -town end, or where did the sky begin?... And the Mayenne in the bright -days of autumn and summer, its sombre waters sparkling like black -diamonds.... The memories which rose up before me gradually blurred the -scene of illusive reflections. - -And perhaps I should die in a few hours' time.... - -Almost as if I myself had been able to write those beautiful verses of -Du Bellay, I felt the aching nostalgia of his words: - - _Quand reverrai-je, hélas! de mon petit village - Fumer la cheminée, et en quelle saison - Reverrai-je le clos de ma pauvre maison, - Qui m'est une province et beaucoup d'avantage?_ - -I repeated the lines to myself several times. - - - _Sunday, August 30_ - -This morning we marched for hours through clouds of dust, the sun -scorching the backs of our necks. The men were thirsty and continually -spat out the clayey saliva which clogged their mouths. The battery -halted in a valley on the outskirts of a village--Villers-devant-Dun, I -think it was--where the sound of the guns seemed to come from the west -and south as well as from the east and north. This was a surprise, and -at first made us uneasy. Janvier, for the hundredth time, said: - -"That's it! We are surrounded!" - -He was haunted by this idea. However, it was not long before we -discovered that the illusion was solely caused by an exceptionally -clear echo. In reality the fighting was going on near Dun-sur-Meuse. - -We crowded round the fountain, on the surrounding wall of which the -last _Bulletin des Communes_ was pasted. But first we each drank, in -great gulps, at least a quart of fresh water. Afterwards we read the -news. All was going well! Nevertheless, it was announced that Mulhouse -had been retaken. Apparently, then, it had been lost. We exchanged -impressions: - -"Well, Hutin?" - -"Not bad," he answered rather dubiously, "but they don't say anything -about our little show of last week." - -Bréjard, on the contrary, was filled with an optimism which nothing -could damp: - -"Virton, Marville--why, all that is a mere nothing on a front as long -as this! We've had to give a little in some sectors, that's all.... But -otherwise things are going quite all right!" - -"All the same, it isn't nice to find ourselves in one of the sectors -which have to give way," answered Hutin. - -"All that will change. We're going to be reinforced.... They say that -De Langle is only a day's march off." - -"He'll have to hurry up if he wants to find any of the 4th Infantry -left!" - -That was true. The regiments of the line, especially those of the 8th -Division, had suffered terribly. Some battalions had been diminished by -two-thirds, and, since the Battle of Virton, many companies were not -more than fifty or eighty strong, and had lost all their officers. How -we wished that De Langle would arrive! - -In the ever-thickening dust and overpowering heat we returned by the -same road to the positions we had occupied the day before at Tailly. -It seemed to us that we had uselessly wasted more than seven hours -marching in a large circle. - - * * * * * - -Another aeroplane appeared. This oppression was becoming unbearable! -We felt like a flock of frightened sparrows beneath the shadow of -the hawk. The Germans have improved and developed the aerial arm -to an enormous extent, and, unfortunately, our ·75's are unable to -hit aeroplanes, the mobility of the gun on the carriage not being -sufficient. It is necessary to dig a pit for the spade, and before this -is finished the machine is always out of range. - -The aviator who had just flown over us had thrown out a star in order -to mark the situation of one of our batteries in position on the -heights commanding the river. The guns at once moved off, and took up -a fresh position elsewhere. Shortly afterwards shells began to fall on -the hill they had been occupying--enormous shells, which made the earth -quake for miles around and withered the grass with their dirty, pungent -smoke. - -"I expect those are the famous 22 cm. shells" said the Captain. - -We had nothing to do. Towards Stenay the horizon was deserted and -motionless. For several hours heavy shells continued to fall in threes, -making black holes in the green meadows in which not a soul remained. -We were obviously within range of the guns from which they were fired, -and we had no guarantee that we should not be hit if the enemy lifted -his fire a little. - - * * * * * - -I was struck by the marvellous faculty of adaptability which forms the -basis of human nature. One becomes accustomed to danger just as one -becomes accustomed to the most cruel privations, or to the uncertainty -of the morrow. - -Before the war I used to wonder how it was that old men nearing the -extreme limits of existence could continue to live undisturbed in -the imminent shadow of death. But now I understand. For us the risk -of death has become an element of daily life with which one coolly -reckons, which no longer astonishes, and terrifies less. Besides, a -soldier's everyday life is a school for courage. Familiarity with the -same dangers eventually leaves the human animal unmoved. One's nerves -no longer quiver; the conscious and constant effort to keep control -over oneself is successful in the end. Therein lies the secret of -all military courage. Men are not born brave; they become brave. The -instinct to be conquered is more or less resistant--that is all. -Moreover, one must live, on the field of battle just as elsewhere; it -is necessary to become accustomed to this new existence, no matter -how perilous or harsh it may be. And what renders it difficult--more, -intolerable--is fear, the fear that throttles and paralyses. It has to -be conquered, and, finally, one does conquer it. - -Apart from the necessity of living as well as can possibly be managed, -the greatest disciplinary factors in the life of a soldier under fire -are a sense of duty and a respect for other people's opinion--in a -word, honour. This is not a discovery; it is merely a personal opinion. - -It must also be confessed that this training in courage is far more -easy for us than for the foot-soldiers--the least fortunate of all the -fighting forces. A gunner under fire is literally unable to run away. -The whole battery would see him--his dishonour would be palpable, -irretrievable. Now fear, in its more acute manifestations, seems to me -necessarily to imply annihilation of will-power. A man incapable of -controlling himself sufficiently to face danger bravely will, in the -majority of cases, be equally incapable of facing the intolerable shame -of public flight. Flight of this kind would necessitate an exercise -of will--almost a kind of bravery. The infantryman is often isolated -when under fire; when the shrapnel bullets are humming above him a -man lying down at a distance of four yards from another is virtually -alone. Concern for his own safety monopolizes all his faculties and -he may succumb to the temptation to stop and lie low, or to sneak off -to one side and then take to flight. When he rejoins his company in -the evening he may declare that he lost his squad or that he fought -elsewhere. Perhaps he is not believed, and possibly he was aware -beforehand that no one would believe him; but at least he will have -escaped the intolerable ignominy of running away before the eyes of all. - -To remain under fire is by no means easy, but to keep cool in the -heat of a modern engagement is harder still. At first fear makes one -perspire and tremble. It is irresistible. Death seems inevitable. The -danger is unknown, and is magnified a thousandfold by the imagination. -One makes no attempt to analyse it. The bursting of the shells and -their acrid smoke together with the shrapnel are the main causes of -the first feeling of terror. And yet neither the flashes of melinite, -nor the noise of the explosions, nor the smoke are the real danger; but -they accompany the danger, and at first one is attacked by all three at -once. Soon, however, one learns to discriminate. The smoke is harmless, -and the whistling of the shells indicates in what direction they are -coming. One no longer crouches down unnecessarily, and only seeks -shelter knowingly, when it is imperative to do so. Danger no longer -masters but is mastered. That is the great difference. - -In order to form an exact idea of the effects of a shell, I went with -Hutin to examine a field full of Jerusalem artichokes in which a heavy -projectile had just fallen. In the centre of the field we found a -funnel-shaped hole about ten yards in diameter, so regular in shape -that it could only have been made by a howitzer shell. This kind of -projectile strikes the ground almost perpendicularly, and buries itself -deep in the soft soil, throwing up enormous quantities of earth as -it bursts. Many of the steel splinters are lost in the depths of the -ground, and the murderous cone of dispersion is thereby proportionately -reduced. - -The truth of this can be easily confirmed. In the present case the -farther we went from the hole the higher was the point at which the -artichokes had been shorn off, and at a dozen paces or so from the edge -of the crater the shrapnel had only reached the heads of the highest -stems. It follows therefore that a man lying very near the point of -impact would probably not have been hit. Next came a circular zone -which was entirely unscathed, but a little farther on the falling -bullets and splinters had mown off leaves and stems, and a man lying -down here would have risked quite as much as if he had remained -standing. - -When thus coldly examined a shell loses much of its moral effect. - -The actual organization of the artillery also stimulates a gunner's -courage. The foot-soldier, cavalryman, and sapper are units in -themselves, whereas for us the only unit is the gun. The seven men -serving it are the closely connected, interdependent organs of a thing -which becomes alive--the gun in action. - -In consequence of the links existing between the seven men among -themselves and between each of them and the gun, any faint-heartedness -is rendered more obvious, its consequences much greater, and the -shame it bears in its wake more crushing. Moreover, in this complete -solidarity the effluvia which create psychological contagion are -easily developed; one or two gunners who stick resolutely and calmly to -their posts are often able to inspire the whole detachment with courage. - - * * * * * - -To-day was a day of undisturbed quiet. Over towards Tailly and Stenay -nothing revealed the presence of the enemy. - -When evening approached we were again sent off to encamp on the other -side of the woods. There was a glorious summer sunset, and through the -dark depths of the trees the road opened up a mysterious avenue at the -end of which glowed a western sky more varied in hues than a rainbow. - -All sound of battle had ceased. Gradually the sky darkened and night -fell. As yesterday, the artillery rolled monotonously on through the -shadowy woods. - -One by one the stars were veiled by a rising mist, and the sky became -opalescent with a nocturnal luminosity that flooded the stretches of -the forest, which, from the crests of the hills, could be seen rising -and falling as far as the eye could reach. But underneath the trees -the darkness was intense, and the road would have seemed a trench dug -deep in the earth itself but for an occasional infantry bivouac, the -embers of which glowed faintly through the brushwood, and but for a -damp scent of mint and other herbs which rose from the dark undergrowth -mingled with a certain sensuous smell of animality. We were surrounded -by a delicious freshness with which we filled our lungs and which made -us shiver slightly. - -Millon, who was sitting next to me on the limber-box, told me the story -of his life. It was a sad and simple history. Only twenty, with his -girl's face and roguish yet infantile eyes, he had nevertheless long -been the bread-winner of a family, and now his mother--"my old mother" -as he said in a tone full of deep affection--had been left alone in -Paris with another child, still very young, whose delicate constitution -and highly strung nerves were the cause of continual alarm. He told me -of past misfortunes still fresh in his memory, of the present anxiety -of his people in Paris, and of material worries. - -"Ah," he sighed, "if only my old mother could see me to-night, safe and -sound on the limber!" - - * * * * * - -In the field where the battery halted we had almost to fight in order -to get a few armfuls of straw. The gunners of a battery which had -arrived before us had stretched themselves out haphazard on a fallen -hayrick. They had twenty times more straw than they needed, but when we -tried to pull a little from under them the awakening of the overwrought -sleepers was terrifying. They shouted, cursed, and threatened. Finally -they fell asleep again, growling and grunting under their breath like a -pack of surly dogs. - - - _Monday, August 31_ - -The guns awoke us early, and we prepared to return to meet the enemy. -About seven o'clock we found ourselves back in Tailly, where we learnt -that the day before the enemy had been pushed back as far as the Meuse, -and that Beauclair and Halles were now entirely in French hands. - -Standing in column of route in the village we awaited orders. The -German artillery began to bombard the neighbouring hills. - -In the market-place was a hay-cart in which were lying three wounded -Uhlans. An officer, his hands behind his back, was walking up and down -in front of the cart. Some women and children were standing round them -in a group, silently contemplating the Germans. One or two of the -gunners joined them out of curiosity. The Uhlans looked at them with -sad and troubled blue eyes. - -"They aren't such an ugly set as I should have thought," declared -Tuvache. - -"No?" said Millon. "I suppose you thought they had got a third eye in -the middle of their foreheads, like the inhabitants of the moon!" - -Tuvache shrugged his shoulders: - -"No, only I had an idea they were uglier. They don't look as bad as all -that!" - - * * * * * - -There was severe fighting this morning in the Beauclair Gap, through -which the enemy tried to force a passage. The incessant din of the -battle sounded from afar like the rising tide beating on a rocky shore. - -"Forward! Trot!" - -After having proceeded some three hundred yards down the Beauclair road -we again halted. Soldiers were coming back from the lines, some of them -wounded in the hands or arms, and others in the shoulders. All of them -were bandaged. They stopped to ask us for water or cigarettes, and we -exchanged a few words with them: - -"Are we advancing?" - -"No, but we are holding our ground. It is their machine-guns that are -the trouble. They're just awful!" - -"Are you in pain?" - -"No!" - -"What does it feel like, a bullet?" - -"It burns a bit, but it doesn't hurt much." - -Some others, wounded in the leg, began to pass by. These were evidently -in great pain. They were perspiring with fatigue and heat, for the sun, -now in the zenith, was beating straight down in the hollow through -which the road wound. Many were helping themselves along by the aid of -sticks cut from the hedges. - -An officer's horse went by, led by a stretcher-bearer and bearing a -foot-soldier whose thigh had been broken by a shell. The wounded man -was clutching the animal's mane with both hands, his right leg hanging -helpless. Just above the knee was a rent in his breeches through which -the blood flowed freely, running down to his boot and dripping thence -to the ground. His eyes were closed and his bloodshot eyelids, pale -lips, and the red beard covering his long, bony jaws, made him look -like one crucified. - -"Can you manage to hold out?" asked the stretcher-bearer. - -"Are we still far from the ambulance?" - -"No, not far now. If you feel faint let me know and I'll put you down. -Does it hurt much?" - -"Yes, and it's bleeding.... Look at the blood on the road!" - -"That's nothing. Hold on to the mane!" - -An ambulance passed full of seriously wounded. Instead of being laid -down they had been propped up against the sides of the carriage so that -it should hold more. Under the green tilt I caught a glimpse of one -man with a face the colour of white marble whose head was rolling on -his shoulders, and of another who was streaming with blood. A huge and -swarthy corporal was sharing the box with the driver. His gun between -his knees and one hand on his hip, he was sitting bolt upright with a -grave and determined air, his head enveloped in a turban of crimson -lint. Blood was trickling into his right eye, which, in its red-rimmed -orbit, looked strangely white, and from thence ran down his drooping -moustache, matting the hairs of his beard, and finally dropping on to -his broad chest in black splashes and streams. - -One of the wounded who had been waiting for a long time, sitting by the -roadside, caught hold of a carriage which dragged him on. - -"Please stop and let me get up!" - -"We've no more room, I'm afraid!" - -"I can't walk." - -"But as you see we're full up!" - -"Can't I get on the step?" - -"Yes, if you can manage it!" - -But the vehicle still went on. A gunner helped the man on to the step. - -At the end of a sunken road, in the shade of some tall poplars with -dense foliage which the sun only penetrated in places, two Medical -Corps officers had improvised a sort of operating-table on trestles. -Some wounded laid out on the slope were waiting their turn to be -bandaged. Among the stones a thin, dark-coloured stream of water -was flowing, partially washing away the pools of blood and bits of -red-stained cotton-wool and linen. The air was pervaded by a stale -odour like that of a chemist's shop, mingled with the damp smell of -running water. - -A Captain was brought up in a stretcher, on both sides of which his -arms hung limply down. A hospital orderly cut off the sleeves of -his tunic, and he was then placed on the operating-table. He was an -ugly sight as he lay there with his blood-stained bare arms and his -sleeveless blue tunic encircling his body. While his wounds were being -dressed he gave long-drawn sighs of pain. - -"Right about wheel!" - -We set off up a steep incline across the fields to take up position -on the heights overlooking the Beauclair Gap and the road we had -just left. The battery was backed by a spur of the hills which hid -Tailly from view except for the spire of the steeple, surmounted by a -weather-cock, which seemed to rise out of the earth behind us. - -In this position we were visible to the enemy through the V-shaped gap -between the hills commanding the Meuse. We could see the woods and -fields beyond Beauclair occupied by the Germans, and which the French -batteries ahead of us were covering with shrapnel shell from behind the -sheltering ridges. In the fields in the distance the German infantry -debouching from the woods looked like an army of black insects on a -bright green lawn. We immediately opened fire, and under our shells the -enemy hastily regained the woods, which we then began to bombard. - -The action seemed to be going favourably for us this morning. Some -French batteries had advanced by the Beauclair road and were now -engaged in the gap. On the hills surrounding us in a semicircle other -batteries which, like ours, had taken up positions on the counterslope, -and others still farther off, near the hills directly above the Meuse, -thundered incessantly, the position of the invisible guns being -revealed by clouds of dust and flashes of fire showing up against the -greenery. The firing of these batteries was so violent that little by -little the air became cloudy. An acrid atmosphere of smoke and dust -invaded the valley, in which the numberless echoes multiplied the roar -of the guns as the sound-waves met and intermingled. We were surrounded -by a loud and continual humming and buzzing which deafened us and -almost paralysed our other senses. - -"Cease firing!" - -The detachments became motionless round the guns. It was already midday. - -Suddenly the enemy began to bombard Tailly and the pine-woods -commanding our position. Some limbers which since the early morning -had been waiting on the outskirts of the woods moved off hurriedly. A -section of infantry emerged from the smoke of a high-explosive shell. - -"Take cover!" ordered Captain de Brisoult. - -The fire of the French artillery gradually slackened. A volley of -shrapnel shells burst over the valley where our teams were waiting for -us, and a fuse sang loud and long through the air. Nobody seemed to be -wounded. The limbers standing motionless in the sunshine made a black -square on the grass. - -The enemy appeared to have registered the position of a battery -installed on the other side of the pine-woods, and, under a perfect -hail of howitzer shells, the guns were brought back one by one through -the woods. - -Hutin, who had taken shelter behind the shield, suddenly stood up in -order to see. He crossed his arms. - -"Yes, that's it!" he growled. - -"What is it? But take cover!" - -"That's it! Retreat! Oh, my God!" - -I also stood up. Sure enough, sections of infantry were crossing the -ridges and falling back. - -"Take cover, you idiots!" yelled Bréjard. - -A shell swooped down. The splinters whistled through the air and the -displaced earth pattered round us on the dry field. I had stooped down -instinctively, but Hutin had not moved, being too much occupied in -observing the retreat of the infantry, which was becoming more general -every moment. - -"There you are," said he, "now it will be our turn.... I bet ... we -shall retire too.... Here's an A.D.C. coming up.... Oh, if we're always -going to retire like that we may as well take a train!" - -As he had suspected, the A.D.C. brought orders for us to retreat. The -teams trotted up the slope to join the guns. The moment was critical, -and, as ill-luck would have it, the first gun, in position on the -counterslope, began to roll downhill as soon as the spade, which had -been solidly jammed in the ground by the recoil, had been pulled out. -It took eight of us to drag the gun back, and at every instant we -asked ourselves whether we should succeed in assembling the train. The -drivers began to lose their nerve, and backed the horses at random, -this way and that. - -"Now then, all together.... Whoa, there, whoa!... Steady!... Whoa back!" - -A final pull, and we had limbered up. - -"Ready!" - -The team started. - -Beyond the village of Tailly the hill we had to ascend in order to -reach the plateau was very steep, especially where the road skirted the -stone wall of the cemetery. - -Some foot-soldiers resting on both sides of the way had taken off -their packs and piled arms. Sitting in the grass they watched us go by -with that absent and stupefied look peculiar to men just returned from -the firing-line. Suddenly a shrapnel shell, the whistling approach of -which had been drowned by the rumble of the vehicles, burst above the -cemetery. Some of the soldiers promptly dived into the ditch, and -others fell on their knees close to the wall, shielding their heads -with their packs. Two men, who had remained standing, stupidly hid -their heads in the thick hedge. On the limbers we bent our shoulders -and the drivers whipped up the horses. - -At one point the road was visible to the enemy, but when we discovered -this it was already too late to stop. - -A volley of shells.... Over! We had escaped by a hair's breadth. - -We formed up ready for action in the same position as the day before, -overlooking the neighbouring ridges, where the tall poplars served -as aiming-points. The third battery, which had been with us on the -Saturday, had opened up some fine trenches here. But the limbers had -hardly had time to range up on the edge of a copse when high-explosive -shell began to fall round us. - -How had the enemy been able to discover our new position? We were -carefully covered, and were invisible to him on all sides, nor had we -yet fired a single shot, so that our presence had not been betrayed by -smoke or flashes. No aeroplane was in the sky. Then how had we been -seen?... - -We sheltered in the trenches. - -"It isn't at us that they're firing," said Hutin. - -"Then what are they firing at?" - -"I think we've got to thank those fat old dragoons they saw passing on -the road for this! They're aiming at the road." - -But the dragoons got farther and farther away, and the enemy continued -to fire in our direction. There was no doubt that he was aware that -there was a battery in position here. Had we been betrayed by signal -by a spy hiding somewhere behind us? I carefully scrutinized the -surrounding country, but could see nothing. - -Some shells fell a few yards off the guns, smothering the battery in -smoke and dust, and shaking us at the bottom of our trenches. I heard -the Major shout: - -"Take cover on the right!" - -While the Captain and Lieutenant remained at their observation-posts -the gunners hurriedly moved out of the line of fire of the howitzers. -But as we ran along the road across the fields in view of the enemy a -Staff passed by. I was seized with sudden anger. The horsemen would -get us killed! The party consisted of about twenty officers in whose -centre rode a General, a little, thin man with grey hair. A gaily -coloured troop of blue and red Chasseurs followed them. The scream of -approaching shells at once made itself heard, and thrilled long in the -air. The Chasseurs and officers saluted, but the little General made no -movement. This time the enemy had fired too low. - -"To your guns!" - -The Captain thought he had discovered the battery bombarding us: - -"Layers!" he called. - -Feverishly, beneath the shells, we prepared for action. - -"Echelon at fifteen. First gun, a hundred and fifty; second gun, a -hundred and sixty-five.... Third...." - -The fuse-setters repeated the corrector and the range. - -"Sixteen.... Three thousand five hundred...." - -"In threes, traverse! By the right, each battery!..." - -"First gun ... fire!... Second...." - -The rapid movements of serving the guns electrified us. In the -deafening din made by the battery in full action orders had to be -shouted. We no longer heard the enemy's guns; they were silenced by the -roar of our own. We forgot the shrapnel, which nevertheless continued -to fall. - -Suddenly the howitzer fire slackened, and then ceased. - -"They're getting hit!" said Hutin, bending over the sighting gear. - -"Fire!" answered the No. 1. - -"Ready!" - -"Fire!... Fire!..." - -On the plateau behind us companies were retiring in extended order. - - * * * * * - -Night fell. We also received orders to retire. It seemed as if the -earth and the woods were absorbing such light as was left. The -movements of the infantry in the distance were lost in the undulations -of the ground. The men seemed to become incorporated with the fields, -and dissolved, disappearing from view. - -Near a dark shell-crater lay a red heap. A soldier was lying stretched -on his back, one of his legs blown off by a shell, leaving a torn, -bluish-red stump through which he had emptied his veins. The lucerne -leaves and earth under him were glued together with blood. The man's -head had been thrown back in his agony, and the Adam's apple jutted out -amid the distended muscles of his neck. His glassy eyes were wide open, -and his lips dead white. He still grasped his broken rifle, and his -képi had rolled underneath his shoulder. - - - _Tuesday, September 1_ - -A long night march. It was past one o'clock in the morning when at last -we halted, and we still had to make our soup, water the horses and give -them their oats. This done, we fell into a deep sleep. - -About four o'clock the sergeant on duty came and shook us one by one. -He was greeted with growls. - -"Alarm!" - -"What misery! Can't we even sleep for an hour!" - -It was veritable torture to keep our eyes open. Our limbs were stiff, -our heads heavy, and our loins ached. The weather was foggy and cold. - -We clambered on to the limbers and started off. Numbness at once seized -our feet and then our knees, mounting rapidly. Our heads rolled from -side to side, and we gradually lost consciousness. Some of the drivers -were sleeping on their horses. They slipped more and more to one side -and, just as they were about to fall, were awakened by instinct and -sat straight up in the saddle again. But a moment after one could see -them through the gloom, once more subsiding and gradually slipping, -slipping.... - -Where were we going to? Perhaps the army had been obliged to fall back -below Verdun, because the enemy, who had undoubtedly got a footing on -the hills on the left bank of the Meuse, near Stenay, was threatening -their left flank. But we knew nothing for certain, and were too tired -to think, too tired even to fear! Each man's one desire was to sleep a -whole day through. - -At daybreak we halted near Landres in a sloping field full of -plum-trees. Unless counter-orders arrived we were to stay there and -rest for twenty-four hours. - -We lit fires and started shaking the plum-trees. - -Suddenly a cry broke out: - -"The postmaster!" - -It was answered by a hoarse--almost savage--shout, and the men -literally mobbed the N.C.O. who was carrying a sackful of letters. - -News at last! Some of the letters had been on the way for a fortnight; -ours, it seemed, were not being delivered. What anxiety the people at -home were in! - -After we had read our correspondence Hutin called me: - -"Are you coming to wash your linen?" - -"Yes." - -We hung up our tunics on the low-hanging branches of the plum-trees, -and, our shirts under our arms and with bodies bare save for our -braces, walked down to the river. - -We spent a quiet morning eating, smoking, and writing. At midday the -short, sharp reports of the ·75's began to sound on the next range of -hills. At one o'clock we received orders to advance and support a group -of artillery engaged on the heights north of Landres. - -Hardly had we taken up position when an aeroplane passed overhead. -A German machine, evidently; so far we had seen no others. Almost -immediately afterwards shells began to fall around us, but again, as -if by a miracle, the battery remained unscathed in the middle of the -bursting shrapnel and the smoke of melinite. But that would not always -happen! - - * * * * * - -Ah! if only I escape the hecatomb, how I shall appreciate life! I never -imagined that there could be an intense joy in breathing, in opening -one's eyes to the light, in letting it penetrate one, in being hot, in -being cold--even in suffering. I thought that only certain hours had -any value, and heedlessly let the others slip past. If I see the end -of this war, I shall know how to suck from each moment its full meed -of pleasure, and feel each second of life as it passes by, like some -deliciously cool water trickling between one's fingers. I almost fancy -that I shall continually pause, interrupting a phrase or suspending a -gesture, and tell myself again and again: "I live! I live!" - -And to think that in a few moments, perhaps, I shall only be a -shapeless mass of bleeding flesh at the bottom of a shell-hole! - - * * * * * - -There was nothing to do under the shrapnel-fire. The Captain surveyed -the plain with exasperating calmness. - -Presently the enemy increased his range, and the shells passed overhead -and burst in the valley, on a road where we could see first lines of -wagons making off at a gallop in thick clouds of dust. - -Orders arrived.... We were to return to Landres. - -A deep hole had been made in the road by a shell, and near-by lay the -hashed remains of a horse--a limbless, decapitated body. The head, -lying on the edge of the ditch, and apparently intact, seemed to be -looking at this body with a surprised expression in its big, still -unclouded eyes. A shred of flesh and chestnut skin had been blown to -the top of a neighbouring slope. The shell crater, in which lay the -intestines surrounded with purple blood rapidly blackening in the sun, -exhaled a smell of decay and excrement--a sickening odour which nearly -made us ill. - -It seemed that the senior N.C.O. who had been riding this horse had -escaped without a scratch. - -A regiment of Chasseurs was slowly descending the high hill overlooking -Landres on the north-east. - -The setting sun no longer lit up the depths of the valley where we had -parked our guns, but, by contrast, illuminated the more magnificently -the steep incline down which the red and blue squadrons were -descending in good order, their drawn sabres glinting in the gorgeous -orange-coloured light. The Chasseurs passed close by us, and then rode -up the opposite side of the valley towards the sun, whose red disk -still peeped over the hilltop. As they crossed the summit the horsemen -were silhouetted for a moment against the horizon. - -I was tired out, and in spite of my efforts began to fall asleep. I -had the impression that in order to keep awake I should have to adopt -the attitude of the sentries of old--one finger raised, commanding -silence. - - - _Wednesday, September 2_ - -Last night the horses were not unharnessed, and we ourselves had hardly -four hours' sleep on the bare ground, where it is so difficult to get -proper rest. - -It was still dark when we set off again, down a road flanked with dense -woods. The night was dark and filled with weird, grey shadows cast by -the first, almost imperceptible rays of the pallid dawn. I was drowsing -on the shaking ammunition wagon, to which one becomes accustomed after -a time, when I was awakened by the crackling of broken wood and the -heavy thud of a fall. I looked about me, but saw nothing. Then, through -the rumbling of the wheels, I fancied I heard a plaintive cry mingled -with sobs. Yes.... I now distinctly heard the clear voice of a little -girl, calling: - -"Mother! Mother!" - -On a heap of stones by the roadside I was now able to see the wheel -of an overturned cart, a human form on the ground, and round it the -shadows of kneeling children. - -Some more sobs; then the little voice called again: - -"Mother! Mother!... Oh, mother, do answer!" - -The column continued on its way. A convulsive, heartrending wail, -rising from a throat choked by anguish, seemed to echo in my breast: - -"Mother!" - -We should have liked to stop, to make inquiries, and help if we could. -There were several children. Had their mother fainted? Perhaps. Was -there a man with them? Suppose there was not!... I was sorely tempted -to jump down from the ammunition wagon and run back, but I knew that I -should not be able to rejoin the battery. A horseman dismounted, saying: - -"I'll stop the medical officer when he comes up.... We'll catch you up -at the trot!" - -We were carried on by the slow-marching column. So great was the horror -of that which had happened on the side of the road that I was kept -awake despite my weariness, and saw the daylight slowly creeping in. I -think I shall always hear that little voice crying "Mother!" and the -sound of the children's sobs in the grey dawn. - -On reaching the main road we had to halt and let the infantry of the -7th Division pass. The Army Corps was retiring. Some one said that we -were going to entrain. - -To entrain! Why? To go where? It appeared that we had been relieved on -the Meuse by fresh troops, and that the 4th Corps was to be re-formed. - -We were going to rest, then--to sleep! But we had heard that so often -during the last eight days! Could we believe it? And yet it must be -true, for this part of the country would surely not be left defenceless. - -Down the road, wave upon wave, with the swishing noise of open sluices, -battalion succeeded battalion. The soldiers seemed fairly cheerful; -there were even some who sang. - -The 101st Infantry swung by. - -"Is the 102nd behind you?" asked Tuvache. - -"Yes." - -"I ask because my brother is in it." - -The long column still filed by. At last, several minutes later, the -brother arrived. - -"Hi! Tuvache!" - -One of the men turned round: - -"Hallo! It's you!" - -The two brothers simply shook hands, but their joy at meeting again -could be read in their eyes. - -"So you're all right?" - -"Yes, and you?" - -"As you see ... quite all right." - -"I'm glad...." - -"Had any news from home?" - -"Yes, yesterday. They're all well, and they told me to give you their -love if I saw you, and to give you half the postal order they sent me." - -The soldier searched in his pocket. - -"The only thing is that I haven't been able to get hold of the -postmaster to cash it. But, if you want it...." - -"No, you keep it! I've got more money than I want." - -"All right, then. Uncle and auntie both sent their love.... Hallo! I -mustn't lose my company.... I believe we're going to rest a bit...." - -"They say so. In that case we shall see each other again soon.... So -long!" - -Their hands met. The infantryman made a step forward. - -"I'll tell them I've seen you when I write." - -"Yes, so will I!" - -The man ran on, shouldering his way through the ranks. Occasionally we -saw his hand raised above the heads, waving good-bye. - -Following behind the regiments of the 7th Division we began a march -of exasperating slowness. It was very hot, and the dust raised by the -infantry smothered and stifled us. At intervals, by the roadside, dead -horses were lying. - -On reaching Châtel we turned to the left down a clear road and at -last were able to trot. Across the fields and valleys, as far as -the horizon, a long line of grey dust clouding the trees marked the -Varennes road which the division was following. - -It was noon, and it seemed to me that we must have journeyed ten or -twelve miles since we started at dawn. But suddenly we heard the guns -again--not very far away, towards the north-east. - -Near the village of Apremont on the outskirts of the forest of Argonne, -in which the head of our column had already penetrated, three shells -burst. - -Then the enemy was following us! Was there no one to stop him? Had we -not been replaced? Did it mean defeat ... invasion ... France laid open? - -Abreast of our column lines of carts were lumbering along the road. The -whole population was flying from the enemy--old women, girls, mothers -with babies at the breast, and swarms of children. These unhappy little -ones were saving that which was most precious to them--their existence; -the women and girls--their honour, a little money, often a household -pet, such as a dog, a cat, or a bird in a cage.... - -The poorest were on foot. A family of four were making their way -through the woods led by an old man with careworn features. Over his -shoulder he carried a stick, on the end of which was tied a large -wicker basket covered with a white cloth. At his side dangled a -game-bag crammed to its utmost capacity. He was followed up the narrow -forest path by a young woman leading a fat red cow with one hand, -while with the other she held a shaggy-haired dog in leash by means -of a handkerchief fastened to its collar. A little girl was clinging -to her skirts, and letting herself be dragged along. Behind them -came an old woman, bent almost double by age and by the weight of a -grape-gatherer's cask full of linen which she was carrying on her back. -She hobbled along, leaning heavily on a stick. - - * * * * * - -Where were all these poor people going to? Many had not the vaguest -notion, and confessed as much. They were going straight ahead, into -those parts of France which the Germans would not reach. - -"What is the use of staying?" asked an old man querulously. "They'll -burn everything just the same, and I'd rather find myself ruined -and roofless here, but free, rather than back yonder where I should -be in the hands of the Germans. Besides, I've my daughter-in-law to -think of--the wife of my son, who is a gunner like you. She's with -child--seven months gone--and when she heard the guns begin yesterday -the pains came on. At first I thought she was going to be confined; -but it passed off. But I thought we had better leave at once. These -beasts of Germans, who violate and disembowel women ... who knows -whether they would have respected her condition?... Last night we found -a road-mender's hut to sleep in, but I don't know what we shall do -to-night.... And I'm afraid she'll get ill. Just now she's sleeping in -the cart. I must take care that she doesn't get ill! My son left her in -my charge." - -Pointing in the direction our column was following, I asked the old man: - -"Where does this road lead to?" - -"Where?" he replied, a wrathful look suddenly coming into his eyes. -"Why, Châlons and Paris ... the whole of France!" - -And, shaking his head, he added bitterly: - -"Oh, my God!" - -"You see they're half again as many as we are." - -He did not answer immediately, but, after a moment or two, he said: - -"I saw '70.... It's just the same as in '70." - - * * * * * - -The battery rolled on till we had crossed the whole of Argonne. At -Servon, a village on the fringe of the woods, where the infantry were -making a long halt, we stopped for a few minutes. It was two o'clock. - -We led the horses down to the drinking-place, near a mill on the bank -of the green Aisne. The animals waded breast-high into the stream, -where they stood puffing and snorting, splashing the men, who, with -rolled-up trousers, were also paddling with enjoyment in the cool water. - -Finally, near Ville-sur-Tourbe, we parked our guns. Presumably we were -to entrain the same evening at the station close by. - -The forebodings which had seized me in the morning when I saw the enemy -advancing behind us had in no way diminished. Were we going to entrain -and leave the road open to the invaders? Would they not surround the -troops operating in Belgium and those advancing in Alsace?... But were -the French still in Belgium and in Alsace? How we wished that we could -know the truth, whatever it might be! - - * * * * * - -To-night the men were surly and despondent, and one and all were -anxious to escape fatigue duty. Déprez found himself confronted on all -sides by the same sulkiness and apathy. - -"Tuvache, go and fetch water!" - -"But I went yesterday!... It's more than half a mile!... Why can't some -of the others have a turn?..." - -"Well, Laillé, did you go yesterday?" - -"No." - -"Right then, off you go!" - -"Oh, but...." - -"I'm not asking for your opinion, you know...." - -"Some of 'em never go...." - -"I tell you once again to go and fetch water!" - -"Well, at any rate, you won't order me to do anything else afterwards?" - -"No." - -Grasping a skin water-bag in each hand Laillé slouched off, dragging -his steps and hunching his shoulders. - - * * * * * - -We were informed that we were not going to entrain at Ville-sur-Tourbe. - -We had to swallow our soup boiling hot and eat the meat raw, after -which we set off again in the crimson-tinted twilight. Refugees were -camping in the fields on either side of the road, where they had -prepared to pass the night stretched out on straw strewn beneath their -carts, which would afford but poor protection from the morning chill -and dew. Infants in long clothes were sleeping in cradles. - -We were marching southwards. The moon had risen, and straight ahead -shone a solitary, magnificent star. Presently we reached a dark and -deserted town--Sainte-Menehould--where it was too dark to see the -names of the streets. The road was in lamentable repair, and the -horses stumbled and the guns jolted. Perspectives of abandoned streets -were prolonged by the moon.... Finally we saw ahead the red lamp of a -railway station, where, for a moment, I thought we should entrain. But -we did not even halt. - -Under the wan and yellow moonlight, which magnified the distances, the -country once again spread itself out in long valleys, where no troops -were moving and where no sentinel could be seen. - - - _Thursday, September 3_ - -Towards midnight we halted, and almost immediately afterwards orders -arrived. Our original instructions had been to move on at daybreak, but -the orders just to hand were to the effect that we should remain here. -So we were able to sleep until past nine o'clock. - - * * * * * - -A never-ending stream of refugees was now flowing down the dusty road. - - * * * * * - -We again heard a rumour that we had been replaced on the Meuse by the -6th Army Corps; and that we were going into Haute-Alsace under the -command of General d'Amade. This name, which was very popular, elicited -general enthusiasm. - -"Now it will be different!" - -I questioned a Chasseur, one of General Boëlle's orderlies, but either -the man knew nothing, or he would not tell what he knew. - - * * * * * - -The carts of the refugees had to be lined up on one side of the road -in order to make way for the infantry of the 2nd Army Corps arriving -from Clermont-en-Argonne and Sainte-Menehould. These troops seemed to -have suffered less severely than the regiments of the 4th Corps, but -they had no more notion as to their destination than we. They also -spoke of d'Amade, of successes in the north, and of naval victories. -They appeared to be quite unaware that the Germans were advancing -behind us. But were they really advancing? Was it not merely a fresh -allotment of French troops? How we wished that it were! - - - _Friday, September 4_ - -It was still night when we broke up the camp. After a whole day solely -spent in eating and sleeping, we should have felt much refreshed had -we not been tortured with diarrhoea. The Medical Officer had no more -bismuth or paregoric elixir left, and we had no choice but to chew -blackthorn bark. - -The horses were even more exhausted than the men. Many had been -slightly injured in the engagements on Monday and Tuesday, and their -wounds were suppurating. No one seemed to trouble about them, and that -was not the worst, for some of them had to suffer the stupid remedies -applied by the ignorant drivers. I saw one man urinate on his horse's -pastern, which had been cut by a shell splinter. Nearly all the animals -were lame as the result of kicks received at night-time, when the -worn-out stable-pickets fall asleep. Seldom taken out of the traces -and hardly ever unharnessed, the straps, cruppers, and especially the -crupper-loops had made large sores on them which were covered all day -long with flies. And, besides all this, the poor beasts, like the men, -were weakened by incessant diarrhoea. - -All the morning we marched on, through Givry-en-Argonne, Sommeilles, -Nettancourt, and Brabant, the milestones being at first marked "Meuse" -and then "Marne." The dust half veiled the austere, regular hills of -the beautiful country and the magnificent reaches of the forest of -Argonne sloping away to the east. - -About noon we reached Revigny-aux-Vaux, a pretty little white-walled -town surrounded by fields and pasture-lands, where we parked our guns -on the bank of the Ornain, close to the station. As we were leading the -horses down to the river a man dressed like an artisan, who was sitting -by the side of the road, accosted me: - -"Where are you gunners from?" - -"From the Hauts-de-Meuse, over by Dun and Stenay. We've been replaced -there by fresh troops." - -"Replaced?" - -"Yes--they say by the 6th Army Corps." - -"Pooh, that's all rot!... You've just turned tail!... Yes ... simply -that!... Do you know where the Prussians are?" he added, getting up. - -I felt chilled by a sudden fear. Misery was plainly written on the -fellow's bony, emaciated face. When sitting he had not seemed nearly so -tall or thin. - -He stretched out a long arm, and with a shaking hand pointed to the -north-west. - -"They're just outside Châlons, the Prussians!" - -I shrugged my shoulders. - -"You don't believe me? Well, I've come from Châlons--an aeroplane -dropped a bomb on the station just as my train left. And the Prussians -have got to other places as well, if you want to know. They are at -Compiègne! Do you hear?... At Compiègne ... it's certain. You've only -got to ask ... anybody here will tell you. They've got to Compiègne and -they took La Fère as they passed." - -I began to tremble, everything seemed to be turning round me, and for -a moment I thought I should fall. Instinctively I pressed my knees into -my horse's sides and returned slowly to the camp with a haggard face -and an aching heart. - -Hutin was there. I looked him straight in the eyes and said slowly: - -"Hutin! The Germans are at Compiègne!" - -"Where?" - -"At Compiègne!" - -He grew pale and shrugged his shoulders. - -"No!" - -"Yes, at Compiègne!" - -"Compiègne! Compiègne! Why, that's less than sixty miles from Paris! -Oh, my God!" - -We looked at each other. - -"Who let them get through?" - -"Those in the north, I suppose." - -"Then it's worse than in '70!" - -"At Compiègne!" repeated Hutin distractedly. - -Dreadful thoughts of downfall, of treason, of all the bitterness of -defeat and of suffering endured to no purpose rose up like spectres in -each man's mind. - -"I told you so; we've been sold!" declared the trumpeter. - -In spite of everything, I still could not believe in treachery. - -"Sold! Why sold? By whom?... By whom?" - -"How should I know? But they wouldn't be at Compiègne if we hadn't been -betrayed. Oh, it's the old story!... Just like '70.... Bazaine in '70!" - -"We may have been overwhelmed.... There are so many of them!... Three -times our numbers!... Besides, in 1870 the mistake made by the Châlons -army was that they didn't wait for the Germans at Paris. That is well -known. If MacMahon's army had not advanced, had not let itself be -bottled up at Sedan, perhaps we shouldn't have been beaten...." - -I grasped at the idea of a strategic retreat, and tried to convince my -comrades in order to convince myself. But they all remained downcast -and sullen, and kept repeating: - -"Just as in '70!" - -What a refrain! - -Bréjard, who had been listening as he smoked, was the only one who was -still confident. - -"The worst of it is," said he, "that we don't know anything for -certain. But, if the other Army Corps are in the same condition as -ours, all is by no means lost. They've probably been pushed back a -bit in the north, like we have been in Belgium. But if they haven't -been taken, that is the main thing, and as for this being the same as -'70--why, there's absolutely no resemblance! In '70 we were alone, -whereas now we've got the English and Russians with us." - -"Oh, don't talk to me about the English and Russians!" said the -trumpeter. - -"Have you seen any of the English, sergeant?" - -"No, but they're over here, all right." - -"They are said to be," corrected Millon. "But it was also said that we -were advancing in the north. A brilliant advance!..." - -"And the Russians!" went on Pelletier. "Why the hell aren't they in -Berlin by this time? They've nothing to stop them on their side...." - -Bréjard shrugged his shoulders: - -"Well, but all the same they can't get there by railway, you know!" - -"But a month ought to be enough ... with their famous Cossacks," -retorted the trumpeter. - -And he continued: - -"It's all tommy-rot! Shall I tell you what _I_ think of it, sergeant? -Well, these Russians and English, who have declared war on Germany ... -it's simply sham!... A put-up job! They've engineered the whole thing -together in order to do us in ... just like '70!" - -"Just like '70!" repeated Blanchet, who, sitting cross-legged like a -tailor, was mending a rent in his coat. - -This crushing catastrophe, which had descended upon us like the blow of -a sledge-hammer, made us begin to doubt everything and everybody. - -Why, instead of beguiling us with imaginary victories, could they -not simply have told us: "We have to deal with an enemy superior -in numbers. We are obliged to retreat until we can complete our -concentration and until the English reinforcements arrive." - -Were they afraid of frightening us by the word "retreat" when we were -already experiencing its reality? - -Why? Why had we been deceived, demoralized?... - -Accompanied by Déprez and Lebidois I turned into the garden of a -restaurant and ordered luncheon. Under the leafy arbour of virginia -creepers and viburnum, pierced here and there with dancing rays of -sunlight, blazed a medley of officers' uniforms--chemists, Medical -Corps men, infantry officers of all denominations, A.S.C. officers -and pay-masters, the latter in green uniforms which gave them the -appearance of foresters. - -For fifteen days we had not eaten off proper plates nor drunk from -glasses. The luncheon would have been an untold delight had we not all -three been haunted by the spectre of defeat.... - - * * * * * - -When night fell we entrained. The long platform, littered with straw, -was illuminated at lengthy intervals by oil-lamps. The horses, overcome -by exhaustion, their heads drooping, allowed the drivers to lead them -into their boxes without offering any resistance. The gunners finished -loading up the guns on the trucks, and soon all became silent. The men -installed themselves for the night, thirty in each van, some stretched -out on the seats and others lying underneath, using their cloaks as -pillows. Rifles and swords had been cast into a corner. And, just as -the western sky had ceased to glow, leaving the dreary platform dark -and desolate, the train slowly started. - - - _Saturday, September 5_ - -I had hardly any sleep last night. Every quarter of an hour the train -stopped, and men attacked by dysentery trod on me as they hurriedly -made for the doors in order to jump down on the permanent way. This -morning the same scramble continues. As soon as the train stops one has -a vision of files of gunners making for the bushes, whence they hastily -return when the whistle blows. Luckily the train gathers speed very -slowly. - - * * * * * - -A melancholy day--spent in absently watching the country roll past, -one's mind always hypnotized by the thought of defeat.... - -Often the train does not go faster than a man walking. - - - - -IV. FROM THE MARNE TO THE AISNE - - - _Sunday, September 6_ - -When we awoke, in a fine morning lightly veiled by silvery mists, the -suburbs of Paris were already visible. - -We passed through the forest of Fontainebleau, where troops were -camping amid the broom and bracken, and rolled on through the woods in -which the white walls and red roofs of the villas made a gay splash -on the green background. The gardens were a mass of flowers; huge -sunflowers turned their golden faces towards us. - -We almost forgot the tragedy of the moment. - -Sunday! The bells were ringing. Besides, Paris was quite close now, and -the magnetic power of the great city was already making itself felt. -The Parisians in the carriage could hardly keep still. - -Suddenly, after this dreary journey, and although it would have been -difficult to explain why or how, hope was rekindled in spite of some -more bad news we had learnt on the way, namely, that the Germans had -reached Creil without opposition. - -It was not the strength of the entrenched camp of Paris, of its -garrison, nor of its heavy artillery which restored our confidence; -it was rather the instinctive faith of a child, who, having returned -home, feels irresistible because there seems to be a sort of -reassuring sympathy between himself and surrounding objects--even -the elements. What again sent the blood coursing through our veins -was the indescribable yet definite sensation caused by the presence -of something immortal, of something loved and revered. It was like -a breath of life, like the comforting support of an invincible -Personality, an all-powerful Divinity. - -And then, as Hutin kept repeating: - -"There! That's Paris! that's Paris!" - - * * * * * - -"The English!" - -A convoy of British troops was passing us. The men shouted and waved -their képis. - -At Villeneuve-Saint-Georges the station was thronged with Highlanders. -Our train came to a standstill and was immediately surrounded by a -crowd of kilted soldiers intent upon examining our guns. Lebidois acted -as interpreter, and there was much hand-shaking and cheering. - -Little Millon stopped a burly Highlander with tattooed wrists and knees -and asked him whether he wore any drawers under his kilt. The other did -not understand and laughed. - -"That's so, isn't it?" said Millon. "If only you'd got a little more -hair on your head and a little less on your paws--why, in that skirt -they'd take you for a girl!" - - * * * * * - -We detrained at Pantin. Except for inscriptions on the wooden panels -or steel shutters of the shops, such as "Owner away at the front," -or, in letters a foot high, "We are French," and save for the faded -mobilization placards, Pantin wore the usual aspect common to such -places on summer Sundays. - -On the pavement and in the roadway swarmed crowds of women in -light-coloured dresses, carefully corseted, their figures curving with -that grace which only Parisian women seem to possess. Soldiers of every -rank and regiment strolled in and out the crush. A Territorial passed -with a woman on one arm, while with the other he led a little boy by -the hand. - -Was it possible that the enemy was at the gates? - - * * * * * - -At Rosny-sous-Bois we camped on a plateau overlooking the town on one -side and the plain of Brie on the other--a depressing enough spot, -devoid of all charm. Far off, towards the south-east, the sound of guns -was audible. - -In the streets, between the greenery of the gardens and the -light-coloured fronts of the villas, the scarlet uniforms, white -blouses, and variegated parasols chequered the crowd with bright dashes -of colour. - -The Zouaves had come down from the forts. - -On the terraces of the cafés, where not a single place remained -vacant, the white aprons of the waiters fluttered in and out among the -multicoloured uniforms of the Chasseurs, Army Service Corps officers, -Artillerymen, Tirailleurs, and Spahis. In front of the Post Office -and round the doors of the bakeries and confectioners' shops the -crowd collected in animated groups. Women ran to and fro greeting the -soldiers, asking questions, searching for a husband, son, brother, or -lover whom they were expecting to arrive. - -Every one jostled together, hailed each other, drank, ate, smoked, and -laughed. Families of placid tradespeople, mildly inquisitive, strutted -in and out the crowd with short, conceited little steps. - -The guns were still roaring, but in order to hear them one had to -separate from the crowd and enter the quiet little streets between the -gardens. - -We heard that fighting was in progress on the Grand Morin. - - - _Monday, September 7_ - -It was broad daylight when I was awakened by Bréjard. - -"Up you get," said he. - -"What?" - -"Here, listen to this." - -He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. - - "_Army Order of the Day._ - - "_At the moment when we are about to engage upon a battle upon - which will depend the safety of the country, it is necessary to - remind every one that this is not the time to look back. No effort - must be spared to attack and repulse the enemy. Troops which can - advance no farther must at all costs hold the ground won and let - themselves be killed rather than retire._" - -"Do you understand?" - -Yes, we had all understood perfectly. We should never have been able to -express so simply and yet so completely our inmost thoughts. "Troops -should let themselves be killed rather than retire." That was it! - -"And now, limber up," added Bréjard. "We're off there!" - - * * * * * - -Just as the battery was starting, two girls, the sister and fiancée of -one of the gunners, hurried up. For a moment or two they ran, flushed -and panting, by the side of the horses, both speaking rapidly and at -the same time. When they were quite out of breath they held out their -hands, one after the other, to the gunner, who leant down from the -saddle and kissed their finger-tips. - - * * * * * - -We passed through the suburbs and then, by the Soissons road, -approached the plain of Brie. We were going to the front, and I think -that each man felt that we were now passing through the gravest and -most critical moments of a whole century--perhaps of a whole history. - - * * * * * - -Evening fell. The battery had been on the march for more than ten hours -without halting. Far away in the background Montmartre reared its black -silhouette against the western sky. - -The fields were lit up by the stars, which were exceptionally -brilliant, but the road remained dark under the vault of tall trees -planted in double rows on either side, between which floated a -suffocating cloud of dust. A distant searchlight was sweeping the -plain. The battery broke into a trot on the paved road, and the -vehicles jolted and bumped so that it was veritable torture to sit -on them. Sharp internal pains made us twist as we clutched on to the -limber-boxes; our aching backs seemed no longer capable of sustaining -our shoulders, and the breath came in gasps from our shaken chests. -Our hearts thumped against our ribs, our heads swam--we perspired with -pain. Should we never stop? - -Hour after hour we followed the same dark road, but the column had -again slowed down to a walk. The bright headlights of an approaching -automobile suddenly threw the trees into vertiginous perspectives like -the columns of some cathedral, and showed up the teams and drivers as -they emerged from the gloom in a grotesque procession of fantastic -shadows. The motor passed. - -On we lumbered ... on, on.... Should we never stop? - - * * * * * - -"Halt!" - -At last! We parked the guns in a field and then led the horses off to -be watered. - -The only light in the dark little village was a lamp burning in a -kitchen, in which we caught a glimpse of large copper sauce-pans. - -There was no drinking-place and we had to push on to a marshy meadow -through which ran a river. The banks were so steep that the horses -could not drink from the current, and we gave them water out of the -skin bags. - -On our return we found the road crowded with horses. Other batteries -had just arrived. - -An eddy in the stream had just pushed me up against the garden wall of -a château when a motor, showing no lights, forced its way through the -herd of horses, throwing against me a confused mass of men and animals -whose weight crushed me against the stone. Another car followed, then -another, hundreds of them, silently and interminably. - -By the light of the moon, which had now risen, I was able to recognize -the oil-skin caps usually worn by taxi-drivers. Inside the cabs I -caught a glimpse of soldiers sleeping, their heads thrown back. - -"Wounded?" asked somebody. - -"No," came the answer from a passing car. "It's the 7th Division from -Paris. They're off to the front!" - - - _Tuesday, September 8_ - -"Attention!" - -It was still pitch-dark. Cinders continued to smoulder on the hearths. -The guns were still roaring, and the vivid jets of fire startled us -like flashes of lightning. A little way off, to the east, a farm or -hayrick was burning. The weather was sultry and a persistent smell of -putrefying flesh permeated the air. - -The battery started; we were off to the firing-line. - -At daybreak we reached Dammartin, where, on the doors and closed -shutters, notices and billeting directions were chalked up in German. -On the front door of one house I saw two words scrawled in pointed, -Gothic handwriting: "_Gute Leute_" (Good people). I wondered who it was -that lived there.... - -We continued on our way. The dull boom of the guns seemed to come from -the bowels of the earth, and continued uninterruptedly. - -By the side of the road a grave had been dug and marked by a white deal -cross bearing a name painted in tar and capped by a Chasseur's shako -with a brass chain. The dead man had evidently not been buried soon -enough, and a sickening smell rose up from the freshly turned soil, -which had cracked under the hot sun. - -The road was still staked out with dead horses, swollen like -wine-skins, their stiffened legs with shining shoes threatening the -sky. From a gaping wound in the flank of a big chestnut mare worms were -wriggling into the grass; others were swarming in her nostrils and -mouth, and in a bullet-hole behind her ear. - -"Trot!" - -The battery became almost invisible in its own dust. We began to pass -wounded, hundreds of wounded--infantry of the line, Alpine troops, -and Colonial infantry white with dust, their wounds dressed with red -bandages. They helped each other along. - -The majority were marching in small groups. Many had stopped to rest. -It was very hot, and I saw several of them round an apple-tree, shaking -down the fruit in order to slake their thirst. - -We had halted while the Major received orders from an A.D.C. I -questioned one of the Colonials, who was wounded in the head. - -"Well, how are things going down there?" - -"Phew! they're falling thick!" - -I did not know whether he was referring to bullets, shell, or men, but -from the expression of the drawn and haggard faces it was easy to see -that the fighting had been severe. - -"Been fighting long here?" - -"Yes." - -"How many days?" - -"It had begun when we came." - -"And when did you come?" - -"The day before yesterday." - -And he repeated: - -"Yes, they're falling thick!" - -We restarted, again at a trot. - -The clear sky, of a pure limpid blue on the northern and eastern -horizon, was fleeced with the white smoke of shrapnel shell; in -the distance black clouds were rising from burning buildings and -high-explosive projectiles. - -We were still pursued by the smell of dead flesh, which harassed and -obsessed us, making us peer about in all directions for hidden corpses. - -Suddenly one of the horses of my ammunition wagon foundered and refused -to go any farther, stopping the whole team. He had to be unharnessed -and abandoned. The other carriages had passed us, and with our five -remaining horses we galloped across country in order to rejoin the -column. The furrows nearly shook us off our seats and we had to hold -on to the box-rails with might and main, bracing our legs against the -foot-rests in order not to fall off. - -We overtook the battery in a village which had been visible from afar -on the flat and bare countryside. The enemy had evidently quartered -there. The doors had been broken in with blows from the butt-ends -of rifles; almost all the windows had been smashed, and were now -mere frames bristling with jagged splinters of glass. Dirty curtains -flapped through them on the outside. Torn-down shutters lay strewn on -the pavement among broken bottles, shattered tiles, and empty tins of -preserves. Others, hanging by one hinge, beat against the fronts of the -houses. - -Through the wide-open doors we could see staved-in wardrobes which had -been thrown down the staircases. Empty drawers, mantelpiece ornaments, -photographs, pictures and prints littered the red-tiled floors. -Mud-stained sheets with the mark of hobnailed boots on them trailed to -the middle of the street, giving to these unfortunate houses something -of the horror of ripped-up corpses. - -The pavements were a mass of furniture thrown out of the windows, -perambulators, go-carts, and broken wine-casks. Wood crunched under the -wheels of the wagon. A pair of pink corsets was lying in the gutter. - -On one of the Michelin danger signals, at the other end of the village, -I read the warning: "_Attention aux enfants--Sennevières_," and on the -other side a derisive and mournful "_Merci_."[1] - - * * * * * - -We halted where the road traced a straight white line through a plain -covered with mangel-wurzels. The desolate nakedness of the fields was -only broken by a shed, three hayricks, and, farther off, some little, -square-shaped copses and a long line of poplars. To the east and north -the battle growled, whistled and roared like a storm at sea. One would -have thought that the infernal noise came from some deep, subterranean -earthquake. - -We had waited a few minutes when suddenly the countryside sprang to -life. Battalions, debouching from Sennevières, deployed in skirmishing -order, and other soldiers--hundreds and thousands whose presence one -would never have suspected--rose up from the bosom of the earth and -swarmed like ants over the fields, their breeches making red patches -on the sombre green of the grass. Frightened hares fled from before the -oncoming lines. - -Small groups of wounded again began to go by. They could be seen far -off, black specks on the straight white road dazzling in the sun. - -Some Cuirassiers appeared to be billeted somewhere in the surroundings. -One or two passed by on foot, without helmets or breast-plates, their -chests covered with buff-coloured felt pads fitted with wadded rings -round the armholes. They were carrying large joints of fresh beef. -In the shade of three poplars to the right of the road, just outside -the village, some men were slaughtering cattle and selling the meat. -Near-by lay a dead horse. - -Presently came the order: - -"Reconnoitre!" - -The battery was going into action. Once more I was unable to escape the -little shiver of fear which follows this word of command. - -In the firing position the battery was only masked by a hedge of -brambles and some tangled shrubs, so that from several points of the -horizon we must have been visible to the enemy. The position was not a -good one, but it was the best the surroundings offered. - -The officers had taken up their position near the first gun on a narrow -path cutting across the plain. The battlefield opened out wide before -us. But on the almost flat countryside which bore such an everyday -aspect, and upon which we nevertheless knew the destiny of France was -at stake, not a man, not a gun was to be seen. The thunder-ridden plain -seemed to lie motionless under the shells. - -We had covered our guns with sheaves; yellow under the yellow straw -they might deceive at a distance. Besides, straw affords good -protection against shrapnel bullets and shell splinters. - -We at once fell asleep in the sun with the apathy of pawns who let -themselves be moved, with that fatalism which is an inevitable result -of the life fraught with hourly danger we had been living for a month. - -I was awakened by a word of command. Behind us the sun was sinking. - -"To your guns!" - -Something dark, artillery possibly, was moving yonder at the foot of -some wooded hills more than five thousand yards off. We opened fire. On -the right, on the left, and even in front of us ·75 batteries came into -action one by one. When our own guns were silent for a few seconds we -heard their volleys echoing in fours. - -In the distance in front of us all had become still. The Captain -gave the word to cease fire. But the smoke from the powder and the -dust raised from the parched field by the concussion of the rounds -had hardly cleared away when some heavy shells hurtled through the -hedge masking us, leaving three gaping breaches in their wake and -obliterating with their smoke the whole of the eastern horizon. - -"They must have seen the fire of our guns," said Bréjard. - -"And they've got theirs trained to a T," added Hutin. "Six-inchers, -too!" - -As ill-luck would have it, just at that moment a refilling wagon from -the first line, conducted by a corporal riding a big white mare, came -up at a trot. - -While they were still some way off we shouted: - -"Dismount!" - -"Dismount! You'll get us killed!" - -The drivers seemed not to hear. - -"Dismount, you--! Walk!... Walk!..." - -They had already unhooked the full ammunition-wagon, hooked the empty -one to the limber, and were off at a gallop in spite of our cries. - -Shells were not long in arriving, their whistling modulated by the -wind. One second passed ... two ... three.... - -This fear of death--the death which falls slowly from the sky--was an -interminable torture. Everything trembled. The shells burst, and the -wind blew their smoke down upon us. - -I heard a choking groan: - -"Ah.... Ah.... Ah!..." - -Our battery remained intact. The refilling wagon was still galloping -away in the distance. One of the numbers of the adjoining battery had -fallen forward in his death agony, and his forehead, pierced by a shell -splinter, was bathing the bottoms of the cartridge-cases with blood. - -Hutin, still sitting on the layer's seat, suddenly cried out: - -"Why, I can see the swine firing! I can see them ... long way off ... -down there, about ten thousand yards ... I saw the flash.... It's -coming ... it's coming ... look out!..." - -Sure enough, we were shaken by fresh explosions. I shut my eyes -instinctively and felt my face lashed by the cast-up earth, but I was -not touched. The bottom of one of the cartridge-cases hummed loud and -long, and once again the battery was smothered in smoke. I heard the -clear voice of the Captain as he shouted to the senior N.C.O.: - -"Daumain, get everybody under cover on the right! Major's orders. No -use getting killed as long as we aren't firing." - -We called each other, got clear of the smoke and hurried out of the -line of fire of the Howitzers. But the enemy's shells pursued us over -the field as we ran, crouching down, in scattered order. - -A projectile, the flash of which blinded me for a moment, knocked -down a sergeant of the 12th Battery, who was running by my side. The -man picked himself up immediately. Just above his eyes a couple of -splinters had drilled two horribly symmetrical red holes. He made off, -bending his head so that the blood should not run into his eyes. I -offered to help him, but he said: - -"No, leave me.... Run! It's nothing, this ... skull isn't smashed to -bits!" - -We took cover behind some large hayricks and waited for orders. - -The roll was called: - -"Eleventh?" - -"Eleventh!" - -"Hutin?" - -"Here!" - -"Not wounded?" - -"No, and you?" - -"No." - -The four detachments were complete. - -"And the Captain?" - -"Still down there at the observation-post. Look ... you can see his -elbow sticking out behind that tree. He's all right!" - -Two more volleys of shell burst close to our guns, which still appeared -to have escaped damage. - -How long the night seemed in coming! How we cursed the sun which, its -blood-red disk almost touching the horizon, seemed as though it would -never sink down behind the mangel-wurzel field! It looked absolutely -motionless, stationary. - -Hutin swore and shook his fist at the crimson sphere. - -The Captain signalled for us to come up. - -Behind the hayricks the cry was repeated: "To the guns!" - -We thought we were going to fire, but found that other orders had -arrived. - -"Limbers!" - -A mist, rising from the hollows of the plain, blotted out distant -objects one by one. The far-off hills occupied by the Howitzer battery -were lost in a purple haze, but quite possibly we could still be seen -thence as we stood silhouetted against the clear western sky. - -We limbered up and rolled off. The Howitzers kept silent. - -The rifle-fire now began to grow fitful, and the guns were hushed in -their turn. A death-like stillness settled down on the plain, which, -as the sun sank, became illuminated by burning buildings, the flare of -which blazed ever more brightly as the night crept on. - -The day of severe fighting which was just drawing to a close had -decided nothing. Each of the adversaries slept in his own positions. - - - _Wednesday, September 9_ - -In a field near Sennevières, in position of readiness, we brewed our -coffee. The weather was very hot. This morning the battle had been slow -in opening, but now to the east and north-east the guns were roaring as -incessantly as yesterday. - -Suddenly, about midday, the firing-line on our left opened out and -became slightly curved. We were occupying the extreme wing of the -French army, and were at once seized with misgivings. Was the enemy -outflanking us again? - -We questioned the Captain, who was also intently observing the woods -which yesterday had been out of the enemy's range, and which were now -being heavily shelled. - -"What does that mean, sir?" - -"I don't know any more than you, I'm afraid. I only obey, you know.... -I go where I am told to go.... That's all!" - -But Déprez insisted: - -"They're turning our left again!" - -The Captain's finely chiselled face was puckered with anxiety. - -"Well," said he, "they're certainly bombarding woods which they weren't -bombarding yesterday. But that at any rate proves that they haven't -reached them. On the contrary, perhaps they've been threatened on that -side by an enveloping movement of our troops.... Who knows?... Besides, -if they do outflank us we aren't alone here.... We'll face them!" - -He gave us a searching look with his intelligent hazel eyes, and -repeated: - -"We'll face them, won't we?" - -"Of course we will, sir!" - -Coffee was ready. The Captain pulled his aluminium cup out of his -pocket and dipped it into the black beverage smoking in the kettle. The -gunners stood round him, their drinking-tins in their hands, waiting -their turn, and when he had filled his cup helped themselves one after -the other. Conversation ceased, and the men sipped their coffee. - -After a while the cook said: - -"There's some more!" - -"How much?" asked the Captain, anxious not to deprive any one. - -"A good half-pint each." - -The Captain helped himself and the men followed suit. Then, as there -still remained a little coffee mixed with grounds the operation was -repeated. - -With that startling rapidity which we had observed each time we had -had to retire on the Meuse, the country became alive with lines of -infantry. Companies and battalions were emerging from the woods and -from behind the hedges, and overspread the stubble-fields, massing in -the hollows. - -"Hallo! what does that mean?" asked Bréjard. - -"Are those swine turning tail?" exclaimed Millon, crossing his arms. - -The Captain anxiously observed the movements of the infantry. - -"No," said he. "Those are reserve troops advancing towards the north in -order to face the enemy if he outflanks us." - -Orders came for us to go and take up position between Sennevières and -Nanteuil-le-Haudoin. - -There could be no doubt about it. The enemy was turning our lines. - -We were seized with a fit of wild rage. Would they manage to pass us, -and get to Paris? To Paris ... to our homes ... to kill, sack, rape?... - -"Ah," growled Hutin, "what wouldn't I give to murder some of those -savages!" - -"Trot!" commanded the Captain. - -Bending down over their horses' necks the drivers urged the teams -forward with voice, knees, whip, and spur. - -The same gust of wind seemed to carry with it men, horses, and -guns--all this artillery let loose like a tide on the barren fields, -over whose furrows it billowed and surged. - -We took up position with our guns pointing north-east. Behind us the -sun, already low in the western sky, lit up the railway-line and the -road from Nanteuil to Paris, flanked with tall trees. - -Sections of infantry began to fall back. - -"You see?" repeated Millon. "They can't stick it, the beasts! Haven't -they read the Army Order then?" - -Suddenly, almost behind us, rifle-fire broke out. We had been -outflanked. - -On the main road to Paris, and between the road and the railway, dense -masses of infantry were debouching from behind Nanteuil. We were -encircled by a huge hostile horseshoe, and it now seemed as if the only -means of retreat open to the 4th Army Corps was the narrow road running -south-east between Sennevières and Silly. - -An officer wearing an aviator's cap arrived in a motor-car and hurried -up to the observation-post. Shortly afterwards the Major ordered us to -turn the guns right round. - -At any moment we might be caught between two fires, for, to the -north-west of Nanteuil, on the hills commanding the road, there could -be no doubt that the enemy's artillery was taking up position in order -to support the infantry attack. - -Our batteries opened fire. - -The same wild frenzy immediately gained possession of men and guns. The -latter became roaring monsters--raging dragons, which from their gaping -mouths belched fire at the sun as it sank to rest in the soft summer -twilight. Piles of smoking cartridges-cases mounted up behind the guns. -In the stricken zone in front of us we could see men waver, turn tail, -run, and fall in heaps. From the heights above Nanteuil, from which our -guns could have been counted, came no answering roar of artillery. - -For a long time the slaughter continued. - -"Ah! _That_ lot will never get to Paris!" - -Night fell. The infantry regiments began to retire in order down the -hollow of which we were occupying one of the slopes. Some mounted -Chasseurs passed by at a trot, followed by a whole brigade of -Cuirassiers. It was the retreat! - -We were beaten!... beaten!... - -The enemy was marching on Paris! - -The sun was now but a red crescent on the horizon. The horsemen -advancing towards Silly disappeared in their own dust. We still -continued firing, lavishing shrapnel on the plain where men still moved -here and there. - -"Cease firing!" - -The gunners either had not heard, or did not want to hear.... Three -guns still barked. Shouting at the top of his voice the Major repeated -the command. - -Perspiring and brick-red with heat the gunners sponged themselves -over and then, with folded arms, stood silently behind their guns, -contemplating the fields of which not one square inch had been spared. - -We were expecting orders to retire in our turn, but eventually received -instructions to pass the night here. A battalion of infantry had been -sent to support us, and the men deployed in skirmishing order and took -up positions about two hundred yards from the park, which we had had to -form on the spot. - -We heard that in front of us not a single French unit remained. We were -at the mercy of a cavalry night attack. - - - _Thursday, September 10_ - -After yesterday's engagement we had expected a furious cannonade to -begin at dawn. But not a sound was heard. The sun illuminated the plain -and the slopes upon which we were waiting for the enemy in firing -position. Not a single gun was fired, and we began to grow surprised -and uneasy. - -A Lieutenant-Colonel at the head of a passing column recognized the -Major and hailed him. - -"Hallo! Solente!" - -"Hallo!" - -"How are you?" - -"I'm all right, thanks." - -"What's your Group doing there?" - -"Guarding the Nanteuil road." - -"Then you don't know what's happened?" - -"No, what?" - -"The enemy retired during the night." - -"No!" - -"Yes, it's quite true! We've got orders to advance.... The Germans are -retiring all along the line." - -The two officers looked at each other and smiled. - -"Then in that case...." - -"It's victory!" - -The news passed rapidly from gun to gun and nearly set the men dancing -with joy. Victory, victory! And just when we were not expecting it! - -Towards midday we also received orders to advance. - -At Nanteuil a slight recrudescence of life was noticeable. A grocer was -taking down the wooden shutters of his shop, and some of the windows -were thrown open as we went by. As at Dammartin I read on several of -the doors the notice: "_Gute Leute_." - -The road we were following skirted the fields on which we repulsed the -enemy yesterday. We halted, doubtless waiting for fresh orders. - -The surrounding country was motionless, but, between the Paris road and -the railway, grey-coated corpses lay among the mangel-wurzels as far -as the eye could reach. On the fringe of some large maize-fields six -Germans had fallen in a heap. The last to die had toppled backwards -on to the others, his stiffened legs pointing skywards. His neck was -doubled up under the weight of his body, and his chin touched his -chest. His eyes were wide open and his mouth twisted in a horrible -grimace of agony. With a single exception, nothing could be seen of the -other corpses under him save the shoulders, necks, and feet. But one of -them, who had not been killed outright and who lay half buried beneath -the rest, must have died hard. Scalped by a shell splinter he had tried -to rid himself of the ghastly burden crushing his back and legs, but -his strength had failed him. Propped up on one elbow, his mouth wide -open as though his last breath had been a shout, he had died stretching -a huge knotted fist towards the hills we had just left, whence death -had come to him. - -His cheeks, already turning grey, had begun to fall in, and in the -stiffening features from which all semblance of life was rapidly -departing one already seemed to see the hollow-eyed, square-chinned, -grinning mask of Death. - -A little farther on three Army Service Corps men were standing round -a Prussian lying on his back, his arms clasped as if in some awful -embrace. As one of them lifted his head in order to take off his helmet -a stream of black blood gushed from the dead man's mouth and covered -the soldier's hands. - -"Pig!" growled he, and wiped his gory hands on the skirts of the -German's grey coat. - - * * * * * - -Near-by a Sub-Lieutenant of Engineers was counting the corpses for -burial. - -"So it's you gunners who have given me all this work! I've already -counted seventeen hundred, and I haven't finished yet! There'll be more -than two thousand." - -As I returned, sick at heart, across the maize-fields I stumbled -against something soft. Suspecting a corpse I hastily jumped to one -side. - - * * * * * - -Again we advanced, towards the north. - -The roadside was strewn with Mausers, bayonets as short as butchers' -knives, cartridge-pouches, helmets, cowhide-packs, wallets, saddles, -dead horses.... - -On the evening of the Battle of Virton the Ruettes road had borne -a similar appearance. Upon that occasion I had dejectedly said to -myself: "This is a French defeat," and now I was equally astonished to -realize that I had taken part in a victory, of which these remains were -the proofs, a victory which had snatched Paris from the jaws of the -Germans, saved France, and which conceivably might open a new era for -us all. In sight of this Calvary of the German army we told ourselves -that the enemy would evacuate France as quickly as he had entered it. - -Across one of the broad, flat fields ran a yellow line of freshly -turned earth, staked out with rifles planted butt-end upwards. Hundreds -of men--thousands perhaps--had been buried there side by side, and -the air was tainted with all the pestilential odours of decomposition -which escaped through the cracks and fissures in the sun-baked soil. -On approaching one of the scattered clumps of trees under which -other corpses had been buried, the same sickening smell assailed our -nostrils. Despite ourselves we kept sniffing the air with an uneasiness -like that shown by dogs when they are said to scent death. - -Farther down the road we came upon a party of sappers busily plying -pick and shovel. At the bottom of a hole they had just finished digging -lay a brown crupper marked "Uh. 3" (3rd Uhlans), and on the ploughed -land at the edge of the ditch lay a dead horse covered with clayey -earth. Worms were swarming in the putrid blood surrounding him. - -One of the sappers, who was covering up the carrion with large -spadefuls of earth, looked up. - -"Phew! he smells bad, doesn't he?" he said. "Nasty job, this! I shan't -apply for undertakers' work when I've finished soldiering! And horses -smell worse than men. We shall end by getting the plague!" - -"When I started to drag him," said another, "his hoof came off in my -hand." - -And he pointed with his foot to an iron-shod hoof lying on the ground -like a stone. - -Close by, in a newly harrowed field, undisturbed save for the -hoof-prints of a couple of horses which had galloped across it, lay two -lances, one of them broken, a light cavalry sword, a Uhlan's helmet, -and a water-bottle. - - * * * * * - -The weather gradually became foggy. The fields, monotonous and drab -under the grey sky, and littered at intervals with uniforms, arms, and -corpses, imbued us with a sadness which bordered on fear. We had to -keep repeating to ourselves "Victory, victory!" in order once again -to feel the joy--which nevertheless was so deep--of knowing that the -Country was saved. - - - _Saturday, September 12_ - -For two days it has rained incessantly, and we have advanced about -twenty-two miles under the downpour. The enemy is still retiring, -his retreat covered by a few Howitzers which appear to be short of -ammunition. Each hour that passes confirms our victory, and we should -be in excellent spirits were it not raining so heavily. - - * * * * * - -The Captain has sent me to pass a few days with the first line of -wagons, partly on account of persistent diarrhoea, which was weakening -me considerably, and partly owing to a rather serious cut in the wrist. -Life in my new billet is far less strenuous; one's rations are better -cooked, and one gets plenty of sleep. - -While our batteries keep up a lively bombardment on the rear of the -German columns in retreat, the first lines of wagons are installed in -a wide ravine cut right across the plateau as if by giant swordstroke. -It almost seems as if the rain converged in this hollow from all points -of the compass. Shells fall also, but they bury themselves without -bursting in the marsh near-by, raising geysers of mud. - - * * * * * - -To-day the N.C.O. of the 6th gun, to which I am temporarily attached, -called the men round him: - -"_Les poilus!_"[2] - -"Here we are!" answered a voluntarily re-enlisted man who was already -grey about the temples. "Hairies without a dry hair on our bodies!" - -"Listen to this!" - -And the N.C.O. in a hoarse voice began to read an order of the day: - - "_For five days, without interruption or respite, the 6th Army has - been engaged in combat with a foe strong in numbers, whose morale - has hitherto been exalted by success. The struggle has been a hard - one, and the loss of life due to gun-fire, and the exhaustion - caused by want of sleep and sometimes food, have exceeded all that - could have been imagined. The courage, fortitude, and endurance - with which you have borne all these hardships cannot be adequately - extolled in words. - - "Comrades, the G.O.C. has asked you, in the name of your Country, - to do more than your duty; you have responded even more heroically - than seemed possible. Thanks to you, victory has now crowned our - arms, and now that you know the satisfaction of success you will - never let it escape you. - - "For my part, if I have done anything worthy of merit, I have been - rewarded by the greatest honour which in a long career has fallen - to my lot--that of commanding men such as you. - - "From my heart I thank you for what you have done, for to you I owe - that which has been the aim of all my efforts and all my energy for - the last forty-four years--the Revenge for 1870. - - "All honour and thanks to you and to all combatants of the 6th Army. - - "Claye (Seine-et-Marne) 10th September 1914. - - "Signed: Joffre. - - "Countersigned: Manoury."_ - - * * * * * - -"Hear, hear!" cried some one. - -"I say, sergeant," shouted the old soldier who had spoken before, "as -the General is pleased with us, can't you get them to ask him to turn -off some of this water?" - - * * * * * - -We started off again. The country through which we had been marching -since dawn, with halts of one and sometimes two hours during which the -guns went into action, seemed, at the first glance, an endless and -almost deserted plain. The beetroot-and corn-fields where the crops, -often in sheaves, had now rotted, seemed to succeed each other without -interruption from one side of the horizon to the other under the -lowering, cheerless sky, from which the cold rain poured relentlessly -down. But suddenly, in the middle of the flat and barren country, -there opened a dale whose existence one would never have suspected, -well wooded and so deep that even the church steeple of the village -nestling in its lap was hidden from view. - -Under the stinging rain the teams walked on with heads held low and -twitching ears, their coats shining like oil-skin. By this time many of -our horses were only kept on their legs as if by a miracle. The foul -weather had put the final touch to their ruin, and we had to abandon -three of them, one after the other. They keep going until they reach -the extreme limit of their strength, and then suddenly they stumble -and stop dead; after that no power on earth will make them advance -another inch. They have to be taken out of the traces, unharnessed, and -abandoned where they stand. They remain in the same place until they -die. - -The men were apathetic and taciturn under their black cloaks. Water -ran down our backs and made us shiver. Many of the drivers had turned -their képis round so that the peaks protected their necks. Their faces, -wincing under the sting of the lashing rain, were half hidden in their -upturned collars. Our shirts clave to our shoulders and our trousers to -our knees. The soaking garments absorbed the warmth of the body, and -we experienced the horrible sensation of gradually becoming chilled to -the marrow. It seemed as if life was slowly ebbing from our limbs and -as if we were dying by inches. - -We passed a group of miserable, saturated foot-soldiers, from the -skirts of whose coats the rain ran in streams. Some of them had thrown -sacks full of straw over their shoulders. One man was sheltering his -head and back underneath a woman's skirt, and others under capes, -neckerchiefs, and flowery-patterned bed-curtains. - -The road was a river of liquid clay upon which neither the men's boots, -horseshoes, nor the tyres of the wheels left a trace. - -As night approached the grey vault of the sky seemed to sink still -lower, drawing in the horizon over the fields, and almost to touch the -earth itself. A dense fog first surrounded and then smothered us. We -could not have told upon which side the sun was setting; the west was -as opaque as the east. The yellow, diffused light gradually became -weaker. Here and there by the wayside we could still distinguish the -dark forms of dead horses. Night fell. The rain was trickling down my -back as far as my loins. I was very cold and now felt more acutely than -ever that indescribable sensation as if my life's blood was being -slowly sucked from my veins. The battery lumbered on and on.... - -It was perhaps ten o'clock when we finally halted on the outskirts of -a village and ranged up our carriages by the side of the road. We had -to wait there some time, sitting motionless on the limbers and becoming -more frozen every minute. Our teeth chattered with cold. The delay was -probably caused by a cross-roads, a block in the transport traffic, a -passing convoy, or some other obstacle; in any case we could not move -on. I began to wonder whether we should have to pass the whole night in -the rain.... - -Eventually we reached a field in which we bivouacked, stretching the -lines between the carriages. The hurricane lamps formed large yellow -points in the opaque darkness, piercing the night without lighting -anything. There was no sound save the squelching of dragging footsteps -as the exhausted men and horses moved about in the mud. - -The sergeant-major summoned the corporals for the issue of rations. But -the distribution between the guns had not been finished and the men -immediately went away again, preferring to wait until the next day to -get their rations. The sergeant-major shouted after them, declaring -that if there should be an alarm they would risk going for a whole day -without food. He was perfectly right, but no one listened to him. - -The darkness was so intense that it was difficult to follow the road, -and in order to keep together the men kept shouting: - -"Eleventh!... This way.... Eleventh!..." - -Convoys passed by, splashing us with mud. A wheel just grazed me. -After a long march the only shelter we could find was some rickety old -barns, open to the four winds of heaven, in which a thin sprinkling -of straw hardly separated us from the beaten-down earth. Here the -battery, silent, soaked to the skin and smelling like wet animals, sank -shivering into a troubled sleep, continually interrupted by the cries -of men dreaming. - - - _Sunday, September 13_ - -This morning the sun was shining. Clouds were still banked up to the -west, but the blue, which cheered us up wonderfully, eventually spread -over the whole sky. We continued our march forward. - -The enemy's Howitzers were still bombarding the country round us, but -spasmodically and at haphazard. The Germans were being hotly pursued; -in the villages we learned that less than two hours previously -stragglers were still passing through. It seems that yesterday the -enemy's retreat almost became a rout. Disbanded infantrymen without -arms, gunners, dismounted horsemen--all fled pell-mell, pursued by the -fire of our ·75's and harassed by our advanced guard. - -At Vic-sur-Aisne, while waiting till the pontoon bridge should be -clear, I entered a pretty little house, the doors and windows of -which had been left wide open by the Germans on their departure. The -wardrobes and chests of drawers had all been broken into and pillaged. -Women's chemises and drawers together with other underlinen were -trailing down the staircase. A meal was served on the dining-room -table, but the overturned chairs bore witness to the precipitation -with which the guests had fled. I was hungry and sat down without -hesitation. The food was good although cold. - -The leading carriages of the column had already begun to cross the -bridge before I learned that the luncheon I had just eaten had been -prepared for the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, but had been -interrupted by the arrival of the French advanced guard. - -We crossed the Aisne without difficulty. How came it that the enemy was -allowing us to cross the river? The thought of a trap, such as that -we laid for the Germans when they crossed the Meuse, made me a little -uneasy. - -Near Attichy our batteries went off to take up position, while the -first lines of wagons halted on a winding road leading to the plateau -through some extremely dense woods, all damp and odorous after the -rains of yesterday. In a little quarry of white stone yawning on one -side of the road in the full glare of the sun, I lay down with a few -comrades in some tall ferns. I was nearly asleep when, suddenly, the -noise of a bursting shell, which had just fallen close by, spread in -vibrant waves through the trees, of which every leaf seemed to rustle. - -At the entrance to the quarry appeared a gunner staggering from side to -side, his face deathly pale. He grasped his right elbow with his left -hand and let himself fall among the bracken. - -"Oh!" he murmured, "I'm hit!" - -"Where?" - -With a slight movement of the head he indicated his elbow, which was -cut open and bleeding. And, suddenly, from the road which at this point -made two successive bends and then plunged beneath a dark vault of big -beech-trees, came a confused sound of groans, cries, and stamping. - -A driver hurried up without his képi, his face streaming with blood. - -"Come quickly ... it's fallen down there ... it's fallen on the road! -Everything's all messed up, the horses are on top.... Oh, my God!... - -"Are you wounded?" - -"No ... where?" - -"Your cheek...." - -"Oh, that's nothing--it's a horse, my off-horse.... Come on!" - -More shells whistled overhead. We started to run. Suddenly, at the bend -of the road I stopped dead, breathless, paralysed by a ghastly sight. - -Under the sun, which, breaking through the branches, marbled the white -road, lay a shapeless mass of mangled men and horses. The entire teams -of the forge and store wagon were welded together in a writhing heap of -bleeding flesh. Men were struggling underneath. In the middle of the -road lay two gunners, face downwards; others were dragging themselves -about on their hands among the fallen saddle-horses. Wounded were -moving in the ditches. - -From this shambles rose long-drawn-out groans similar to the harrowing -cries made by certain animals at night, a muffled and interminable -"Aaah!... aaah!" rising and falling like some savage song. Blood was -running in streams in the gutters on each side of the way. A nauseating -stale stench, like that of a slaughter-house, a sort of warmth, an -odour of steaming flesh and flowing blood, a smell of horses, entrails, -and animal gasses gripped our throats and turned our stomachs. - -One man, who lay buried beneath the team of the forge, had succeeded in -passing his arm through a mass of tangled intestines, but the viscera -had gripped his wrist in a tenacious grasp. He shook them furiously, -scattering jets of blood in all directions. Round him the horses lay -writhing in their death agony, breaking wind, dunging, staling, and -scraping the ground with their stiffening limbs, their shoes grating -stridently on the flints. In their death-throes they strained at the -traces and one heard a noise of cracking chains. The vehicle to which -they were harnessed advanced a few inches, and then rolled back. - -Near-by lay a dead foot-soldier, his whole chest one gaping wound. In -his wide-open blue eyes was a fixed expression of horror that went to -my heart like a knife. An artilleryman, his stomach ripped open, had -been pinned to the road in an almost erect posture by a wounded horse -which, bleeding at the nostrils, had fallen across his feet. - -Whenever the groaning and wailing stopped for a second one heard the -noise of the blood as it burbled and trickled stream by stream and drop -by drop, and the gurgle of the intestines which lay in an entangled -pink and white mass on the road. - -I ran to help the man buried under the forge team. His face was red -all over, and horribly convulsed, his hair and beard glued with blood, -and his white eyeballs rolling like those of one asphyxiated. A horse -in its agony was threatening to kill a gunner wounded in the loins who -was dragging himself along on his hands, so I quickly killed the animal -with a revolver shot. It was only then that I perceived, stretched out -between two horses, my friend M----, very pale, with closed eyes. I ran -up and put my arm round him in order to lift him up.... All my blood -suddenly ceased to flow, my heart stopped beating.... My arm had sunk -up to the elbow in an enormous wound in my friend's back.... - -I stood up. For an instant the ghastly scene turned round and round.... -I thought that I should faint with horror. I put my hand--dripping -with blood--to my forehead.... I daubed my face with gore. In order not -to fall I had to lean up against the wheel of the forge. - -A hospital orderly had succeeded in extricating a couple of untouched -stretchers from the ambulance, which had also been shattered by the -shell. On one side of the road the Medical Officer, still much upset, -himself slightly wounded by the explosion, was occupied with some -first-aid dressing. Three of us hoisted on to one of the stretchers a -big, fair-haired gunner with a Gaulois moustache, whose foot, almost -completely severed from the leg, dangled in the air, and who was -yelling with pain. We remembered that there was a dressing-station at -the foot of the hill on the fringe of the woods. - -We started off, bending our knees in order to jolt the stretcher as -little as possible, but we continually had to step over the scattered -limbs of horses and pick our way between corpses so disfigured as to be -unrecognizable. - -A wounded man clasped my leg as we passed, lifting up a deathly face -which the blood, running from his ear, had surrounded with a gory -collar. His eyes implored us to stop, and in a low voice of profound -supplication he murmured: - -"For God's sake don't leave me here!" - -But we could not carry two men at a time. I bent down a little: - -"The others will be along in a minute or two with the other stretcher. -They'll take you. Come, now, let go of my foot!..." - -We left the shambles and began to breathe again.... - -The closely meshed cloth of the stretcher retained the blood of the -wounded man, whose foot swam in a red pool. He was suffering horribly -and twisted his arms together, groaning: - -"Oh, my foot!... You're shaking me.... Oh, how you're shaking me!" - -And then: - -"For God's sake walk slowly!" - -In spite of all our efforts we could not avoid the shaking which caused -him so much pain, and he continued to murmur, his voice getting fainter -and fainter: - -"Walk, walk ... slowly!..." - -His lips silently repeated "walk" until a fresh jolt made him cry out. - -In front of the field-hospital some medical officers had improvised an -operating-table in a shady part of the road. The wounded were laid out -in rows on the edge of the ditch. A fat doctor with four stripes on -his arm ran hither and thither, shouting. - -Carried on stretchers or limping on foot, either alone or with the aid -of their comrades, the wounded arrived. One man's chin was no more than -a bloody jelly; one of his eyes was shut and the other wide open. - -The veterinary surgeon's horse, shot through by a shell splinter, -had followed the wounded as far as the ambulance, but as soon as he -stopped he sank to his knees by the side of the road. The eyes of the -animal were full of a suffering almost human, and as he turned his head -towards me I fired my revolver in his ear. With a dull, heavy thud like -that of an axe as it sinks deep in a tree-trunk, the animal fell on -his flank, and from the top of the slope skirting the road rolled over -twice into the field below. - -We had at once to return to the scene of slaughter, where we were badly -needed. As soon as I left the fresh air and sunshine and re-entered -the woods I felt almost paralysed by the thought of what I was going -to see, and the shadows of the trees, growing darker as the daylight -waned, helped to intensify my fear. - -"Come on!..." - -Two saddle-horses with bleeding wounds were walking away from the -shambles by instinct. With faltering steps they slowly descended the -road towards the sun. The dead horses had been unharnessed and dragged -to one side of the way, but two artillerymen had been left lying in the -middle of the road, and some one, either out of force of habit or out -of pity for the dead, had broken two branches off one of the beeches -and had covered their faces with leaves. - -In the gutters the rivers of blood had become congealed. The hot, fetid -smell, imprisoned under the vault of the trees, still floated in the -air, more nauseating and terrifying than ever. The efforts the men -had made in order to unharness the horses and clear the roadway had -caused the intestines to split and break, and they now trailed about -everywhere, covered with dust, separated by several yards from the -gaping, empty bodies from which they had been torn. - -Two prisoners, tall men whose height was increased by their long -grey cloaks and pointed helmets, came down from the plateau. The -foot-soldiers accompanying them, fearing that this spectacle of death -might cause their enemies too keen a delight, had blindfolded them, -and led them by the hand in and out the corpses. But the Germans had -recognized the smell of blood. A line of uneasiness barred their -foreheads and they continually sniffed the tainted air. - - - _Monday, September 14_ - -At Attichy we spent the night in some splendid, well-closed barns -in which the hay lay deep, but our rest was disturbed by horrible -nightmares. I dreamt that I was rolling among mutilated corpses in -rivers of blood. When I awoke it was raining. - -A countryman with a drooping white moustache brought us some beer -and wine in buckets. He lived in an isolated house easily visible -from our barn, in a copse on the side of the hill. During the German -occupation he had left his house as being too solitary and had taken -up his quarters in the village. When the enemy took their departure -the day before yesterday he had returned to his house accompanied by a -foot-soldier. He was going on ahead when through the broken-in front -door he saw, in the hall, a helmeted German in the act of aiming at -him. He jumped to one side, exposing the French soldier behind him, -whereupon the German at once dropped his rifle and threw up his hands. -The two Frenchmen seized him and, sitting him down on a chair in the -kitchen, shot him through the head. There they left him, still sitting, -his head on his breast and the blood dripping from his forehead -between his knees on to the tiled floor, and went off to reconnoitre -the surroundings of the house and the garden. They could discover -nothing suspicious, but when they returned to the kitchen they found it -empty. Nothing remained of the German save a pool of blood in front of -the chair. But near the door and on the stairs were red stains and they -heard groans coming from the garret. - -We asked the peasant: - -"Well, what did you do with your Boche?" - -"Oh, he's still in my garret," he answered placidly. - -"But you must get him out of that. He'll soon begin to smell!" - -"Yes, I'm going to dig a hole for him to-night near the dung-heap." - -And, as I ventured to say that instead of killing the man treacherously -they might have taken him prisoner, seeing that he had surrendered: - -"Why?" asked the peasant. "Wouldn't he have killed me if I'd been all -alone? And yet I'm a civilian!" - -"No!" he added, "we shall never kill enough of those swine!" - - * * * * * - -The wind had risen and the rain ceased. Our Group advanced along the -Compiègne road, which runs by the side of the river. But we had hardly -gone a mile when the word was given to halt. We prepared to make our -soup, but there was no water, and I searched in vain for a spring or -well. Finally we decided to draw water from the Aisne. On the opposite -bank a dead German was lying among the rushes, half his body submerged -in the stream. Well, we would boil the water, that was all! One must -eat! - -As night fell a horseman arrived with orders. We set off at a trot. - -Under the lee of a high wall some Spahis were resting, their burnous -making red patches in the dusk. Near them their little horses stood -motionless under their complicated harness. Against an apple-tree -leaned an Arab with magnificently cut features, as regular as those -of a statue. Under the purple, woollen hood his brown face bore an -expression of that resigned melancholy, at once so pitiful and so -noble, in which men of his race always languish when far from the -desert. His large, apathetic black eyes, which seemed fixed upon -something in the distance, had a mystic look in them. He appeared to -feel cold. The gunners greeted him smiling: - -"Hallo! old Sidi!" - -But the Arab, without moving, only replied with a condescending blink -of his eyes. - -The batteries took up position, the first line of wagons halting behind -a screen of acacias. The silence of the night was hardly broken by a -confused murmur of the far-off battle when suddenly, as if at a given -signal, more than forty French field-guns, almost in unison, fired a -terrific volley across the plateau. - -The vivid flashes from the muzzles cleft the twilight like red -lightning. The air continued to vibrate. It was as though the -atmosphere were filled with huge sound-waves dashing and splitting one -against the other like the waves of the ocean in a storm. The earth -quivered in response to the twanging air. Gradually the night became -darker. - -Our batteries were certainly firing at registered aiming-points. The -enemy only replied now and again, and then at haphazard. - -Suddenly a rumour began to circulate: - -"The Germans are entraining! That station is being bombarded!..." - -"Oh, well, I shouldn't prevent 'em taking their tickets," said an -imperturbable-looking reservist. "I shouldn't interfere with 'em. Let -them clear out and let us go back home. I've a wife and two kiddies. -It's no joke, war!..." - -It was pitch-dark when the guns, one by one, gradually became silent. -In a few moments there was complete stillness, a stillness almost -surprising, almost disturbing after the deafening cannonade. - -We rejoined the batteries. Noiselessly, one behind the other, the -carriages plunged like phantoms into the darkness, the soft field, -as it yielded under the wheels, giving a strange impression of -cotton-wool. The nocturnal clarity, diffused and as if floating, did -not enable us to see what kind of field it was which the long column -was crossing without a jolt or jangle, with only an occasional creaking -of badly oiled wheels. - -The whole countryside smelt of death, and this was not due to -imagination. Far off a burning building stood out like a fixed point of -light. The massive trees of a neighbouring park filled us with nameless -fears. - -The wheel of the limber passed over something soft and elastic which -yielded under the weight. I felt sure that it was a dead man, and -looked behind me fearfully. But I could see nothing. - -We halted on the outskirts of a village called Tracy-le-Mont, where the -supply-train was waiting for us. Rations were issued, the men in their -cloaks standing in a black circle round the provision wagon, which was -lit by a solitary lantern. Hutin and Déprez were among them. Somebody -was calling out the guns: - -"Third!... Fourth!..." - -"First!" cried Hutin. - -"You've missed your turn. You'll have to come last now." - -We talked while waiting. Hutin was very tired and hungry. - -"There's some good grub going," said he. "We're going to get some fresh -meat." - -"Yes, but fires will be forbidden." - -"I suppose you haven't seen the postmaster?" he asked suddenly. - -"No, why?" - -"Because in the first line you see him more often than we do." - -"Well, I've begun to doubt whether there is such a person." - -"It's true.... The brute never turns up! Confound it all! If only we -got letters sometimes the time would pass quicker. The last I had was -simply to say that they hadn't any news of me. It does seem hard!" - -"First gun!" - -"At last," said Hutin. "Good-bye, old chap! I'm off to get my grub. -Try to get back to us soon." - - - _Tuesday, September 15_ - -It was splendid weather when we awoke. During the night it had rained -a little, but we had surrounded our guns with armfuls of hay gathered -from some large ricks near-by. I slept under the ammunition wagon, -which sheltered me as far as the knees, and I had covered my feet with -a couple of sheaves. The ground was not very damp and I slept well in -spite of the shower. - -With the dawn the sky cleared. The air was soft and warm, and the tall -trees in their infinite variety of green shades stood out in clear-cut -silhouettes against the pale blue of the sky. The grass, although cut -short, now that the summer was ending, had regained some of its lost -freshness. - -Here and there in the fields dark heaps arrested the eye. These were -the bodies of fallen Germans. Once one has seen three or four one -instinctively searches for them everywhere, and a forgotten wheat-sheaf -in the distance looks like a corpse. - -We started, the wheels of the leading carriages tracing a well-marked -track across the fields. On one side lay a dead German. The vehicles -had brushed by him as they passed and would have crushed his feet had -the drivers not seen him in time. His face was still waxen in colour, -and the eye-sockets alone had begun to turn green. The solemn, regular -features were not lacking in a certain virile beauty. - -The man sitting next me on the wagon looked long at the dead man's face -as if trying to catch his last expression. - -"Poor devil!" said he, shrugging his shoulders. - -A little moved myself, I echoed: - -"Yes, poor devil!" - -But the wheel-driver, who had left a wife and children behind him, and -was wondering how they fared, turned in his saddle: - -"Dirty pig!" he growled. - - * * * * * - -This morning the battle started early and with unusual violence on a -front which appeared to stretch from east to west. As far as one could -see the sky was fleecy with shell smoke. - -"There!... And they said the Germans were going--were entraining! Do -you see them over there?... Brutes!" - -"Yes. They were detraining!" - -The men bitterly cursed their erstwhile credulity. Nevertheless I -knew that this evening they would be ready to believe the news that -the Russians had reached Berlin, provided that it was sufficiently -vigorously affirmed. - -We learned the truth from some passing foot-soldiers. The Germans had -entrenched themselves strongly on the wooded hills and in the quarries. -The pursuit was held up, and a new battle was about to begin. - -I asked a sergeant: - -"But those aren't the Germans we were on the heels of yesterday and the -day before, are they?" - -"No," he answered, "these must be troops which were behind them in -Belgium." - -The first line, installed in a narrow valley, replenished every -half-hour the battery which, in position near a large farm, was -emptying wagonful after wagonful of shells. The German artillery swept -the plain, and some six-inch Howitzers, whose objective seemed to be -the bend of a neighbouring road, aiming too high, threatened to catch -us in enfilading fire at any moment. On the other hand, one of their -77 mm. batteries had opened fire on a wood commanding the other end -of the valley. There could be no thought of trying to get out of this -uncomfortable position by way of the plain. The enemy would see us -and his Howitzers would reach us with ease. The officer in charge of -the train, Lieutenant Boutroux, was perplexed. Finally he decided to -face the 77 mm. guns, and we began to work round the edge of the wood, -shrapnel shell bursting over our heads. Soon the valley curved inwards. -The danger zone was passed. Unscathed, and keeping well screened from -the enemy, we took up a fresh position in another gully almost exactly -similar to that we had just left. - -We lacked water, and in order to find it had to follow a path leading -across the field to some barns, from the roofs of which pipes ran down -into a couple of water-tanks. A ladder was propped up against one of -the latter, and I climbed up out of curiosity. The metal plating of -the inside was covered with rust, and out of the turbid water, which -was slowly sinking, emerged an old boot, a felt cap, and all sorts of -shapeless objects of cloth or metal, coated with green slime. We had -nevertheless to content ourselves with this water!... - - * * * * * - -The sound of the battle was indicative of no decision; it neither -approached nor became fainter. The wounded who passed told us that -since the morning the infantry had been continually launched against -the strong entrenchments without being able to break through them. The -gun-fire did not slacken until nightfall. - -We rejoined the batteries, cutting across the plain now hidden from -the enemy by the falling darkness. Somewhere a machine-gun was still -crackling. A thin rain was floating in the air and we rapidly became -wet through. We had to lie in the open among the mangel-wurzels, and -the horses were not taken out of the vehicles. - -It was almost impossible to sleep. The moment we lay still we began to -shiver and our teeth chattered. I had a vague fear that the cold, which -ran down my spine in long shudders, might kill me unawares if I went to -sleep. - -My feet resting on the wheel, I curled up on the top of the ammunition -wagon, preferring the icy contact of the steel to the dampness of the -ground. The rain began to fall more heavily. - - - _Wednesday, September 16_ - -Quite early this morning the dull, far-off thud of a Howitzer echoed -and re-echoed, and immediately afterwards, as if fired by a train of -powder, all the guns on the plateau began to roar. - -Astruc came up: - -"Lord!" said he, "I had a funny experience last night! Just think ... -the others had bagged all the places under the wagons, and, as I was -looking about, I saw a great big chap, at least six feet long, covered -over with a blanket in the middle of the field. 'Well,' said I to -myself, 'if there's room for one there's room for two,' and I lifted up -the blanket and snuggled in beside him. But as I went to sleep I pulled -it little by little to my side. Suddenly the long 'un sits up, wide -awake, and starts shaking me!... At first I said nothing--pretended -to be asleep. I was so tired! But he went on shaking me, and then -he shouted: 'What the blazes do you think you're doing?' Finally I -grunted, 'All right! No need to make such a row....' And then I rubbed -my eyes, and got up.... Do you know who it was?... It was the Major! -I'd pulled his blanket off him! I didn't lose my head. I told him that -I felt awfully ill--fit to die--and that there wasn't any more room -underneath the wagon.... Then he muttered something, I don't know what, -and settled down again. I didn't hesitate an instant, but lay down -beside him. Then he said: 'Well, for God's sake don't take all the -blanket, at any rate!'" - -The battery went off to take up position, and the first line of wagons -returned to the gully where we sheltered yesterday. - -My wrist was hurting me. In spite of the dressing the wound had been -poisoned by the blood of the wounded and dead at Attichy. - - * * * * * - -The postmaster arrived with a sackful of letters. - -"At home they seem to think the war will last until New Year," said -somebody. - -"But the Russians?" - -"Oh! the Russians...." - -"Well, let's see ... October, November, December.... That makes another -three months and a half.... Why, we shall all be dead of exposure -before then!" - - * * * * * - -Hardly five hundred yards away from our park some big farm buildings -suddenly burst into flames, the walls surrounding the yard showing up -on the bare fields like a massive square of luminous masonry. The smoke -at first rose in heavy, dark spirals pierced here and there by yellow -flashes and then shot straight up into the clear sky in a tall column. - -We knew that there were sheep in the farm. The bombardment had ceased, -and I decided to save one or two of the animals in order to supplement -our ordinary rations. Two gunners of the 12th Battery, the carriages of -which were lined up close to ours, had the same idea. - -We set out for the farm as rapidly as possible. The field we had to -cross had been ploughed up yesterday by the German Howitzers. The enemy -doubtless thought that infantry lay concealed behind the buildings, -and the whole day long his heavy guns had vainly mown down the -mangel-wurzels. - -"They've gone to work as though they wanted to plant trees in fives," -remarked one of my companions. And he added: - -"And they've done the job jolly well! I know something about it, for -I'm a gardener." - -On the edge of a shell crater two gendarmes lay stretched side by side -among the scattered clods of earth. One of them, a big, red-haired -man, had a great gaping wound in his chest, and his right arm, doubled -up in a strange posture, looked as if it had two elbows. The body of -the other, a grey-headed corporal, seemed untouched, but in one of his -eye-sockets there was nothing but a clot of blood, and the eye itself -was hanging on his temple at the end of a white tendon. - -"Poor old chap!" said the gardener. - -He leaned over the corpse with its ghastly, one-eyed face staring at -the sky, and reverently covered it with the silver-badged cap which -had fallen near the dead man's side. - - * * * * * - -Behind one of the blue-slated roofs, which was still intact, lively -flames were now breaking out but were immediately stifled by the clouds -of smoke. A magnificent cone-shaped fir-tree, of funereal aspect, -mounted guard over the fire like a solitary sentry. - -We approached the building. Near the wall of the yard were lying two -gunners and a couple of horses. They had just been killed, and the -blood on the ground was still red. I recognized one of the men as the -orderly of one of our officers. The other had fallen face downwards, -his arms crossed under him. - -A shell had bored a great hole in the yard. Three ducks, despite the -heat of the flames, were dabbling about in a little green pond near a -square-shaped dunghill. Another, the head of which had been cut off by -a shell splinter, was lying on its side at the edge of the water. - -Against the background formed by the great dark curtain of smoke, which -from where we were standing hid half the sky, the skeleton of a barn -stood out like a fascinating framework of molten metal. Long flames -darted out from the doorway and licked a plough and a harrow which had -been abandoned there. Above the hay-shoot a pulley-wheel for hoisting -fodder, mounted in a recess in the front of the building, was red-hot. -The roar of the guns was no longer audible, being drowned by the -crackling of the fire and the sharp hiss of the sparks as they fell in -the pond. One of the ducks, stung by a glowing splinter, was shaking -her feathers. - -"We're none too soon," said the gardener. "The mutton will be half -cooked already." - -The sheepfold was only separated from the shed, which was now alight, -by a bake-house, and was already full of smoke, through which the -woolly backs of the animals loomed like even denser clouds. The -door was open, but the stupid beasts had not fled, and had crowded -together against the end wall under the window communicating with -the bake-house, through which came the smoke which was gradually -asphyxiating them. Huddling together they pushed forward as though -trying to break down the wall with their foreheads. - -"Come on," said the gardener. "You, Lintier, stand there ... at the -door. That's how we'll work it. We'll both of us rush in and each pull -out one of them, and you put a bullet through them as they come out. -Understand?" - -"All right!" - -I had a glimpse of the shadowy forms of the two men dodging about in -the smoke. Then I heard the scraping of hard hoofs on the ground and -one of the gunners reappeared grasping with both hands the tail of a -fat sheep which he pulled out backwards. I killed the animal on the -threshold, and immediately afterwards a second. The gardener went in -again to fetch a third. - -I replaced my revolver in the holster, and each of us hoisted a sheep -on to our shoulders. They encircled our necks like heavy furs, which we -kept in place by grasping the pointed feet bunched together in front -two by two. From their heads, hanging down behind, blood dripped down -our backs. We started off across the mangel-wurzel field. - -Suddenly the gardener cried out: - -"Listen!" - -We stopped. - -"Down!" - -"We're seen!" - -We heard the scream of heavy shell approaching, and at once threw -ourselves flat on the ground behind the sheep, which formed a sort of -rampart. Down came the shells between us and the farm. We jumped up, -and, in spite of our heavy burdens, ran till we were out of the line -of fire. We passed the dead gendarmes and did not stop until we had -reached a row of poplars which hid us from view. Three projectiles -swooped down on the spot we had just left. - -Winding our way through the copses and hollows of the plateau we -regained the park in safety. - -I resumed my seat on a bundle of wood near the fire, while a gunner, -who was a butcher by trade, methodically cut up one of the sheep strung -up by the foot to the store wagon. - -As I led the horses down to drink at the tanks I took a short cut -across the fields in the hope of finding some potatoes, beetroot, or -perhaps some onions. We were specially in need of onions, for some of -our food was most insipid and we knew of no other flavouring. - -I found neither onions nor potatoes, but, on the other side of a knoll, -I saw some foot-soldiers stretched out on the loose sheaves of wheat. -Their red breeches were visible a long way off. Evidently some of those -who had fallen in the engagements of the 12th. - -In a hollow a little farther on I also came upon some German corpses. -Thirteen Frenchmen and seventeen Germans had fallen there, almost side -by side. And yet the Frenchmen seemed more numerous. Red patches on the -yellow of the stubble-field, they caught the eye, whereas the Germans -were hardly noticeable. - -The arms and packs of the dead men had been taken away, and coats, -tunics, and shirts had been unbuttoned so that the medals could be -unpinned. Their necks, bared chests, and eyelids had already turned a -greenish-grey. A little sergeant, who had fallen backwards on to some -sheaves which now pillowed his head, still held his right arm starkly -in the air. The stiffened fingers of his outstretched hand seemed -clasped in a grip of agony. On his sleeve the gold bar shone in the sun. - -As I passed on, some swallows, whose low flight announced rain, skimmed -over the knoll, their pointed wings lightly touching the dead men. - - - _Thursday, September 17_ - -Our line of wagons still remains in the same hollow, nor has the -battery changed position. Although during the last two days it has -fired more than five hundred shells the enemy has not been able to -discover its whereabouts. - -Fighting continued, growing ever more violent in character, near -Tracy-le-Mont, Tracy-le-Val, Carlepont in front of us, Compiègne on the -west, and on the east, parallel to the Aisne, towards Soissons. - -We neither advanced nor retired, and that was all we knew of the -engagement. We have begun to fall into regular habits here; soup is -served and the horses are watered at the same hour every day. - -On my way to the water-tanks this morning I saw an odd-looking priest. -Sitting astride his horse in the middle of the road he was talking to -a surrounding group of gunners and foot-soldiers. He was booted and -spurred, and a long waterproof cape, fastened under his chin, floated -down over the crupper of his horse. A big wooden cross hung from his -neck on to the varnished strap of his revolver-holster, and into his -wide black belt he had stuck a German bayonet. - -Standing in the stirrups he looked like some strange militant monk as -he stroked the neck of his horse. - -"Yes," said he, "he's a nice beast. He belonged to a Uhlan whom I found -after the battle last week, near Nanteuil, where I was going to hear -confessions. He had been abandoned, so I took him. It is much better -than walking." - -And he added: - -"He saved my life yesterday.... I was going to the outposts where there -had been some fighting and where I had heard that I was wanted. I was -quite alone, and suddenly I met a patrol of Uhlans. They fired at -me, but missed. I was angry at not being able to go where I wanted, -and as I wheeled round I let them have a revolver shot. As a priest I -ought not to have done that, ought I? But I couldn't help it. I saw one -topple over. The others pursued me, but my horse went like the wind, -and after a time they gave up the chase. So I turned round again and -followed them. I found the man I had shot. He didn't understand a word -of French. I was able to give him absolution before he died, but it was -a near shave!" - - * * * * * - -Night was falling when we rejoined the battery. It was raining, and we -wondered whether we should again have to sleep in the mud. - -I found my comrades of the first gun--Hutin, Millon, and -Déprez--covered with mire and black with powder, their faces gaunt with -weariness. - -"Hallo!" - -"Ah, Lintier!" said Hutin. "We've had a bad time of it to-day! I -really don't know how it is we are still here!... I don't know.... Ask -Millon...." - -Millon nodded his head. He seemed at the end of his strength. - -"Gratien is dead." - -"Oh!" - -"Killed as he was mounting his horse ... a small splinter in the spine. -He didn't move.... A shell came right through the shield of the third -gun without bursting.... And another fell not two yards off our trench!" - -"Ah! That one did burst. We were badly shaken.... My hair and beard -were singed." - -"No one wounded?" - -"No one in the battery, except Gratien, who was killed.... Yes, though! -Pelletier got his forehead grazed by a splinter. Come and have a look -at the ammunition wagon--it's like a nutmeg-grater. It began to smoke -at one time. Suppose it had blown up!... It was full ... thirty-six -high-explosive shells!..." - -It was now quite dark, so we lit the hurricane lamps. Somebody called -out: - -"Eleventh, to your billets!" - -"Right!" - -"First gun ... fifth gun...." - -"Fifth!" - -"To your billets, eleventh!" - -We followed a man carrying a hurricane lamp, and found that we had to -share our billets with some foot-soldiers from the south whose accent, -so to speak, smelt of garlic. - -The men of the firing battery let themselves fall in the straw like -foundered horses, and, after having made sure of a warm place, I -sallied out with a couple of comrades of the first line in order to -find something to eat and drink. - -The narrow, badly paved streets were alive with the shadowy forms of -men jostling each other, the indistinct coming and going of horsemen -and wagons, the noise of many feet plodding through the mud, and the -confused sound of voices and respiration. - -A little café, near which the pavement had been broken up by a shell in -the afternoon, was crowded with foot-soldiers, A.S.C. men, and Zouaves. - -The bottles, jugs, and glasses standing on the counter half hid the -shadeless brass lamp with which the place was lit, and threw huge, -uncouth shadows across the narrow, smoke-filled room on to the walls. - -There was a babble of voices and laughter. Every one was drinking, and -the proprietor still had some liqueurs and rum left. The tired-out -soldiers soon became drunk with alcohol, tobacco, and tales of the war. - -This diminutive café, where there was a little light, a little warmth, -and a whole world of oblivion, was a veritable haven in the immense -weariness of the night, among the thousands of soldiers stretched out -everywhere round us, in the open or in barns, sleeping as soundly as -the dead men just laid low in the fields by the shrapnel bullets. - -We succeeded in finding a bottle of champagne. Never had the sparkle of -wine seemed to me so delicious. - -Nobody was asleep when we returned to our billets. Despite the -complaints of the gunners the southern infantrymen went on talking, -swearing, and leaving the door open.... - -"Aren't you chaps ever going to go to sleep?" thundered a gunner from -the depths of the darkness. - -"Hold your jaw!" - -"Here! shut the door, can't you?" - -Men continually trod on our feet and chests and let their rifles and -packs fall on us. The air was full of grumbling and vituperation. It -was nearly midnight, and Moratin lost his temper: - -"Now are you ever going to shut up, you ----! If you don't, I'll go and -fetch the Major!" - -A broadside of oaths rose from the straw. The gunners replied. Dozing -men, waking up, yelled: - -"Shut your mouths! _Shut 'em_, do you hear?" - - - _Friday, September 18_ - -Day was just breaking as we moved slowly along the roads across the -plain, our horses sinking up to the fetlocks in clayey mud. - -We met large parties of wounded--Tirailleurs, Zouaves, and, above all, -soldiers of the line. They overflowed the road on either side as they -plodded on with heavy steps which dragged in the gutters and puddles. - -The dawn was misty. It was half-past four, but we could not see the -faces of the wounded until they were actually passing our carriage, -when we had a vision of white bandages and of others crimson-red. But -when the troops had gone by in the vague, uncertain light, we could -only perceive a slowly rolling sea of heads and shoulders. - -In the eyes of some of my comrades who yesterday were so close to death -and who to-day were still stiff, tired, and dejected, I caught sight of -looks of envy. They were aware of the orders which had arrived during -the night, namely, that we were to return to our positions of yesterday. - -They were not afraid, but the familiarity with danger, which had made -them brave, had in no sense impaired their love of life--the life -which they felt bubbling in their veins and which, in a few moments -perhaps, might be spent, with all their red blood, on the field of -mangel-wurzels. They were thinking of those who had died yesterday, of -Corporal Gratien, of Captain Legoff--an officer adored by his men--of -the six numbers of the 6th Battery who were reduced to a shapeless, -bleeding pulp at the bottom of their trench. - -It is at moments like these, at once melancholy and solemn, when the -regular creaking and jolting of the wagons and the measured hoof-beats -of the horses numb the senses and make one drowsy, that one's thoughts -turn most bitterly to the future of bygone dreams, to all promised joys -and pleasures, to all the happiness for which the past has paved the -way and which might possibly have been realized without difficulty.... - -Dawn--I do not know why--is always a sad hour. And on the mornings of -battle this inherent sadness is rendered more poignant by the dread of -the terrible and perhaps final experiences which the day just born may -hold in store. Regrets and fears become linked in a vicious circle of -thought from which there is no escape. - -One's only desire is to live--to return alive in the evening--but to -conquer first, to prevent the enemy from reaching our homes, above all -to protect the weak and loved ones behind us, in France, whose lives -are even more precious to us than our own. To conquer! And still live -to-night! - - * * * * * - -The battery again took up position near the holocaust of the farm, -which was still burning, and the wagons returned to their gully. - -My wrist was giving me considerable pain, and the medical officer -wanted to send me behind the lines on sick-leave, but I preferred to -rest with the wagons a few days longer and then return to my gun. - -The rain began to fall in torrents. On the edge of a lucerne-field one -of our horses, which we had to abandon yesterday, was rolling in its -death agony. The straw we had brought with us, hashed up by the wheels -of the vehicles and by the hoofs of the horses, and mingled with the -water and mud which had collected in the clayey hollow, formed a kind -of noisome quicksand into which we sank ankle-deep. - -The men did not open their lips except to swear or complain. No -more dead wood was to be found in the copses; all had been consumed -yesterday and the day before. We could not light a fire. Some passing -gunners told us that there were still some faggots in a farm near the -water-tanks, and we at once hurried thither. On the plain the corpses -were no longer lying among the loose sheaves. On one side of the Tracy -road, which was now nothing more than a swamp, the earth had been dug -up in the middle of the field of mangel-wurzels and two crosses roughly -fashioned out of planks marked the grave. - -The farm to which we had come in our quest for wood had been arranged -as a first-aid post. The buildings surrounded a yard, in the centre of -which, near the dung-heap, were ranged up several green-tilted carts -marked with the red cross. In one corner a heap of cotton-wool and some -blood-stained bandages and compresses were slowly burning. - -In the stable and cow-sheds one could see, through the half-open -doors, the recumbent forms of sick and wounded lined up on the straw -underneath the empty troughs and mangers. Some hospital orderlies -in canvas clothing were busy making soup. A medical officer stalked -stiffly by in his white smock. Not a cry of pain was to be heard. - -In the wood-shed some sick men--nine or ten pale and gaunt -foot-soldiers--were lying on trusses of hay which they had not even -untied. One man, whom we could not see owing to the darkness, was -breathing stertorously with a noise like an engine. - - * * * * * - -The firing was less violent than yesterday. An aviation park had been -formed a few hundred yards from our hollow, behind the farmhouses in -which the Staff had taken up its quarters for the day. This proximity -rendered our position increasingly unsafe. The enemy's Howitzers tried -to reach the aeroplanes standing on the field, and though they seemed -to be firing at haphazard, shells continually fell here and there on -the outskirts of our park. - - * * * * * - -The day was drawing to a close without giving any indication as to the -issue of the battle, which had already been in progress five days. - -But towards evening a long convoy of Moroccan _Carabas_ passed on the -road near-by, marching southwards towards the Aisne. They were followed -by some infantry. What could be the meaning of it? We could not help -feeling uneasy. - -The dusk deepened into darkness and the long golden beams of the -searchlights began to sweep the plain. Under the hard, unyielding light -the smallest objects--a hayrick, a shed--cast huge inky shadows on the -field. - -Next, some artillery passed by, also heading towards the Aisne. We -could not see the carriages, but recognized them by the familiar -creaking and rattling. Occasionally they halted a moment or two, -and then another sound became audible--a sound like a far-off -torrent--caused by infantry on the march on some other road across the -plain. - -It started to rain again. - -We rejoined our batteries at the water-tanks. A ceaseless tide of men -brushed by our carriages, their shadowy figures rising and falling as -they passed in the darkness. - -"What regiment is that?" I asked. No one answered. - -"What regiment is that?" - -Apparently a regiment of dumb men. They continued to march by in the -gloom without giving any reply. - -"What regiment is that passing? Can't you speak French?" - -"Hundred and third." - -"Where are you going to?" - -"We don't know." - -"Where are you going to?" I repeated. - -"We don't know," came the answer again. - -On the fields of mangel-wurzels flanking the road we could see masses -of motionless artillery. Was the Army Corps retiring? And yet we had -not been outflanked this time.... I was suddenly seized with anxiety. - -It began to rain harder. Under the moving ray of a searchlight I caught -a glimpse of a long road black with men and horses. - -My carriage had ranged up close to those of the first gun. - -"Hutin!" - -"Here! Yes? Hallo, it's you!" - -"Yes.... Well, are we retiring?" - -"No." - -"What? The whole division is falling back!..." - -"We're being replaced." - -"Think so?" - -"Yes. I've seen some gunners of the Corps which is replacing us." - -"In that case we shall get some rest." - -"No, I don't think so. I've heard that they mean to make a turning -movement over by the forest of Compiègne and the forest of Laigle with -the Moroccan Division." - - * * * * * - -Rain ... darkness ... smoking prohibited. The surrounding gloom was -alive with distant footfalls, the muffled rumble of wheels, jingle of -arms, and the heavy breathing of men and animals. - -Behind the infantry regiments of the division we began a slow march -interrupted by the halts of the foot-soldiers ahead and by other -unknown impediments. - -About midnight we crossed the Aisne. Rain was still falling. Two -hurricane lamps marked the entrance of the pontoon bridge constructed -by the Engineers. The planking gave under the weight of the column and -one heard the water plashing against the metal bottoms of the boats. - -The road was now clear, and the batteries on ahead broke into a trot. -A horse which had become entangled in the traces stopped our wagons -for a moment or two, and before we were able to catch up the head of -the column a cross-roads suddenly brought us once more to a halt. -In the dense darkness there was nothing to indicate which road the -leading vehicles had taken. We listened.... A distant rumble seemed -to come from the right, and we wheeled in the direction of the sound. -The drivers urged their horses forward. We strained our eyes in an -attempt to pierce the gloom, always hoping to see the bulky form of -an ammunition wagon or gun loom out of the darkness ahead. But we -hoped in vain. The road became narrower, and at every moment we risked -falling into the ditch. Finally we had to confess to ourselves that we -had lost our way. - -The Lieutenant gave the word to halt. We prepared to wait for daybreak -before continuing our march. The downpour redoubled in violence, and -it was impossible to find shelter. The gunners huddled together on the -limber-boxes and became motionless, while the drivers stamped up and -down in the mud at the heads of their teams. - -Overcome by fatigue I had begun to get drowsy in spite of the cold and -the wetness of my clothes, which stuck to my skin like icy poultices -and seemed to suck all the warmth from my body. Suddenly I became aware -of footsteps splashing in the gutters by the side of the road. Men were -passing by the wagon. I thought that possibly somebody had discovered a -barn and was leading them to it. I followed. - -Sure enough, after a few minutes' walk we came to a house, the black -bulk of which rose up suddenly before me, darker than the surrounding -darkness. - -My foot knocked against a ladder. Perhaps it led to a window? I -clambered up and found myself in a loft of which the flooring was -rotten and gave way under my tread. I clutched the low framework of -the roof and advanced cautiously. Some one was already asleep there; I -heard his breathing. Stretching myself carefully athwart the beams and -pillowing my head on a bundle of wood, I prepared to go to sleep. It -was almost hot in the loft. - - - _Saturday, September 19_ - -We started off again at dawn in a drizzling rain. The road, studded at -intervals with the bodies of dead horses, wound through interminable -woods of tall beeches from which the rain dripped heavily. Endless -enfilades of swamped and deserted trenches stretched away on either -side and were finally lost in the undergrowth. Tall, heavy trees had -been felled and laid athwart the road, which had sunk beneath their -weight. And when they had been dragged into the ditches in order to -leave the way clear for the troops, their stout branches had scored -deep scratches in the road, which had soon been converted into -quagmires by the rain. - -We passed through Pierrefonds, where, beneath the leaden sky, the -magnificent outlines of the château rose up amid the verdure darkened -by the rain, and then entered the forest of Compiègne, with its lofty -beeches standing in colonnades, below which lay long lines of swamped -trenches zigzagging between the trees, with here and there a primitive -hut made of branches and ferns, and more and more dead horses. - -The sun, breaking out between two clouds and piercing the leaves, threw -emerald-green lights on the wet moss. Among the dark tones the bright -trunks of the birches flashed intermittently. - - * * * * * - -Compiègne! The town, occupied by the enemy for a few days only, did not -appear to have suffered very much. Gun-fire was audible from far off, -to the north-east. - -We crossed the Oise and rejoined our batteries at Venette, an outlying -suburb. - -In the large hall of a farm to which I had gone in search of provisions -the farmer's wife, a matron of over fifty summers, was depicting the -horrors of the German occupation to four gunners. - -She broke off as I came in. - -"Some milk and eggs? You want to buy them? No! I won't sell them, but -I'll give you them.... Please wait a moment." - -And she resumed her story. - -"Well, as I was saying, it was just like that ... in front of their -father. They trussed him up with his back to the wardrobe so that he -couldn't help seeing everything. Five or six of them there were, and -one officer. They violated both girls--only eighteen and twenty, and -such nice, honest girls too!... Yes--all six of them, one after the -other! The poor things screamed all the time!... Oh, those aren't -men!... They're just beasts!..." - -And lowering her voice a little, but without embarrassment, she -continued: - -"More than one woman went through the same thing. I did ... yes!... And -yet I'm no young girl.... I've a son who is a soldier like you.... Oh, -God, it's awful!... It happened one evening, at about this time ... -four of them had arrived here to sleep. How was I to defend myself?... -The best thing was to say nothing. There have been women who have tried -to defend themselves and who have been simply ripped up ... that's all! -My husband was out, getting in their things. I thought to myself, 'If -he comes in, what will happen?... He'll kill some of them....'" - -"Yes, I would, too! I'd have killed them!" interrupted a voice from the -darkness at the end of the room. - -I had not seen the man as he sat smoking his pipe in a corner of the -hearth. - -His wife turned towards him. - -"Poor old dear! You'd perhaps have killed one of them, but the -others would have killed both of us.... Besides, as far as I'm -concerned--well--I know I'm too old!... That's what my husband -said--afterwards.... That won't lead to any consequences!" - - - _Sunday, September 20_ - -A long march in a stinging hail-storm, first towards the west and then -northwards. We are evidently attempting a turning movement against the -German right wing. - - - _Monday, September 21_ - -The day broke with the calm brightness of early autumn. We continued -our enveloping movement. - -Towards midday a heavy French battery in position near the road -suddenly began to fire. Our officers went off at a gallop to -reconnoitre. We thought we were going into action, but were finally -told that we should not be wanted to-day and were sent off to camp in -a park near Ribécourt. We ranged up the guns on a lawn flanked by a -magnificent wood of beech-trees bordered by rhododendrons. - -On one side of us lay an unruffled sheet of water, reddening under the -brilliant sunset, and, on the other, among the clumps of trees beneath -which lay flower-beds set off by blood-red sage, rose a fine modern -château. Under the rich foliage a little rustic bridge spanning the -river gave an effect curiously Venetian. - - * * * * * - -The evening was sultry, but nevertheless we made our bivouac fires -under the chestnut-trees flanking the river. In the darkness of the -night, which had now fallen, the pond looked like an enormous blot of -ink. We were almost blinded by the yellow flare of our fires and could -no longer distinguish the river banks, thus risking at every step a -fall into the water. - - - _Tuesday, September 22_ - -We passed the night on some straw in the outbuildings. - -My wrist is now healed, and I am going to return to my post with the -first gun. - -Under the morning sun the pond shone like a silver mirror, and the -little Venetian bridge struck a bright note among the dark tones of the -trees, while the water flowing underneath, over the slime and rotten -leaves, was jet-black. The château stood out starkly against the pale -blue sky, and the yellow gravel of the walks and the vermilion sage -afforded a bright contrast to the uniform green of the lawns. - -The battery moved on. The crackling of rifle and machine-gun fire -accompanied the roar of the artillery. The enemy was evidently making -a stand against our enveloping movement, which it was doubtless the -intention of the French commanders to accentuate. We resumed our march -towards the north, heading for Roye. The success of the manoeuvre -depended on numbers, and I wondered whether we had sufficient men -available. - -In a field by the wayside some Senegalese Tirailleurs, fine-looking, -ebony-coloured men dressed in navy blue uniforms, were making coffee -with the simple gestures and admirable attitudes of people untrammelled -by civilization. - - * * * * * - -The officers had gone off to reconnoitre. We halted at the foot of a -long slope in the middle of some large mangel-wurzel fields forming a -kind of basin near the village of Fresnières, where heavy shells were -falling. - -The line of fire, forming an angle towards Compiègne, stretched from -north to south. We could not be more than a mile or two, as the crow -flies, from the plains we had been occupying during the past few days -on the banks of the Aisne, near Tracy-le-Mont. - -I do not know what echo or confusion of sound prevented us from -locating the position of the battle exactly. Fighting was going on in -the direction of Ribécourt and Lassigny, but the heavy battery which -had been bombarding Fresnières was now silent. Behind the woods columns -of black smoke were curling upwards. Fires or shells bursting? It was -impossible to tell. - -But our chief anxiety was the northern horizon, which was masked by a -line of poplars, and from which occasional and unsustained rifle-fire -revealed the presence of the enemy. The Germans might reply to our -enveloping movement by trying to execute a similar manoeuvre. - -On the edge of the woods to the north-east large numbers of troops -could be seen in movement. A long black column of artillery was winding -its way across country. The hoof-beats of a far-off squadron, trotting, -sounded like the reptation of some huge serpent. The whole countryside -was alive. From where we stood one would have said that it was only the -leaves of the mangel-wurzels moving in the wind, but in reality it was -infantry deploying in skirmishing order. - -We took up position in a field. The ground under my gun was extremely -soft, and it seemed a foregone conclusion that the carriage would -continue to recoil with the result that a perpetual error in laying -would retard our rapidity of fire. The second gun was no better placed -than ours, but the other section, in position on a stubble-field, -was on much firmer ground. The battery would thus lose all cohesion, -but there was no help for it. It was impossible to use the position -assigned to us to better advantage. - -In front of us, some 77 mm. guns were sweeping the fields, but -these did not cause us much anxiety. In relation to the position -which, judging from their fire, they were occupying somewhere to the -north-east, we were well covered. But, beyond Lassigny, standing out -amid the verdure, rose a line of lofty, wooded hills which commanded -the whole of the plain and from the summit of which our battery was -certainly visible. We could not take our eyes off their threatening -crests. What lay hid in their gloomy forests? - -We were well within range of heavy artillery should the enemy install a -battery at that point. - -"Come on," said Bréjard, "we must make a hole and get to work quickly." - -In feverish haste we dug a trench behind the ammunition wagon. Another -group of ·75's, occupying a position parallel to ours, opened fire on -Lassigny. - -The ·77's now increased their range, and every round became more -threatening. - -"To your guns ... by the right, each battery!" commanded the Captain. - -"What range? We haven't heard the range," shouted Millon. - -"Eleven hundred!" - -"How much?" - -"Eleven hundred!" - -"Oh, they're not far off!" - -"Sounds bad, that," growled Hutin. - -The gun reared, and immediately recoiled more than two yards. We had -to man it forward into position, but the spade and wheels had sunk so -deep in the soil that try as we would the six of us could not move it. -Our shoulders to the wheels, struggling and sweating, we began to get -nervous and angry. Finally we had to call to the detachment of the -second gun to come and help us. - -Some infantry had taken up position in front of the battery. We -signalled to them to move to the left. - -"They'll get cut in two, the idiots!" - -"To the left!" - -"What fools!" - -"To the left!" - -The Lieutenant, his lungs exhausted, waved his long arms. - -"Lord! aren't they stupid, those fellows!" We shouted in chorus: - -"To the left ... _to the left_!" - -At last they moved off, and we could fire. - -"Eight hundred!" - -We thought we had not heard aright. - -"Eight hundred!" - -So the enemy was there, behind the crests, and was advancing.... - -What was the French command waiting for? Why did they not throw forward -the troops which, over towards Fresnières, were swarming on the -mangel-wurzel fields? - -Moratin, who was standing on the refilling wagon, cried out: - -"Go on, let 'em have it full! That shell from the first gun mowed down -a heap of them. There! you can see them, the brutes!... You can see -them!..." - -His words gave us strength to push the gun, the wheels of which kept -turning backwards, forward into position again. - -"Hutin!" - -"What?" - -"Did you hear?" - -"Hear what?" - -"There it is again." - -"Bullets ..." - -"Yes." - -"In threes, double traverse!" - -The Captain had climbed into an apple-tree close to the fourth gun. The -bullets, brushing over the crest, were too high to touch us, but they -continually cut down leaves round the Captain. We begged him to come -down. For the tenth time one of the gunners insisted: - -"You mustn't stay there, sir!" - -The Major interfered: - -"Come down, De Brisoult!" - -But the Captain, his glasses to his eyes, continued to scan the -northern horizon and only answered quietly: - -"But I can see very well, sir ... very well. Nine hundred!..." - -"Nine hundred!" - -"Nine hundred!" repeated the gunners. - -Our infantry had doubtless retaken Lassigny. German shells were now -bursting over the town, giving off clouds of yellow smoke. - -"One thousand!" - -We had at last found a more or less firm position for our gun, and our -fire accelerated as the enemy fell back. - -"Eleven hundred!" - -"Twelve hundred!... Cease firing!" - -The detachments piled up in front of the trenches the ejected -cartridge-cases which strewed the field. Bullets still continued to -hum over our heads, but the 77 mm. shells were now falling wide of the -mark. We remained motionless at the bottom of our trenches. Every few -minutes Hutin asked me: - -"What time is it?" - -When I told him he became impatient: - -"Confound it!" said he, "we don't seem to be getting on!" - -In the afternoon, on an order from the division, the Major commanded -the limbers to be brought up. - -The drivers arrived on horseback, at a trot. - -"Dismount!" shouted the Captain. - -They did not hear. Bullets, skimming over the crest, still whistled by. -They would inevitably be killed. - -"Now then, altogether," said the senior N.C.O.... "One ... two ... -three.... Dismount!..." - -Twenty voices were raised in a single shout. This time they heard, and, -without stopping the limbers, the drivers hurriedly tumbled off their -horses. - - * * * * * - -We took up a fresh position still nearer the enemy between two lines of -poplars in a meadow overgrown with tall grass. Almost immediately the -77 mm. guns, which since the morning had been searching for us without -success, began to threaten our battery. The enemy could not have seen -our movements, and no aeroplane was visible aloft. Had our position -been signalled by a spy? - -A foot-soldier passed, holding his abdomen with both hands and shifting -from one foot to the other in the throes of intense suffering. - -"Is there an ambulance over there?" - -"Have you had a bullet in the stomach?" - -"No, here ... between the legs. It burns, it burns frightfully!" - -"Listen," said Millon, "make for our limbers--over there on the left, -behind the trees. They've nothing to do, and will perhaps be able to -help you." - -"Thanks! I'll go to them." - -"But take care between the trees in the meadow. The shells are falling -thick there!" - -The unfortunate soldier moved off slowly, writhing with pain. - -The Captain was standing at the foot of the first poplar of one of -the two lines, intent upon making observations. Men ready to transmit -orders by word of mouth lay at regular intervals on the exposed ground -between the battery and the observation-post. - -The 77 mm. shells were now bursting directly overhead. We took cover. -Every few seconds the enemy's shrapnels sowed the position with -bullets, the lead twanging on the steel armour of the ammunition wagon. -Nobody moved, and no one was wounded. - -Then I saw Hutin, who, sitting on the layer's seat, was sheltering -behind the gun-shield, suddenly jump to his feet: - -"Good God!" he ejaculated, "the Captain!" - -"Hit?" we asked anxiously. - -"It burst just over the tree he was leaning up against!" - -In spite of the danger the whole detachment at once stood up like one -man. - -"Can you see him, Hutin?" - -"No...." - -Lieutenant Homolle, the Major's little A.D.C., who quietly came up, -unprotected, from the observation-post, shouted to us from a distance: - -"Will you take cover, you idiots!" - -"The Captain?" - -"He's not hurt." - -And, when he had reached us and taken shelter behind the ammunition -wagon, he added: - -"I've got two in the thigh.... That's nothing--they didn't go in ... a -couple of bruises, that's all. The shell's got to burst pretty close -to do any damage. The most annoying thing about it is that the Captain -can't see the Germans. We can't fire!" - -The enemy's fire redoubled in violence, and shrapnel bullets riddled -the poplars, making a noise like falling hail. Shorn-off leaves, -carried by the wind, were scattered round the guns. - -One of the liaison officers--one of the _hurleurs_[3] as they are -called--wounded in the side, hurriedly left the position. Astruc, -wounded in the chest and vomiting blood, also left the field, leaning -on the arm of a comrade. - -We again became motionless under the shell-fire. - -Since a moment or two I had felt an unaccustomed itching in my beard. -Had I caught trench pest? Hutin lent me his looking-glass, but, while -I was carefully combing myself, I felt a sudden burning sensation in -my right hand, in which I was holding the glass, and which I had -stretched beyond the protective bulk of the ammunition wagon. At the -same time something hit me in the chest. Feverishly, with my left hand, -I fingered the cloth of my uniform and found a rent in it breast-high. -I felt myself suddenly grow weak. I tore open my tunic and shirt ... -nothing ... I could see nothing. My skin was unscratched. - -My pocket-book, letters, and letter-case, which I carry in the pocket -of my shirt, had stopped the bullet. The blood was spurting from my -wounded hand. That was nothing. Instinctively I had pocketed the -looking-glass. I do not know how it had remained between my fingers, -for my thumb was now no more than a pendant piece of tattered flesh. - -"You'll have to clear off," said Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel, who was -crouching down next to me. - -Hutin stood up: - -"Lintier!" he cried, in a voice vibrating with horror which went -straight to my heart. - -"It's nothing, old chap ... only my hand." - -"I'll dress it for you!" - -But shells were falling incessantly and I refused to let him get from -under cover. - -"Run off quick!" said the Lieutenant. - -I ran off across the meadow, crouching down as much as possible -under the menace of the shrapnel bullets. Blood was dripping on to my -leggings and thighs, and sticking the cloth of my breeches to my knees. -From my hand the bullet had projected a red, star-shaped piece of flesh -and tendons on to my chest. - -Suddenly came the whistling of approaching shells. - -At the foot of one of the poplars two horses had just been killed. I -threw myself down between them in the long, blood-stained grass. The -shells burst. With a dull sound a large splinter ripped up one of the -inert bodies protecting me. - -I immediately set off again, rapidly getting out of the 77 mm. Howitzer -line of fire. My wounded hand was covered with earth and horse's blood. -As I crossed a road or embankment, I suddenly found myself faced by the -threatening muzzles of twenty French field-guns lined up on the field. -There was nothing for it but to retrace my steps. - -Behind the motionless artillery some Moroccan Tirailleurs were lying -among the mangel-wurzels. I nearly trod on them before I discovered -their presence. - -A Captain stood up and beckoned to me: - -"Come here, gunner, and I'll bandage you. Got your first-aid -dressing?... In the inside pocket of your tunic?... Hallo, it's all -torn! Been wounded in the chest? No?... Well, you're lucky!..." - -He examined my hand. - -"H'm ... nasty!... lot of earth and gun-grease got into it.... We must -clean that off and disinfect the wound as soon as possible.... I'll -take off the worst with some cotton-wool." - -I was out of breath with running, and the blood was throbbing in my -temples and buzzing in my ears. The instinct of self-preservation -suddenly deserted me, and, as I stood motionless, I began to feel -faint. My legs shook and gave way as though broken at the knees. The -figure of the officer standing by me seemed to turn round and round. - -"Hallo! Steady!" he cried. - -He forced the neck of a flask between my lips and poured a draught of -rum down my throat. I immediately felt strengthened from head to foot -and laughed as I thanked him. - -"That's all right!" said he as he finished dressing my hand. - -The field-hospitals of the division were at Fresnières, and I started -off in that direction. My hand felt as though it had turned to lead, -and, as I walked across country, holding myself stiffly erect with a -view to resisting another fainting fit, buoyed up by the thought that -I should soon be under cover, far from the shells and the battle, an -unwonted lassitude, a yearning for sleep and silence, a weakening of -will-power suddenly took possession of me and seemed to penetrate to -the very marrow of my bones. It seemed to me that when I got to the -hospital I should sleep for days on end. - -To sleep--to sleep--and, above all, no longer hear the guns, no longer -hear anything. To live without thinking, and in absolute silence; to -live after so many times having narrowly escaped death. Suddenly I -remembered what the Captain of Tirailleurs had said--that my wound was -dirty, infected with earth and horse's blood. The fear of gangrene, of -lock-jaw, and of all other forms of hospital putrefaction gripped me by -the throat. - -At Fresnières an enormous shell had just killed, in front of the door -of the hospital, a medical officer, a nun, and four wounded men. The -bodies were laid out side by side on the pavement, but the corpse of -a Tirailleur, a great, dark-skinned giant whose arms, stretched out, -spanned an extraordinary space, still lay in the cut-up roadway. The -air was full of the distant whistling of shells. In the face of this -menace which remained hanging over my head, now that I could no longer -fight, I was seized with an instinctive and puerile feeling of revolt. -I was no longer fair game. - -In the yard outside the hospital, among the stretchers bearing wounded, -blood-stained men, some hospital orderlies were laying the more severe -cases on a large table covered with a flowery-patterned oil-cloth. Two -medical officers were hurriedly dressing them. - -One, a big, brown-haired man with gold-rimmed spectacles, beckoned to -me. I went up to him. - -"Well, what's wrong with you?" - -"Shrapnel...." - -"Let's have a look!" - -He unwound the bandage, and, as soon as he took off the compress, the -blood began to spurt like a fountain. He looked at the wound and made a -grimace. - -"H'm ... it bleeds badly...." - -He called one of his subordinates, a bearded officer, who hurried up. - -"Look ... we'd better take the thumb right off, hadn't we?" - -"I should think so!..." said the other. - -"Right. We'll cut that off for you at once," said the officer with the -gold-rimmed glasses. - -I protested: - -"Cut off my thumb!" - -"Yes, unless you want to keep it on like that. Here, wait a moment...." - -A Colonial infantryman had just been brought in, the blood gushing from -a large wound in his shoulder. The medical officer knelt down beside -him and feverishly felt about with his fingers among the torn shreds of -flesh, trying to pinch the artery. - -"Cut off my thumb!..." echoed in my ears. - -I quickly made up my mind. Seizing a compress and a strip of rolled -lint from the table I managed with the aid of my left hand and teeth -to bandage my wound in a rough-and-ready fashion, and without being -observed by the officers, who were intent upon the severed artery, I -slipped out of the hospital. - -I knew that I should find the other divisional hospitals at -Canny-sur-Matz, about a mile and a half from Fresnières. - -I came upon a café still open in spite of the shells, and bought a -flask of brandy. I placed my revolver holster on my left side, within -reach of my sound hand, for night was coming on, and often, under cover -of the darkness, patrols of German cavalry managed to slip between the -network of French outposts and supports. - -The Canny road made a wide detour, so I decided to strike across -country. The steeple of the village church, standing out sharply -against the crimson sky, would serve as a guide. - -My hand continued to bleed. I kept up my strength with frequent pulls -at my brandy-flask and felt confident that I should be able to reach -the next hospital. - -On a sloping field, near a square-shaped hayrick, some infantry lay -stretched out, their red breeches making bright patches in the shadowy -grass. A passing puff of wind bore with it a disquieting smell. The -arm of one of the prostrate soldiers on the top of the knoll stretched -straight up in the air, motionless against the clearness of the western -sky-line. - -Dead men! - -I was about to go on my way, when in the shadow of the hayrick I saw -a human figure crouching over one of the bodies. The man had not seen -me.... He turned the corpse over and began to search it. I at once -cocked my revolver, and carefully, without trembling, aimed at the -looter. I was about to pull the trigger when a sudden fear stopped me. -I could see his movements quite clearly, but his face, turned sideways -against the dark background of the hayrick, was not discernible. The -thought that he might be a gendarme identifying the dead made me lower -my weapon. - -"What are you doing there?" I shouted. - -The man jumped as though stung by a whip-lash, and stood up, his -features sharply defined against the clear sky. I saw that he was -wearing a flat cap with a broad peak. - -"Mind your own business and I'll mind mine!" he retorted. With that he -made off, running in zigzags under the menace of my revolver, like an -animal trying to cover its tracks. - -I fired ... he stopped a moment. Had I hit him? A streak of light -flashed out from his shadow, and a bullet hummed past my ear. Off he -went again but, just as he was about to disappear behind a bush, I -fired a second time. I thought I saw him fall among the brambles. - - * * * * * - -I arrived at Canny, where a red lantern shining through the darkness -marked the entrance to the hospital. Wounded were stretched out in -the porch, and the yard was full of them. The medical officers were -hard at work in a veranda adjoining the main building. Through the -multicoloured glass windows a diffused light filtered slowly, vaguely -illuminating the men stretched on the straw. Now and again, when the -door of the veranda opened, a rectangle of crude light spread along the -ground, showing up a line of stretchers and the suffering faces of the -severely wounded who were waiting for first aid. Two orderlies carried -off the first stretcher of the row. The door swung to behind them and -the yard was again plunged in a flickering half-light. - -I stood there, very tired, looking stupidly at the scene. My hand was -still bleeding, but only drop by drop now. - -I asked a passing orderly: - -"Do you know when they'll be able to dress my wound?" - -"To-night. Lie down in the straw." - -I lay down where I was. Suddenly I heard a voice, at once infantile and -yet grave, in my ear: - -"You wounded?" it said, with a strange accent. - -I turned and found a tall negro lying by my side. I could see nothing -of him but two shining eyes. - -"Yes, I'm wounded, Sidi. You too?" - -"Yes, me wounded." - -He appeared to reflect for a moment: - -"Blacks ... wounded, wounded, wounded ... and then killed ... killed -... killed ... Boches ... oh! many, many Boches ... William!" - -"Ah! so you've heard of William?" - -"William ... bad chief ... lot of women ... many women!... ah!..." - -He paused an instant and then continued: - -"He many women ... big, bad chief ... like way back there ... back -there ... killed the women ... cut ... cut.... Whish!... like that!..." - -"Why?" - -"Bad ... ah!... he got big house ... put women's heads on top ... on -roof.... Ah, bad...." - -He searched for words: - -"Yes, put heads of women--many women--on roof of house ... bad, very -bad...." - -I was in too much pain to sleep, and had perforce to listen to his -childish babble. - -"So ... down there ... bad chief stick women's heads on roof ... not -good, no!... down there!..." - -And then the Senegalese began to speak in his own language, a lisping, -sweet-sounding tongue. Perhaps he was delirious. - -I felt cold, but nevertheless, after a time, found my eyelids growing -heavy. Covering my legs with straw as best I could I stretched myself -out and went to sleep. - - * * * * * - -It was still night when I awoke, and a thin rain, or rather drizzle, -was falling. I was colder than ever, and my wound pained me severely. -The veranda was still lit up. I could see the shadowy form of the negro -lying next to me, but could no longer hear his breathing. I stretched -out my hand and felt his. It was icy cold. The straw under me seemed -wet. I looked, and discovered that my feet were lying in a pool of -blood. - -I stood up. The severely wounded had now been dressed. A fire had been -lit in the kitchen of the farmhouse, and a white-faced Algerian was -dozing in front of it. On the mantelpiece an alarum clock, standing -between two brass candlesticks, marked two o'clock. - -I had my wound dressed. It appeared that after all it would not be -necessary to amputate my thumb. A N.C.O. took down my name, and on -the cloth band which held my arm in a sling pinned a hospital ticket: -"Severe shrapnel wound in left hand. To be invalided back, sitting." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 1: Literally: "Take care of the children."--"Thank you."] - -[Footnote 2: Poilu (literally "hairy"): a popular term for the French -soldier, equivalent to our "Tommy."] - -[Footnote 3: Shouters.] - - - _Wednesday, September 23_ - -I had to walk five miles along the main road, upon which the crowd of -men wounded in the head, arms, and shoulders gradually became less -dense. Finally, I reached Ressons ... the station, the train.... Then -the interminable jolting of the cattle-truck half full of mouldy loaves -of bread ... fever, thirst. At last the hospital ... bed ... women's -hands, the bandage stiff with black blood taken off ... silence ... ah, -silence!... - - * * * * * - -On the 30th September the morning post brought me at the hospital a -letter from my friend Hutin, which I copy here in all its simplicity: - - - _"September 25, 1914_ - -"MY DEAR LINTIER,--Do write as soon as you can and let us know how you -are. I hope you'll soon be all right again, and all the other fellows -in the detachment join with me in wishing you rapid and complete -recovery. - -"You probably do not know of the misfortune which befell the battery -only a few minutes after you left. The Captain was killed--a shrapnel -bullet just under the left eye. You remember how we all said: 'If -anything happens to him he can count on all of us?' Well, when we -saw him fall the whole lot of us ran out to help him. But it wasn't -any use. It was all over. We carried the body back to the battery. -Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel took over the command and we went on firing. -He was crying as he gave the ranges. When, about eight o'clock, we got -orders to leave the position, and had propped Captain de Brisoult upon -one of the limber seats of the first gun, half the battery had got -tears in their eyes. Two gunners sat one on each side of him. They had -covered his face with a white handkerchief. At Fresnières we watched -over him all the night. He was buried there. - -"Since then we haven't done much. Besides, we've been a bit unsettled -by this loss. I can't tell you where we are, but if I tell you that the -battery has hardly changed place since you left, you will know more or -less where we are engaged. - - "Always yours, - - "GEORGES HUTIN." - -My eyes also became moist as I read these lines. - -THE END - -TRANSCRIBERS NOTE: -Liége was not spelt with a grave accent until 17 sept 1946. -The author's spelling was correct at the time of writing. - - - PRINTED AT THE COMPLETE PRESS - WEST NORWOOD - LONDON - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My .75, by Paul Lintier - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY .75 *** - -***** This file should be named 54816-8.txt or 54816-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/8/1/54816/ - -Produced by Brian Coe, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: My .75 - Reminiscences of a Gunner of a .75mm Battery in 1914 - -Author: Paul Lintier - -Release Date: June 1, 2017 [EBook #54816] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY .75 *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - - - - - - - - - -<p class="ph1">MY ·75</p> - -<p class="ph2"><i>REMINISCENCES OF A GUNNER<br /> -OF A ·75<sup>m</sup>/<sub>m</sub> BATTERY IN 1914</i></p> - -<p class="ph5">FROM THE FRENCH OF</p> - -<p class="ph3">PAUL LINTIER</p> - -<p class="ph5" style="margin-top: 5em;">WITH A PREFACE BY</p> - -<p class="ph4">FRANCES WILSON HUARD</p> - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus01.jpg" alt="mark" /> -</p> - -<p class="ph5" style="margin-top: 5em;">NEW YORK<br /> -GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">PREFACE</p> - -<p class="center">BY FRANCES WILSON HUARD</p> - -<p class="center"><small><i>Author of "My Home in the Field of Honour"</i></small></p> - - -<p>All during the three weary years of this great war <i>real</i> pleasures -have been few for those of us whom Fate has destined to be more or less -closely associated with the daily tide of events.</p> - -<p>As I look back at present I feel that one of my first treats was when -I came upon Paul Lintier's newly published volume called "Ma Piece." I -read it, reread it and recommended it to those of my American friends -who, able to read French, clamoured for some real human document; the -war as seen by an actual participant.</p> - -<p>Aside from the clear, concise style, devoid of any pretentious literary -flourishes, the incidents were what gripped me. They were the direct -answer to those thousand and one questions that we, the civilians shut -up in the army zone, tortured by fear and anguish, asked ourselves and -asked each other a hundred times a day.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span></p> - -<p>Soldiers and diplomats, critics and littérateurs, wives and sweethearts -all over the fair land of France devoured and discussed the book. And -little did I dream that it would one day be my privilege to write a -preface introducing to my compatriots this <i>chef d'oeuvre</i> already -recognised by the French Academy, the winner of the Prix Montyon. -This I may truly say is the greatest pleasure yet fallen to my lot. -Pleasure, alas! not unmixed with pain, for were it not a nobler task -to extol the virtues of the living than sing the praises of those gone -before?</p> - -<p>It was not my fortune to have known Paul Lintier. He fell in the very -flower of his manhood, unmindful of the sacrifice for country, ignoring -his glorious contribution for the safety of future generations. But -with his passing on the Field of Honour, something besides a son, a -soldier, and a poet was lost to France—lost to us all. It is such -spirits as his that make a country great, make the world worth while. -It is for such reasons that we should treasure all the more carefully -his only contributions to posterity.</p> - -<p>His name, yesterday unknown, now justly stands graven on the records -of all time. This humble artilleryman lost in the masses of the -combatants, jotted down on his knees a work<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span> that shall stand as one of -the most immutable witnesses of the conflict; a book that long after -we have gone will remain; an incomparable document, a magnificent -offering to those who later on shall study the souls and gestures of a -generation of heroes by whom France was saved.</p> - -<p>Some one has said, and wisely, that what most pleases us when perusing -a book is to find the author corroborating our own thoughts,—giving -voice to our unborn sentiments—providing us with material for -comparison. If this be true, then there is no reason why "My ·75" -should not live on forever.</p> - -<p>Further than a really great literary talent, this book reveals the -profound and generous soul of the entire "Jeunesse Française" ready -to sacrifice itself without counting, for the highest ideal that ever -inflamed a people.</p> - -<p>The admirable patience, the great good humour, the intelligent -cleverness and heroic devotion together with the plain, simple courage, -all the deep-rooted, undreamed of qualities of the French Race, are to -be found within its covers, making it a monument to stoic virtue.</p> - -<p>How we love them, all the "Camarades"—Hutin, Deprès, Bréjard, -Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel—and the others—the four million<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span> others who -on August second, nineteen hundred and fourteen, stood willing, ready, -to perish for their ideal, glad to offer their lives with a smile.</p> - -<p>The dedication to "Captain Bernard de Brissoult, whose glorious death -facing the enemy, drew from eyes burned by powder and long vigils, -the terrible tears of soldiers," is one of the most touching things -I know, and I should like to feel that all those of my compatriots -who close the book have shed a tear of admiration and regret for Paul -Lintier, who died for France, March sixteenth, nineteen sixteen, in the -twenty-third year of his age.</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">New York,</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 3em;">July, Nineteen hundred and seventeen.</span><br /> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2a">I. MOBILIZATION</p> - - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">War</span>! Every one knows it, every one says so. It would be madness not to -believe it. And yet, in spite of all, we hardly feel excited; we don't -believe it! War, the Great European War—no, it can't be true!</p> - -<p>But why shouldn't it be true?</p> - -<p>Blood, money, and more and more blood! And then we have so often heard -people say: "Now there'll be war," and nevertheless we remained at -peace. And it will be so this time. Europe is not going to become a -shambles because an Austrian Archduke happens to have been murdered.</p> - -<p>And yet, what are we hourly expecting as we sit here in nervous -idleness in the barracks, unless it is the order for general -mobilization? Sergeants of all ages arrived yesterday at Le Mans, and -every train to-day has brought others. Since réveillé a man dressed in -coarse corduroy has stood at the window watching the artillerymen and -horses coming and going in the square. Every now and then he takes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> a -brandy-flask from his pocket and has a pull at it.</p> - -<p>I was lying on my bed. Hutin, the chief layer of the first gun, was -spread-eagled on his, smoking, his knees in the air and his heels -drawn up under him. Noticing that my pack was crooked, I got up, -mechanically, and put it straight.</p> - -<p>"Hutin!"</p> - -<p>"Yes?"</p> - -<p>"Come and have a drink!"</p> - -<p>"All right!"</p> - -<p>The barrack square was less noisy than usual. There were no drivers -just returned from the polygon unharnessing their teams in front of the -stables. No word of command was heard from officers directing firing -practice underneath the plane-trees. In a corner one of the guards of -the artillery park was oiling his guns. A cavalryman, both hands in -his pockets and the reins slung over one arm, was leading his horse to -the trough or the forge. Over by the wall of the remount stables, in -the full glare of the sun, a few orderlies were grooming their horses -in a listless fashion. A continuous stream of men on their way to and -from the canteen—like a black line of insects crossing a white gravel -path—marked out one of the diagonals of the square. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> front of the -canteen there was a scramble for drinks. It was hot.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Midday, and we are still waiting for news. Suppose all this should only -turn out to be another false alarm!</p> - -<p>White-clad gunners, with nothing to do as there is no firing practice, -are strolling about the courtyard in search of news. In the Place de -la Mission inquisitive onlookers press close up to the railings; it is -difficult to say why. The majority of them are women. In front of them -a few gunners pass with a smile and a swagger, already assuming the air -of brave defenders.</p> - -<p>Near the guard-house which serves as a visitors' room, but where no -visitors are allowed to enter on account of the fleas which infest -it at this time of year, wives, mothers, sisters, and friends have -come to see their soldiers. All make a brave attempt to hide their -feelings. But their expression betrays their anxiety, which has lined -their foreheads and sharpened their features. There are dark rings -round their eyes, and the eyes themselves are restless and sunken. -They continually avert their gaze, lest the fears and forebodings -which no one can banish should be read in their faces. When they go -away, through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> the little door under the chestnut-trees, after having -watched the soldiers disappear down the passage at the end of the -barracks, their feelings suddenly find vent in a sob, at which they -are themselves surprised. Rapidly, and almost shamefacedly, pressing -a rolled-up handkerchief to their lips, they turn aside into the Rue -Chanzy, as if all the men there did not understand their trouble....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At four o'clock I went out with Sergeant Le Mée by special permission -of the Captain. We went to my room in the Rue Mangeard to leave Le -Mée's outdoor uniform there, together with a bag and some papers.</p> - -<p>We were about to have dinner. I had just uncorked a bottle of old -claret, when Le Mée caught hold of my arm.</p> - -<p>"What's that?"</p> - -<p>Up from the street a loud murmur came through the open window. At the -same moment something magnetic, indefinable and yet definite, shot -through both of us. We looked at each other, I with the bottle held to -the brim of the glass.</p> - -<p>"At last!"</p> - -<p>Le Mée nodded assent, and we hurried to the window. In the street -below, near the artillery barracks, surged a dense crowd. All<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> faces -reflected the same expression of stupor, anxiety, and bewilderment. -In the eyes of all shone the same strange gleam. Women's voices were -heard—voices that quavered and broke....</p> - -<p>"Well, Le Mée, here's to your health and let's hope that in a few -months we shall have another drink together!"</p> - -<p>"Here's luck to us both!"</p> - -<p>Grasping our swords we ran back to the barracks. That night we once -again slept in our beds.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Sunday, August 2</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>My kit was ready. I had rolled up some handkerchiefs in my cloak.</p> - -<p>A sergeant came in:</p> - -<p>"Now then, all of you go to the office!"</p> - -<p>The sergeant began distributing the record books and identity discs.</p> - -<p>On one side of mine was inscribed: "Paul Lintier," and, underneath, -"E.V. (engagé volontaire) Cl. 1913"; on the other: "Mayenne 1179."</p> - -<p>A fly was buzzing about in the office. For one moment there rose up -before me a vision of a battlefield—with dead men lying stretched -out on the edge of a pit, and a non-commissioned officer hastily -identifying them before burial.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span></p> - -<p>The "Great Event" had at last come to break the monotony of our barrack -life, and no one thought of anything else. It was almost as if a -sort of blindness prevented us from looking ahead and confined each -man's attention to the preparations for departure. This indifference -astonished me, and yet I myself shared it.</p> - -<p>Was it decision or courage? To a certain extent, perhaps.... Did we -really believe there was going to be war? I am not too sure of it. It -was impossible to realize what war would be—to gauge the whole horror -of it. And so we were not afraid.</p> - -<p>From one of the barrack windows I saw the following scene:</p> - -<p>A young man, promptly called up by the general mobilization, had just -come out of a house opposite. He was walking backwards, shading his -eyes from the sun in order to see the face of some one dear to him who -stood at one of the second-floor windows. A fair-haired woman, very -young and extremely pale, watched him with longing eyes from behind the -muslin curtains, doubtless afraid to let him see her distraught face -and tear-stained cheeks. She was standing close behind the curtains, -her hand on her breast, with the fingers spasmodically stretched out -in an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> attitude eloquent of grief. As he was about to disappear from -view in a bend of the road, she suddenly opened the window wide, and -showed herself for an instant. The man could not see her. She took two -unsteady steps backwards, and sank into an arm-chair, where she sat -huddled up, her face in her hands, and her shoulders shaken with sobs. -Then, in the semi-darkness of the room, I caught sight of a servant -with a Breton cap carrying a baby to her....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At noon we left the barracks in order to take up the quarters which had -been assigned to us a little way down the Avenue de Pontlieue.</p> - -<p>The 10th and 12th Batteries of the 44th Regiment of Field Artillery -were to assemble upon a war footing in the cider-brewery known as -Toublanc.</p> - -<p>We had nothing to do except shake down straw bedding. A gas-engine was -throbbing with an incessant double beat which got on one's nerves after -a while. On the doors of the available buildings were crudely chalked -the numbers of the regiments to which they were allotted.</p> - -<p>The stables were installed in a shed open on one side, at one end of -which casks con<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>taining harness were piled up. These stables would have -been quite comfortable if they had not smelt so horribly owing to the -dirty lavatories adjoining them.</p> - -<p>The men's quarters had been arranged in a kitchen garden full of black -currant-bushes and peach-trees, and consisted of an old, tumble-down -outhouse, which seemed to have escaped complete destruction solely -owing to the vines and virginia creepers growing over it, which, in -a clinging embrace of closely woven branches and tendrils, held its -crumbling walls together. The grapes were already large and fat, -promising a fine harvest. I wondered where we should be when the time -came for them to be gathered.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>No one troubled to ascertain whether war had been declared. After all, -the declaration only meant a few words already spoken, or about to be -spoken, by diplomatists. The war was already a reality. We felt it. The -only question which occupied our minds was when we were to start, and -this nobody could answer.</p> - -<p>The men were cheerful, unconcerned, and much less nervous than -yesterday. Personally, I did not feel weighed down under the -intolerable burden of anxiety which I had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> expected to crush me at -such a time. I wanted to ask all my comrades whether they really -believed that in a few days we should be under fire. And if they had -answered "Yes," I should have admired them, for, if I remained cool and -collected before the yawning chasm opening out before us, it was merely -because I had not yet realized its depths.</p> - -<p>I kept repeating to myself: "It is war—ghastly, bloody war ... and -perhaps you will soon be dead." But nevertheless I did not feel in the -least afraid; I did not believe that I should be killed. I realize now -that it is true that, in the presence of a dead person one has loved, -one does not at first believe that he (or she) is dead.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I have written these notes sitting on a packing-case, using the bottom -of an upturned barrel as a table. A stable-guard, after eyeing me a -moment or two, came and looked over my shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Lord!" said he, "you've got it badly!"</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Monday, August 3</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>We don't yet know whether war has been declared, but Metz is reported -to be in flames and some even say taken. Some French<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> aeroplanes and -dirigibles are said to have blown up the powder magazines there. There -is also a rumour that Garros has destroyed a Zeppelin manned by twenty -officers, and that on the frontier our airmen have been tossing up as -to who shall first try to ram an enemy airship. The Germans are said to -have crossed our frontier yesterday in three places. But yesterday we -heard that our soldiers, in spite of their officers, had broken through -on to German soil. The rumours going about are numberless, and the most -likely and unlikely things are said in the same breath.</p> - -<p>What are we to believe? Nothing, of course. That is best.</p> - -<p>But we thirst for news, and yet, when any is brought in, we shrug our -shoulders incredulously. Nevertheless, when a success is reported we -are so anxious to believe it that the majority of sceptics only require -a sufficiently vigorous affirmation in order to accept it as true.</p> - -<p>I intend to note down every day both fables and facts. But at present -I am not in a position to distinguish between what is true and what is -false.</p> - -<p>I am only endeavouring, in these hurriedly scribbled pages, to give -some idea of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> different elements which go to form the state of mind -of an individual soldier lost among a crowd of others. In this sense -fact and fable are the same thing; but later on, if this notebook is -not buried with me in some nameless grave out yonder, these notes may -perhaps serve to form a history of legend. A history of legend—that is -as much as I dare hope to achieve!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I have an hour or two free for writing, and am using a bench as a desk. -Behind me the horses keep stamping intermittently on the cement floor -of the shed. It would not be so bad if these lavatories did not smell -so abominably.</p> - -<p>We have been informed that we are to start on Friday. To Berlin! To -Berlin!</p> - -<p>Berlin! That's the objective. It was in everybody's mouth! But did -we not mark time to the same refrain in 1870, almost at this time of -year? And what happened afterwards? The recollection made me shiver. -Superstition!</p> - -<p>Is England going to come into line with us against Germany? England is -the great unknown quantity at the present moment. Nevertheless, she is -hardly mentioned here.</p> - -<p>To Berlin! To Berlin!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> - -<p>The cry echoes on all sides.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Although I had begun to convince myself of the reality of events, the -excitement of departure and the irritation caused by knowing nothing -definite had set my nerves jangling and prevented me from realizing to -the full the approaching horror.</p> - -<p>We had harnessed our horses and formed the gun-teams.</p> - -<p>A gun in a 75 mm. battery is composed of the gun itself and ammunition -wagon, each with its limber, and each drawn by six horses harnessed -in pairs. The detachment consists of six drivers, six gunners, a -corporal, and a sergeant, who is the gun-commander. But my gun, the -first of the 2nd battery, is also accompanied by the section-commander, -the battery-leader, a trumpeter, and the Captain's orderly with his -two horses. In all, eighteen men and nineteen horses. Of the eighteen -men, seventeen are serving their time. For nearly a year now they have -led the same life; each day they have executed the same manœuvres -together. One detachment, therefore, is a real entity, and forms a -little society by itself, with its habits, likes and dislikes.</p> - -<p>Bréjard, the section-commander, really commands it himself, as he did -before the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> general mobilization. So nothing seems changed. Hubert, the -new gun-commander, a reservist, has his thoughts centred on his young -wife, whom, after only a few months of married life, he has had to -leave at his farm, where the corn is still standing.</p> - -<p>Bréjard, who must be about twenty-four, is tall and spare, with -unfathomable grey eyes, an obstinate chin, and rather strong features. -He enlisted when very young, and, by dint of hard and methodical work, -passed into Fontainebleau high up in the list.</p> - -<p>Corporal Jean Déprez affords a contrast to Bréjard. Dreamy and -imaginative, bored by regimental life, and far from reconciled to -the prospect of many months of war, Déprez, as far as the Service is -concerned, is a weakling to whom any exercise of his authority, small -though it is, goes against the grain. He has momentary flashes of wit, -and, although as a rule very unenthusiastic and rather moody, he is -nevertheless an amusing conversationalist at times, and is a staunch -friend. The lack of work in the barracks has for some part thrown us -together, and both were pleased to find ourselves side by side when the -moment came to take the field.</p> - -<p>With Corporal Déprez on one hand, and Gun-layer Hutin on the other, I -had not the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> least feeling of loneliness in the tremendous excitement -of mobilization, and the hourly expectation of the breaking of the -storm.</p> - -<p>Hutin is a little fellow with a thick crop of black hair and a -moustache. His regular features are lit up by a pair of attractive dark -brown eyes of rather roguish expression. Energetic, quick-tempered, -fairly ambitious, intolerant, quick to make up his mind, and extremely -intelligent, capable of real friendship and even devotedness, I have -grown fond of his spontaneous and varied character.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In the Avenue de Pontlieue the commandeered horses were standing in -line. There were hundreds of them, heavy, pot-bellied, docile animals, -with splendid manes and shaggy fetlocks. They were held by men in -smocks, standing motionless on the curb, chafing at the delay and -longing for their dinner. Near-by, along the wall of the artillery -barracks, was collected a heterogeneous medley of carts and lorries, -also requisitioned.</p> - -<p>A motley crowd was thronging the avenue—women in light-coloured summer -dresses and soldiers in uniform and canvas clothing presenting an -incongruous appearance. Reservists were arriving in groups. Almost all -looked quiet and undisturbed, and some even wore a cheer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>ful air. One -or two were obviously drunk, and others looked as though they were. -I only saw one who was crying. He was sitting on a heap of straw, -engaged in fixing a brand-new yellow strap to his revolver-holster, and -tears were falling on his clumsy fingers as he fumbled with the stiff -leather. I put a hand on his shoulder, whereupon he half turned round -and said, with a jerk of his head:</p> - -<p>"Oh, my God! My wife died in childbed last week.... There's the -baby-girl—only eight days old—left all alone with nobody to look -after her!"</p> - -<p>"What have you done with her?"</p> - -<p>"Well, the only thing I could ... took her to the Infants' Home."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It is when the post comes in that the men look saddest.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We are confined to quarters, but the non-commissioned officers are -allowed to take the men, two or three at a time, to the <i>abreuvoir</i> as -the café opposite is called.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Tuesday, August 4</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Yesterday evening at nine o'clock, by way of a purely theoretical -roll-call, the Lieutenant opened the door of our den.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Every one all right in there?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir, thank you! Warm as pies!"</p> - -<p>"Nothing you want?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, sir, we'd like to start!"</p> - -<p>"Oh! to start, would you?"</p> - -<p>This morning Pelletier, the trumpeter, a Parisian who seems able -to turn his hands to almost anything, began sharpening our swords. -Standing in front of a bench in his shirt-sleeves, he worked an -enormous file with a horrible screeching noise which sent cold shudders -down one's spine and set one's teeth on edge. From time to time he -paused in his work, and, with furious thrusts and slashes, tried the -points and edges by cutting up some old deal cases lying in a corner.</p> - -<p>From the depths of our quarters, where we live in an atmosphere -alive with the most ridiculous rumours, waiting for orders to -entrain, the tumult of the general mobilization in the streets and -on the neighbouring Paris-Brest railway line sounds like incessantly -reverberating thunder in an atmosphere charged with electricity.</p> - -<p>One of my fellow-countrymen, Gaget, who is clerk to the Artillery -Staff, told me that war has not yet been declared. He is in a position -to know. His mother has written to him from Mayenne saying that my -family<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> believe me to be already at Verdun. I wonder if my letters are -not being delivered....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>This afternoon Déprez went to the laundry to get his washing. In the -shop a young woman, the wife of a corporal of artillery who joined the -colours this morning, threw her arms round his neck and began to cry.</p> - -<p>He came back much upset.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Some of the men have gone with their horses to bring back our war -material from the station. The park is arranged on the wide footpath of -the Avenue de Pontlieue, where the plane-trees shelter our 75 mm. guns -and ammunition wagons. Women stop to look at them, and some shake their -heads despondently.</p> - -<p>It appears that we are to entrain to-morrow evening. We are beginning -to get thoroughly bored here, and do not know how to fill in our -time. I am going to get some sleep in our den at the farther end of -the kitchen garden, where it is cool and shady. The sun, through the -open door, only lights up a large rectangle of straw, covered with -haversacks and gleaming weapons. The weather has been splendid to-day, -fine and clear, and, now that twilight is near, the air is beginning -to hum with those<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> midges which fly round and round in circles and are -supposed to herald fine weather.</p> - -<p>I was able to get out for a moment. Some women, their eyes swollen with -crying, looked at us with pity, and spoke to us—the first young men to -go—in voices full of sympathy:</p> - -<p>"When do you start?"</p> - -<p>"To-morrow—perhaps the day after."</p> - -<p>"Where are you going?"</p> - -<p>"We're not sure—either Verdun or Maubeuge."</p> - -<p>"Well, the best of luck!"</p> - -<p>"Thanks so much.... Good-bye!"</p> - -<p>Good luck!... I hope so!... It is a sort of lasting farewell they bid -us, out of the fullness of their hearts, before we start for the Great -Unknown.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Wednesday, August 5</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>War has been declared since the 3rd, and fighting is in progress all -along the frontier.</p> - -<p>Serious losses have already been reported. Eleven thousand French -and eighteen thousand Germans are said to have fallen in the opening -engagements. Whether these figures mean killed or injured I do not know.</p> - -<p>The news, true or false, damped our spirits for a few moments. But -our extraordinary indifference soon gained the upper hand. Besides, -has there ever been a more favourable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> occasion for revenge—for the -<i>Revanche</i>—than this.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Thursday, August 6</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>The Germans have entered Belgium, in spite of the convention of -neutrality. I don't think this will surprise anybody. But what does -astonish us, and what must also astonish the enemy, is the fierce -resistance the Belgians are making.</p> - -<p>The Germans have just failed in a massed attack on Liége. If the -Belgian Army alone has managed to worst them, what hopes dare we not -entertain?</p> - -<p>England is joining us. That is now certain. With the French, English, -Russians, Belgians, and Serbians allied, we ought soon to see the last -of this military Power which is supposed to be so formidable. The news, -official this time, made us all the more impatient to leave Le Mans and -the wearying quarters in which we live.</p> - -<p>On the Paris-Brest railway trains full of infantry, cavalry, and -equipment have been passing incessantly. Grinding and screeching they -laboriously roll over the bridge which spans the Avenue de Pontlieue, -and which is heroically guarded by obese Territorials, wearing dirty -canvas suits, and armed with Gras rifles with fixed bayonets. A crowd -of women<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> with children in their arms or clinging to their skirts are -waiting there beneath the noontide sun. They stand for hours on end, -watching the procession of military trucks decorated with greenery -and illustrated with crude chalk drawings. Clusters of soldiers are -to be seen on the foot-boards, and in the brake and guards' vans. In -the avenue clouds of dust are raised by commandeered horses which, -harnessed to forage wagons, are being tried there, and which, under -the unaccustomed yoke, become refractory, lash out, and finally get -entangled in the traces. The women separate hurriedly, dragging their -children with them, in order to avoid a prancing horse or the oncoming -wheel of a wagon. But nevertheless, obstinate, excited, and as if -intoxicated with the noise, light, and continual movement, they stay -there in spite of all discomfort. Whenever a train passes a broadside -of shrill cries rises from their groups, which collect, separate, -disperse, and are again encompassed by the dangers of the avenue.</p> - -<p>In front of the Toublanc cider-brewery flowers and ribbons in bunches, -sprays, and cascades carpet the pavement and smother the gun-carriages, -ammunition wagons, and limbers. Women and girls arrive with armfuls of -hortensias, iris, and roses. Their faces<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> lit up by the sun and by the -excitement of the moment, appear and disappear among the flowers. As -the sentinels are not allowed to let any one approach too close, they -throw their bouquets from a distance. Artillerymen, who have nearly -finished loading up their trucks, thank them by blowing kisses which -put them to flight.</p> - -<p>I saw one girl fastening a huge tricolour bunch on the bayonet of -one of the sentinels—evidently her lover. The steel shone amid the -blossoms.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Women timidly bar the way to the horsemen in order to decorate their -bridles and saddle-bags with garlands. And overhead the splendid August -sun beats down, shedding a golden light on the dust of the roadway and -the green of the trees, and lighting up the faces of the women and the -flowers.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Friday, August 7</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>For some time now I have observed the first gesture of a soldier who -has just received a letter. He tears it open hurriedly, and, without -pulling it out of the envelope, rapidly fingers it to see whether it -contains a postal order....</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p> - -<p>I was out to-night with Déprez, when a woman, powdered and painted, -with podgy cheeks and a chest and stomach forming an undivided mass of -shaking fat, accosted us:</p> - -<p>"Forty-fourth?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Do you know Corporal X? Give him the best wishes from Alice. He'll -know.... Alice is my name.... You won't forget?... Poor old Joe!..."</p> - -<p>Then, as we prepared to go on our way:</p> - -<p>"Won't you come in?" she said, with the usual glance of invitation.</p> - -<p>"No, thanks," answered Déprez politely, "we haven't got time."</p> - -<p>After we had gone a little farther, he added:</p> - -<p>"That's a message which I'm shot if I'll deliver!"</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Saturday, August 8</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>At last we have received orders to entrain. Our first taste of war -has been a sort of flower-show. A crowd of women and grey-haired men -were waiting for us under the trees on the other side of the avenue. -Children, their tiny arms full of flowers, ran up to us; their -mothers waved their hands and smiled. But how sad the smiles of these -women were! Their swollen eyes told a tale of tears, and the lines<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> -lurking round their lips, despite their smiles, showed that another -breakdown was not far off. The younger children—and quite tiny ones -came toddling across the street—were obviously finding the day's -proceedings finer than a circus. They laughed and clapped their hands -with delight.</p> - -<p>We passed the fag-end of the morning getting the limbers and wagons -ready and furbishing up the harness. Twelve o'clock struck. As the hour -of departure approached the tumult in the avenue calmed down, and the -crowd waiting in the shade became gradually quiet.</p> - -<p>There was almost complete silence when the Captain gave the order, in -clear resonant tones:</p> - -<p>"Forward!"</p> - -<p>Like an echo there rose from the crowd a loud hurrah, through which I -nevertheless distinctly heard two heartrending sobs.</p> - -<p>Never was there a brighter August day. The limber-boxes and gun-wheels, -the straps and hooks of the harness—even the muzzles of the guns -themselves—were festooned with flowers and ribbons, the bright hues -of which were blended together in a harmony of colour against the -iron-grey background of the guns.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p> - -<p>This morning the Captain, Bernard de Brisoult, said to us:</p> - -<p>"Take the flowers they offer you, and decorate your guns with them. -They are the only send-off the women can give you. And, whatever you -do, keep calm! Then they'll be much braver when you go off."</p> - -<p>The streets, through which we proceeded at a walking pace, were gay -with flags and bunting. The departure of the soldiers, many of whom -would never return, was attended with a degree of composure and good -order which was really admirable. The gunners, sitting motionless on -the limber-boxes or walking beside the horses, smiled and laughed -merrily as the women by the wayside waved them farewell. We felt moved, -of course, but it was rather the emotion of the crowd in the street -which affected us than any feeling born in our inner selves.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Entraining was effected easily and expeditiously. As it was very hot, -the gunners hoisting the material on to the trucks had discarded -their vests, and, with red faces, their shoulders to the gun-wheels, -they united their efforts whenever the gun-commanders gave the word -"Together!" which was echoed down the whole length of the train. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> -drivers had great difficulty in getting their teams into the boxes. The -old battery horses were used to the manœuvre, but the commandeered -animals resisted obstinately. Girths were slung round them, two by -two, and they were hauled by force on to the foot-bridges. Once in the -vans they had to be turned round and backed into position so that four -could stand on each side. This operation was accompanied by a deafening -din of iron-shod hoofs on the wooden floors and partitions. The horses -once safely installed and secured face to face in their places by -picket-lines, the stable-pickets began to arrange the harness and -forage in the space between the two lines.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Just as the train was starting I was attacked by a sort of dizziness. -Something in my chest seemed to snap, and I felt almost choked by a -sudden feeling of weakness and fear. Should I ever come back? Yes! I -felt sure of it! And yet, I wonder why I felt so sure!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><span class="smcap">Connerré-Beillé.</span> I am sitting on a truss of hay between my -eight horses. At every moment, in spite of my whip, they bite at the -forage and nearly pull away my seat. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> door of the van is opened -wide on the sunny country.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Sunday, August 9</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>The train rumbled on for fifteen to eighteen hours. A long journey like -this is best passed as a stable-guard. I made myself comfortable on -some shaken-up hay, and, cushioning my head in a well-padded saddle, -eventually fell asleep.</p> - -<p>The horses, almost all of which were suffering from strangles, -slobbered and sneezed over me, and eventually woke me up. It was -already day. A thick summer mist was floating over the fields at a -man's height from the ground. The sun, breaking through it in places, -lit up myriads of shimmering grass-blades, dripping with dew.</p> - -<p>Sitting at the open doors of the vans, their legs dangling over the -side, the gunners watched the country flit past. The empty trains -passing us in the opposite direction frightened the horses, which -neighed and whinnied. No one—not even our officers—knew whither we -were bound, and the engine-driver himself said that he didn't know, but -that he was to receive orders on the way.</p> - -<p>The Territorials guarding the line greeted us as we passed by holding -out their rifles at arm's length. We waved our whips in answer.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Morning, old chap!"</p> - -<p>"Good luck to you, boys!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><span class="smcap">Rheims.</span> First the canal, then a glimpse of the town, and then -open country again, with fields of ripe corn yellow in the morning -sun. There were only a few sheaves to be seen. The crops were standing -almost everywhere, motionless in the heat, casting golden lights on -the gently rolling hills and quiet beauty of the countryside. I felt -as though I could not see enough of it. In a few days, perhaps, I -should no longer be able to see the splendour of the sun-kissed corn -and the gorgeous mantle it throws over the symmetrical slopes of the -harvest-land like a drapery of old lace lightly shrouding a graceful -Greek form.</p> - -<p>The train rolled slowly on towards Verdun. In each village, from the -gardens adjoining the railway-line, girls and children threw kisses to -us. They threw flowers, too, and, whenever the train stopped, brought -us drinks.</p> - -<p>It was already dusk when, after passing the interminable sidings and -platforms of Verdun, with its huge bakeries installed under green -awnings, the train finally came to a standstill at Charny. We had -been travelling for more than thirty hours. Before we had finished -detraining it was quite dark.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2a">II. APPROACH MARCHES</p> - - -<p class="drop" ><span class="uppercase">We</span> were crossing the Meuse. The sun had gone down and the river, -winding its way between its reedy banks and marshy islands in the -afterglow of the crimson western sky, looked as though it was running -with blood. To-morrow, or perhaps the day after, the appearance may -have become reality. I do not know why these blood-red reflections in -the water affected me so much as this last moment of the evening, but -so it was.</p> - -<p>Night fell—a clear night, in which I uneasily sought for searchlights -among the stars. By the wayside, in one of the army cattle parks, -countless herds lay sleeping. The country would have been absolutely -still and silent had it not been for the muffled rumble of our column -as we marched along. The last reflections of the daylight and the first -beams of the moon, just rising in the east, were welded together in a -weird, diffused light.</p> - -<p>We were marching eastwards, and, as the road skirted the dark mass of -a steep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> hill, the moon rose clear ahead over the gloomy pine-trees, -which stood out like silhouettes on the horizon. Soon the battery -entered a dark wood, where the drivers had difficulty in finding the -way. Nobody spoke. Occasionally the moon peeped through the trees, and -showed up a horseman. It almost seemed as if the yellow light threw off -a palpable golden powder; the brasswork of the equipment and the tin -mugs of the men shone as though they were gilded. One man passed, then -another, and the shadows, clear cut on the road, seemed to form part of -the silhouettes of the horsemen and magnify them. Of the rest of the -column, lost in the night of the forest, nothing could be seen.</p> - -<p>We had been told that the enemy was not far off, somewhere in the -plain stretching beyond the hills. At every cross-roads we were afraid -lest we should take the wrong turning and find ourselves in the German -lines. Besides, this first march of the campaign, at night-time, -had something uncanny about it which scared us a little in spite of -ourselves.</p> - -<p>The column came to a halt just outside a village. Troops were camping -on both sides of the road, and lower down, in one of the fields a -gloomy artillery park had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> formed. Despite the hour—nearly -midnight—the heat was oppressive, and the stars were lightly veiled by -a thin mist. The bivouac fires cast flickering shadows of soldiers in -varying stages of undress, some of them naked to the waist.</p> - -<p>A little farther on, in a meadow where the 10th Battery was already -encamped for the night—men and horses lying in the damp grass—we -parked our guns.</p> - -<p>We had to lie on the bare ground, and between drivers and gunners -a competition in cunning at once arose as to who was to have the -horse-cloths. Most of the men stretched themselves out under the -ammunition wagons and guns, where the dampness of the night was less -penetrating. But I was still on stable duty, and had to keep watch on -the horses, which were tied side by side to a picket-line stretched -between two stakes. The animals not only kicked and bit each other, -but their collars kept getting loose, and one or two, succeeding in -throwing them off, ambled off into the fields. I spent the night in -wild chases. One little black mare in particular led me a dance for -several hours, and I only caught her at last by rustling some oats in -the bottom of a nose-bag.</p> - -<p>Grasping my whip, and wet up to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> knees with dew, I had surely -fulfilled my task as stable-picket conscientiously.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Monday, August 10</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>At 3 a.m. the grey shadow of a dirigible passed overhead beneath the -stars. Friend or enemy?</p> - -<p>At daybreak the park began to stir. Men draped in their rugs emerged -from between the gun-wheels and from underneath the limbers and -stretched themselves, yawning. We set about digging hearths and -fetching wood and water, and before long coffee was steaming in the -camp kettles.</p> - -<p>On the Verdun road infantry regiments—off to the firing-line no -doubt—were already defiling, the long red-and-blue column rippling -like the back of a huge caterpillar. The battalions were hid, for a -moment, by the cottages and trees of the village. But farther ahead, on -the corn-clad slopes of the hills, one could just distinguish, in spite -of the distance, the movements of troops marching on the thin white -ribbon of a road.</p> - -<p>We waited for the order to harness.</p> - -<p>The meadow in which we had camped for the night sloped down, on the -one side, into marshy ground watered by a stream issuing from a mill -and running through the rank<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> grass, and was bounded on the other by -a rampart of wheat-sheaves. To the east a high hill of symmetrical -contour, covered with yellow barley and tawny wheat, gave one the -impression of a golden mountain shining in the sun.</p> - -<p>Behind the horses tied together in parallel lines the harness made -black patches in the grass. Some of us had slept there under our rugs. -Saddles, propped up on their pommels, served as pillows to the men, -who, half undressed, with bare chests, slept soundly. I would willingly -have slept too, for I was tired out with running about all night, but -I could not help thinking of my mother, and of the anxiety the news of -the hecatombs of Alsace must have caused her. She had no idea of my -whereabouts and would be certain to think that I should be in the thick -of any fighting in progress.</p> - -<p>On the road columns of artillery succeeded the regiments of the line. -It was nine o'clock, but so far no sound of battle had yet reached us. -A driver, shaking his rug, woke me, and I started up. In my turn I -roused Déprez, who was sleeping near me. Was it the guns? No, not yet.</p> - -<p>Officials news came that the Alsace army, whose headquarters were -at Mulhouse, had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> been defeated by the French in a great battle at -Altkirch. The beginning of the Revenge!... But there was talk of fifty -thousand dead....</p> - -<p>Held spellbound by a sort of magnetic fascination Déprez and I riveted -our gaze on the lofty line of hills to the east which stood between us -and Destiny. Yonder were others like ourselves, masses of men in the -plains and in the woods, men who would kill us if we did not kill them.</p> - -<p>Overcome by the heat, I allowed my thoughts to dwell on these and -similar reflections, and in vain endeavoured to banish from my mind the -horrible picture of the fifty thousand men lying dead on the fields of -Alsace. Eventually I fell asleep.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>They have just killed, by means of a revolver-shot behind the ear, a -horse which had broken its leg. The carcass is going to be cut up, and -the best portions distributed among the battery detachments. There -seems no likelihood of going into action to-day.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The soup-kettles had been put on the fires. On the side of the hill, -where the corn stood in sheaves, the men were building straw huts in -which to pass the night.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p> - -<p>As the sun sank, damp vapours began to rise from the stream and the -marshy ground adjoining it. Side by side on our bed of straw Déprez and -I, booted and spurred, our revolver holsters bruising our hips, fell -asleep with our faces upturned to the stars, which seemed to shine more -brightly than usual in the eastern sky.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Tuesday, August 11</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Shortly after dawn we were ready to start. Some of the 130th Infantry -had arrived at the next village, called Ville-devant-Chaumont, to take -up their quarters there. Pending the order to advance I entered into -conversation with a little red-haired foxy-faced sergeant:</p> - -<p>"Ah," said he, "so you're from Mayenne.... Well, I don't know whether -many of the 130th will ever get back there.... There was a scrap -yesterday.... Slaughter simply awful!... My battalion wasn't touched, -but the two others!... There are some companies which don't count -more than ten men, and haven't a single officer left.... It's their -machine-guns which are so frightful.... But what the devil can you -expect? Two battalions against a whole division!"</p> - -<p>"But why didn't the third battalion join in?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Blessed if I know.... You never know the reason of these things."</p> - -<p>And he added:</p> - -<p>"Some of our chaps were splendid.... Lieutenant X, for example.... He -jumped up, drew his sword, and opening his tunic he shouted to his men: -"Come on, lads!..." And he was killed on the spot.... The flag?... -That was taken by the enemy, retaken by one of our captains, and then -again captured. Finally, a chap with a good-conduct badge got hold of -it, and managed to hide it under a bridge before he died. One of the -sections of the 115th found it there.... And then the artillery came up -at last.... Three batteries of the 31st. They soon made the blighters -clear off.... They abandoned two batteries, what's more!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Orders came to unharness. What a heat! Transparent vapours rose from -the ground and made the horizon quiver. From time to time we heard the -muffled sound of the guns but more often we mistook the noise of the -carts on the road for firing. Fleecy white clouds forming above the -crests of the hills gave one the impression of shells bursting. For a -moment their appearance was most deceptive.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p> - -<p>I saw one of the men of the 130th coming back from the firing-line in -a wretched condition, without cap, pack, or arms. It seemed wonderful -that he should have managed to drag himself so far. With staring, -frightened eyes he looked nervously from one side to the other. The -gunners surrounded him as he stood there, with bent shoulders and -hanging head, but he only answered their questions by expressive -gestures.</p> - -<p>"Done for!" he murmured. "Done for!"</p> - -<p>We couldn't hear anything else. His lips kept moving:</p> - -<p>"Done for!... Done for!"</p> - -<p>Down he flopped in the middle of us, and immediately fell asleep, -his mouth wide open and his features contracted as if with pain. Two -gunners carried him into a neighbouring barn.</p> - -<p>I heard to-day that a priest of Ville-devant-Chaumont had been arrested -on a charge of espionage and sent to Verdun.</p> - -<p>We availed ourselves of our leisure in order to wash our linen and have -a bath in the river. Then, stretched naked on the grass, we waited -until the sun had dried our shirts, socks, and underlinen, which lay -spread out around us.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Wednesday, August 12</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>The French are fond of heroic legends. I have now found out the truth -about the affair in which two battalions were said to have been cut up, -and there is not the least resemblance to the highly coloured yarn of -the little fox-faced sergeant.</p> - -<p>On August 10 the officers of the 130th had not the slightest suspicion -that the enemy were so close. A few men were taken by surprise as they -were going down to the river, unarmed and half undressed. Immediately -afterwards the fight began, and the 130th defended themselves bravely -against superior numbers, at first without any support from the -artillery, which, having received no orders, remained in its quarters. -At last three batteries of the 31st arrived and succeeded in repelling -the German attack. We were the victors.</p> - -<p>As for Lieutenant X, who, according to the sergeant, had been killed as -he stood bare-chested encouraging his men to attack, it appears that, -in reality, he fell into the river called the Loison. The chill of the -water, together with the excitement of the first brush with the enemy, -set up congestion, but he is now reported to be perfectly fit again.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> -That is fortunate, for he is a valuable officer.</p> - -<p>Several of his men, charging too soon, also fell into the river, which -flows right across the fields between very low banks. There they -remained as if entrenched, with the water up to their waists, and -fought as best they could. The flag of the 130th was never even taken -out of its oil-skin case.</p> - -<p>The whole day was spent in sleeping, cooking, and in bathing in the -river. Some of the drivers with their teams were told off to transport -the wounded of the 130th to Verdun.</p> - -<p>When night fell we stretched ourselves out on the grass under the clear -sky and sang in chorus until we gradually fell asleep.</p> - -<p>If only those we have left behind anxiously waiting for news could have -heard us!</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Thursday, August 13</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>To-day some of the 130th brought back a grey German military coat, a -pair of boots, a Uhlan's helmet, and a sort of round infantryman's cap, -looking like a small cheese. These spoils were hung up in a barn, and -attracted a crowd of gunners. They belong to a sergeant-major who was -proudly exhibiting them to the spectators, calling special attention to -a small rent in the back of the coat.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p> - -<p>"That's where the bullet went in that did for old Steinberg," said he. -"His name's marked inside.... See?"</p> - -<p>And he drew himself up, beaming.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Friday, August 14</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>We had started off again at dawn, and now stood waiting for orders. The -Captain had sent the battery forward down the lane leading to the main -road to Verdun. The horses splashed about in the water running out from -a drinking-trough hard by, and spattered us liberally with mud. After -waiting till the sun was well up, we unbridled and gave the teams some -oats.</p> - -<p>Reserve regiments of the Army Corps began to file by—the 301st, 303rd, -and 330th. The men were white with dust up to the knees. Stubbly beards -of eight days' growth darkened their faces and gave them a haggard -appearance. Their coats, opened in front and folded back under their -shoulder-straps, showed glimpses of hairy chests, the veins in their -necks standing out like whipcord under the weight of their packs. These -reservists looked grave, resolute, and rather taciturn.</p> - -<p>They swung by with a noise like a torrent rushing over pebbles, the -sight of our guns bringing a smile of pleasure to their faces.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> The -foremost battalions climbed up the hill. There were so many men that -nothing could be seen of the road, nor even of the red breeches. The -moving human ribbon scintillated with reflections cast by kettles, -shovels, and picks.</p> - -<p>We had filled our water-bags, and some of the soldiers, as they -streamed past, replenished their drinking tins from them. Then they -strode on, their lips glued to the brims, restraining the swing of -their step in order not to lose a drop of the precious liquid.</p> - -<p>At last the battery moved on. But it was only to camp at Azannes, about -a mile south-east of Ville-devant-Chaumont, where we were hardly any -nearer to the enemy. On the road a continual cloud of dust was raised -by guns and wagons, motors full of superior officers, and squadrons of -cavalry escorting red-tabbed Staffs. The horses were smothered in it, -and our dark uniforms soon became grey, while our eyebrows and unshorn -chins looked as if they had been powdered. Paris motor-omnibuses, -transformed into commissariat wagons, put the final touch as they -lumbered by, and left us as white as the road itself.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Limber up!"</p> - -<p>"What?"</p> - -<p>"Limber up, quick now, come along!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> - -<p>The order was repeated by the N.C.O.'s, and the Captain, who passed us -spurring his horse, said simply:</p> - -<p>"We are going into action."</p> - -<p>Then, followed by the gun-commanders, trumpeters, and battery-leaders, -he set off at a gallop.</p> - -<p>We passed through Azannes, where we were to have camped. It is a -wretched-looking village, full of manure-heaps, and composed of -low-built cottages eloquent of the fact that here no one has thought it -worth while to undertake building or repair work of any kind. It is not -that the surrounding country is barren, but the perpetual threat of war -and invasion has nipped all initiative in the bud. The poorer one is -the less one has to lose.</p> - -<p>After passing Azannes the column lapsed into silence. The road skirted -the cemetery, in the walls of which the infantry, at every few yards, -had knocked loopholes through which we caught glimpses of graves, -chapels, and crosses. At the foot of the walls lay heaps of rubble and -mortar. Farther on, near the edge of a wood, the field had been seared -by a narrow trench, covered with lopped-off branches bearing withered -leaves, and showing up against the fresh green grass like a yellow -gash.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> - -<p>In front of the trench barbed wire had been stretched. The enemy, -therefore, was presumably not far off.</p> - -<p>Amid the monotonous rumble of the carriages we tried to collect our -thoughts. The prospect of the first engagement brought with it an -apprehension and dread which clamoured for recognition in each man's -mind. There is no denying the fact.</p> - -<p>The battery rolled on its way through a large wood. The road, almost -blindingly white in the midday sun, formed a striking contrast to the -arch-shaped avenues of sombre trees, whose green plumes towered above -us at a giddy height.</p> - -<p>By the side of the road stood a horse with drooping head and the -viscous discharge due to strangles running from his nostrils; he did -not even budge as the guns and wagons thundered on their way. It seemed -almost a miracle that the bones of the poor beast's haunches had not -broken through his skin. His flanks, heaving spasmodically, seemed -to meet behind his ribs, as if they had been emptied of flesh and -entrails. He was a pitiful sight. In the shade of a bridle-path yet -another abandoned horse was still browsing.</p> - -<p>Between two clumps of trees lay a pond bordered by reeds and rushes, -its surface<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> shimmering like a silver mirror—an effect which was -heightened by the dark woodlands in the background. In the distance the -magnificent line of lofty hills which had hidden the horizon from us at -Ville-devant-Chaumont, and which we had now flanked, formed an azure -setting to the picture. On one side of the road stood a farmhouse. In -a small paddock near the flood-gates of the pond we saw a freshly dug -grave in the shade of an elder-bush. A cross, roughly fashioned out of -a couple of branches tied together, was planted in the newly turned -soil, and a ruled leaf torn out of a pocket-book, stuck on to some -splinter of the wood, bore a name roughly written in pencil.</p> - -<p>On emerging from the forest our batteries, which up to then had been in -column of route, rapidly deployed down the side of a long valley, half -hidden by the oat-crops, through which infantry, whose presence could -only be guessed, caused ripples to flow like those raised by a puff of -wind on still water.</p> - -<p>Where was the enemy? What were these positions worth, and from what -point could they be observed? Was the infantry on ahead protecting us? -In a fever of excitement we formed up in battery in a neighbouring -meadow. The limbers retired to the rear<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> and took cover in the woods. -Bréjard at once ordered us to complete the usual protection afforded -by the gun-shields and ammunition wagons by piling up large sods of -turf which we hacked up with our picks. As far as the eye could reach -stretched the motionless oats, like masses of molten metal under a -sky of unbroken blue. As the gun-layers could not find as much as a -tree or sheaf to serve as an aiming point we had to plant a spade in -front of the battery. I should not have suspected the strength of the -artillery—more than sixty guns—waiting for the enemy in this field, -had I not seen the batteries take up their positions, and had it not -been for the observation-ladders upon which, perched like large black -insects on the points of so many grass-blades, the gun-commanders were -to be seen surveying the land to the north-east.</p> - -<p>We were ready for action, and lying behind our guns awaited the word -"Fire!" No sound of battle was audible.</p> - -<p>A gunnery officer brought some order to the Captain, and the latter, -waving his képi, signalled for the limbers to be brought up.</p> - -<p>"Hallo! What's up now?"</p> - -<p>"We're off," answered Bréjard, who had overheard the orders.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Aren't the Germans coming then?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. That officer told the Captain that after this the fourth -group would be attached to the seventh division."</p> - -<p>"Well, and what then?"</p> - -<p>"Well, the fourth group has got to go."</p> - -<p>"Where?"</p> - -<p>"Probably to camp at Azannes."</p> - -<p>Rather disappointed at having done nothing we returned westwards by the -same road, bathed in an aureole of crimson light cast by the setting -sun.</p> - -<p>The horse with the strangles was now lying down in the ditch. He was -still breathing, and from time to time tossed his head in order to -shake off the wasps which collected in yellow clusters round his eyes -and nostrils.</p> - -<p>We encamped at Azannes, and the horses, tethered under the plum-trees -planted in fives, wearied by the march, the dust, and the heat, let me -rest and dream away my four hours' duty.</p> - -<p>The night was clear, illuminated by the Verdun searchlights which -stretched golden fingers into the sky. A magnificent mid-August night, -scintillating with constellations and alive with shooting stars which -left long phosphorescent tails behind them.</p> - -<p>The moon rose, and with difficulty broke<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> through the dense foliage of -the plum-trees. The camp remained dark except for occasional patches -of light on the grass and on the backs of the horses as they stood -sleeping. My fellow-sentry was lying at the foot of a pear-tree, -wrapped in his greatcoat. In front of me the plain was lit up by the -moon, and the meadows were veiled in a white mist. Both armies, with -fires extinguished, were sleeping or watching each other.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Saturday, August 15</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>I was helping Hutin to clean the gun.</p> - -<p>"Well, Hutin, war's a nice sort of show, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"Well, if it consists in fooling about like this till the 22nd -September, when my class will be discharged, I'd rather be in the field -than the barracks. We've never been so well fed in our lives! If only -that lasts!..."</p> - -<p>"Yes, provided it lasts! Only, there are Boches here."</p> - -<p>"Who cares?"</p> - -<p>"And then, we don't get many letters."</p> - -<p>"No, that's true; we don't get enough," said Hutin with some -bitterness, viciously shoving his sponge through the bore.</p> - -<p>And he added:</p> - -<p>"And as for the letters we write ourselves,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> we can't say where we are, -nor what we are doing, nor even put a date. What is one to write?"</p> - -<p>"Well, I simply say that it is fine and that I am still alive."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Always the same silence along the lines. That has lasted for days now. -What can it mean? For us, pawns on the great chess-board, this waiting -is agonizing, and stretches our nerves to that painful tension which -one feels sometimes when watching a leaden sky, waiting for the storm -to break.</p> - -<p>To-day I saw General Boëlle, whose motor stopped on the road quite -close to our camp.</p> - -<p>He is a man with refined features, of cheerful expression, still -youthful-looking despite his white hair and grizzled moustache.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The classic popularity of war trophies has not diminished. Quite a -crowd collected round a cyclist who had brought back from Mangiennes -two German cowskin bags and a Mauser rifle.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It is astonishing how quickly instinct develops in war. All -civilization disappears almost at once, and the relations between man -and man become primitively direct. One's first preoccupation is to make -oneself respected.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> This necessity is not implicitly recognized by all, -but every one acts as if he recognized it. Then again, the sense of -authority becomes transformed. The authority conferred on the Captain -by his rank diminishes, while that which he owes to his character -increases in proportion. Authority has, in fact, but one measure: the -confidence of the men in the capability of their officer. For this -reason our Captain, Bernard de Brisoult, in whom even the densest -among us has recognized exceptional intelligence and decision under a -great charm of manner and invariable courtesy, exercises, thanks to -this confidence, a beneficial influence upon all. And yet his actual -personality, as our chief, makes little impression upon one at first. -Captain de Brisoult never commands. He gives his orders in an ordinary -conversational tone; but, a man of inborn tact and refinement, he -always remains the Captain, even while living with his men upon terms -of intimacy. It is hard to say whether he is more loved than respected, -or more respected than loved. And soldiers know something about men.</p> - -<p>In the rough masculine relations between the artillerymen among -themselves there nevertheless remains a place for great friendships, -but they become rarer. The ties of simple<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> barrack comradeship either -disappear or harden into tacit treaties of real friendship. The -mainspring of this is rather egoism than a need of affection. One is -vividly conscious of the necessity of having close at hand a man upon -whose assistance one can always rely, and to whom one knows one can -turn in no matter what circumstances. In the relationships thus solidly -established, without any words, a choice is implied; they are not -engendered by affinities of character alone. One learns to appreciate -in one's friend his value as a help and also his strength and courage.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Sunday, August 16</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>I have only just heard of an heroic episode which occurred during -our expedition on Friday. It might be called "The Charge of the -Baggage-train."</p> - -<p>During our march through the woods towards the enemy we were followed -at some distance by our supply wagons. When we turned, we passed them, -and they resumed their position behind the batteries. The head of the -column had almost reached Azannes when the rear was still in the thick -of the woods. Suddenly a lively fusillade was opened from the depths of -the trees on the right and left of the train, and at the same time the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> -noise of galloping horses was heard from behind. The N.C.O. bringing up -the rear behind the forage wagon, who was riding near the cow belonging -to the Group, which was being led by one of the gun-numbers, convinced -that the enemy's infantry was attacking the column from the flank while -a brigade of cavalry was coming up from the rear, yelled out, "Run for -your lives! The Uhlans are coming!" The gunners jumped on the vehicles -wherever they could, and, suddenly, without any orders, the column -broke into a gallop. The men followed as best they might. But the -horses of the forage wagon, restive under the lash, reared, backed, and -jibbed, kicking the cow, which, in her turn, pulled away from the man -leading her, first to right and then to left, finally breaking loose -and setting out at a gallop behind the wagons in a thick cloud of dust.</p> - -<p>A few seconds afterwards the cavalry which had been heard approaching -came up. It was the General of Artillery, who, with his Staff and -escort of Chasseurs, had routed our baggage-train. As for the -fusillade, it came from two companies of the 102nd of the line, who, -concealed in the woods, had opened fire on a German aeroplane.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p> - -<p>The weather is getting worse. Already yesterday evening the storm -gathering on our left had made us prick up our ears as if we heard -gun-fire. At breakfast-time we were surprised by a heavy shower, and -had to abandon the kettles on the fires and take shelter under the -wagons and trees. To-day it has been raining slowly but steadily. If -this weather goes on we shall have to look out for dysentery!</p> - -<p>Sitting on blankets in a circle round the fire, which was patiently -tended by the cook, we drank our coffee. My comrades asked me to read -them a few pages from my notebook, and wished me a safe return in order -that these reminiscences, which to a great extent are theirs also, -might be published.</p> - -<p>"Are you going to leave the names in?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, unless you don't want me to."</p> - -<p>"No, of course not. We'll show them to the old people and children -later on, if we get back."</p> - -<p>"If I am killed, one of you will take care of my notebook. I keep it -here—see?—in the inside pocket of my shirt."</p> - -<p>Hutin thought a little.</p> - -<p>"Yes, only you know that it's forbidden to search dead men. You'd -better make a note in your book to say you told us to take it."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p> - -<p>He was quite right, so on the first page I wrote: "In case I am killed -I beg my comrades to keep these pages until they can give them to my -family."</p> - -<p>"Now you've made your arrangements <i>mortis causa</i>," said Le Bidois, who -was reading over my shoulder. And he added:</p> - -<p>"That doesn't increase the risk either."</p> - -<p>Le Bidois is a thin, lanky fellow rather like the King of Spain, for -which reason Déprez and I have nicknamed him Alfonso. Every day we fire -off the old Montmartre catch at him:</p> - -<p style="margin-left:40%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Alfonso, Alfonso,</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Veux-tu te t'nir comme il fô!</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>We also call him "the Spanish Grandee." He never gets annoyed.</p> - -<p>"A jewel of a corporal!" as Moratin, his layer, always says.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Some of the 26th Artillery have brought back two ammunition wagons -abandoned by the enemy at Mangiennes. Painted a dark colour they -resembled the old 90 mm. material with which we used to practise when -training at Le Mans. They were followed by two large carts, of the -usual type used by the Meuse peasantry, long and narrow in build,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> -full of packs, tins, képis marked 130, camp-kettles already blackened -by bivouac fires, belts with brass buckle-plates, and caps with dark -stains on them. On the top bristled a heap of bayonets and rifles, -red with rust and blood. A large blue flannel sash, sopping wet, hung -behind one of the carts, and trailed in the muddy road. These were the -remains of the unfortunate infantry killed at Mangiennes.</p> - -<p>This spectacle, rendered the more harrowing by the rain, moved us more -than all the stories we had heard about last Monday's fight.</p> - -<p>As I was taking some horses down to drink I saw, near the gate of the -loopholed cemetery at Azannes, some soldiers who had fallen asleep, -stretched out anywhere, exhausted and half undressed. They might have -been taken for dead men. That is how I think the Mangiennes people -must have looked. And these remains also conjured up a vision of the -trenches where they were lined up.</p> - -<p>In the absolute silence which for eight days now has reigned all along -the line we have almost forgotten the work of death for which we have -come here.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At nightfall, after swallowing some hot soup, we returned to our -billets, which are in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> a large barn where it is possible to get a good -sleep in the straw. Soldiers of every rank and regiment were swarming -in the village, the blue dolmans of the Chasseurs and the red breeches -of the Infantry giving a welcome dash of colour to the sombre uniforms -of the Artillery and Engineers as they all jostled together in the -street. Some of them, carrying in each hand a pailful of water, shouted -and swore at the others to let them pass.</p> - -<p>It was still raining, and from the manure-heaps by the side of the road -thick clouds of steam arose. The cavalrymen had made hoods of their -horse-cloths, and many of the foot-soldiers were sheltering their heads -and shoulders under sacks of coarse brown canvas which they had found -in the barns or wagons. The whole of this muddy multitude was almost -silent and solely bent upon getting back to their billets. Almost the -only sound was the squelching of many feet in the mire. Four sappers, -scaling a ladder to a loft from which hay was crowding out through a -dark, wide-open window, looked like a bunch of black grapes hanging in -mid-air.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Monday, August 17</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>It was still raining when we started. Carts full of debris continued to -pass us, each more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> heavily laden and each more dreadful to see than -the last.</p> - -<p>I heard that a Chasseur, whom I noticed yesterday morning mounted on a -little bay horse, had been surprised by a party of Uhlans. They bound -him hand and foot and then, with a lance-thrust in the neck, bled him -as one bleeds a pig. A peasant who had witnessed the scene from behind -a hedge told me of this devilish crime. He was still white with horror.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Last night the horses lay in mud and dung. This morning their manes and -tails were stiff with mire, and large plasters of manure covered their -haunches and flanks, giving them the appearance of badly kept cows. As -for us, besmeared with dirt up to the knees and with our boots a mass -of mud, we looked more heavy than ever in our dark cloaks, which were -wet through and hung in straight folds from our shoulders.</p> - -<p>We again started off, this time to take up fresh quarters at Moirey. -From Azannes to Moirey is little more than a mile, but the road was -blocked with wagons, and at every instant we had to halt and draw to -one side.</p> - -<p>The Captain gave the word:</p> - -<p>"Dismount!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p> - -<p>The men, tortured by diarrhœa, availed themselves of the opportunity -and scattered into the fields.</p> - -<p>At Moirey we encamped under some plum-trees planted in fives, where -we were as badly off as we had been at Azannes. Under the feet of the -horses the grass immediately became converted into mud.</p> - -<p>The first thing to do was to cover over with earth the filth left there -by troops who had preceded us. The question of sanitary arrangements -is a serious one. It is true that a sort of little trenches called -<i>feuillées</i> are dug on one side of the camp, but many men obstinately -refuse to use them, and prefer to make use of any haphazard spot at -the risk of being driven off by whip-lashes by others of more cleanly -disposition. A regular guard has to be kept round the guns and horses. -It is useless for the officers to threaten severe punishment to any -man taken in the act outside the <i>feuillées</i>. Nothing stops them. The -Captain keeps repeating:</p> - -<p>"What a set of hogs!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>To-night the sound of the guns is quite close. Perhaps we shall go into -action at last.</p> - -<p>It was a difficult job to find any wood fit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> to burn. Such as there was -was damp and when burning gave off a thick acrid smoke which the wind -blew down upon us. We had to fetch the water for the soup from more -than 300 yards away, and then keep a constant look-out to prevent the -horses from getting at it. The bread just given out was mouldy, and we -had to toast it in order to take away the musty taste.</p> - -<p>When it is time to water the teams the only street of the village is -thronged with horses either led or ridden bare-back. Six batteries -are encamped round Moirey, and there is only one pond into which a -thin stream of clear water, not more than two fingers thick, trickles -from a fountain. Every twenty paces one has to stop and manœuvre in -order to avoid kicks, and the men, annoyed by the delay, swear at each -other without reason. After four or five minutes one advances another -twenty paces, and, when finally the pond is reached, the men and beasts -sinking ankle-deep in mud, it is only to find that hundreds of horses -have left so much drivel and slime on the water that our animals refuse -to drink.</p> - -<p>It is reported that there has been a great battle near Nancy and that -we have won the day. Why don't we advance also?</p> - - - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Tuesday, August 18</i></span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> -</p> - -<p>Lucas, the cyclist of the battery, succeeded in finding two bottles of -champagne, which he hid in a corner of the guard-house where Le Bidois, -who was on sentry duty, kept an eye on them.</p> - -<p>Lucas is a young draughtsman of talent. His character is faithfully -reflected by his face—fresh, mobile, perhaps a little feminine. You -meet him in the morning and he seizes you by the arm:</p> - -<p>"Oh, my dear chap ... such a pretty little woman ... a perfect -dream!..."</p> - -<p>And the same evening he will say:</p> - -<p>"Oh, my dear chap ... such a fraud.... No, not a word!... What a fraud!"</p> - -<p>It appears that at Damvillers, a neighbouring village, he has made the -conquest of a little woman who sells tobacco. And he still manages to -get hold of cigarettes, writing-paper, liqueurs, and even champagne, -whereas no one else has been able to lay hands on any of these luxuries -for some time past.</p> - -<p>When night fell he gave us a sign, and Déprez and I followed him to the -door of the guard-house in which loomed the lanky figure of Le Bidois, -who was leaning on his sword. The guard-house is an old tumble-down -hut<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> only kept erect by the ivy growing round it. The door only boasts -one hinge, and the worm-eaten steps leading to the loft are crumbling -into dust. But still we found it a snug enough place in which to drink -our champagne.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Wednesday, August 19</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>The first gun has a team which is the joy of the whole battery. This -is owing to Astruc and his off-horse Jericho. Astruc, with bright -brown eyes and a face like a carrion-crow, is not much taller than -a walking-stick and has hardly any legs. Jericho is a vicious brute -that kicks, bites, and refuses to be groomed. Astruc holds long -conversations with him, and every morning greets him like one greets an -old friend who is a little crabbed, but of whom one is really fond:</p> - -<p>"Well, Jericho, old boy, what have you got to say? Have you been -dreaming of German mares?"</p> - -<p>Bréjard pointed out to Astruc that Jericho is a gelding.</p> - -<p>"Oh!" retorted Astruc, "I expect he gets ideas in his head all the -same."</p> - -<p>But to-day Jericho was in a specially bad temper, and wouldn't let -himself be bridled in order to be led down to the watering-place.</p> - -<p>"What's up, old chap?" asked Astruc.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> "Oh, I see what you want! You -haven't had your quid this morning, have you?... It's your quid you're -after."</p> - -<p>And he held out in the hollow of his hand a pinch of tobacco which the -horse swallowed with avidity. When Astruc is astride his near-horse, -Hermine, Jericho bites his boot, and the more Astruc whips him the -harder he clenches his teeth.</p> - -<p>"Well," says Astruc, "I bet that if I leave Jericho in a mêlée he'll -eat as many Boches as he can get his teeth into. If only we'd a hundred -more like him!"</p> - -<p>And looking the horse full in the face he added:</p> - -<p>"It's odd, you know! The brute's got a naughty twinkle in his eyes ... -just like one of those girls...."</p> - -<p>A corps of pontoon engineers passed by our camp, their long, -steel-plated boats loaded on carts, keel uppermost. Some foundered -horses, tied behind the vehicles, followed with hanging head and -limping step, a look of suffering in their bleared eyes—a pitiful -sight. Far down the road, winding its way through the long valley and -white under the morning sun, one could see the column toiling up a hill -as if ascending to the blue sky. At that distance men and horses seemed -no more than<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> a swarm of black ants, but the steel bottoms of the boats -still glinted in the sunshine. In front of us the long line still -passed slowly by.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The men's health is excellent, but the horses stand this new life -less successfully. Last Friday we had to leave one on the road, and -yesterday an old battery horse named Défricheur died in his turn. We -had to prepare a grave for him, and four men had been digging for more -than an hour in the hard and rocky ground when the mayor of Moirey -arrived on the scene. The grave had been dug too close to the houses, -so they had to drag the heavy carcass farther on and begin digging -again. Unfortunately the measurements of the new grave had been badly -calculated, and Défricheur, a proper gendarme's horse, could not be -crammed into it. The men were heartily tired of digging and so, with -a few blows of their spades and picks, they broke his legs and folded -them under his belly, so that at last he could be squeezed into the pit.</p> - -<p>The hill which had limited our horizon at Ville-devant-Chaumont ... was -still to be seen rising on the east in solitary splendour, its outlines -traced as if by compasses. Beneath the azure sky it shone like a mass -of burnished bronze.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> - -<p>Moirey lies in the lap of a valley and consists of a few dilapidated -cottages roofed with broken tiles. No matter from which side one goes -away from the village it is instantly hidden by an intervening spur of -the hills, so that one can only see the top of the roofs and the short, -rectangular steeple covered with slates.</p> - -<p>As we were grooming our horses in a field through which a brook bubbled -along amid the iris, a bevy of white-capped girls came down from the -village.</p> - -<p>The only means of getting over the river was a narrow bridge. This we -barred by standing a couple of horses athwart it, and, by way of toll, -demanded kisses. The girls, their rosy-cheeked faces smiling under the -spreading butterfly-wings of their caps, at first hesitated. Then one -of them took a run, jumped, and splashed into the water. The others -learnt wisdom from her example and decided to pay the toll.</p> - -<p>"Come on now! Just a kiss, you know!" said Déprez. "That's not so dear -in war-time!"</p> - -<p>They paid conscientiously.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Friday, August 21</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>To-day there was a fog when we awoke. Almost immediately the Captain -gave the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> word to harness, and five o'clock had not yet struck when we -started. The road was cut up into ruts by the artillery which for three -days had been passing over it, and we were so shaken on the limbers -that we could scarcely breathe.</p> - -<p>Luckily the column was advancing at a walking pace.</p> - -<p>The fog had collected at the end of the valley. On the right enormous -and regularly formed mounds rose like islands out of the sea of mist. -I could not take my eyes off their symmetrical curves, as perfect as -those of Cybele's breasts.</p> - -<p>Farther on the road straggled across a plain, the ample undulations -of which reminded one of the rise and fall of the ocean on days when -there is a swell. In every direction it was studded with wheat sheaves, -but there were few trees except an occasional group or line of poplars -welded together by the fog in an indistinct mass of dark green foliage.</p> - -<p>Not a sound of battle was to be heard.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>On the way we fell in with some baggage-trains and ambulances, and -learnt from their drivers that the enemy was still far away.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless the country had already been prepared for battle. A -farmhouse by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> roadside had been fortified, the windows barricaded -with mattresses and small trusses of straw, while a few loopholes -had been knocked in the garden wall. The fields were furrowed with -trenches as far as the edge of a wood, where some abatis had been set -up. Earthworks had been thrown up along the sides of the road, and in -front were heaped ladders, a couple of harrows, a plough, a roller, and -several bundles of straw. Two carts had been placed athwart the road, -but they had been pushed one to each side and lay thrown back with -their long shafts pointing upwards.</p> - -<p>We still rolled on across this desolate country. So similar were its -aspects that it almost seemed as if we were not advancing at all.</p> - -<p>At last the fog lifted, and, suddenly, before we were able to guess -that the end of the dreary scenery was near, a magnificent view opened -out before us as if by enchantment. We were on the crest of a hill -between two valleys, on one side of which thick woods descended in -leafy terraces to the hollow of a narrow dell in which, through a -meadow of vivid emerald green, a little black river trickled on its -way. The forests surrounding this meadow, as if placed there in order -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> embellish and enhance its beauty, looked like a magnificent ruff -of low-toned olive tints. In front of us, just where the road turned -off at an angle, a spur of woodland rose with the forbidding aspect of -a fortress. On the right, forming a contrast to the quiet and peaceful -little river, a broad valley, with symmetrical slopes lightened here -and there by corn standing yellow in the sun, opened out wide and -invitingly. The river flowing through it was hardly visible, but the -roads, villages, and the railway line were quite distinct. On the one -hand lay Vélosnes, and on the other Torgny, their white walls and red -roofs showing up on the green background of the fields.</p> - -<p>There was nothing in the scene to suggest that war was on foot, and -gun-shots heard from a distance were no more startling than the noise -of carriage wheels.</p> - -<p>It was a fine morning, to which the mist, softening the outlines of -the landscape, lent additional charm. The narrow S-shaped road we were -following plunged into the valley. The horses made efforts to keep back -the guns, and especially the ammunition wagons, which were pushing them -down the slope. Their shoes slipping with the dislodged stones, they -braced their backs and felt their way cautiously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span></p> - -<p>The river at this point constituted the frontier between France and -Belgium. A custom-house official was leaning up against the parapet of -the bridge.</p> - -<p>One of the men called out to him:</p> - -<p>"No fine linen or lace to-day, old man!"</p> - -<p>And another:</p> - -<p>"Suppose there's no duty on melinite, is there?"</p> - -<p>The official grinned.</p> - -<p>The first Belgian village, Torgny, afforded a contrast to the French -hamlets through which we had been passing since dawn. Our villages are -tumble-down, dirty, and redolent of manure and misery. Torgny, on the -contrary, was clean and bright, the windows of the houses boasting -not only curtains but even, sometimes, embroidered blinds, while the -shutters, doors, and window-joists were painted light green.</p> - -<p>On all sides we were greeted with smiles by the placid and open-faced -villagers. Through the windows of the cottages we could see red-tiled -floors, and in the semi-darkness of the interiors the glow of brasswork -on stoves and lamps reflected by carefully polished furniture.</p> - -<p>Our column halted in the village, the men carefully wedging the wheels -of the vehicles to prevent them from backing down the slope.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> A woman -and a fair, slightly built girl were sitting in front of their house, -of which the lower half was a mass of wistaria. We asked them where -the road led to, and a conversation began in which not only mother and -daughter took part, but also the grandmother, a wizened little woman -with a wrinkled face out of which peered a pair of bright brown eyes; -she had come out to see what was happening. They talked with a drawling -sing-song accent, which nevertheless was in no way disagreeable to our -ears.</p> - -<p>"Have the Germans come as far as this?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, they've come, only they didn't do any harm.... They hadn't -the time. Five or six of them came down from the woods up -there—cavalrymen. But they went back almost at once. Some of the -villagers saw them. There were also some French cavalry here, in blue -and red uniforms."</p> - -<p>"Chasseurs?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose so. They are so nice and polite.... At first, as there -weren't many of them, we almost quarrelled as to who should have them. -When the Uhlans came out of the woods they saw the French and went in -again."</p> - -<p>"And the Belgian soldiers?"</p> - -<p>"Not seen any of them," said the old lady.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> "But my granddaughter saw -some at Arlon last year."</p> - -<p>"Yes," chimed in the girl, "and they are better dressed than you."</p> - -<p>We prepared to make ourselves comfortable in the chairs which had been -brought out for us, and chatted while waiting for the order to advance.</p> - -<p>"You ought to be very grateful to us," said the grandmother. "We -stopped them, and they hadn't reckoned on that! They thought we were -sheep and found we were lions—yes, lions! They even say so themselves!"</p> - -<p>We willingly acquiesced.</p> - -<p>In future we shall always be able to count upon the goodwill of the -Belgians, for we owe them a debt of gratitude. That is no more solid -basis for affection than that which underlies the feelings of a -benefactor towards his protégé. Nothing is more soothing to the spirit -than a sense of superiority and legitimate pride.</p> - -<p>There can be no doubt but that the blood so bravely shed for us in -Belgium will be productive of more friendship than twenty years of -sustained efforts to maintain the French language and culture against -the rising tide of Germanization. And, forty years later, when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> we -meet a Belgian, we may be sure that he will remind us, in his pleasing -accent:</p> - -<p>"Yes, but you know ... without us in 1914...."</p> - -<p>It will be a pleasure to him to recall all that France owes to his -glorious little country. More, he will be grateful to us for the debt -we owe her.</p> - -<p>"Oh, of course it has cost us a lot to defend our neutrality," said -the old woman. "It is awful what the Germans have done in our country. -They seem to have a special hatred for the women. There was one down -there.... We knew her quite well.... And they first cut off her breasts -... and then disembowelled her.... And they've done that to countless -others! Oh! its too awful! They must be worse than savages. You must -tell your people about it, when you get back—about that, and about -everything else we've had to suffer. But you won't do the same when you -get into Germany, will you?"</p> - -<p>She added:</p> - -<p>"I am very old—over seventy—and I had never seen war in Belgium."</p> - -<p>The poor old woman spoke almost without anger, but in a trembling voice -and with infinite sadness.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p> - -<p>We encamped at Torgny. As soon as the horses had been picketed and -the oats distributed, Déprez and I hurried to the wistaria windows to -ask if we could buy a little milk and some eggs. The old woman was -most upset; it seemed that she had already given everything to the -Chasseurs. But she sent us a little farther on to the house of one of -her daughters who, she said, would milk the cow for us. She added:</p> - -<p>"We've a good loft here, where you would be quite comfortable and warm -in the straw. So come back to sleep in any case."</p> - -<p>We knocked at the door she had pointed out to us a couple of houses -farther on, and were received as though we had been expected.</p> - -<p>"It's some artillerymen, mother," said a young woman, who was nursing a -child in her arms. "They want some milk."</p> - -<p>Her mother came out of the next room.</p> - -<p>"I'll go and milk the cow," said she. "Good evening, messieurs; please -sit down; you must be tired."</p> - -<p>Lucas had somehow managed to find some eggs.</p> - -<p>"Shall we make you an omelette with bacon?" asked the daughter. "It -won't take long. But do sit down. I'm sure you've been standing about -enough to-day!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> - -<p>Almost immediately the fat began to sizzle in the pan.</p> - -<p>At every moment infantrymen and Chasseurs knocked at the door, and the -two women distributed the milk from their cow, refusing all payment. -When there was no more left they were quite wretched at having to -disappoint the men who continually arrived on various quests.</p> - -<p>"We've given all we had. I'm so sorry!" they said. "We've only a small -bowl left for the baby. You see, we've only one cow!"</p> - -<p>A Chasseur brought back a kettle he had borrowed; another asked for the -loan of a gridiron. Never has Frenchman been more warmly welcomed in -France.</p> - -<p>The fair-haired girl, with whom we had been talking shortly before, -came back carrying an earthenware milk-jug in her hand.</p> - -<p>"Have you any milk, auntie? There are some soldiers who want a little. -They're ill, some of them."</p> - -<p>"Oh, darling, I'm so sorry! There are only a few drops left for baby!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, dear!..."</p> - -<p>The girl saw us seated at table round the smoking omelette, and smiled -at us as though we were old acquaintances. I told her that if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> I ever -returned home I should perhaps write a book about what I had seen in -the war.</p> - -<p>"And will you please tell me your name, so that I can send you the book -as a souvenir to you and your family. You have all been so good to us -Frenchmen."</p> - -<p>"My name is Aline—Aline Badureau."</p> - -<p>"What a pretty name—Aline!"</p> - -<p>She prepared to go.</p> - -<p>"I hope that you will return home," she said to me, "so that you can -send us your book. But I'm sure you'll forget. They say that Frenchmen -forget very soon."</p> - -<p>I protested vehemently.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2a">III. THE ATTACK. THE RETREAT</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Saturday, August 22</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">We</span> slept in the barn which the kindly old woman had placed at our -disposal, and in which the hay was deep and warm. At three o'clock -in the morning one of the stable pickets came to call us through the -window. We harnessed our horses as best we could in the darkness.</p> - -<p>An extremely diffused light was beginning to spread over the -countryside, and the mist, rising from the meadows, dimmed the -clearness of the dawn. We marched on through the powdery atmosphere. -The fog was so thick that it was impossible to see the carriage -immediately ahead, and from our places on the limber-boxes the lead -driver and his horses looked like a sort of moving shadow.</p> - -<p>Eventually we reached the little town of Virton. All the inhabitants -were at their doors, and offered us coffee, milk, tobacco, and cigars. -The men jumped off the limbers and hurriedly drank the steaming drinks -poured out for them by the women, while the drivers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> bending down from -their horses, held out their drinking-tins.</p> - -<p>"Have you seen the Germans?" we asked.</p> - -<p>"Only one or two came to buy some socks and some sugar. I hope they -won't all come here. Will they?"</p> - -<p>"Aren't we here to prevent them?"</p> - -<p>The women's open faces, framed in their dark brown hair, were perfectly -calm. Fat little children, like cherubs sprung to life from some canvas -of Rubens, ran by the side of the column as we moved on, and others, a -little bigger, kept crying: "Hurrah for the French!"</p> - -<p>Our batteries joined up behind a group of the 26th Artillery on the -Ethe road—a fine straight highway, flanked by tall trees. In the fog -the sheaves in the fields looked so much like infantry that for a -moment one was deceived. A few ambulances were installed in one of the -villages. A little farther on some mules, saddled with their cacolets, -were waiting at the end of a sunken road.</p> - -<p>We had hardly passed the last houses when suddenly rifle-fire broke out -with a sound like that of dry wood burning. A machine-gun also began to -crackle, staccato, like a cinema apparatus.</p> - -<p>Fighting was going on quite close, both in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> front of us and also to the -right, somewhere in the fog. I listened, at every moment expecting to -hear the hum of a bullet.</p> - -<p>"About turn!"</p> - -<p>"Trot!"</p> - -<p>What had happened? Where were the batteries which had preceded us? We -turned off to the right. The firing ceased. The march in the fog, which -kept getting thicker, became harassing after a while. At all events we -were sure, now, that the enemy was not far off.</p> - -<p>Finally, at about seven o'clock, we halted. Not a sound of the battle -was to be heard. We unbridled our horses and gave them some oats. The -men lay down by the side of the road and dozed.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the fusillade broke out again, but this time on the left. I -asked myself how our position could have altered so in relation to that -of the enemy. A few minutes ago the fighting was on our right. Perhaps -it was only a patrol which had gone astray. I gave up thinking about -it. Doubtless the fog had confused my sense of direction.</p> - -<p>This time the firing sounded more distant. A single detonation, like a -signal, was heard. I thought at first that it was one of the drivers -whipping up his team, but a minute later the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> crackling of rifles broke -on our ears in gusts, as if carried by a high wind. And yet the air was -quite still, and the fog floated, motionless, on all sides.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the sun broke through and the mists disappeared as if by -magic, like large gauze curtains rapidly lifted. In a few moments the -whole stretch of countryside became visible. The cannonade began at -once.</p> - -<p>On the right were some meadows in which flocks were feeding, and, -farther on, a line of wooded hills, in the lap of which nestled a tiny -village.</p> - -<p>On the left and towards the north the horizon was hidden by a -semicircle of hills through which a river wound its tortuous course, -draining the stubble-fields on either side. A large, bowl-shaped -willow-tree made a solitary green blotch on the background.</p> - -<p>A battery was evidently already installed there, four dark points -indicating the position of the four guns. As we stood waiting on -the straight road, the perspective of which was accentuated by the -trees flanking it on each side, the twelve batteries of our regiment, -followed by their first lines of wagons, formed an interminable and -motionless black line.</p> - -<p>The Captain gave the order:</p> - -<p>"Prepare for action!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p> - -<p>The gun-numbers who had been lying beneath the trees jumped to their -feet and took off the breech-and muzzle-covers which protect the guns -from dust when on the road. This done, they got the sighting-gear -ready, and saw that the training and elevating levers were in good -working order.</p> - -<p>We were surprised in our work by an explosion quite near at hand. -Above the stubble-fields a small white cloud was floating upwards. It -expanded, and then disappeared. And suddenly, near the bowl-shaped -willow-tree, six shrapnel shells burst, one after another.</p> - -<p>I felt an odd sensation, as if my circulation was growing slower. But I -was not afraid. For the matter of that, no immediate danger threatened -us. Only I had an intuition that a big battle was about to begin, and -that I should have to make a great effort.</p> - -<p>The gunners anxiously riveted their eyes on a point of the horizon -where shells were now falling almost incessantly. Of course none of -them would have confessed to their anxiety, but there was a significant -lull in the conversation. I do not know what we were waiting -for—whether the fall of a shell or the arrival of orders.</p> - -<p>For my part I excused myself for feeling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> apprehensive. The baptism of -fire is always an ordeal, and the motionless waiting on the road had -worked on my nerves. The enemy need only have lifted his fire in order -to hit us as we stood there, defenceless, in column formation.</p> - -<p>Besides, such emotions are only skin-deep. Even if anxiety could -plainly be read in every man's face we still kept smiling and inwardly -resolved to do whatever might be necessary in order to make the coming -battle a French victory.</p> - -<p>The Colonel passed by, accompanied by Captain Manoury and a Staff of -Lieutenants. He gave us a quiet but searching look, which seemed to -gauge our mettle and encourage us at the same time. The small group -of horsemen made off rapidly, ascending the slopes which were being -bombarded by the enemy.</p> - -<p>"Attention!"</p> - -<p>We were going into action.</p> - -<p>On the side of the horseshoe-shaped ring of hills sections of infantry -were deploying and advancing by successive rushes. Of a sudden men rose -up and ran across the fields, and again as suddenly, at an inaudible -word of command, threw themselves down, disappearing from view like so -many rabbits. They went on farther and farther, and at last we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> saw -their outlines silhouetted against the sky-line as they crossed the -ridge of the hill.</p> - -<p>It was about ten o'clock, and very hot. From the unknown country on -the other side of the hills came the awe-inspiring roar of battle. The -rifle-fire crackled continuously and the noise of the machine-guns -sounded like waves beating against the rocks. The thunder of the heavy -guns drowned, so to speak, the general din, and blended it into a -single roar, similar to that of the ocean in a storm, when the waves -gather and break with dull thuds amid the shriek of the wind as it -lashes the waters.</p> - -<p>The battle-line seemed to lie from east to west, the Germans holding -the north and the French the south.</p> - -<p>"Forward!"</p> - -<p>First we had to cross a meadow traversed by a stream almost hidden in -the high grass. The gunners took the off-horses by the bridle and urged -them forward, while the drivers whipped up their teams into a trot. The -sun was shining under the wheels of the ammunition wagon as it suddenly -proved too much for the horses and sank heavily up to the axle in the -mud. It was eventually dislodged by some strong collar-work.</p> - -<p>Where on earth were we going to? We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> seemed to be bound for the -bowl-shaped willow-tree, near the heights from which the German -machine-guns, for more than two hours, had been riddling every square -inch of ground. Why were we being sent there? Were there not plenty of -excellent positions on the hills? We should inevitably be massacred! -But still the column advanced at a walking pace towards the sloping -field in which shells were falling at every moment.</p> - -<p>Why? Why? Death had reigned supreme there ever since the fog lifted. We -were riding into the Valley....</p> - -<p>I felt a choking sensation grip my throat. And yet I was still capable -of reasoning. I understood quite clearly that the hour was come for me -to sacrifice my life. All of us would go up, yes!—but few would come -back down the hill!</p> - -<p>This combination of animality and thought which constitutes my life -would shortly cease to be. My bleeding body would lie stretched out -on the field; I seemed to see it. A curtain seemed to fall on the -perspectives of the future which a moment ago still seemed full of -sunshine. It was the end. It had not been long in coming, for I am only -twenty-one.</p> - -<p>Not for an instant did I argue with myself or hesitate. My destiny had -to be sacrificed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> for the fulfilment of higher destinies—for the life -of my country, of everything I love, of all I regretted at that moment. -If I was to die, well and good! I was willing. I should almost have -thought that it was harder!...</p> - -<p>We continued to advance at a walking pace, the drivers on foot at their -horses' heads. Presently we reached the willow-tree. A volley.... -From far off came a sound at first resembling the whirr of wings or -the rustle of a silken skirt, but which rapidly developed into a -droning hum like that of hundreds of hornets in flight. The shell -was coming straight at us, and the sensation one then experiences -is indescribable. The air twangs and vibrates, and the vibrations -seem to be communicated to one's flesh and nerves—almost to the -marrow of one's bones. The detachment crouched down by the wheels of -the ammunition wagon and the drivers sheltered behind their horses. -At every moment we expected an explosion. One, two, three seconds -passed—an hour. The instinct of self-preservation strong within me, I -bent my shoulders and waited, trembling like an animal flinching from -death. A flash! It seemed to fall at my feet. Shrapnel bullets whistled -by like an angry wind.</p> - -<p>But the column still remained motionless in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> the potato-field, which -was so riddled by gun-fire that it was difficult to steer the vehicles -between the shell craters.</p> - -<p>Why were we waiting? How we wished that we could at least take up -a position and reply to the enemy's fire! It seemed to me that if -only we could hear the roar of our ·75's the dread of those deathly -moments would become less intense. But we seemed to be merely awaiting -slaughter; the minutes dragged by and we still remained motionless.</p> - -<p>Some shells, which for a moment I thought had actually grazed the -limber, hurtled by and shook me from head to foot, making the armour -behind which I was sheltering vibrate. Fortunately the ground was -considerably inclined, and the projectiles burst farther back. I -perspired with fear.... Yes, I was badly frightened. Nevertheless I -knew that I should not run away, and that I should, if necessary, let -myself be killed at my post. But the longing for action grew more and -more insistent.</p> - -<p>At last we started off again, progressing with difficulty across the -furrowed field. The drivers could hardly manage their horses, which had -been seized with panic and pulled in all directions.</p> - -<p>Hutin gave me a nod:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p> - -<p>"You are quite green, old chap!" he said.</p> - -<p>"Well, if you could see your own face ..." I answered.</p> - -<p>A shell fell, throwing up a quantity of earth in front of the horses -and wounding the centre driver of the ammunition wagon in the head, -killing him instantly.</p> - -<p>"Forward!"</p> - -<p>Near the crest of the hill we took up our position on the edge of an -oat-field. The limbers went off to the rear to shelter somewhere in the -direction of Latour, the steeple of which could be seen overtopping the -trees in the valley on our left. Crouching behind the armoured doors of -the ammunition wagons and behind the gun-shields, we awaited the order -to open fire. But the Captain, kneeling down among the oats in front of -the battery, his field-glasses to his eyes, could discover no target, -for yonder, over the spreading woods of Ethe and Etalle, now occupied -by the enemy, a thick mist was still floating. All round us, behind our -guns, over our heads, and without respite, high-explosive and shrapnel -shell of every calibre kept bursting and strewing the position with -bullets and splinters. Death seemed inevitable. Behind the gun was a -small pit in which I took refuge while we waited for orders. A big bay -saddle-horse,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> with a gash in his chest from which a red stream flowed, -stood motionless in the middle of the field.</p> - -<p>What with the hissing and whistling of the shells, the thunder of -the enemy's guns, and the roar from a neighbouring ·75 battery, it -was impossible to distinguish the different noises in this shrieking -inferno of fire, smoke, and flames. I perspired freely, my body -vibrating rather than trembling. The blood seethed in my head and -throbbed in my temples, while it seemed as if an iron girdle encircled -my chest. Unconsciously, like one demented, I hummed an air we had been -singing recently in the camp and which haunted me.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 40%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Trou là là, ça ne va guère;</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Trou là là, ça ne va pas.</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Something brushed past my back. At first I thought I was hit, but the -shell splinter had only torn my breeches.</p> - -<p>The battery became enveloped in black, nauseating smoke. Somebody was -groaning, and I got up to see what had happened. Through the yellow fog -I saw Sergeant Thierry stretched on the ground and the six numbers of -the detachment crowding round him. The shell had burst under the chase -of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> his gun, smashing the recoil-buffer, and effectually putting the -piece out of action.</p> - -<p>Kneeling side by side, Captain Bernard de Brisoult and Lieutenant -Hély d'Oissel were scanning the horizon through their field-glasses. -I admired them. The sight of these two officers, and of the Major who -was quietly strolling up and down behind the battery, made me ashamed -to tremble. I passed through a few seconds of confused but intense -mental suffering. Then it seemed as though I was awakening from a sort -of feverish delirium, full of horrible nightmares. I was no longer -frightened. And, when I again took shelter, having nothing else to do -as we were not firing, I found I had overcome my instincts, and no -longer shook with fear.</p> - -<p>A horrible smell filled the pit.</p> - -<p>"Phew!" I ejaculated hoarsely, "what a stink!"</p> - -<p>Peering down I perceived Astruc in the bottom of the hollow. In a voice -which seemed to come from the bowels of the earth he replied:</p> - -<p>"All right, old son! Don't you worry ... it's only me. I'm sitting in -a filthy mess here, but all the same I wouldn't give up this place for -twenty francs!"</p> - -<p>Over the crest of the hill came some infantry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> in retreat. The sound of -the machine-guns approached and eventually became distinguishable from -the roar of the artillery.</p> - -<p>The enemy was advancing and we were giving way before them. Shells -continued to fly over us, and entire companies of infantry fell back.</p> - -<p>The officers consulted together.</p> - -<p>"But what are we to do?... There are no orders ... no orders," the -Major kept repeating.</p> - -<p>And still we waited. The Lieutenant had drawn his revolver and the -gunners unslung their rifles. The German batteries, possibly afraid of -hitting their own troops, ceased firing. At any moment now the enemy -might set foot on the ridge.</p> - -<p>"Limber up!"</p> - -<p>The order was quickly carried out.</p> - -<p>We had to carry Thierry, whose knee was broken, with us. He was -suffering horribly and implored us not to touch him. In spite of his -protests, however, three men lifted him on to the observation-ladder. -He was very pale, and looked ready to faint.</p> - -<p>"Oh!" he murmured. "You are hurting me! Can't you finish me?"</p> - -<p>The rest of the wounded, five or six in number, hoisted themselves -without assistance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> on to the limbers and the battery swung down the -Latour road at a quick trot.</p> - -<p>We had lost the battle. I did not know why or how. I had seen nothing. -The French right must have had to retire a considerable distance, for, -ahead to the south-east, I saw shells bursting over the woods which -that morning had been some way behind our lines. We were completely -outflanked, and I was seized with qualms as to whether our means of -retreat were still open. We crossed the railway, some fields, and a -river in succession, and approached the chain of hills, wooded half-way -up their slopes, which stretched parallel to the heights the army -had occupied in the morning. These were doubtless to be our rallying -positions. The drivers urged their horses onwards while the gunners, -who had dismounted from the limbers in order to lighten the load, ran -in scattered order by the side of the column. The narrow road we were -following was badly cut up, the stones rolling from under the horses' -hoofs at every step. Half-way up the steep incline we found the way -barred by an infantry wagon which had come to a standstill. A decrepit -white horse was struggling in the shafts. The driver swore and hauled -at the wheels, but the animal could not start.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p> - -<p>One of the corporals shouted out:</p> - -<p>"Now then, get on, can't you?"</p> - -<p>Get on!... As if he could! The driver, without leaving hold of the -wheel which he was preventing from going backwards, turned a distracted -face towards us, almost crying with baffled rage.</p> - -<p>"Get on? How am I to get on?"</p> - -<p>We lent him a hand and succeeded in pushing his wagon into the field so -that we could pass.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was about two o'clock in the afternoon, and the heat was stifling. -The battle seemed to have come to an end, and the only gun-shots -audible came from far away on the left, near Virton and St. Mard.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The column stretched out in a long black line on the hill-side as we -crawled upwards through the woods crowning the summit in order to find -a road by which we might gain the plateau. The horizon gradually opened -out before us. Suddenly, from the direction of Latour, a machine-gun -began to crackle; I hurriedly lifted my hand to my ear like one who -drives away a buzzing wasp.</p> - -<p>"They're firing at us!" cried Hutin.</p> - -<p>Bullets began to hum past. Machine-guns<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> had opened fire on us from the -top of the positions we had just vacated. One of the horses, wounded, -fell to its knees and was promptly unharnessed. A gunner, shot through -the thigh, nevertheless continued to march.</p> - -<p>Close by, in a valley where we were sheltered from the fire, we found a -spot where one corner of the field cut a wedge out of the forest. Here -we parked our three batteries and waited for orders. I saw at once how -critical our position was. There was no road leading to the plateau -through the wood, and several vehicles of the 10th Battery, which had -ventured to try a bridle-path, soon found it impossible either to -advance or go back. One of the guns had sunk up to the axle in the -muddy ground.</p> - -<p>The only means of retreat, therefore, was to cross the bare fields -on the right or left and once again run the gauntlet not only of the -machine-guns, but also, perhaps, of the enemy's field artillery, -which by now had had time to come up. The longer we waited the more -problematical became our chances of escaping unscathed.</p> - -<p>Besides, I could not help wondering how long the route across the -plateau was likely to remain available. We were already out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>flanked, -and in front of us the Germans were still advancing down the -crescent-shaped hills. They had doubtless already occupied Latour.</p> - -<p>The Major still waited for orders. He hardly spoke a word, but every -now and then his jaws contracted spasmodically—a sign of nervousness -we soldiers knew well. He was "cracking nuts," as the men say. He had -dispatched a corporal to ask for instructions, but no one knew where -the Staff was likely to be found at that hour. The army was in full -retreat.</p> - -<p>Eventually a dragoon galloped up and drew rein in front of our -officers. We anxiously crowded round him. He brought information that -the retreat of the army was being effected on the right by the Ruettes -road. The enemy, he said, had already taken Latour, and was advancing -towards Ville-Houdlémont.</p> - -<p>The column immediately leapt into life. Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel, -riding on alone ahead, showed us the way. Again the machine-guns broke -out in the distance, but this time no bullets whistled past us. For a -few moments we were stopped by a paling, which we broke down with our -axes. The open space we had to cross was short—a meadow capping the -rising ground between the trees. We eventually reached Ruettes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> by a -narrow lane on both sides of which rose steep banks.</p> - -<p>Near the church stood a General without any Staff, and accompanied -solely by three Chasseurs.</p> - -<p>The Tellancourt road was a veritable river.</p> - -<p>In the breathless hurry and bustle of the retreat we had to make our -way through the crowd by force. Such battalions as still possessed -their Majors went on in front with the artillery column. And, tossed -about from right to left like bits of cork in the swirl of a current, -dragged this way and that in the eddies, sometimes pushed into the -ditch, and sometimes carried off their feet by the torrent, the -tattered remnants of troops surged down the road. Wounded, limping, -many without rifle or pack, they made slow progress. Some made an -effort to climb upon our carriages, and either hoisted themselves on to -the ammunition wagons or let themselves be dragged along like automata.</p> - -<p>While the retreat of the infantry divisions continued along the -highway, we turned off down a steep road to the right and reached the -plateau. The day was drawing to a close, and the shadow of the thick -woods at Guéville, between us and the sun, was projected on to the side -of the next hill. Here<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> there were no stragglers, but the ditches were -full of wounded, resting for a moment before continuing the painful -ascent. Many of them looked as though they would never get up again. -Some were lying half hidden in the grass.</p> - -<p>There was already something skull-like about their faces; the eyes, -wide open and bright with fever, stared fixedly from out their sunken -sockets as though at something we could not see. Their matted hair -was glued to their foreheads with sweat, which slowly trickled down -the drawn, emaciated faces, leaving white zigzag furrows in the dirt -of dust and smoke. Hardly one of the wounded was bandaged, and the -blood had made dark stains on their coats and splashed their ragged -uniforms. Not a complaint was to be heard. Two soldiers, without packs -or rifles, were trying to help a little infantryman whose shoulder had -been shattered by a shell, and who, deathly white and with closed eyes, -wearily but obstinately shook his head, refusing to be moved. Others, -wounded in the leg, still managed to hobble along with the aid of their -rifles, which they used as crutches. They implored us to find place for -them on the carriages.</p> - -<p>We contrived to make room for them on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> the limbers. At every bump and -jolt a big bugler, whose chest had been shot clean through by a bullet, -gave a gasp of pain.</p> - -<p>In the fields by the roadside lay torn and gaping packs, from which -protruded vests, pants, caps, brushes, and other items of kit. The road -itself was littered with boots, mess-tins, and camp-kettles crushed by -the wheels and horses' hoofs, shirts, bayonets, cartridge belts with -the brass cases shining in the dust, képis, and broken Lebel rifles. -It was a sight to make one weep, and, despite myself, my thoughts went -back to the retreat of August 1870, after Wissembourg and Forbach.... -And yet for a month past we had heard continually of French victories, -and had almost begun to picture Alsace reconquered and the road into -Germany laid open. Nevertheless, at the first attack, here was our army -routed! With some astonishment I realized that I had taken part in a -defeat.</p> - -<p>We reached the edge of the Guéville woods, which were being defended by -the 102nd Infantry. Arms and equipment still bestrew the road, which -had also been cut up into ridges by the artillery and convoys. The -wounded on our lurching and jolting wagons looked like men crucified.</p> - -<p>I questioned the big bugler:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Shall we stop? Perhaps this shakes you too much?"</p> - -<p>"No! Anything rather than fall into their hands."</p> - -<p>"Yes, but still...."</p> - -<p>"No, no—that's all right."</p> - -<p>And he bit his lips to avoid crying out. I was very tired, and my head -felt at the same time heavy and yet light. My one desire was to sleep, -no matter where.</p> - -<p>Hardly were we out of the wood when the battery halted in a field full -of wheat-sheaves near a village called La Malmaison. I threw myself -down on some straw. If we stayed there we should certainly not even -be able to sleep; the enemy was too close, and we should probably be -attacked at night. And my one thought was to sleep, to get far enough -away to sleep. I waited for the prophetic order "Unharness!" which -would leave us in this field to fight again in an hour's time—perhaps -at once. But other orders arrived, and off we rumbled once more, -through La Malmaison, which we found congested with troops in disorder. -Night fell. I had now reached the extreme limits of fatigue and began -to be less conscious of what was going on around me. As if in a dream -I saw the men huddled on the limber-boxes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> their heads rolling on -their shoulders, and the drivers lurching from side to side on their -horses like drunken men. I still seem to hear a gunner of the 26th -Artillery, who, sitting on the ammunition wagon, was telling how the -three batteries which preceded us this morning on the road to Ethe were -caught by the German machine-gun fire and taken in column formation, -and how he himself had been able, thanks to the fog, to escape almost -alone.</p> - -<p>We went on through the night, our wagons creaking and rattling -with a sound almost like a sort of cannonade. One of the whips was -dragging.... For a moment I thought I heard a machine-gun.... What an -obsession!... The column rolled on through the darkness, the monotonous -rumble of the wheels unbroken by an order or word of any kind.</p> - -<p>About midnight, after a very long march, we again reached Torgny, -and encamped there. The roll was not even called. I threw myself -face-downwards on some hay in a barn, and it seemed to me, as I fell -asleep, that I was dying.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Sunday, August 23</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>This morning they let us sleep until past eight o'clock. After getting -up we at once led our horses down to the big stone trough in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> the -middle of the village. The church bells were ringing. So there were -still Sundays! Somehow that seemed strange! I was still sleepy and my -numbed limbs ached abominably, so that it was torture to get into the -saddle. How I longed for a day's rest!</p> - -<p>As I was returning to the camp, Déprez at my side, we met Mademoiselle -Aline, in a light pink dress of flowery pattern, and very daintily -shod. She was doubtless going to Mass. She recognized us and waved her -hand, smiling.</p> - -<p>At the camp we found them waiting for us.</p> - -<p>"Hurry up now!"</p> - -<p>"Bridle!... Hook in!"</p> - -<p>"What? Are we going into action again?"</p> - -<p>"Seems like it.... I don't know," answered Bréjard. "Now then!"</p> - -<p>The two batteries now forming the Group, our own and the 12th (the 10th -had been taken by the enemy in the Guéville woods), started off along -the Virton road. It seemed that we were never to get a moment's respite.</p> - -<p>But almost immediately we halted in double column on the grass by -the side of the road. On the hill-side were strong forces of French -artillery in position, the motionless batteries showing up like black -squares on the green slope.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p> - -<p>The roll was called. One or two were missing from my battery. Bâton, -the centre driver of the gun-team, had been wounded in the head, -and had been left behind in the hospital at Torgny. Hubert, our -gun-commander, had disappeared, and so had Homo, another of the -drivers. The last time that I had seen Homo he was wandering across a -field swept by the German guns, a wild look in his eyes.</p> - -<p>Lucas, the Captain's cyclist, was also missing, and this worried me -especially. He is always so cheerful, open-hearted, and amusing, and is -one of my best friends.</p> - -<p>There was no news at all of our entire first line, conducted by -Lieutenant Couturier. Standing in a circle round the Captain the -detachments were reorganized. The battery had only three guns left, and -it was necessary to send to the rear the one with the broken hydraulic -buffer.</p> - -<p>How tired I was! As soon as I stayed still I began to fall asleep.</p> - -<p>Hutin opened a box of bully-beef for the two of us.</p> - -<p>"Hungry, Lintier?"</p> - -<p>"Not a bit.... And yet I've not eaten anything since the day before -yesterday!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Same here. Do you think we shall have any more fighting to-day?"</p> - -<p>"I suppose we shall...."</p> - -<p>Hutin thought a little.</p> - -<p>"There's only one thing I love," said he, "and that is to be there."</p> - -<p>"Yes, it's splendid."</p> - -<p>"It's odd that we don't hear the guns to-day."</p> - -<p>"They don't seem to have taken advantage of their victory yesterday in -order to advance."</p> - -<p>"Well," said our gun-layer, "in my opinion we've fallen into an -ambuscade. They were waiting for us there, and they had got all the -ridges nicely registered. That's how they had us! But all that will -change!"</p> - -<p>"I hope so! Oh, Lord, how tired I am! And you?"</p> - -<p>"So am I!"</p> - -<p>We each ate without much relish four mouthfuls of bully-beef and shut -the box again. Besides, the column was already beginning to move.</p> - -<p>Striking across country we reached Lamorteau, a large village on the -banks of the Chiers, where we encamped near the river and waited for -orders.</p> - -<p>The scene was soon brightened by smoke rising straight up in the still -air of the morning,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> which was already hot. The men made their soup -and the drivers went off to draw water for the horses, which were not -unharnessed.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, on the bridge spanning the Chiers, Lieutenant Couturier -appeared at the head of his column, accompanied by Lucas. The latter -ran up to me.</p> - -<p>"There you are!"</p> - -<p>"There you are!"</p> - -<p>"You devil! You did give us a fright!"</p> - -<p>We grasped each other's hands, and that was all. But I felt immensely -relieved.</p> - -<p>Hubert was also with them. Conversation became lively round the -camp-kettles, in which the soup was already steaming. Afterwards, no -orders having arrived, we slept, and at nightfall returned to Torgny to -camp there once more.</p> - -<p>The Major ordered the horses to be unharnessed and, supposing therefore -that no danger threatened, I stretched myself and gave a yawn of -satisfaction. Then we bivouacked. What work! The guns are placed about -twenty yards apart. Between the wheels of two guns are stretched the -picket-lines, and, when the horses have been tethered to them, and the -harness arranged on the limber draught-poles, the park ought to form a -regular square.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> - -<p>We took off our vests, for it was still hot. Déprez was distributing -oats among the drivers who stood holding out the nosebags. Somebody -suddenly cried out:</p> - -<p>"An aeroplane!"</p> - -<p>"A German aeroplane!"</p> - -<p>Right overhead, like a big black hawk with a forked tail, an aeroplane -was circling round and round. There was an immediate rush for rifles. -Lying on their backs in order to shoulder their guns, and half -undressed, their open shirts showing hairy chests, the men opened -a brisk fire on the German bird of prey, which was flying low. The -startled horses neighed, reared, and pulled this way and that, many -breaking loose and galloping off across the fields. The aeroplane -seemed to be in difficulties.</p> - -<p>"She's hit!"</p> - -<p>"She's coming down!"</p> - -<p>"No! She's only going off!"</p> - -<p>The men still continued firing, although the machine had been out of -range for some minutes.</p> - -<p>At the drinking-place in the only street of the village there was -always the same crowd of men taking their horses to be watered, some -mounted bare-back, others led; the same shouting and swearing to get -room at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> trough, greetings from those who recognized each other, -oaths from others leading their animals who were hustled by the men on -horseback—in short, all the life and movement of an artillery camp. A -Chasseur, shouting profanely, forced his way through the throng. He was -assailed with cries.</p> - -<p>"Here, you aren't in a bigger hurry than any one else!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I am! Get back to camp quick! I've got orders!"</p> - -<p>"What's the matter now?"</p> - -<p>"All you chaps have got to clear off! No time for amusement, this, you -know; the Germans are coming up. There'll be some more fun in a minute!"</p> - -<p>He spurred forward, and we hurried back to our guns. Was it a surprise? -We limbered up at full speed, and before we had even had time to button -our shirts the first gun left the park.</p> - -<p>"Forward! March.... Trot!"</p> - -<p>We had thrown the nosebags, still half full of oats, on the ammunition -wagons and gun-carriages, and once on the way it was necessary to lash -them so that they should not be shaken off. Hastily throwing on their -clothing, the men jumped on to the limbers as best they could, while -the battery moved forward at a brisk pace on the uneven road.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p> - -<p>We kept continually looking over our shoulders, towards the hills on -the east dominated by Torgny, from which direction we expected to see -the heads of the enemy's column emerge at any minute. I momentarily -awaited the crackling of a machine-gun or the scream of a shell.</p> - -<p>The road in the distance, as it wound through the valley, was black -with horses and ammunition wagons advancing at a trot and raising thick -clouds of dust. Batteries were also to be seen rolling across country. -What was the meaning of this sudden retreat? The whole day long we -had only heard the guns from far off, towards the north. We had now -even ceased to hear them altogether. Had we been surprised, then, or -nearly surprised? But one never knows what has really happened on such -occasions!</p> - -<p>We took up our position on the ridge between the Chiers and the Othain, -where the whole country, its contours and colours continually changing -in the bright sunshine, had seemed to smile at us upon our arrival. -It seemed to me as though the memories awakened by the majesty and -stillness of the scene were deeply rooted in the past. I felt as though -I had aged ten years in one day—a strange and painful impression.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> - -<p>Our guns were pointing towards Torgny and the plateau above it. At -any moment the order might come to bombard the unfortunate village. -Possibly, even, a shell from my gun might blow to bits the very house -which had given us shelter, and kill the woman whose hospitality had -meant so much to us! That was an awful thought! Oh, this ghastly war!</p> - -<p>But night fell, and as yet the Captain had seen no signs of movement -on the plateau. Behind us the narrow valley of the Othain was slowly -becoming shrouded in shadows. The limbers were stationed 200 yards -from the battery. All fires were forbidden—even lanterns might not -be lit, as our safety on the morrow might depend upon our remaining -undiscovered. The night was clear, but a thin mist partially veiled the -light of the stars, and there was no moon. Motionless, and clustered -together in dark groups, the horses quietly munched their oats. A -far-reaching reddish glow lit up the eastern horizon—doubtless La -Malmaison on fire—and as the darkness deepened other lights appeared -on the right and left of the main conflagration. On every side the -villages were burning. Against the fiery sky the haunches of the -horses, their heads and twitching ears, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> the heavy masses of the -guns and limbers stood out like silhouettes.</p> - -<p>Standing side by side with our arms folded, Hutin and I watched the -flaming countryside.</p> - -<p>"Oh, the brutes, the savages!"</p> - -<p>"So that's war, is it?"</p> - -<p>And we both lapsed into silence, struck dumb by the same feeling of -futile horror, and filled with the same rage. I saw a yellow gleam pass -across the dark eyes of my friend—a reflection of the holocaust.</p> - -<p>"And to think we can't prevent it!... That we're the weaker! Oh, Lord!"</p> - -<p>"That'll come in time."</p> - -<p>"Yes, that'll come ... and then they'll pay for it!"</p> - -<p>We threw ourselves down on the straw heaped up behind the guns. A -searchlight from Verdun swept the country at regular intervals, and -the inky sky was lit up by the visual signalling. Huddled together we -gradually fell asleep, a single sentry, wrapped in his cloak, standing -motionless on guard.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Monday, August 24</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>It was still night when I was awakened and saw a dark shadow standing -over me.</p> - -<p>"Up you get!"</p> - -<p>"What time is it?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Don't know," answered the sentry who had roused me. The villages were -still burning. Feeling our way, and almost noiselessly, we harnessed -our teams, and the limbers came up. A steep decline ... the stones -rolled. In the darkness the horses might stumble at any moment. The -brakes acted badly, and we hung on to the vehicles, letting ourselves -be dragged along in order to relieve the wheelers, which were almost -being run over by the heavy ammunition wagon.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At early dawn we passed through a slumbering village. Stretched on -the ground under the lee of the high wall surrounding the church five -Chasseurs were sleeping. Twisted round one arm they held the reins -of their horses, which, standing motionless beside them, were also -asleep. A pale, cold light was breaking through the fog, which had -collected at the bottom of the valley. It was very cold as we marched -along in silence, the men snoring on the limber-boxes. We were going -westwards—retiring, that is to say. Why? Were we not in a good -position to wait for the enemy? Suddenly a silver sun shone through the -mist, surrounded by a halo of light.</p> - -<p>After a long halt in a lucerne-field manured<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> with stable refuse, the -smell of which remained in our nostrils, we took up position on a hill -near Flassigny. But hardly had we done so when fresh orders arrived, -and we started off again, always towards the west. In the space between -two hills we caught sight of a distant town—doubtless Montmédy.</p> - -<p>About midday we halted in a valley near the river.</p> - -<p>"Dismount! Unharness the off-horses. Stand easy!"</p> - -<p>The sun was burning hot, and not a breath stirred in the heavy air. -Our bottles only contained a little of the Othain water, brackish and -tepid, but at any rate it served to wash in. The men went to sleep in -the ditches, the horses standing motionless, exhausted by the heat.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The evening was already advanced when our Group received instructions -to push on to Marville, presumably to camp there.</p> - -<p>I recognized the place, for we had passed through Marville on our -way to Torgny. At that time it was a pretty little town with flowery -gardens and river-side villas surrounded by dahlias. Now, however, -the place was deserted. Large carts belonging to the Meuse peasantry -were waiting, ready to start, piled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> high with bedding, boxes, and -baskets. In one of them I caught sight of a canary-cage side by side -with a perambulator and a cradle. Women, surrounded by children, were -sitting on the heterogeneous heap, crying bitterly, while the little -ones hid their heads in their skirts. Some dogs, impatient to be off, -were nosing uneasily round the wheels of the carts. We asked these poor -people where they were going.</p> - -<p>"We don't know! They say we've got to go.... And so we're going ... and -with babies like these!"</p> - -<p>And they questioned us in their turn:</p> - -<p>"Which way do you think we'd better go? We don't know!"</p> - -<p>Nor did we. Nevertheless, we pointed out a direction.</p> - -<p>"Go that way! Over there!"</p> - -<p>"Over there" was towards the west.... Oh, what misery!...</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We bivouacked on the outskirts of the town. Near-by flowed a river, -on the opposite side of which two dead horses were lying in a -stubble-field.</p> - -<p>The Captain of the 10th Battery, which we had believed lost, arrived on -horseback at the camp. He told the Major that in the Guéville<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> woods he -had managed to save his four guns, but had had to leave the ammunition -wagons behind. His battery had taken up position somewhere on the hills -surrounding Marville on the south-east, and he had come to get orders.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The rent made by a shell-splinter two days previously in the seat of -my breeches was causing me great discomfort. Divided between the wish -to patch it up and the fear lest the order might come to break up the -camp before I had finished, I let the quiet hours of the evening pass -without doing this very necessary work.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Tuesday, August 25</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>I was awakened by the sun, and stretched myself.</p> - -<p>"A good night at last, eh, Hutin?"</p> - -<p>Hutin, still asleep, made no answer. Déprez called out:</p> - -<p>"Now then, oats!"</p> - -<p>Nobody was in a hurry. Two men, a confused mass of dark blue cloth, -quietly went on snoring amid the straw strewn under the chase of the -gun. Suddenly I thought I heard a familiar sound, and instinctively -turned to see whence it came.</p> - -<p>"Down!" cried some one.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p> - -<p>The men threw themselves down where they stood. In mid-air, above the -camp, a shell burst. In the still atmosphere the compact cloud of smoke -floated motionless among the thin grey mists.</p> - -<p>"It's that aeroplane we saw yesterday we've got to thank for that," -said Hutin, who had been fully awakened by the explosion.</p> - -<p>"Yes, but it was too high."</p> - -<p>"That's only a trial round to find the range. We shall get it hot in a -few minutes, you'll see!"</p> - -<p>"Now then, bridle! Hook in! Quick!"</p> - -<p>The camp at once became full of movement, the gunners hurrying to -their horses and limbers. In the twinkling of an eye the picket-lines -were wound round the hooks behind the limbers, and the teams were -ready to start. Again came the whistling of an approaching projectile. -The men merely rounded their backs without interrupting their work. -High-explosive shells now began to fall on Marville, and others, -hurtling over our heads, swooped down on the neighbouring hills which -the enemy doubtless believed manned by French artillery. The drivers, -leaning over their horses' necks, whipped up the teams, and the column -made off at a trot to take up position on the hills to the west of the -town, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> dominated the Othain valley and the uplands on the other -side of the river, whence the enemy was approaching. A veritable hail -of lead, steel, and fire was raining upon Marville. One of the first -shells struck the steeple. The town was not visible from our position, -but large black columns of smoke were rising perpendicularly into the -sky, and there was no doubt that the place was in flames. Amid the roar -of the cannonade, which had now become an incessant thunder which rose, -fell, echoed, and rolled without intermission, it was difficult to -distinguish between shots coming from the enemy's guns and those fired -from ours. After a time, however, we were able to recognize the short -sharp barks of the ·75's in action.</p> - -<p>"Attention! Gun-layers, forward!"</p> - -<p>The men hurried up to the Captain.</p> - -<p>"That tree like a brush ... in front...."</p> - -<p>"We see it, sir!"</p> - -<p>"That's your aiming-point. Plate 0, dial 150."</p> - -<p>The men ran to the guns and layed them, the breeches coming to rest as -they closed on the shells. The gun-layers raised their hands.</p> - -<p>"Ready!"</p> - -<p>"First round," ordered the gun-commander.</p> - -<p>The detachment stood by outside the wheels<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> of the gun, the firing -number bending down to seize the lanyard.</p> - -<p>"Fire!"</p> - -<p>The gun reared like a frightened horse. I was shaken from head to foot, -my skull throbbing and my ears tingling as though with the jangle of -enormous bells which had been rung close to them. A long tongue of fire -had darted out of the muzzle, and the wind caused by the round raised -a cloud of dust round us. The ground quaked. I noticed an unpleasant -taste in my mouth—musty at first, and acrid after a few seconds. That -was the powder. I hardly knew whether I tasted it or whether I smelled -it. We continued firing, rapidly, without stopping, the movements -of the men co-ordinated, precise, and quick. There was no talking, -gestures sufficing to control the manœuvre. The only words audible -were the range orders given by the Captain and repeated by the Nos. 1.</p> - -<p>"Two thousand five hundred!"</p> - -<p>"Fire!"</p> - -<p>"Two thousand five hundred and twenty-five!"</p> - -<p>"Fire!"</p> - -<p>After the first round the gun was firmly settled, and the gun-layer and -the firing number now installed themselves on their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> seats behind the -shield. On firing, the steel barrel of the ·75 mm. gun recoils on the -guides of the hydraulic buffer, and then quietly and gently returns to -battery, ready for the next round. Behind the gun there was soon a heap -of blackened cartridge-cases, still smoking.</p> - -<p>"Cease firing!"</p> - -<p>The gunners stretched themselves out on the grass, and some began to -roll cigarettes.</p> - -<p>Another aeroplane; the same black hawk silhouetted against the pale -blue sky which at every moment was getting brighter.</p> - -<p>The men swore and shook their fists. What tyranny! It was marking us -down!</p> - -<p>Suddenly the enemy's heavy artillery opened fire on the hills we were -occupying as well as on a neighbouring wood. It was time to change -position, since for us the most perilous moment is when the teams come -up to join the guns. A battery is then extremely vulnerable.</p> - -<p>Before the enemy could correct his range the Major gave an order and -we moved off to take up a fresh position in a hollow on the plain. -The wide fields around us were bristling with stubble, and on the -left a few poplars, bordering a road, traced a green line on the bare -countryside. In front of us and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> behind stretched empty trenches. -Marville was still burning, the smoke blackening the whole of the -eastern sky. The sun was now high in the heavens, and poured a dazzling -light on the stubble-fields. We were suffering badly from hunger and -thirst. The din of the battle seemed continually to grow louder.</p> - -<p>At the foot of some distant hills, still blue in the mist on the -south-eastern horizon, the Captain had perceived a column of artillery -or a convoy and large masses of men on the march. Were they French -troops, or was it the enemy? He was not sure. The mist and the distance -made it impossible to recognize the uniforms.</p> - -<p>"We can't fire if those are French troops," said he.</p> - -<p>Standing on an ammunition wagon he scanned the threatening horizon -through his field-glasses.</p> - -<p>"If it's the enemy, they are outflanking us ... outflanking us! They'll -be in the woods in a moment.... We shan't be able to see them.... Go -and ask the Major."</p> - -<p>The Major was no better informed than the Captain, the orders he had -received saying nothing about these hills. He also was using his -field-glasses, but could not distinguish the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> uniforms of the moving -masses. In his turn he muttered:</p> - -<p>"If it's the enemy they're surrounding us!"</p> - -<p>A mounted scout was hastily dispatched. We remained in suspense, a prey -to nervous excitement.</p> - -<p>A single foot-soldier had stopped near the fourth gun. He had neither -pack nor rifle. We questioned him:</p> - -<p>"Wounded?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Where have you come from?"</p> - -<p>The Captain signalled for the man to be taken to him. The soldier, who -had thrown away his arms, did not hurry to obey.</p> - -<p>"What are those troops down there?" asked the Captain. "French?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know!"</p> - -<p>"Well, where do you come from?"</p> - -<p>The soldier waved his arm with a vague, comprehensive gesture which -embraced half the horizon.</p> - -<p>"From over there!"</p> - -<p>The Captain shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"Yes, but where are the Germans? Do you know whether they have turned -Marville on the south?"</p> - -<p>"No, sir.... You see, I was in a trench.... And the shells began to -come along—<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>great big black ones.... First they burst behind us, a -hundred yards or more.... Then, of course, we didn't mind 'em. But soon -some of them fell right on us ... and then we ran!"</p> - -<p>"But your officers?"</p> - -<p>The man made a sign of ignorance. Nothing more could be got out of -him. Just at that moment a shell came hissing through the air, and he -at once made off at full speed, crouching as he ran. A few dislocated -words came back to us over his shoulder:</p> - -<p>"<i>Ah! Bon Dieu de bon Dieu!</i>"</p> - -<p>The shell burst on the other side of the road, and the moment after -three others exploded nearer still. The Captain had not ceased to -follow through his glasses the doubtful troops which, by now, had -nearly reached the woods. We waited anxiously, standing in a circle -round him.</p> - -<p>"I believe they're French," said he. "Here, Lintier, have a look! -You've got good eyes."</p> - -<p>Through the glasses I was able to distinguish the red of the breeches.</p> - -<p>"Yes, they're French, sir. But where are they going to?"</p> - -<p>The Captain made no reply, and I understood that once again our army -was in retreat.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> - -<p>A shower of shells poured down on the field behind us.</p> - -<p>The enemy's fire, too much to the left and too high at first, was -getting nearer, and was now corrected as far as training went. -Our lives depended on the whim of a Prussian Captain and a slight -correction for elevation.</p> - -<p>Just at that moment some sections of infantry suddenly appeared on the -edge of the plateau and hurriedly fell back. A company of the 101st had -come to man the trenches behind our guns.</p> - -<p>The air began to vibrate again, and more shells fell, this time right -on the top of us. A splinter brushed by my head and clanged on the -armour of the ammunition wagon. Another shell plumped down in the -trench full of infantry. One, two, three seconds passed; then came a -groan and a cry. A man got up and fled, then another, and, finally, the -whole company. Their heads held low, and with bent knees, they scurried -off. Behind them a wounded man hastily unstrapped his pack, threw both -it and his gun to one side, and limped rapidly away.</p> - -<p>A road orderly arrived with an envelope for the Major. Orders to -retire. We limbered up, and moved off at a walking pace. Under the -bright sun the stubble-field, with its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> entrails of black earth laid -bare by the gashes torn by the high-explosive shells, seemed to possess -something of the horror of a corpse mutilated with gaping wounds. -Near the points of burst clods of earth had been blown to a distance, -and, round the edge of the hole, the soil was raised in a circular -embankment. We were still threatened by sudden death. Some one asked:</p> - -<p>"Why don't we go quicker?... We shall get done in!"</p> - -<p>But I fancy that all of us were conscious that fatalism—which is, I -believe, the beginning of courage—had got a grip on us. The enemy -was firing without seeing us, and his shells seemed like the blows of -Fate descending from heaven. Why here rather than there? We did not -know, and the enemy assuredly did not know either. In that case, what -was the good of hurrying? Death might as easily overtake us a little -farther on. Useless to hurry, then; absolutely useless.... In front, -our officers, heel by heel, rode on, talking.</p> - -<p>In the trench in which the shell had just burst a single soldier -remained behind. He was stretched out face downwards on a heap of straw -which he had gathered under him for greater comfort. Blood was oozing -from a wound in his back, making large black stains on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> the cloth, and -the straw underneath him was dyed crimson. Another splinter had hit -him in the back of the neck; his képi had fallen off and his face was -buried in the straw. All eyes were turned on him as we passed, but not -a word was said. What can one say about a burst shell or a dead man?</p> - -<p>Another defeat! Just as in 1870!... Just as in 1870! We were all -obsessed by the same paralysing thought.</p> - -<p>"They are devilish strong! Look at that!" said Déprez, pointing towards -the plateau where, as far as the eye could reach, swarms of French -infantry could be seen retreating. Latour, six hours' fighting; to-day, -hardly more. Beaten again! Oh, God!</p> - -<p>We felt a blind rage against those who had fallen back. We did not -retreat last Saturday when we were in action by the willow-tree.</p> - -<p>In the distance, towards Marville, columns of artillery were trailing -over the bare fields. A blue and red squadron was raising clouds of -dust. Waves of infantry, diminishing but still noticeable, dust-covered -cavalry, and black lines of artillery could be seen as far as the -horizon, moving under the scorching sun. The guns had ceased to roar -and there was absolute silence. The earth, parched and hot, exhaled a -vapour which seemed to follow the move<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>ments of the men. It was almost -as if the entire plateau had begun to march.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At Remoiville we came upon a beautiful château of the Early Renaissance -period, with severe lines of long terraces and lofty turrets over which -floated a white flag with a red cross. In the village not a soul was to -be seen. Doors and windows were all closed. A few hens were scratching -about on a manure heap, and a pig, which two gunners were killing in a -little sty black with refuse, raised piercing and discordant squeals. -And yet, on the threshold of one of the last houses, a wretched ruin -in the shadowy interior of which we caught a glimpse of a varnished -wardrobe, two old women, bent with age, watched us as we passed with -eyes which were hardly perceptible under their furrowed eyelids. Only -their fingers moved. Their silent and fixed stare, as keen as a steel -blade, followed us like a reproach. Oh, we know it well, the bitter -remorse of a retreat! A deep sense of shame oppressed us as we filed -through these villages which we were powerless to protect, which we -were abandoning to the fury of the enemy. Things in them assumed an -almost human expression; the fronts of the forsaken dwellings wore an -air of dejected<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> suffering. Fancy, no doubt! Just imagination—but -poignant and vivid imagination, nevertheless, for to-morrow all these -villages might be burning and we, from our camp on the hills, should -see the crops and cottages flaming when the sun went down.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It seems that the Allies have beaten the Germans in the north and in -Alsace. At any rate the Communal and Army Bulletins, which are given -us sometimes, say so. Then how is it that we are saddled with this -terrible reproach by things and people whom we cannot defend against an -enemy too superior in numbers?</p> - -<p>We waited some time at Remoiville, and then set off across the river, -which boasted a single bridge. The crossing was carried out in good -order. Then, by the only road, across the valleyed country where dark -green forests alternated with fresh pasture-land, the retreat of the -4th Army Corps began.</p> - -<p>The western horizon was limited by a long range of blue hills of -magnificent outlines. It was doubtless upon these that the French -intended to stop and entrench themselves.</p> - -<p>On the right of the road the interminable procession of artillery -and convoys continued: guns of all calibres, ammunition wagons, -forage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> wagons, carts, supply and store vehicles, division and corps -ambulances, and peasants' carts full of bleeding wounded, their heads -sometimes enveloped in lint turbans red with gore. Keeping to the left -the infantry marched abreast in good order down the road, which was -already badly cut up. In front of us rolled a 120 mm. battery. One of -the corporals had half a sheep hanging from his saddle.</p> - -<p>The 10th Battery had lost all its guns, for when, about one o'clock, -the infantry gave up all resistance, the gunners could not limber -up, the enemy's fire having almost completely destroyed the teams. -Captain Jamain had been hit in the thigh by a shell splinter. We caught -sight of him as he lay stretched on a hay-cart among the wounded -foot-soldiers.</p> - -<p>The forest, very dense and very dark in spite of the blazing sun, -deadened the tramp of the infantry on the march and the rumble of the -wheels.</p> - -<p>In the ditches some foundered horses were standing with drooping heads -and half-closed eyes glassy with fatigue. Occasionally a wheel fouled -them, but they did not budge an inch. They would only lie down to die.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As it turned out, however, the 4th Army Corps was not going to await -the enemy on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> the hills which, in a series of ridges, commanded the -plain and the forest. Some one told me that the whole of Ruffey's Army -was falling back behind the Meuse. The general retreat continued along -the highway, but our Group turned aside down a by-road which led first -to a village swarming with troops, and then zigzagged up the wooded -hill-side.</p> - -<p>We began the ascent. The sky had suddenly clouded over and the air -became sultry. A few drops of rain fell. The main road below, over -which the tide of retreating troops ebbed ceaselessly on between the -poplars bordering it on either side, looked like a canal filled with -black water and moved by a slow current.</p> - -<p>The column halted, and we carefully wedged the wheels. The men were -tired, and hardly any words were spoken. The silence was only broken by -the jingling of the curb-chains as the horses stretched their necks, -and by the patter of the rain on the leaves.</p> - -<p>We advanced another hundred yards or so, and at the next turn of -the road stopped again. A peasant's cart, filled with bedding, upon -which were sitting a woman—obviously pregnant—and an old lady, both -sheltering under a large umbrella, tried to pass the column. But -several of the ammunition<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> wagons, of which the wheels had been badly -secured, had slid backwards and barred the way. A girl was driving the -heavy cart, which was being laboriously dragged up the hill by a mare -in foal between the shafts, and a colt in front, the latter pulling in -all directions. Both the girl and the animals stuck pluckily to their -job.</p> - -<p>"Now then, come up!"</p> - -<p>The mare threw herself into the collar, and, with our aid, they -eventually reached the head of the column, after which the way was -clear. The girl stopped the cart for a moment and caressed the nose -of the heavy animal, from whose haunches steam arose in clouds. We -exchanged a few words.</p> - -<p>"Where are you going to?"</p> - -<p>"We don't know. At any rate we must cross the Meuse.... We're late, -too. All those who had to go went this morning, when we first heard the -guns. But we didn't; we thought we would wait a little longer and see -what happened. But after all we had to go too. Best to go, isn't it?"</p> - -<p>"Yes," we told them, "you'd better go."</p> - -<p>"And the Germans are perfect savages, aren't they?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p> - -<p>"They'll burn our houses ... we shan't find anything when we come -back—nothing but ashes. Oh, it's awful!... Can't you kill them all?"</p> - -<p>"If only we could!..."</p> - -<p>"Now then, come up, old girl!"</p> - -<p>The cart moved on.</p> - -<p>"Good luck!" cried the girl over her shoulder.</p> - -<p>"Thanks—good luck!"</p> - -<p>Near the top of the hill was a large clearing in the woods, from which -the forest appeared like a magnificent mantle thrown over the shoulders -of the neighbouring crests, rounding their edges and softening their -outlines. From this point we could see the whole of the Woevre plain -we had just crossed as well as Remoiville and the plateau of Marville, -where, standing sharply out against the bare fields, was the dark line -of poplars near which we had been in action in the morning.</p> - -<p>Here, in a field where the oats were only half cut, we prepared to -wait for the enemy. Our mission was to cover the retreat of the 4th -Army Corps, which still continued below on the main road over which an -interminable procession of Paris motor-omnibuses was now passing. The -sky had become overcast, and the heavy clouds banking up behind us, to -the west, threatened to shorten the daylight.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p> - -<p>Advancing round the edge of the wood, in order not to reveal our -presence, the battery finally came to a halt on the outskirts of the -sloping forest, behind some clumps of trees which afforded good cover. -We unharnessed and placed the horses and limbers against the background -of foliage of which, from a long distance, they would seem to form -part. We hoped to have a quiet evening, especially as the next day -would probably be a very strenuous one. The two batteries which at -present formed the Group, that is to say only seven guns, would have to -hold up the enemy a sufficient time to ensure the retreat of the Army -Corps. But we hardly gave any heed to the morrow, being too tired to -think or reason.</p> - -<p>We had still to take the horses to the pond in the village at the foot -of the hill, and started off down a steep and narrow path through the -wood. The only street of the hamlet was still crowded with troops. -Through the open window of the mayor's house I saw General Boëlle. He -looked grave but not worried, and I searched in vain for a sign of -uneasiness in his expression.</p> - -<p>Infantrymen had piled arms on both sides of the road in front of the -houses. A flag in its case was lying across two piles. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> the door of -the vicarage at least two hundred men were crowded together holding out -their water-bottles. The curé, it appeared, was giving them all his -wine. Some Chasseurs, their reins slung over their arms, stood waiting -for orders, smoking, their backs to the wall of the church. I overheard -some of their talk.</p> - -<p>"So Mortier's dead, is he?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Got a bullet in the stomach."</p> - -<p>"What did he say?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing much.... He said, 'They've got me!' and he lay down clutching -his stomach with both hands. He rolled from side to side and said: -'Ah-a-a-ah! They've got me!' His horse, Balthazar, was sniffing at him. -He hadn't let go of the reins ... still held 'em just like I'm holding -these, over his arm. I heard him say, 'Poor old boy!' He was all -doubled up, and groaned and panted 'ouf-ouf!' and then all of a sudden -he stretched himself right out at full length.... One more Chasseur -less! His face wasn't a pretty sight, and I shut his eyes for him. Then -I broke off a branch from a tree and covered his face with it, as I -should like some one to do to me if I went under.... Must cover up the -dead somehow.... After that I came back with Balthazar."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> - -<p>When we had climbed back up the hill and regained our clearing many -of the foot-soldiers had already left, while others were strapping on -their packs and unpiling arms. We were informed that only one battalion -was to stay there and support us. I wondered what awful attack the next -day might hold in store.</p> - -<p>A Captain of infantry accosted Astruc, who was astride Lieutenant Hély -d'Oissel's big horse.</p> - -<p>"Hallo there, gunner!"</p> - -<p>"Sir?"</p> - -<p>"Well I'm shot if it isn't Tortue!"</p> - -<p>"Tortue, sir? Who's Tortue?"</p> - -<p>"Why, the horse I lost. That's him! There can't be any mistake. -Dismount now, quick, and hand him over!"</p> - -<p>Astruc protested:</p> - -<p>"But, sir, this horse belongs to our Lieutenant! I must take him back -to him. What would he say to me!"</p> - -<p>"Well, I tell you to dismount. I suppose I know my own saddle, don't I? -And Tortue ... why, she knows me.... There! You see there's no doubt -about it. It's Tortue all right, my mare which I lost at Ethe."</p> - -<p>"But, sir, this is a horse, not a mare."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p> - -<p>The officer examined the animal more closely.</p> - -<p>"Oh! ah! Why yes, it's true! Now that's odd ... most extraordinary! I -could have sworn it was Tortue...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Night fell, the mist enveloping the trees round the clearing. Under -the black clouds passed yet another aeroplane, blacker even than they. -Could the pilot see us at that hour? If so we might expect a shower of -shells at daybreak. The machine pitched and tossed in the sky above the -clearing, for the wind had risen and was blowing in gusts from the west.</p> - -<p>We had strewn some cut oats round the guns, as the night was chilly, -and it looked like rain. The wind, freshening into a gale, wrapped our -cloaks tightly round us and almost seemed to move the men themselves. -No light of any kind was to be seen on the plain over which our guns -were pointing, and which soon became shrouded in the impenetrable -darkness ahead. In one corner the clearing cut into the forest, and -here, where the thick brushwood rose like a black wall on either side, -we were allowed to light a fire. The wind blew in gusts on the flames, -which it first nearly extinguished and then rekindled,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> making the -shadows of the men flicker fantastically on the ground.</p> - -<p>I was tired out—artillery fire creates an irresistible desire -to sleep—and I was also rather hungry. Not feeling possessed of -sufficient courage to wait for the meat to be cooked and the coffee -brewed, I devoured my ration of beef raw and stretched myself out in -the oats behind the ammunition wagon, where I was sheltered from the -wind.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Wednesday, August 26</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Réveillé came at dawn, and we woke to find a thick fog enveloping the -battery. We were soaking with dew, and our benumbed and swollen limbs -moved jerkily and with difficulty. The uncertain half-light awoke in -us a feeling of anxiety and dread which, still heavy with sleep as we -were, it was hard to throw off.</p> - -<p>Wrapped in our cloaks and standing motionless round the guns, we had -leisure to examine our situation in this clearing in the middle of -the forest. On the right, according to our officers, it was not known -whether there were any French troops. On this side the woods stretched -uninterruptedly from the ridges we were occupying as far as Remoiville. -On the left the movements of the 4th Army Corps<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> were to be carried -out. It is said that normally an army corps takes ten hours to effect -a retreat along a single road. And this retreat had already been in -progress for more than fifteen hours.</p> - -<p>Our position in the clearing was difficult in itself, and might -become positively perilous if the fog did not lift. Nothing could be -distinguished at a distance of fifty yards from the guns, and the enemy -might advance in the plain, threaten the retreating army, and take us -by surprise.</p> - -<p>On all sides of us, therefore, were the woods and their shadows, the -Unknown and Unexpected. In front of us the enemy hidden in the mist; -behind, the Meuse; danger everywhere.</p> - -<p>The thought of the Meuse was especially disturbing. When it should -become necessary for us to retire in our turn, the Germans, whom there -would be nothing to check on the right, might reach the river before -us. Possibly we should not find a single bridge left standing. We might -have to sacrifice ourselves for the defence of the army.</p> - -<p>The hours dragged by. The mists seemed to be collecting on the flank of -the hills facing the Meuse, whence they were wafted by the west wind in -filmy, trailing clouds which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> gradually curled over the crests of the -hills, floated towards us, enveloping our batteries for an instant, and -then slowly sank down on the plain.</p> - -<p>I have written these notes on my knee, my back resting against the -brass bottoms of the shells in the ammunition wagon, which was opened -out like a wardrobe. The men were standing about smoking, waiting for -orders.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At last, about eight o'clock, the sun shone over the top of the hill -and the fog, like a kind of impenetrable gauze, began to draw away in -front of us. One by one the trees reappeared, only the tops of the -loftiest remaining shrouded in the mist. Nothing stirred. The road, -black yesterday with men and horses now appeared absolutely white -between the meadows damp with dew and vividly green under the first -rays of the morning sun.</p> - -<p>Lying flat on our chests in the grass in front of our guns, on a sort -of natural terrace between the stones descending the slope, we scanned -the plain. After a time everything seemed to move, and one had to make -an effort to dispel the illusion.</p> - -<p>The men are saying that we may have to stay here two days. Surely -that cannot be possible? Somebody asserted that he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> heard the -instructions given to the Major by a General:</p> - -<p>"You'll stay there," said he, "as long as the position is tenable. I -rely on your instinct as an artilleryman."</p> - -<p>Another man supported the first speaker.</p> - -<p>"Yes, that's right. He said, 'Solente, I rely on your instinct as an -artilleryman.' Why, I heard him myself."</p> - -<p>We also heard that last Saturday's engagement would be known as the -Battle of Ethe.</p> - -<p>"No," said another. "It will be called the Battle of Virton."</p> - -<p>"Ethe, Virton!... What the devil does it matter what it's called. -Seeing that we've had to retreat!..."</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, but all the same," said the trumpeter, "we ought to know. -Suppose you get back to your people and they ask you what engagements -you've been in. You'll answer, 'I've been fighting in Belgium.' 'Yes,' -they'll say, 'but Belgium is a big place—bigger than our commune! Were -you at Liége, or Brussels, or Copenhagen?' You would look a silly fool!"</p> - -<p>The other shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>With the help of a bayonet we opened a box of bully-beef for the four -of us, and fell to. The only sound was that made by the hatchet<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span> of -one of the men who was chopping down a small birch-tree which might -conceivably interfere with the fire of his gun.</p> - -<p>The silence was too intense, the immobility of the countryside too -complete. The enemy was there. We neither heard him nor saw him, but -that only rendered him the more sinister. The unwonted calm, when we -had braced ourselves up for battle, was terrifying, and our nerves -became overstrained.</p> - -<p>I supposed that the retreat of the 4th Army Corps had by this time been -accomplished. Time passed, and the French army was still falling back, -while the enemy advanced cautiously, threading his way through the -woods.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, about two o'clock, a machine-gun began to crackle quite close -by in the forest. A horseman galloped through the clearing and drew -rein beside the Major. We at once limbered up.</p> - -<p>Was our retreat cut off? The staccato rattle of the machine-gun was -now accompanied by intermittent rifle-fire. We had to cross the -clearing diagonally in order to reach a forest path. Quite calmly, and -determined to save our guns, we got our rifles ready. But the column -crossed the close-cropped field without our hearing a single bullet, -and we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> gained the wood in safety. We had to hurry, for the road, even -if still open, might be closed at any moment.</p> - -<p>Leaning over the necks of the horses in order to avoid the low-hanging -branches which threatened to drag them from their saddles, and gauging -by eye the narrow passage between the trees, the drivers urged their -teams forward with whip and spur.</p> - -<p>The road was still open.... We arrived at Dun-sur-Meuse, where we had -to cross the river. The Captain assembled the non-commissioned officers:</p> - -<p>"The bridge is mined. Warn your drivers to take care of the sacks on -each side of the bridge. They're full of melinite."</p> - -<p>In order to let us through the sappers threw some planks across the pit -they had opened up in the centre of the bridge.</p> - -<p>The hindmost vehicles of the column had not advanced two hundred yards -on the other side of the Meuse, when a loud explosion shook us on our -seats. The bridge had just been blown up. Behind us a large white cloud -of smoke curled up in thick volutes, masking half the town.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As we stood waiting for orders in a field, our guns in double column, -some one called out:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p> - -<p>"There's the postmaster!"</p> - -<p>"At last!"</p> - -<p>"Letters! letters! A man to each gun!"</p> - -<p>For eight days we had been waiting for news, and each man drew a little -aside in order to be alone as he read.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It seems certain that the battle of Saturday the 22nd will be known as -the battle of Virton.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Thursday, August 27</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>It had poured all night, and rain was still falling when we rose. -The thought of all the misery such weather must inevitably cause -spoiled the satisfaction we experienced at feeling fit and fresh after -ten hours' delicious sleep in a well-closed barn. Our horse-cloths -thrown over our heads like hoods and flapping against our calves, we -silently marched in scattered order along the churned-up road, our feet -squelching in the mud, and finally regained the park under the lashing -rain.</p> - -<p>The horses, motionless, glistening with water but resigned, endeavoured -unceasingly to turn their tails to the rain. The stable-pickets had -succeeded in lighting fires but they had had to dig new hearths, for -those of the day before were swamped and black pieces of charred wood -were floating in them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p> - -<p>The men's cloaks were streaming and hung heavily in stiff folds from -their shoulders. Some of them had turned up their capes in order to -protect their heads. The gunners stood round about, holding their red -hands to the fire.</p> - -<p>"Beastly rain! Two days more like this and we shall all get dysentery!"</p> - -<p>"I'd rather die of that than be killed by a shell," said Hutin.</p> - -<p>"No use trying to make coffee," growled Pelletier. "The fire doesn't -give out any heat.... It would take hours."</p> - -<p>"It's the wood that won't burn. It only smokes."</p> - -<p>"Blow on it, Millon!"</p> - -<p>We turned our boot soles to the heat in order to dry them. The rain -hissed and spat in the fire.</p> - -<p>"All the same," said the trumpeter, "if we hadn't been betrayed things -wouldn't have gone like this!"</p> - -<p>I grew annoyed.</p> - -<p>"Betrayed! I was waiting for some one to come out with that!"</p> - -<p>"Well, I mean it; betrayed! I heard about it yesterday.... It was -a General who delivered up the army plans. I know what I'm talking -about!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Pooh! Camp gossip!"</p> - -<p>"I heard the same thing," affirmed another.</p> - -<p>"Simply camp gossip! From the moment we got scratched that was bound -to come sooner or later. If you're beaten it's because you've been -betrayed! The French can't be the weaker! Lord, no! It's impossible, -of course! But you know there are five German army corps in front of -us. That makes two to one.... No ... well, all the same. Even with two -to one we can't be beaten, can we? And, if we are, we at once begin -to whine about betrayal! Wasn't it you who were always saying that -Langle de Cary's army ought to come up and help us? Eh? Well, it's all -simply because you don't feel strong enough to tackle the Boches by -yourselves."</p> - -<p>"All the same, traitors exist right enough," said the trumpeter with -a sage nod of the head. "There always have been traitors, and there -always will be, to sell France."</p> - -<p>"Idiot!" said Hutin peremptorily.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Almost all my comrades thought as I did. A few properly equipped -reinforcements would have enabled us to get the upper hand. Even alone, -here behind the Meuse, we could have managed to stop the enemy.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span></p> - -<p>Besides, during the days of defeat we had just been passing through, -what a moving picture of our country had been revealed to us! An army -immediately victorious cannot plumb the depths of patriotism. One -must have fought, have suffered, and have feared—even if only for a -moment—to lose her, in order to understand what one's country really -means. She is the whole joy of existence, the embodiment of all our -pleasures visible and invisible, and the focus of all our hopes. -She alone makes life worth living. All this united and personified -in a single suffering being, begotten by the will of millions of -individuals—that is France!</p> - -<p>In defending her one defends oneself, seeing that she is the sole -reason for being, for living. One would prefer to fall dead on the spot -rather than see France lost, for that would be worse than death. Every -soldier feels this truth, either vaguely, or distinctly and clearly, -according to his powers of perception and affection.</p> - -<p>And yet, in the camp, these things are never talked of. The reason -is that words which, in peace-time, too often veiled by their gross -grandiloquence these deeper and finer feelings, would be insupportable -now. This passion, for it is a passion, lies deep down in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> the heart -with other sacred and inmost emotions, to give outward expression to -which would be almost to profane them.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Come on, now! Harness! Hook in! We're off."</p> - -<p>The rain had soured the men's tempers.</p> - -<p>"Now then! Be careful with your horse, can't you? You might have killed -us!"</p> - -<p>"Untie your horses so that we can get the picket-lines, will you?... -All right, damn you, I'll do it myself."</p> - -<p>"There's a silly fool! Fine place to tether a colt to—the wheel of an -ammunition wagon. He's ripping up the oat-bag. Pull him off, can't you?"</p> - -<p>Cramone, threatening his team with his whip, repeated for the twentieth -time:</p> - -<p>"I'll teach you how to behave, you brutes!"</p> - -<p>"There's another dish lost," shouted Millon. "Who's the idiot who -didn't pick it up yesterday?"</p> - -<p>"Can't you pull your infernal mules back a bit?... We can't limber -up.... Never seen such a fool!..."</p> - -<p>The men pushed and tugged at their horses, which, face to the wind, -continued pulling this way and that in a vain attempt to prevent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> the -rain stinging their ears. Bréjard lost his temper.</p> - -<p>"Lord, what a set! Can't you keep your horses straight?... Look at that -off-leader!... Can't you see he's got entangled?..."</p> - -<p>"Thought we were going to have a rest to-day!"</p> - -<p>"I suppose the Germans are resting, aren't they?"</p> - -<p>The start was difficult. During the night the wheels of the vehicles -had sunk deeper and deeper into the softening soil, and the horses' -hoofs kept slipping on the slope.</p> - -<p>Once on the road the battery broke into a trot, the mud splashing in -sprays from under the feet of the horses. Some of the gunners, attacked -by colic, stopped in the ditches, and then, still doing up their -breeches, ran along by the side of the column in order to overtake -their vehicles.</p> - -<p>We were going to extend a strong artillery position on the heights of -the Meuse valley. From the hills near Stenay the sound of the guns -reached us in gusts, and, some distance off, above the woods, we could -see the shrapnel shells bursting. The rain had stopped, and the sky, -dark a moment previously, suddenly cleared and assumed a uniformly -light grey tint.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> - -<p>In a meadow by the roadside some peasants, fleeing before the tide of -invasion, had set up their nightly camp. A large green awning sheltered -their cart and formed a tent at the same time. Two shafts projected -from the front end, pointing skywards. An old man and two women—both -pregnant—with half a dozen children clinging to their skirts, watched -us go by.</p> - -<p>The road rose stiffly upwards, and the column slackened its pace to a -walk. I heard one of the women say to the old man, as she gave him a -nudge with her elbow:</p> - -<p>"Go on, father!"</p> - -<p>The old man hesitated, but she insisted:</p> - -<p>"You must!"</p> - -<p>He seemed to make up his mind, and approached us, shifting from one leg -to another. Then, with a red face, he muttered:</p> - -<p>"No! Can't ask for that at my time of life!"</p> - -<p>He was about to go, but we stopped him.</p> - -<p>"Ask for what, old fellow?"</p> - -<p>"For a bit of bread, if you've got any over. It's for the children!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, of course we have! We never eat it all!"</p> - -<p>As a matter of fact we seldom get enough bread. The loaves have to be -sorted out, and,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> when the mouldy parts have been thrown away, the -ration is usually more than halved. The old man walked by the side of -the limber while the men searched in their bags.</p> - -<p>"Here you are!"</p> - -<p>Two loaves, almost fresh, were held out to him.</p> - -<p>"With an onion and a good set of teeth they're eatable!"</p> - -<p>"Thanks.... Thank you so much.... But I'm afraid you'll be short -yourselves!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, no! That's all right, old chap! Why, we get a wagonful of those -every day!"</p> - -<p>He made off, a loaf under each arm. I saw him hunch his shoulders and -dry his eyes with the sleeve of his coat.</p> - -<p>A shower of shrapnel shells suddenly burst in the distance, over the -dark woods.</p> - -<p>"Swine!" growled Millon between his teeth. He had given up his bread.</p> - -<p>He shook his fist towards the enemy.</p> - -<p>Once in position to sweep the uplands on the right bank of the Meuse, -we dried ourselves in the sun.</p> - -<p>In the afternoon a few horsemen, Uhlans presumably, appeared on the -edge of a distant wood. A broadside of shells quickly made them seek -cover again.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Friday, August 28</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>"Alarm!"</p> - -<p>"What?"</p> - -<p>"Come on, up you get!"</p> - -<p>"What's the time?"</p> - -<p>"Don't know.... It's still dark."</p> - -<p>"All right, then, we'll get up. Hutin, come on, get up!"</p> - -<p>I shook Hutin, who growled in answer:</p> - -<p>"All right! Oh, Lord, I was so comfortable there!"</p> - -<p>The noise of shuffling straw filled the barn.</p> - -<p>"What's the time?" repeated somebody.</p> - -<p>"Look out there! There's a rung missing in the ladder."</p> - -<p>Noises of feet scraping against the ladder. An oath.</p> - -<p>"Get the lantern!"</p> - -<p>"Where is it?"</p> - -<p>"Hanging behind the door."</p> - -<p>The men groped about for their belongings.</p> - -<p>"My képi!"</p> - -<p>"Dashed if I can find the lantern! Come and help, can't you?"</p> - -<p>"Sure it can't be two o'clock yet."</p> - -<p>"Come along now, hurry up," cried a sergeant, opening the door. -"Anybody else still asleep?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p> - -<p>No one replied. Outside, it was very cold, and the night was dark. Not -a star was to be seen. Fires had been lit in the middle of the village, -and coffee was on the boil. The church, a diminutive chapel magnified -by the light from below, had almost the air of a cathedral, its spire -lost in the inky blackness of the sky. Fantastic shadows danced on -the walls, and the windows were momentarily lit up by red or green -lights. A crowd of poor people fleeing from the enemy were sleeping -in the nave, together with some soldiers who in vain had sought -shelter elsewhere. Through the front entrance, which was wide open, -the interior of the church looked mysterious, filled as it was with -fugitive lights and shadows, like those cast by a building on fire. -Under the vivid reflections of the stained-glass windows on the flags -I caught a glimpse of prostrate human figures. In the square, soldiers -coming and going between their fires threw enormous shadows on the -ground and on the walls of the houses.</p> - -<p>Why this alarm? Had the enemy succeeded in crossing the frontier near -Stenay? We set off behind the infantry, whose tramp, tramp sounded like -the movement of a flock of sheep on the road. The night was alive with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> -moving but unseen forms. The breathing of hundreds of men on the march -was felt rather than heard; every now and then, as if from far off, -came a half-lost word. All this invisible life in movement seemed to -give off currents which traversed the night air like electricity.</p> - -<p>In the distance we heard the sound of the guns towards which we were -marching.</p> - -<p>Soon the first streaks of dawn lit up the wooded hills, which reared -their severe yet splendid crests between us and the Meuse. We passed -through Tailly—a village at the bottom of a ravine, consisting of a -few cottages, a church, and a cemetery.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When we arrived at Beauclair, in the valley of the Meuse, the -engagement appeared to have finished.</p> - -<p>In front of the church the infantry who had just been in action were -resting amid their piled arms. The majority were pale—but some were -very red. They had thrown themselves down on the bare ground in the -sun, and not one of them moved a muscle. The stiffened features of -the sleepers were eloquent of tragic weariness as they lay there with -open coats and shirts, showing glimpses of naked chests. All were -indescribably dirty,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> their legs plastered with mud up to the knees.</p> - -<p>The battery halted outside the last houses of the village, and we at -once set about making coffee. A hulking Tommy came up to ask for an -onion. We questioned him:</p> - -<p>"So they've not succeeded in crossing the Meuse yet?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, yes, they have!... One brigade got over all right ... but the -artillery had mown down the bridges behind them, and so we had a go at -them with fixed bayonets.... Lord! you don't know what that's like, you -chaps!... A charge!... It's awful!... Never known anything like it! If -there <i>is</i> a Hell, I expect there's bayonet fighting always going on -there!... No! I mean it! Off you go, shouting.... Then one or two fall, -and after them lots of others.... And the more that fall the louder -you've got to shout so that the others will come along. And then when -at last you get to close quarters with 'em, why, you're just raving -mad, and you thrust and thrust.... But the first time you feel your -bayonet sink into a chap's stomach, you feel a bit queer.... It's all -soft, you've only got to shove a bit!... But it's harder to withdraw -clean! I was so damned gentle that I upset my fellow—a great big fat -chap<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> with a red beard. I couldn't pull my bayonet out ... had to put -my foot on his chest, and felt him squirm under my tread. Here, have a -look at this!..."</p> - -<p>He drew out his bayonet, which was red up to the cross-bar. As he went -away he stooped down and plucked a handful of grass to clean it.</p> - -<p>The hours passed. The enemy appeared unwilling to make another attempt -to force the passage of the Meuse.</p> - -<p>We heard that d'Amade had made a flank attack on the opposing German -army, and had taken Marville.</p> - -<p>D'Amade! Well done, d'Amade! But ... was it true?</p> - -<p>At Halles, a mile and a half from Beauclair, we encamped at the foot of -some high hills. The guns, which for some time past had been silent, -again began to thunder. The enemy was bombarding the heights above us.</p> - -<p>As billets for the night we had been given a spacious barn. But when at -dusk we went there to get some sleep we found our straw covered with -foot-soldiers, rifles, and packs.</p> - -<p>The artillerymen began swearing:</p> - -<p>"Hallo, what the hell's all this? No more room left?"</p> - -<p>There was a scrimmage to let us find places.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p> - -<p>The barn had a loft above it to which a ladder gave access, and the -floor of which was worm-eaten. We stuffed up the holes with hay.</p> - -<p>"There we are! As usual, the artillery above, and the infantry below. -That's all right.... But mind you don't take the ladder away!"</p> - -<p>"Take care of your feet.... O-o-oh!"</p> - -<p>"Why couldn't you say you were in the straw?"</p> - -<p>"Now then, up you go!"</p> - -<p>Five or six artillerymen were on the ladder at the same time. It bent -beneath their weight. Below, a foot-soldier stood motionless, holding a -candle in his hand.</p> - -<p>"Look out! Don't want your spurs in my face, you know!"</p> - -<p>"Growl away, old chap! Let's get up."</p> - -<p>"The floor's giving way!... They'll fall through."</p> - -<p>"Go on, climb up! It's less dangerous than the shells!"</p> - -<p>"Damn it all, move up a bit, you fellows; otherwise there won't be room -for all of us!"</p> - -<p>"Don't go there! There's a hole.... You'll fall on the Tommies down -below!"</p> - -<p>Downstairs the infantry were grumbling:</p> - -<p>"Can't you keep quiet, up there, eh?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> We want to sleep! And the straw's -all falling in our mouths!"</p> - -<p>"If only it would stop yours!"</p> - -<p>"Look out, you're on my stomach!"</p> - -<p>"Sorry. Can't see an inch in here.... Can't you raise the lantern over -there?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Again came the sound of a shell bursting in the distance. I hesitated -whether to take off my spurs and leggings, although I knew quite well -that I should sleep better without them. But, if there was an alarm, -should I be able to find them in the straw? Finally, I decided to keep -them on, nor did I unstrap my revolver holster, which was chafing my -side. I tightened my chin-strap so as not to lose my képi.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Saturday, August 29</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Réveillé came at two o'clock, together with orders to start at once. -The Germans, we heard, had crossed the Meuse. But our artillery had no -doubt registered the course of the river. I could not understand why we -had not heard the guns.</p> - -<p>In the darkness of the early dawn the road showed up yellow between the -blue-grey fields. On the way I recognized the yew-trees of a cemetery -in which some dead were being buried the day before.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p> - -<p>We stopped in column on the steep ascent towards Tailly, and waited for -orders. The day broke behind the hills and gradually overspread the -whole horizon.</p> - -<p>One by one the regiments of the 7th Division climbed up from the -ravine and passed us. The men looked haggard and tired. Their eyes -were hollow, and the faces of the youngest, drawn and sallow with -privations, were furrowed with lines. The corners of their mouths -drooped. Bending forward under the weight of their packs, in the -attitude of Christ bearing the Cross, the infantry toiled up the hill -as though it were a Calvary. At every hundred yards or so they halted -and re-hoisted their burdens with a jerk of their shoulders. Some of -them were holding out their rifles at arm's length, as though it were a -balance which helped them to march. Others were complaining that they -had had nothing to eat for two days. One of the 101st, a pale, lanky, -thin-faced fellow, with feverishly bright eyes, halted close to us and -stroked the chase of the gun.</p> - -<p>"Lord," said he to Hutin, "you might as well put a shell through my -chest! At least there'd be an end of it!"</p> - -<p>"Aren't you ashamed to talk like that?"</p> - -<p>The other made a vague gesture, shrugged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> his shoulders, and went off -dragging one leg after him.</p> - -<p>As soon as the infantry had gone by we were ordered to take up our -position on the plain, near the edge of the wood behind which the -regiments of the line were retreating.</p> - -<p>I heard the Major repeat the order received to the Captain: "Prevent -the enemy from setting foot on the plateau. There are no more French in -front of you!"</p> - -<p>"So we are still covering the retreat! A vile job!" said Millon, the -firing number, a good little Parisian chap, with a face like a girl.</p> - -<p>In our present position we ran as great a risk from the rifle and -machine-gun fire as from the shells. Not far off on the edge of the -plateau, near the brush-shaped poplar, was a dark little copse whence -at any minute bullets might come buzzing about our ears. The Germans -might get their machine-guns there without being seen, rather than risk -coming out into the open. And what might we expect then? Oh, well!... -After all, that is what we had come there for.</p> - -<p>"If we hadn't been sold, things would have gone very differently," -growled Tuvache, a Breton farmer, who was brave enough under fire, but -who suffered from bad <i>morale</i>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p> - -<p>And, still obsessed by the idea of treason, he added:</p> - -<p>"And the proof is that they've been able to cross the Meuse without -hindrance."</p> - -<p>Bréjard made him stop talking.</p> - -<p>"Why, you're worse than the others, you are! We're fighting from the -North Sea right down to Belfort, aren't we? Well, then, how can you -judge by one wretched little corner? Perhaps we're letting them advance -as far as this in order to surround 'em afterwards.... Some of you -chaps always seem to know more than your Generals.... And besides, all -this time the Russians are advancing. You let things be.... We shall -have 'em some day, never fear! And then they'll pay for this!"</p> - -<p>We awaited the appearance of the heads of the enemy's columns, which -from one moment to another might emerge from the Tailly valley.</p> - -<p>The plateau, shining with dew, had assumed that absolutely silent -immobility one so often notices in the country in the early hours of a -sunny morning.</p> - -<p>Four black points suddenly appeared far down the road! Was it the -enemy's advanced guard? No. We were soon able to recognize three -stragglers and a cyclist. A troop in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> column of march followed them out -of the valley. In this order they could not be Germans. The column, -which proved to be a battalion of the 101st, passed by, and disappeared -down the road leading to the wood. But, in the rise and fall of the -valleyed country stretching on the north-west as far as the dark masses -of distant forests, Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel had discovered through his -field-glasses large masses of men marching westwards through sunken -roads which almost hid them from our view. Were they the enemy, or were -they the French troops which were occupying the heights of the Meuse -near Stenay and which were now retiring?</p> - -<p>We had already experienced the same terrible uncertainty at Marville. -The Captain climbed up into an apple-tree in order to see better, -and the Major also tried to recognize the mysterious troops. But -neither could distinguish anything. A mist—the dampness of the night -evaporating—was already rising from the ground and veiling the -horizon. If those were German columns, they would threaten the flank of -the retreating army. A scout was sent off at a gallop to reconnoitre. -Time passed, and the columns disappeared. At last the scout came back; -the troops were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> French. He had seen parties of Chasseurs flanking them.</p> - -<p>Our feet wet with dew, we once again became motionless and awaited the -enemy.</p> - -<p>About midday we received orders to move to the edge of the plateau, -and take up position behind a clump of trees, in order to command the -Tailly valley and the hills on the south of Stenay. And, continually, -successive regiments of infantry emerged from the forest and passed us, -falling back.</p> - -<p>"Dashed if I can fathom it!" said Hutin.</p> - -<p>"Nor can I!"</p> - -<p>It was very hot, and we were thirsty, but our water-bottles were empty.</p> - -<p>We continued to wait until dusk, but the enemy did not appear.</p> - -<p>Night had fallen when we were sent to encamp on the other side of the -woods.</p> - -<p>The moon was rising clear of the tree-tops. The regular clatter of -hoofs and the monotonous roll of the vehicles blended together into a -sort of weary cradle-song, and made us sleepy after a time. In order -to suffer uncomplainingly all the hardships and miseries of war, we -would have asked no more than one hour of affection, of sympathetic -tenderness, in safety, at evening-time, after the long day spent in -watching or fighting.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p> - -<p>The road was level, and we were hardly shaken at all; no one spoke, and -most of us slept or dozed.</p> - -<p>No sound disturbed the stillness of the warm night save that of the -column on the march. Gradually we lost ourselves in pleasing reveries -and memories of the past, forgetting present dangers and distress. On -we jogged through space and time.... Lyons at night-time ... long rows -of lamps lighting the wharves and reflected in the Rhône ... above the -river the amphitheatre of Croix-Rousse with its lights scintillating -like golden points, and above them, again, the stars.... Where did the -town end, or where did the sky begin?... And the Mayenne in the bright -days of autumn and summer, its sombre waters sparkling like black -diamonds.... The memories which rose up before me gradually blurred the -scene of illusive reflections.</p> - -<p>And perhaps I should die in a few hours' time....</p> - -<p>Almost as if I myself had been able to write those beautiful verses of -Du Bellay, I felt the aching nostalgia of his words:</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 30%;"> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Quand reverrai-je, hélas! de mon petit village</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Fumer la cheminée, et en quelle saison</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Reverrai-je le clos de ma pauvre maison,</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Qui m'est une province et beaucoup d'avantage?</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> - -<p>I repeated the lines to myself several times.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Sunday, August 30</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>This morning we marched for hours through clouds of dust, the sun -scorching the backs of our necks. The men were thirsty and continually -spat out the clayey saliva which clogged their mouths. The battery -halted in a valley on the outskirts of a village—Villers-devant-Dun, I -think it was—where the sound of the guns seemed to come from the west -and south as well as from the east and north. This was a surprise, and -at first made us uneasy. Janvier, for the hundredth time, said:</p> - -<p>"That's it! We are surrounded!"</p> - -<p>He was haunted by this idea. However, it was not long before we -discovered that the illusion was solely caused by an exceptionally -clear echo. In reality the fighting was going on near Dun-sur-Meuse.</p> - -<p>We crowded round the fountain, on the surrounding wall of which the -last <i>Bulletin des Communes</i> was pasted. But first we each drank, in -great gulps, at least a quart of fresh water. Afterwards we read the -news. All was going well! Nevertheless, it was announced that Mulhouse -had been retaken. Apparently, then, it had been lost. We exchanged -impressions:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Well, Hutin?"</p> - -<p>"Not bad," he answered rather dubiously, "but they don't say anything -about our little show of last week."</p> - -<p>Bréjard, on the contrary, was filled with an optimism which nothing -could damp:</p> - -<p>"Virton, Marville—why, all that is a mere nothing on a front as long -as this! We've had to give a little in some sectors, that's all.... But -otherwise things are going quite all right!"</p> - -<p>"All the same, it isn't nice to find ourselves in one of the sectors -which have to give way," answered Hutin.</p> - -<p>"All that will change. We're going to be reinforced.... They say that -De Langle is only a day's march off."</p> - -<p>"He'll have to hurry up if he wants to find any of the 4th Infantry -left!"</p> - -<p>That was true. The regiments of the line, especially those of the 8th -Division, had suffered terribly. Some battalions had been diminished by -two-thirds, and, since the Battle of Virton, many companies were not -more than fifty or eighty strong, and had lost all their officers. How -we wished that De Langle would arrive!</p> - -<p>In the ever-thickening dust and overpowering heat we returned by the -same road to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> positions we had occupied the day before at Tailly. -It seemed to us that we had uselessly wasted more than seven hours -marching in a large circle.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Another aeroplane appeared. This oppression was becoming unbearable! -We felt like a flock of frightened sparrows beneath the shadow of -the hawk. The Germans have improved and developed the aerial arm -to an enormous extent, and, unfortunately, our ·75's are unable to -hit aeroplanes, the mobility of the gun on the carriage not being -sufficient. It is necessary to dig a pit for the spade, and before this -is finished the machine is always out of range.</p> - -<p>The aviator who had just flown over us had thrown out a star in order -to mark the situation of one of our batteries in position on the -heights commanding the river. The guns at once moved off, and took up -a fresh position elsewhere. Shortly afterwards shells began to fall on -the hill they had been occupying—enormous shells, which made the earth -quake for miles around and withered the grass with their dirty, pungent -smoke.</p> - -<p>"I expect those are the famous 22 cm. shells" said the Captain.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p> - -<p>We had nothing to do. Towards Stenay the horizon was deserted and -motionless. For several hours heavy shells continued to fall in threes, -making black holes in the green meadows in which not a soul remained. -We were obviously within range of the guns from which they were fired, -and we had no guarantee that we should not be hit if the enemy lifted -his fire a little.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I was struck by the marvellous faculty of adaptability which forms the -basis of human nature. One becomes accustomed to danger just as one -becomes accustomed to the most cruel privations, or to the uncertainty -of the morrow.</p> - -<p>Before the war I used to wonder how it was that old men nearing the -extreme limits of existence could continue to live undisturbed in -the imminent shadow of death. But now I understand. For us the risk -of death has become an element of daily life with which one coolly -reckons, which no longer astonishes, and terrifies less. Besides, a -soldier's everyday life is a school for courage. Familiarity with the -same dangers eventually leaves the human animal unmoved. One's nerves -no longer quiver; the conscious and constant effort to keep control -over oneself is successful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> in the end. Therein lies the secret of -all military courage. Men are not born brave; they become brave. The -instinct to be conquered is more or less resistant—that is all. -Moreover, one must live, on the field of battle just as elsewhere; it -is necessary to become accustomed to this new existence, no matter -how perilous or harsh it may be. And what renders it difficult—more, -intolerable—is fear, the fear that throttles and paralyses. It has to -be conquered, and, finally, one does conquer it.</p> - -<p>Apart from the necessity of living as well as can possibly be managed, -the greatest disciplinary factors in the life of a soldier under fire -are a sense of duty and a respect for other people's opinion—in a -word, honour. This is not a discovery; it is merely a personal opinion.</p> - -<p>It must also be confessed that this training in courage is far more -easy for us than for the foot-soldiers—the least fortunate of all the -fighting forces. A gunner under fire is literally unable to run away. -The whole battery would see him—his dishonour would be palpable, -irretrievable. Now fear, in its more acute manifestations, seems to me -necessarily to imply annihilation of will-power. A man incapable of -controlling himself sufficiently to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> face danger bravely will, in the -majority of cases, be equally incapable of facing the intolerable shame -of public flight. Flight of this kind would necessitate an exercise -of will—almost a kind of bravery. The infantryman is often isolated -when under fire; when the shrapnel bullets are humming above him a -man lying down at a distance of four yards from another is virtually -alone. Concern for his own safety monopolizes all his faculties and -he may succumb to the temptation to stop and lie low, or to sneak off -to one side and then take to flight. When he rejoins his company in -the evening he may declare that he lost his squad or that he fought -elsewhere. Perhaps he is not believed, and possibly he was aware -beforehand that no one would believe him; but at least he will have -escaped the intolerable ignominy of running away before the eyes of all.</p> - -<p>To remain under fire is by no means easy, but to keep cool in the -heat of a modern engagement is harder still. At first fear makes one -perspire and tremble. It is irresistible. Death seems inevitable. The -danger is unknown, and is magnified a thousandfold by the imagination. -One makes no attempt to analyse it. The bursting of the shells and -their acrid smoke together with the shrapnel<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> are the main causes of -the first feeling of terror. And yet neither the flashes of melinite, -nor the noise of the explosions, nor the smoke are the real danger; but -they accompany the danger, and at first one is attacked by all three at -once. Soon, however, one learns to discriminate. The smoke is harmless, -and the whistling of the shells indicates in what direction they are -coming. One no longer crouches down unnecessarily, and only seeks -shelter knowingly, when it is imperative to do so. Danger no longer -masters but is mastered. That is the great difference.</p> - -<p>In order to form an exact idea of the effects of a shell, I went with -Hutin to examine a field full of Jerusalem artichokes in which a heavy -projectile had just fallen. In the centre of the field we found a -funnel-shaped hole about ten yards in diameter, so regular in shape -that it could only have been made by a howitzer shell. This kind of -projectile strikes the ground almost perpendicularly, and buries itself -deep in the soft soil, throwing up enormous quantities of earth as -it bursts. Many of the steel splinters are lost in the depths of the -ground, and the murderous cone of dispersion is thereby proportionately -reduced.</p> - -<p>The truth of this can be easily confirmed. In the present case the -farther we went from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> the hole the higher was the point at which the -artichokes had been shorn off, and at a dozen paces or so from the edge -of the crater the shrapnel had only reached the heads of the highest -stems. It follows therefore that a man lying very near the point of -impact would probably not have been hit. Next came a circular zone -which was entirely unscathed, but a little farther on the falling -bullets and splinters had mown off leaves and stems, and a man lying -down here would have risked quite as much as if he had remained -standing.</p> - -<p>When thus coldly examined a shell loses much of its moral effect.</p> - -<p>The actual organization of the artillery also stimulates a gunner's -courage. The foot-soldier, cavalryman, and sapper are units in -themselves, whereas for us the only unit is the gun. The seven men -serving it are the closely connected, interdependent organs of a thing -which becomes alive—the gun in action.</p> - -<p>In consequence of the links existing between the seven men among -themselves and between each of them and the gun, any faint-heartedness -is rendered more obvious, its consequences much greater, and the -shame it bears in its wake more crushing. Moreover, in this complete -solidarity the effluvia which create<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> psychological contagion are -easily developed; one or two gunners who stick resolutely and calmly to -their posts are often able to inspire the whole detachment with courage.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>To-day was a day of undisturbed quiet. Over towards Tailly and Stenay -nothing revealed the presence of the enemy.</p> - -<p>When evening approached we were again sent off to encamp on the other -side of the woods. There was a glorious summer sunset, and through the -dark depths of the trees the road opened up a mysterious avenue at the -end of which glowed a western sky more varied in hues than a rainbow.</p> - -<p>All sound of battle had ceased. Gradually the sky darkened and night -fell. As yesterday, the artillery rolled monotonously on through the -shadowy woods.</p> - -<p>One by one the stars were veiled by a rising mist, and the sky became -opalescent with a nocturnal luminosity that flooded the stretches of -the forest, which, from the crests of the hills, could be seen rising -and falling as far as the eye could reach. But underneath the trees -the darkness was intense, and the road would have seemed a trench dug -deep in the earth itself but for an occasional infantry bivouac, the -embers of which glowed faintly through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> the brushwood, and but for a -damp scent of mint and other herbs which rose from the dark undergrowth -mingled with a certain sensuous smell of animality. We were surrounded -by a delicious freshness with which we filled our lungs and which made -us shiver slightly.</p> - -<p>Millon, who was sitting next to me on the limber-box, told me the story -of his life. It was a sad and simple history. Only twenty, with his -girl's face and roguish yet infantile eyes, he had nevertheless long -been the bread-winner of a family, and now his mother—"my old mother" -as he said in a tone full of deep affection—had been left alone in -Paris with another child, still very young, whose delicate constitution -and highly strung nerves were the cause of continual alarm. He told me -of past misfortunes still fresh in his memory, of the present anxiety -of his people in Paris, and of material worries.</p> - -<p>"Ah," he sighed, "if only my old mother could see me to-night, safe and -sound on the limber!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>In the field where the battery halted we had almost to fight in order -to get a few armfuls of straw. The gunners of a battery which had -arrived before us had stretched<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> themselves out haphazard on a fallen -hayrick. They had twenty times more straw than they needed, but when we -tried to pull a little from under them the awakening of the overwrought -sleepers was terrifying. They shouted, cursed, and threatened. Finally -they fell asleep again, growling and grunting under their breath like a -pack of surly dogs.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Monday, August 31</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>The guns awoke us early, and we prepared to return to meet the enemy. -About seven o'clock we found ourselves back in Tailly, where we learnt -that the day before the enemy had been pushed back as far as the Meuse, -and that Beauclair and Halles were now entirely in French hands.</p> - -<p>Standing in column of route in the village we awaited orders. The -German artillery began to bombard the neighbouring hills.</p> - -<p>In the market-place was a hay-cart in which were lying three wounded -Uhlans. An officer, his hands behind his back, was walking up and down -in front of the cart. Some women and children were standing round them -in a group, silently contemplating the Germans. One or two of the -gunners joined them out of curiosity. The Uhlans looked at them with -sad and troubled blue eyes.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> - -<p>"They aren't such an ugly set as I should have thought," declared -Tuvache.</p> - -<p>"No?" said Millon. "I suppose you thought they had got a third eye in -the middle of their foreheads, like the inhabitants of the moon!"</p> - -<p>Tuvache shrugged his shoulders:</p> - -<p>"No, only I had an idea they were uglier. They don't look as bad as all -that!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There was severe fighting this morning in the Beauclair Gap, through -which the enemy tried to force a passage. The incessant din of the -battle sounded from afar like the rising tide beating on a rocky shore.</p> - -<p>"Forward! Trot!"</p> - -<p>After having proceeded some three hundred yards down the Beauclair road -we again halted. Soldiers were coming back from the lines, some of them -wounded in the hands or arms, and others in the shoulders. All of them -were bandaged. They stopped to ask us for water or cigarettes, and we -exchanged a few words with them:</p> - -<p>"Are we advancing?"</p> - -<p>"No, but we are holding our ground. It is their machine-guns that are -the trouble. They're just awful!"</p> - -<p>"Are you in pain?"</p> - -<p>"No!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What does it feel like, a bullet?"</p> - -<p>"It burns a bit, but it doesn't hurt much."</p> - -<p>Some others, wounded in the leg, began to pass by. These were evidently -in great pain. They were perspiring with fatigue and heat, for the sun, -now in the zenith, was beating straight down in the hollow through -which the road wound. Many were helping themselves along by the aid of -sticks cut from the hedges.</p> - -<p>An officer's horse went by, led by a stretcher-bearer and bearing a -foot-soldier whose thigh had been broken by a shell. The wounded man -was clutching the animal's mane with both hands, his right leg hanging -helpless. Just above the knee was a rent in his breeches through which -the blood flowed freely, running down to his boot and dripping thence -to the ground. His eyes were closed and his bloodshot eyelids, pale -lips, and the red beard covering his long, bony jaws, made him look -like one crucified.</p> - -<p>"Can you manage to hold out?" asked the stretcher-bearer.</p> - -<p>"Are we still far from the ambulance?"</p> - -<p>"No, not far now. If you feel faint let me know and I'll put you down. -Does it hurt much?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Yes, and it's bleeding.... Look at the blood on the road!"</p> - -<p>"That's nothing. Hold on to the mane!"</p> - -<p>An ambulance passed full of seriously wounded. Instead of being laid -down they had been propped up against the sides of the carriage so that -it should hold more. Under the green tilt I caught a glimpse of one -man with a face the colour of white marble whose head was rolling on -his shoulders, and of another who was streaming with blood. A huge and -swarthy corporal was sharing the box with the driver. His gun between -his knees and one hand on his hip, he was sitting bolt upright with a -grave and determined air, his head enveloped in a turban of crimson -lint. Blood was trickling into his right eye, which, in its red-rimmed -orbit, looked strangely white, and from thence ran down his drooping -moustache, matting the hairs of his beard, and finally dropping on to -his broad chest in black splashes and streams.</p> - -<p>One of the wounded who had been waiting for a long time, sitting by the -roadside, caught hold of a carriage which dragged him on.</p> - -<p>"Please stop and let me get up!"</p> - -<p>"We've no more room, I'm afraid!"</p> - -<p>"I can't walk."</p> - -<p>"But as you see we're full up!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Can't I get on the step?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, if you can manage it!"</p> - -<p>But the vehicle still went on. A gunner helped the man on to the step.</p> - -<p>At the end of a sunken road, in the shade of some tall poplars with -dense foliage which the sun only penetrated in places, two Medical -Corps officers had improvised a sort of operating-table on trestles. -Some wounded laid out on the slope were waiting their turn to be -bandaged. Among the stones a thin, dark-coloured stream of water -was flowing, partially washing away the pools of blood and bits of -red-stained cotton-wool and linen. The air was pervaded by a stale -odour like that of a chemist's shop, mingled with the damp smell of -running water.</p> - -<p>A Captain was brought up in a stretcher, on both sides of which his -arms hung limply down. A hospital orderly cut off the sleeves of -his tunic, and he was then placed on the operating-table. He was an -ugly sight as he lay there with his blood-stained bare arms and his -sleeveless blue tunic encircling his body. While his wounds were being -dressed he gave long-drawn sighs of pain.</p> - -<p>"Right about wheel!"</p> - -<p>We set off up a steep incline across the fields to take up position -on the heights overlooking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> the Beauclair Gap and the road we had -just left. The battery was backed by a spur of the hills which hid -Tailly from view except for the spire of the steeple, surmounted by a -weather-cock, which seemed to rise out of the earth behind us.</p> - -<p>In this position we were visible to the enemy through the V-shaped gap -between the hills commanding the Meuse. We could see the woods and -fields beyond Beauclair occupied by the Germans, and which the French -batteries ahead of us were covering with shrapnel shell from behind the -sheltering ridges. In the fields in the distance the German infantry -debouching from the woods looked like an army of black insects on a -bright green lawn. We immediately opened fire, and under our shells the -enemy hastily regained the woods, which we then began to bombard.</p> - -<p>The action seemed to be going favourably for us this morning. Some -French batteries had advanced by the Beauclair road and were now -engaged in the gap. On the hills surrounding us in a semicircle other -batteries which, like ours, had taken up positions on the counterslope, -and others still farther off, near the hills directly above the Meuse, -thundered incessantly, the position of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> invisible guns being -revealed by clouds of dust and flashes of fire showing up against the -greenery. The firing of these batteries was so violent that little by -little the air became cloudy. An acrid atmosphere of smoke and dust -invaded the valley, in which the numberless echoes multiplied the roar -of the guns as the sound-waves met and intermingled. We were surrounded -by a loud and continual humming and buzzing which deafened us and -almost paralysed our other senses.</p> - -<p>"Cease firing!"</p> - -<p>The detachments became motionless round the guns. It was already midday.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the enemy began to bombard Tailly and the pine-woods -commanding our position. Some limbers which since the early morning -had been waiting on the outskirts of the woods moved off hurriedly. A -section of infantry emerged from the smoke of a high-explosive shell.</p> - -<p>"Take cover!" ordered Captain de Brisoult.</p> - -<p>The fire of the French artillery gradually slackened. A volley of -shrapnel shells burst over the valley where our teams were waiting for -us, and a fuse sang loud and long through the air. Nobody seemed to be -wounded. The limbers standing motionless in the sunshine made a black -square on the grass.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p> - -<p>The enemy appeared to have registered the position of a battery -installed on the other side of the pine-woods, and, under a perfect -hail of howitzer shells, the guns were brought back one by one through -the woods.</p> - -<p>Hutin, who had taken shelter behind the shield, suddenly stood up in -order to see. He crossed his arms.</p> - -<p>"Yes, that's it!" he growled.</p> - -<p>"What is it? But take cover!"</p> - -<p>"That's it! Retreat! Oh, my God!"</p> - -<p>I also stood up. Sure enough, sections of infantry were crossing the -ridges and falling back.</p> - -<p>"Take cover, you idiots!" yelled Bréjard.</p> - -<p>A shell swooped down. The splinters whistled through the air and the -displaced earth pattered round us on the dry field. I had stooped down -instinctively, but Hutin had not moved, being too much occupied in -observing the retreat of the infantry, which was becoming more general -every moment.</p> - -<p>"There you are," said he, "now it will be our turn.... I bet ... we -shall retire too.... Here's an A.D.C. coming up.... Oh, if we're always -going to retire like that we may as well take a train!"</p> - -<p>As he had suspected, the A.D.C. brought orders for us to retreat. The -teams trotted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> up the slope to join the guns. The moment was critical, -and, as ill-luck would have it, the first gun, in position on the -counterslope, began to roll downhill as soon as the spade, which had -been solidly jammed in the ground by the recoil, had been pulled out. -It took eight of us to drag the gun back, and at every instant we -asked ourselves whether we should succeed in assembling the train. The -drivers began to lose their nerve, and backed the horses at random, -this way and that.</p> - -<p>"Now then, all together.... Whoa, there, whoa!... Steady!... Whoa back!"</p> - -<p>A final pull, and we had limbered up.</p> - -<p>"Ready!"</p> - -<p>The team started.</p> - -<p>Beyond the village of Tailly the hill we had to ascend in order to -reach the plateau was very steep, especially where the road skirted the -stone wall of the cemetery.</p> - -<p>Some foot-soldiers resting on both sides of the way had taken off -their packs and piled arms. Sitting in the grass they watched us go by -with that absent and stupefied look peculiar to men just returned from -the firing-line. Suddenly a shrapnel shell, the whistling approach of -which had been drowned by the rumble of the vehicles, burst above the -cemetery. Some of the soldiers promptly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> dived into the ditch, and -others fell on their knees close to the wall, shielding their heads -with their packs. Two men, who had remained standing, stupidly hid -their heads in the thick hedge. On the limbers we bent our shoulders -and the drivers whipped up the horses.</p> - -<p>At one point the road was visible to the enemy, but when we discovered -this it was already too late to stop.</p> - -<p>A volley of shells.... Over! We had escaped by a hair's breadth.</p> - -<p>We formed up ready for action in the same position as the day before, -overlooking the neighbouring ridges, where the tall poplars served -as aiming-points. The third battery, which had been with us on the -Saturday, had opened up some fine trenches here. But the limbers had -hardly had time to range up on the edge of a copse when high-explosive -shell began to fall round us.</p> - -<p>How had the enemy been able to discover our new position? We were -carefully covered, and were invisible to him on all sides, nor had we -yet fired a single shot, so that our presence had not been betrayed by -smoke or flashes. No aeroplane was in the sky. Then how had we been -seen?...</p> - -<p>We sheltered in the trenches.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> - -<p>"It isn't at us that they're firing," said Hutin.</p> - -<p>"Then what are they firing at?"</p> - -<p>"I think we've got to thank those fat old dragoons they saw passing on -the road for this! They're aiming at the road."</p> - -<p>But the dragoons got farther and farther away, and the enemy continued -to fire in our direction. There was no doubt that he was aware that -there was a battery in position here. Had we been betrayed by signal -by a spy hiding somewhere behind us? I carefully scrutinized the -surrounding country, but could see nothing.</p> - -<p>Some shells fell a few yards off the guns, smothering the battery in -smoke and dust, and shaking us at the bottom of our trenches. I heard -the Major shout:</p> - -<p>"Take cover on the right!"</p> - -<p>While the Captain and Lieutenant remained at their observation-posts -the gunners hurriedly moved out of the line of fire of the howitzers. -But as we ran along the road across the fields in view of the enemy a -Staff passed by. I was seized with sudden anger. The horsemen would -get us killed! The party consisted of about twenty officers in whose -centre rode a General, a little, thin man with grey hair. A gaily -coloured troop of blue and red<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> Chasseurs followed them. The scream of -approaching shells at once made itself heard, and thrilled long in the -air. The Chasseurs and officers saluted, but the little General made no -movement. This time the enemy had fired too low.</p> - -<p>"To your guns!"</p> - -<p>The Captain thought he had discovered the battery bombarding us:</p> - -<p>"Layers!" he called.</p> - -<p>Feverishly, beneath the shells, we prepared for action.</p> - -<p>"Echelon at fifteen. First gun, a hundred and fifty; second gun, a -hundred and sixty-five.... Third...."</p> - -<p>The fuse-setters repeated the corrector and the range.</p> - -<p>"Sixteen.... Three thousand five hundred...."</p> - -<p>"In threes, traverse! By the right, each battery!..."</p> - -<p>"First gun ... fire!... Second...."</p> - -<p>The rapid movements of serving the guns electrified us. In the -deafening din made by the battery in full action orders had to be -shouted. We no longer heard the enemy's guns; they were silenced by the -roar of our own. We forgot the shrapnel, which nevertheless continued -to fall.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p> - -<p>Suddenly the howitzer fire slackened, and then ceased.</p> - -<p>"They're getting hit!" said Hutin, bending over the sighting gear.</p> - -<p>"Fire!" answered the No. 1.</p> - -<p>"Ready!"</p> - -<p>"Fire!... Fire!..."</p> - -<p>On the plateau behind us companies were retiring in extended order.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Night fell. We also received orders to retire. It seemed as if the -earth and the woods were absorbing such light as was left. The -movements of the infantry in the distance were lost in the undulations -of the ground. The men seemed to become incorporated with the fields, -and dissolved, disappearing from view.</p> - -<p>Near a dark shell-crater lay a red heap. A soldier was lying stretched -on his back, one of his legs blown off by a shell, leaving a torn, -bluish-red stump through which he had emptied his veins. The lucerne -leaves and earth under him were glued together with blood. The man's -head had been thrown back in his agony, and the Adam's apple jutted out -amid the distended muscles of his neck. His glassy eyes were wide open, -and his lips dead white. He still grasped his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> broken rifle, and his -képi had rolled underneath his shoulder.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Tuesday, September 1</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>A long night march. It was past one o'clock in the morning when at last -we halted, and we still had to make our soup, water the horses and give -them their oats. This done, we fell into a deep sleep.</p> - -<p>About four o'clock the sergeant on duty came and shook us one by one. -He was greeted with growls.</p> - -<p>"Alarm!"</p> - -<p>"What misery! Can't we even sleep for an hour!"</p> - -<p>It was veritable torture to keep our eyes open. Our limbs were stiff, -our heads heavy, and our loins ached. The weather was foggy and cold.</p> - -<p>We clambered on to the limbers and started off. Numbness at once seized -our feet and then our knees, mounting rapidly. Our heads rolled from -side to side, and we gradually lost consciousness. Some of the drivers -were sleeping on their horses. They slipped more and more to one side -and, just as they were about to fall, were awakened by instinct and -sat straight up in the saddle again. But a moment after one could see -them through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> gloom, once more subsiding and gradually slipping, -slipping....</p> - -<p>Where were we going to? Perhaps the army had been obliged to fall back -below Verdun, because the enemy, who had undoubtedly got a footing on -the hills on the left bank of the Meuse, near Stenay, was threatening -their left flank. But we knew nothing for certain, and were too tired -to think, too tired even to fear! Each man's one desire was to sleep a -whole day through.</p> - -<p>At daybreak we halted near Landres in a sloping field full of -plum-trees. Unless counter-orders arrived we were to stay there and -rest for twenty-four hours.</p> - -<p>We lit fires and started shaking the plum-trees.</p> - -<p>Suddenly a cry broke out:</p> - -<p>"The postmaster!"</p> - -<p>It was answered by a hoarse—almost savage—shout, and the men -literally mobbed the N.C.O. who was carrying a sackful of letters.</p> - -<p>News at last! Some of the letters had been on the way for a fortnight; -ours, it seemed, were not being delivered. What anxiety the people at -home were in!</p> - -<p>After we had read our correspondence Hutin called me:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Are you coming to wash your linen?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>We hung up our tunics on the low-hanging branches of the plum-trees, -and, our shirts under our arms and with bodies bare save for our -braces, walked down to the river.</p> - -<p>We spent a quiet morning eating, smoking, and writing. At midday the -short, sharp reports of the ·75's began to sound on the next range of -hills. At one o'clock we received orders to advance and support a group -of artillery engaged on the heights north of Landres.</p> - -<p>Hardly had we taken up position when an aeroplane passed overhead. -A German machine, evidently; so far we had seen no others. Almost -immediately afterwards shells began to fall around us, but again, as -if by a miracle, the battery remained unscathed in the middle of the -bursting shrapnel and the smoke of melinite. But that would not always -happen!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Ah! if only I escape the hecatomb, how I shall appreciate life! I never -imagined that there could be an intense joy in breathing, in opening -one's eyes to the light, in letting it penetrate one, in being hot, in -being cold—even in suffering. I thought that only certain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> hours had -any value, and heedlessly let the others slip past. If I see the end -of this war, I shall know how to suck from each moment its full meed -of pleasure, and feel each second of life as it passes by, like some -deliciously cool water trickling between one's fingers. I almost fancy -that I shall continually pause, interrupting a phrase or suspending a -gesture, and tell myself again and again: "I live! I live!"</p> - -<p>And to think that in a few moments, perhaps, I shall only be a -shapeless mass of bleeding flesh at the bottom of a shell-hole!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>There was nothing to do under the shrapnel-fire. The Captain surveyed -the plain with exasperating calmness.</p> - -<p>Presently the enemy increased his range, and the shells passed overhead -and burst in the valley, on a road where we could see first lines of -wagons making off at a gallop in thick clouds of dust.</p> - -<p>Orders arrived.... We were to return to Landres.</p> - -<p>A deep hole had been made in the road by a shell, and near-by lay the -hashed remains of a horse—a limbless, decapitated body. The head, -lying on the edge of the ditch, and apparently intact, seemed to be -looking at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> this body with a surprised expression in its big, still -unclouded eyes. A shred of flesh and chestnut skin had been blown to -the top of a neighbouring slope. The shell crater, in which lay the -intestines surrounded with purple blood rapidly blackening in the sun, -exhaled a smell of decay and excrement—a sickening odour which nearly -made us ill.</p> - -<p>It seemed that the senior N.C.O. who had been riding this horse had -escaped without a scratch.</p> - -<p>A regiment of Chasseurs was slowly descending the high hill overlooking -Landres on the north-east.</p> - -<p>The setting sun no longer lit up the depths of the valley where we had -parked our guns, but, by contrast, illuminated the more magnificently -the steep incline down which the red and blue squadrons were -descending in good order, their drawn sabres glinting in the gorgeous -orange-coloured light. The Chasseurs passed close by us, and then rode -up the opposite side of the valley towards the sun, whose red disk -still peeped over the hilltop. As they crossed the summit the horsemen -were silhouetted for a moment against the horizon.</p> - -<p>I was tired out, and in spite of my efforts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> began to fall asleep. I -had the impression that in order to keep awake I should have to adopt -the attitude of the sentries of old—one finger raised, commanding -silence.</p> - - -<p><i>Wednesday, September 2</i></p> - -<p>Last night the horses were not unharnessed, and we ourselves had hardly -four hours' sleep on the bare ground, where it is so difficult to get -proper rest.</p> - -<p>It was still dark when we set off again, down a road flanked with dense -woods. The night was dark and filled with weird, grey shadows cast by -the first, almost imperceptible rays of the pallid dawn. I was drowsing -on the shaking ammunition wagon, to which one becomes accustomed after -a time, when I was awakened by the crackling of broken wood and the -heavy thud of a fall. I looked about me, but saw nothing. Then, through -the rumbling of the wheels, I fancied I heard a plaintive cry mingled -with sobs. Yes.... I now distinctly heard the clear voice of a little -girl, calling:</p> - -<p>"Mother! Mother!"</p> - -<p>On a heap of stones by the roadside I was now able to see the wheel -of an overturned cart, a human form on the ground, and round it the -shadows of kneeling children.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p> - -<p>Some more sobs; then the little voice called again:</p> - -<p>"Mother! Mother!... Oh, mother, do answer!"</p> - -<p>The column continued on its way. A convulsive, heartrending wail, -rising from a throat choked by anguish, seemed to echo in my breast:</p> - -<p>"Mother!"</p> - -<p>We should have liked to stop, to make inquiries, and help if we could. -There were several children. Had their mother fainted? Perhaps. Was -there a man with them? Suppose there was not!... I was sorely tempted -to jump down from the ammunition wagon and run back, but I knew that I -should not be able to rejoin the battery. A horseman dismounted, saying:</p> - -<p>"I'll stop the medical officer when he comes up.... We'll catch you up -at the trot!"</p> - -<p>We were carried on by the slow-marching column. So great was the horror -of that which had happened on the side of the road that I was kept -awake despite my weariness, and saw the daylight slowly creeping in. I -think I shall always hear that little voice crying "Mother!" and the -sound of the children's sobs in the grey dawn.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p> - -<p>On reaching the main road we had to halt and let the infantry of the -7th Division pass. The Army Corps was retiring. Some one said that we -were going to entrain.</p> - -<p>To entrain! Why? To go where? It appeared that we had been relieved on -the Meuse by fresh troops, and that the 4th Corps was to be re-formed.</p> - -<p>We were going to rest, then—to sleep! But we had heard that so often -during the last eight days! Could we believe it? And yet it must be -true, for this part of the country would surely not be left defenceless.</p> - -<p>Down the road, wave upon wave, with the swishing noise of open sluices, -battalion succeeded battalion. The soldiers seemed fairly cheerful; -there were even some who sang.</p> - -<p>The 101st Infantry swung by.</p> - -<p>"Is the 102nd behind you?" asked Tuvache.</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"I ask because my brother is in it."</p> - -<p>The long column still filed by. At last, several minutes later, the -brother arrived.</p> - -<p>"Hi! Tuvache!"</p> - -<p>One of the men turned round:</p> - -<p>"Hallo! It's you!"</p> - -<p>The two brothers simply shook hands, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> their joy at meeting again -could be read in their eyes.</p> - -<p>"So you're all right?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, and you?"</p> - -<p>"As you see ... quite all right."</p> - -<p>"I'm glad...."</p> - -<p>"Had any news from home?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, yesterday. They're all well, and they told me to give you their -love if I saw you, and to give you half the postal order they sent me."</p> - -<p>The soldier searched in his pocket.</p> - -<p>"The only thing is that I haven't been able to get hold of the -postmaster to cash it. But, if you want it...."</p> - -<p>"No, you keep it! I've got more money than I want."</p> - -<p>"All right, then. Uncle and auntie both sent their love.... Hallo! I -mustn't lose my company.... I believe we're going to rest a bit...."</p> - -<p>"They say so. In that case we shall see each other again soon.... So -long!"</p> - -<p>Their hands met. The infantryman made a step forward.</p> - -<p>"I'll tell them I've seen you when I write."</p> - -<p>"Yes, so will I!"</p> - -<p>The man ran on, shouldering his way through the ranks. Occasionally we -saw his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> hand raised above the heads, waving good-bye.</p> - -<p>Following behind the regiments of the 7th Division we began a march -of exasperating slowness. It was very hot, and the dust raised by the -infantry smothered and stifled us. At intervals, by the roadside, dead -horses were lying.</p> - -<p>On reaching Châtel we turned to the left down a clear road and at -last were able to trot. Across the fields and valleys, as far as -the horizon, a long line of grey dust clouding the trees marked the -Varennes road which the division was following.</p> - -<p>It was noon, and it seemed to me that we must have journeyed ten or -twelve miles since we started at dawn. But suddenly we heard the guns -again—not very far away, towards the north-east.</p> - -<p>Near the village of Apremont on the outskirts of the forest of Argonne, -in which the head of our column had already penetrated, three shells -burst.</p> - -<p>Then the enemy was following us! Was there no one to stop him? Had we -not been replaced? Did it mean defeat ... invasion ... France laid open?</p> - -<p>Abreast of our column lines of carts were lumbering along the road. The -whole popula<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>tion was flying from the enemy—old women, girls, mothers -with babies at the breast, and swarms of children. These unhappy little -ones were saving that which was most precious to them—their existence; -the women and girls—their honour, a little money, often a household -pet, such as a dog, a cat, or a bird in a cage....</p> - -<p>The poorest were on foot. A family of four were making their way -through the woods led by an old man with careworn features. Over his -shoulder he carried a stick, on the end of which was tied a large -wicker basket covered with a white cloth. At his side dangled a -game-bag crammed to its utmost capacity. He was followed up the narrow -forest path by a young woman leading a fat red cow with one hand, -while with the other she held a shaggy-haired dog in leash by means -of a handkerchief fastened to its collar. A little girl was clinging -to her skirts, and letting herself be dragged along. Behind them -came an old woman, bent almost double by age and by the weight of a -grape-gatherer's cask full of linen which she was carrying on her back. -She hobbled along, leaning heavily on a stick.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Where were all these poor people going to?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> Many had not the vaguest -notion, and confessed as much. They were going straight ahead, into -those parts of France which the Germans would not reach.</p> - -<p>"What is the use of staying?" asked an old man querulously. "They'll -burn everything just the same, and I'd rather find myself ruined -and roofless here, but free, rather than back yonder where I should -be in the hands of the Germans. Besides, I've my daughter-in-law to -think of—the wife of my son, who is a gunner like you. She's with -child—seven months gone—and when she heard the guns begin yesterday -the pains came on. At first I thought she was going to be confined; -but it passed off. But I thought we had better leave at once. These -beasts of Germans, who violate and disembowel women ... who knows -whether they would have respected her condition?... Last night we found -a road-mender's hut to sleep in, but I don't know what we shall do -to-night.... And I'm afraid she'll get ill. Just now she's sleeping in -the cart. I must take care that she doesn't get ill! My son left her in -my charge."</p> - -<p>Pointing in the direction our column was following, I asked the old man:</p> - -<p>"Where does this road lead to?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Where?" he replied, a wrathful look suddenly coming into his eyes. -"Why, Châlons and Paris ... the whole of France!"</p> - -<p>And, shaking his head, he added bitterly:</p> - -<p>"Oh, my God!"</p> - -<p>"You see they're half again as many as we are."</p> - -<p>He did not answer immediately, but, after a moment or two, he said:</p> - -<p>"I saw '70.... It's just the same as in '70."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The battery rolled on till we had crossed the whole of Argonne. At -Servon, a village on the fringe of the woods, where the infantry were -making a long halt, we stopped for a few minutes. It was two o'clock.</p> - -<p>We led the horses down to the drinking-place, near a mill on the bank -of the green Aisne. The animals waded breast-high into the stream, -where they stood puffing and snorting, splashing the men, who, with -rolled-up trousers, were also paddling with enjoyment in the cool water.</p> - -<p>Finally, near Ville-sur-Tourbe, we parked our guns. Presumably we were -to entrain the same evening at the station close by.</p> - -<p>The forebodings which had seized me in the morning when I saw the enemy -advancing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> behind us had in no way diminished. Were we going to entrain -and leave the road open to the invaders? Would they not surround the -troops operating in Belgium and those advancing in Alsace?... But were -the French still in Belgium and in Alsace? How we wished that we could -know the truth, whatever it might be!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>To-night the men were surly and despondent, and one and all were -anxious to escape fatigue duty. Déprez found himself confronted on all -sides by the same sulkiness and apathy.</p> - -<p>"Tuvache, go and fetch water!"</p> - -<p>"But I went yesterday!... It's more than half a mile!... Why can't some -of the others have a turn?..."</p> - -<p>"Well, Laillé, did you go yesterday?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Right then, off you go!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, but...."</p> - -<p>"I'm not asking for your opinion, you know...."</p> - -<p>"Some of 'em never go...."</p> - -<p>"I tell you once again to go and fetch water!"</p> - -<p>"Well, at any rate, you won't order me to do anything else afterwards?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span></p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>Grasping a skin water-bag in each hand Laillé slouched off, dragging -his steps and hunching his shoulders.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We were informed that we were not going to entrain at Ville-sur-Tourbe.</p> - -<p>We had to swallow our soup boiling hot and eat the meat raw, after -which we set off again in the crimson-tinted twilight. Refugees were -camping in the fields on either side of the road, where they had -prepared to pass the night stretched out on straw strewn beneath their -carts, which would afford but poor protection from the morning chill -and dew. Infants in long clothes were sleeping in cradles.</p> - -<p>We were marching southwards. The moon had risen, and straight ahead -shone a solitary, magnificent star. Presently we reached a dark and -deserted town—Sainte-Menehould—where it was too dark to see the -names of the streets. The road was in lamentable repair, and the -horses stumbled and the guns jolted. Perspectives of abandoned streets -were prolonged by the moon.... Finally we saw ahead the red lamp of a -railway station, where, for a moment, I thought we should entrain. But -we did not even halt.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p> - -<p>Under the wan and yellow moonlight, which magnified the distances, the -country once again spread itself out in long valleys, where no troops -were moving and where no sentinel could be seen.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Thursday, September 3</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Towards midnight we halted, and almost immediately afterwards orders -arrived. Our original instructions had been to move on at daybreak, but -the orders just to hand were to the effect that we should remain here. -So we were able to sleep until past nine o'clock.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A never-ending stream of refugees was now flowing down the dusty road.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We again heard a rumour that we had been replaced on the Meuse by the -6th Army Corps; and that we were going into Haute-Alsace under the -command of General d'Amade. This name, which was very popular, elicited -general enthusiasm.</p> - -<p>"Now it will be different!"</p> - -<p>I questioned a Chasseur, one of General Boëlle's orderlies, but either -the man knew nothing, or he would not tell what he knew.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The carts of the refugees had to be lined<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> up on one side of the road -in order to make way for the infantry of the 2nd Army Corps arriving -from Clermont-en-Argonne and Sainte-Menehould. These troops seemed to -have suffered less severely than the regiments of the 4th Corps, but -they had no more notion as to their destination than we. They also -spoke of d'Amade, of successes in the north, and of naval victories. -They appeared to be quite unaware that the Germans were advancing -behind us. But were they really advancing? Was it not merely a fresh -allotment of French troops? How we wished that it were!</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Friday, September 4</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>It was still night when we broke up the camp. After a whole day solely -spent in eating and sleeping, we should have felt much refreshed had -we not been tortured with diarrhœa. The Medical Officer had no more -bismuth or paregoric elixir left, and we had no choice but to chew -blackthorn bark.</p> - -<p>The horses were even more exhausted than the men. Many had been -slightly injured in the engagements on Monday and Tuesday, and their -wounds were suppurating. No one seemed to trouble about them, and that -was not the worst, for some of them had to suffer the stupid remedies -applied by the ignorant<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> drivers. I saw one man urinate on his horse's -pastern, which had been cut by a shell splinter. Nearly all the animals -were lame as the result of kicks received at night-time, when the -worn-out stable-pickets fall asleep. Seldom taken out of the traces -and hardly ever unharnessed, the straps, cruppers, and especially the -crupper-loops had made large sores on them which were covered all day -long with flies. And, besides all this, the poor beasts, like the men, -were weakened by incessant diarrhœa.</p> - -<p>All the morning we marched on, through Givry-en-Argonne, Sommeilles, -Nettancourt, and Brabant, the milestones being at first marked "Meuse" -and then "Marne." The dust half veiled the austere, regular hills of -the beautiful country and the magnificent reaches of the forest of -Argonne sloping away to the east.</p> - -<p>About noon we reached Revigny-aux-Vaux, a pretty little white-walled -town surrounded by fields and pasture-lands, where we parked our guns -on the bank of the Ornain, close to the station. As we were leading the -horses down to the river a man dressed like an artisan, who was sitting -by the side of the road, accosted me:</p> - -<p>"Where are you gunners from?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p> - -<p>"From the Hauts-de-Meuse, over by Dun and Stenay. We've been replaced -there by fresh troops."</p> - -<p>"Replaced?"</p> - -<p>"Yes—they say by the 6th Army Corps."</p> - -<p>"Pooh, that's all rot!... You've just turned tail!... Yes ... simply -that!... Do you know where the Prussians are?" he added, getting up.</p> - -<p>I felt chilled by a sudden fear. Misery was plainly written on the -fellow's bony, emaciated face. When sitting he had not seemed nearly so -tall or thin.</p> - -<p>He stretched out a long arm, and with a shaking hand pointed to the -north-west.</p> - -<p>"They're just outside Châlons, the Prussians!"</p> - -<p>I shrugged my shoulders.</p> - -<p>"You don't believe me? Well, I've come from Châlons—an aeroplane -dropped a bomb on the station just as my train left. And the Prussians -have got to other places as well, if you want to know. They are at -Compiègne! Do you hear?... At Compiègne ... it's certain. You've only -got to ask ... anybody here will tell you. They've got to Compiègne and -they took La Fère as they passed."</p> - -<p>I began to tremble, everything seemed to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> be turning round me, and for -a moment I thought I should fall. Instinctively I pressed my knees into -my horse's sides and returned slowly to the camp with a haggard face -and an aching heart.</p> - -<p>Hutin was there. I looked him straight in the eyes and said slowly:</p> - -<p>"Hutin! The Germans are at Compiègne!"</p> - -<p>"Where?"</p> - -<p>"At Compiègne!"</p> - -<p>He grew pale and shrugged his shoulders.</p> - -<p>"No!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, at Compiègne!"</p> - -<p>"Compiègne! Compiègne! Why, that's less than sixty miles from Paris! -Oh, my God!"</p> - -<p>We looked at each other.</p> - -<p>"Who let them get through?"</p> - -<p>"Those in the north, I suppose."</p> - -<p>"Then it's worse than in '70!"</p> - -<p>"At Compiègne!" repeated Hutin distractedly.</p> - -<p>Dreadful thoughts of downfall, of treason, of all the bitterness of -defeat and of suffering endured to no purpose rose up like spectres in -each man's mind.</p> - -<p>"I told you so; we've been sold!" declared the trumpeter.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p> - -<p>In spite of everything, I still could not believe in treachery.</p> - -<p>"Sold! Why sold? By whom?... By whom?"</p> - -<p>"How should I know? But they wouldn't be at Compiègne if we hadn't been -betrayed. Oh, it's the old story!... Just like '70.... Bazaine in '70!"</p> - -<p>"We may have been overwhelmed.... There are so many of them!... Three -times our numbers!... Besides, in 1870 the mistake made by the Châlons -army was that they didn't wait for the Germans at Paris. That is well -known. If MacMahon's army had not advanced, had not let itself be -bottled up at Sedan, perhaps we shouldn't have been beaten...."</p> - -<p>I grasped at the idea of a strategic retreat, and tried to convince my -comrades in order to convince myself. But they all remained downcast -and sullen, and kept repeating:</p> - -<p>"Just as in '70!"</p> - -<p>What a refrain!</p> - -<p>Bréjard, who had been listening as he smoked, was the only one who was -still confident.</p> - -<p>"The worst of it is," said he, "that we don't know anything for -certain. But, if the other Army Corps are in the same condi<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>tion as -ours, all is by no means lost. They've probably been pushed back a -bit in the north, like we have been in Belgium. But if they haven't -been taken, that is the main thing, and as for this being the same as -'70—why, there's absolutely no resemblance! In '70 we were alone, -whereas now we've got the English and Russians with us."</p> - -<p>"Oh, don't talk to me about the English and Russians!" said the -trumpeter.</p> - -<p>"Have you seen any of the English, sergeant?"</p> - -<p>"No, but they're over here, all right."</p> - -<p>"They are said to be," corrected Millon. "But it was also said that we -were advancing in the north. A brilliant advance!..."</p> - -<p>"And the Russians!" went on Pelletier. "Why the hell aren't they in -Berlin by this time? They've nothing to stop them on their side...."</p> - -<p>Bréjard shrugged his shoulders:</p> - -<p>"Well, but all the same they can't get there by railway, you know!"</p> - -<p>"But a month ought to be enough ... with their famous Cossacks," -retorted the trumpeter.</p> - -<p>And he continued:</p> - -<p>"It's all tommy-rot! Shall I tell you what <i>I</i> think of it, sergeant? -Well, these<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> Russians and English, who have declared war on Germany ... -it's simply sham!... A put-up job! They've engineered the whole thing -together in order to do us in ... just like '70!"</p> - -<p>"Just like '70!" repeated Blanchet, who, sitting cross-legged like a -tailor, was mending a rent in his coat.</p> - -<p>This crushing catastrophe, which had descended upon us like the blow of -a sledge-hammer, made us begin to doubt everything and everybody.</p> - -<p>Why, instead of beguiling us with imaginary victories, could they -not simply have told us: "We have to deal with an enemy superior -in numbers. We are obliged to retreat until we can complete our -concentration and until the English reinforcements arrive."</p> - -<p>Were they afraid of frightening us by the word "retreat" when we were -already experiencing its reality?</p> - -<p>Why? Why had we been deceived, demoralized?...</p> - -<p>Accompanied by Déprez and Lebidois I turned into the garden of a -restaurant and ordered luncheon. Under the leafy arbour of virginia -creepers and viburnum, pierced here and there with dancing rays of -sunlight, blazed a medley of officers' uniforms—chemists,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> Medical -Corps men, infantry officers of all denominations, A.S.C. officers -and pay-masters, the latter in green uniforms which gave them the -appearance of foresters.</p> - -<p>For fifteen days we had not eaten off proper plates nor drunk from -glasses. The luncheon would have been an untold delight had we not all -three been haunted by the spectre of defeat....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When night fell we entrained. The long platform, littered with straw, -was illuminated at lengthy intervals by oil-lamps. The horses, overcome -by exhaustion, their heads drooping, allowed the drivers to lead them -into their boxes without offering any resistance. The gunners finished -loading up the guns on the trucks, and soon all became silent. The men -installed themselves for the night, thirty in each van, some stretched -out on the seats and others lying underneath, using their cloaks as -pillows. Rifles and swords had been cast into a corner. And, just as -the western sky had ceased to glow, leaving the dreary platform dark -and desolate, the train slowly started.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Saturday, September 5</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>I had hardly any sleep last night. Every quarter of an hour the train -stopped, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> men attacked by dysentery trod on me as they hurriedly -made for the doors in order to jump down on the permanent way. This -morning the same scramble continues. As soon as the train stops one has -a vision of files of gunners making for the bushes, whence they hastily -return when the whistle blows. Luckily the train gathers speed very -slowly.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A melancholy day—spent in absently watching the country roll past, -one's mind always hypnotized by the thought of defeat....</p> - -<p>Often the train does not go faster than a man walking.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2a">IV. FROM THE MARNE TO THE AISNE</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Sunday, September 6</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p class="drop"><span class="uppercase">When</span> we awoke, in a fine morning lightly veiled by silvery mists, the -suburbs of Paris were already visible.</p> - -<p>We passed through the forest of Fontainebleau, where troops were -camping amid the broom and bracken, and rolled on through the woods in -which the white walls and red roofs of the villas made a gay splash -on the green background. The gardens were a mass of flowers; huge -sunflowers turned their golden faces towards us.</p> - -<p>We almost forgot the tragedy of the moment.</p> - -<p>Sunday! The bells were ringing. Besides, Paris was quite close now, and -the magnetic power of the great city was already making itself felt. -The Parisians in the carriage could hardly keep still.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, after this dreary journey, and although it would have been -difficult to explain why or how, hope was rekindled in spite of some -more bad news we had learnt<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> on the way, namely, that the Germans had -reached Creil without opposition.</p> - -<p>It was not the strength of the entrenched camp of Paris, of its -garrison, nor of its heavy artillery which restored our confidence; -it was rather the instinctive faith of a child, who, having returned -home, feels irresistible because there seems to be a sort of -reassuring sympathy between himself and surrounding objects—even -the elements. What again sent the blood coursing through our veins -was the indescribable yet definite sensation caused by the presence -of something immortal, of something loved and revered. It was like -a breath of life, like the comforting support of an invincible -Personality, an all-powerful Divinity.</p> - -<p>And then, as Hutin kept repeating:</p> - -<p>"There! That's Paris! that's Paris!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"The English!"</p> - -<p>A convoy of British troops was passing us. The men shouted and waved -their képis.</p> - -<p>At Villeneuve-Saint-Georges the station was thronged with Highlanders. -Our train came to a standstill and was immediately surrounded by a -crowd of kilted soldiers intent upon examining our guns. Lebidois acted -as interpreter, and there was much hand-shaking and cheering.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p> - -<p>Little Millon stopped a burly Highlander with tattooed wrists and knees -and asked him whether he wore any drawers under his kilt. The other did -not understand and laughed.</p> - -<p>"That's so, isn't it?" said Millon. "If only you'd got a little more -hair on your head and a little less on your paws—why, in that skirt -they'd take you for a girl!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We detrained at Pantin. Except for inscriptions on the wooden panels -or steel shutters of the shops, such as "Owner away at the front," -or, in letters a foot high, "We are French," and save for the faded -mobilization placards, Pantin wore the usual aspect common to such -places on summer Sundays.</p> - -<p>On the pavement and in the roadway swarmed crowds of women in -light-coloured dresses, carefully corseted, their figures curving with -that grace which only Parisian women seem to possess. Soldiers of every -rank and regiment strolled in and out the crush. A Territorial passed -with a woman on one arm, while with the other he led a little boy by -the hand.</p> - -<p>Was it possible that the enemy was at the gates?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>At Rosny-sous-Bois we camped on a plateau<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> overlooking the town on one -side and the plain of Brie on the other—a depressing enough spot, -devoid of all charm. Far off, towards the south-east, the sound of guns -was audible.</p> - -<p>In the streets, between the greenery of the gardens and the -light-coloured fronts of the villas, the scarlet uniforms, white -blouses, and variegated parasols chequered the crowd with bright dashes -of colour.</p> - -<p>The Zouaves had come down from the forts.</p> - -<p>On the terraces of the cafés, where not a single place remained -vacant, the white aprons of the waiters fluttered in and out among the -multicoloured uniforms of the Chasseurs, Army Service Corps officers, -Artillerymen, Tirailleurs, and Spahis. In front of the Post Office -and round the doors of the bakeries and confectioners' shops the -crowd collected in animated groups. Women ran to and fro greeting the -soldiers, asking questions, searching for a husband, son, brother, or -lover whom they were expecting to arrive.</p> - -<p>Every one jostled together, hailed each other, drank, ate, smoked, and -laughed. Families of placid tradespeople, mildly inquisitive, strutted -in and out the crowd with short, conceited little steps.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p> - -<p>The guns were still roaring, but in order to hear them one had to -separate from the crowd and enter the quiet little streets between the -gardens.</p> - -<p>We heard that fighting was in progress on the Grand Morin.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Monday, September 7</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>It was broad daylight when I was awakened by Bréjard.</p> - -<p>"Up you get," said he.</p> - -<p>"What?"</p> - -<p>"Here, listen to this."</p> - -<p>He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p> - -"<i>Army Order of the Day.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>"<i>At the moment when we are about to engage upon a battle upon -which will depend the safety of the country, it is necessary to -remind every one that this is not the time to look back. No effort -must be spared to attack and repulse the enemy. Troops which can -advance no farther must at all costs hold the ground won and let -themselves be killed rather than retire.</i>"</p></blockquote> - -<p>"Do you understand?"</p> - -<p>Yes, we had all understood perfectly. We should never have been able to -express so simply and yet so completely our inmost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> thoughts. "Troops -should let themselves be killed rather than retire." That was it!</p> - -<p>"And now, limber up," added Bréjard. "We're off there!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Just as the battery was starting, two girls, the sister and fiancée of -one of the gunners, hurried up. For a moment or two they ran, flushed -and panting, by the side of the horses, both speaking rapidly and at -the same time. When they were quite out of breath they held out their -hands, one after the other, to the gunner, who leant down from the -saddle and kissed their finger-tips.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We passed through the suburbs and then, by the Soissons road, -approached the plain of Brie. We were going to the front, and I think -that each man felt that we were now passing through the gravest and -most critical moments of a whole century—perhaps of a whole history.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Evening fell. The battery had been on the march for more than ten hours -without halting. Far away in the background Montmartre reared its black -silhouette against the western sky.</p> - -<p>The fields were lit up by the stars, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> were exceptionally -brilliant, but the road remained dark under the vault of tall trees -planted in double rows on either side, between which floated a -suffocating cloud of dust. A distant searchlight was sweeping the -plain. The battery broke into a trot on the paved road, and the -vehicles jolted and bumped so that it was veritable torture to sit -on them. Sharp internal pains made us twist as we clutched on to the -limber-boxes; our aching backs seemed no longer capable of sustaining -our shoulders, and the breath came in gasps from our shaken chests. -Our hearts thumped against our ribs, our heads swam—we perspired with -pain. Should we never stop?</p> - -<p>Hour after hour we followed the same dark road, but the column had -again slowed down to a walk. The bright headlights of an approaching -automobile suddenly threw the trees into vertiginous perspectives like -the columns of some cathedral, and showed up the teams and drivers as -they emerged from the gloom in a grotesque procession of fantastic -shadows. The motor passed.</p> - -<p>On we lumbered ... on, on.... Should we never stop?</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Halt!"</p> - -<p>At last! We parked the guns in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> field and then led the horses off to -be watered.</p> - -<p>The only light in the dark little village was a lamp burning in a -kitchen, in which we caught a glimpse of large copper sauce-pans.</p> - -<p>There was no drinking-place and we had to push on to a marshy meadow -through which ran a river. The banks were so steep that the horses -could not drink from the current, and we gave them water out of the -skin bags.</p> - -<p>On our return we found the road crowded with horses. Other batteries -had just arrived.</p> - -<p>An eddy in the stream had just pushed me up against the garden wall of -a château when a motor, showing no lights, forced its way through the -herd of horses, throwing against me a confused mass of men and animals -whose weight crushed me against the stone. Another car followed, then -another, hundreds of them, silently and interminably.</p> - -<p>By the light of the moon, which had now risen, I was able to recognize -the oil-skin caps usually worn by taxi-drivers. Inside the cabs I -caught a glimpse of soldiers sleeping, their heads thrown back.</p> - -<p>"Wounded?" asked somebody.</p> - -<p>"No," came the answer from a passing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> car. "It's the 7th Division from -Paris. They're off to the front!"</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Tuesday, September 8</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>"Attention!"</p> - -<p>It was still pitch-dark. Cinders continued to smoulder on the hearths. -The guns were still roaring, and the vivid jets of fire startled us -like flashes of lightning. A little way off, to the east, a farm or -hayrick was burning. The weather was sultry and a persistent smell of -putrefying flesh permeated the air.</p> - -<p>The battery started; we were off to the firing-line.</p> - -<p>At daybreak we reached Dammartin, where, on the doors and closed -shutters, notices and billeting directions were chalked up in German. -On the front door of one house I saw two words scrawled in pointed, -Gothic handwriting: "<i>Gute Leute</i>" (Good people). I wondered who it was -that lived there....</p> - -<p>We continued on our way. The dull boom of the guns seemed to come from -the bowels of the earth, and continued uninterruptedly.</p> - -<p>By the side of the road a grave had been dug and marked by a white deal -cross bearing a name painted in tar and capped by a Chasseur's shako -with a brass chain. The dead man had evidently not been buried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> soon -enough, and a sickening smell rose up from the freshly turned soil, -which had cracked under the hot sun.</p> - -<p>The road was still staked out with dead horses, swollen like -wine-skins, their stiffened legs with shining shoes threatening the -sky. From a gaping wound in the flank of a big chestnut mare worms were -wriggling into the grass; others were swarming in her nostrils and -mouth, and in a bullet-hole behind her ear.</p> - -<p>"Trot!"</p> - -<p>The battery became almost invisible in its own dust. We began to pass -wounded, hundreds of wounded—infantry of the line, Alpine troops, -and Colonial infantry white with dust, their wounds dressed with red -bandages. They helped each other along.</p> - -<p>The majority were marching in small groups. Many had stopped to rest. -It was very hot, and I saw several of them round an apple-tree, shaking -down the fruit in order to slake their thirst.</p> - -<p>We had halted while the Major received orders from an A.D.C. I -questioned one of the Colonials, who was wounded in the head.</p> - -<p>"Well, how are things going down there?"</p> - -<p>"Phew! they're falling thick!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p> - -<p>I did not know whether he was referring to bullets, shell, or men, but -from the expression of the drawn and haggard faces it was easy to see -that the fighting had been severe.</p> - -<p>"Been fighting long here?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"How many days?"</p> - -<p>"It had begun when we came."</p> - -<p>"And when did you come?"</p> - -<p>"The day before yesterday."</p> - -<p>And he repeated:</p> - -<p>"Yes, they're falling thick!"</p> - -<p>We restarted, again at a trot.</p> - -<p>The clear sky, of a pure limpid blue on the northern and eastern -horizon, was fleeced with the white smoke of shrapnel shell; in -the distance black clouds were rising from burning buildings and -high-explosive projectiles.</p> - -<p>We were still pursued by the smell of dead flesh, which harassed and -obsessed us, making us peer about in all directions for hidden corpses.</p> - -<p>Suddenly one of the horses of my ammunition wagon foundered and refused -to go any farther, stopping the whole team. He had to be unharnessed -and abandoned. The other carriages had passed us, and with our five -remaining horses we galloped across country<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> in order to rejoin the -column. The furrows nearly shook us off our seats and we had to hold -on to the box-rails with might and main, bracing our legs against the -foot-rests in order not to fall off.</p> - -<p>We overtook the battery in a village which had been visible from afar -on the flat and bare countryside. The enemy had evidently quartered -there. The doors had been broken in with blows from the butt-ends -of rifles; almost all the windows had been smashed, and were now -mere frames bristling with jagged splinters of glass. Dirty curtains -flapped through them on the outside. Torn-down shutters lay strewn on -the pavement among broken bottles, shattered tiles, and empty tins of -preserves. Others, hanging by one hinge, beat against the fronts of the -houses.</p> - -<p>Through the wide-open doors we could see staved-in wardrobes which had -been thrown down the staircases. Empty drawers, mantelpiece ornaments, -photographs, pictures and prints littered the red-tiled floors. -Mud-stained sheets with the mark of hobnailed boots on them trailed to -the middle of the street, giving to these unfortunate houses something -of the horror of ripped-up corpses.</p> - -<p>The pavements were a mass of furniture<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> thrown out of the windows, -perambulators, go-carts, and broken wine-casks. Wood crunched under the -wheels of the wagon. A pair of pink corsets was lying in the gutter.</p> - -<p>On one of the Michelin danger signals, at the other end of the village, -I read the warning: "<i>Attention aux enfants—Sennevières</i>," and on the -other side a derisive and mournful "<i>Merci</i>."<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We halted where the road traced a straight white line through a plain -covered with mangel-wurzels. The desolate nakedness of the fields was -only broken by a shed, three hayricks, and, farther off, some little, -square-shaped copses and a long line of poplars. To the east and north -the battle growled, whistled and roared like a storm at sea. One would -have thought that the infernal noise came from some deep, subterranean -earthquake.</p> - -<p>We had waited a few minutes when suddenly the countryside sprang to -life. Battalions, debouching from Sennevières, deployed in skirmishing -order, and other soldiers—hundreds and thousands whose presence one -would never have suspected—rose up from the bosom of the earth and -swarmed like ants over the fields, their breeches making red<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> patches -on the sombre green of the grass. Frightened hares fled from before the -oncoming lines.</p> - -<p>Small groups of wounded again began to go by. They could be seen far -off, black specks on the straight white road dazzling in the sun.</p> - -<p>Some Cuirassiers appeared to be billeted somewhere in the surroundings. -One or two passed by on foot, without helmets or breast-plates, their -chests covered with buff-coloured felt pads fitted with wadded rings -round the armholes. They were carrying large joints of fresh beef. -In the shade of three poplars to the right of the road, just outside -the village, some men were slaughtering cattle and selling the meat. -Near-by lay a dead horse.</p> - -<p>Presently came the order:</p> - -<p>"Reconnoitre!"</p> - -<p>The battery was going into action. Once more I was unable to escape the -little shiver of fear which follows this word of command.</p> - -<p>In the firing position the battery was only masked by a hedge of -brambles and some tangled shrubs, so that from several points of the -horizon we must have been visible to the enemy. The position was not a -good one, but it was the best the surroundings offered.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p> - -<p>The officers had taken up their position near the first gun on a narrow -path cutting across the plain. The battlefield opened out wide before -us. But on the almost flat countryside which bore such an everyday -aspect, and upon which we nevertheless knew the destiny of France was -at stake, not a man, not a gun was to be seen. The thunder-ridden plain -seemed to lie motionless under the shells.</p> - -<p>We had covered our guns with sheaves; yellow under the yellow straw -they might deceive at a distance. Besides, straw affords good -protection against shrapnel bullets and shell splinters.</p> - -<p>We at once fell asleep in the sun with the apathy of pawns who let -themselves be moved, with that fatalism which is an inevitable result -of the life fraught with hourly danger we had been living for a month.</p> - -<p>I was awakened by a word of command. Behind us the sun was sinking.</p> - -<p>"To your guns!"</p> - -<p>Something dark, artillery possibly, was moving yonder at the foot of -some wooded hills more than five thousand yards off. We opened fire. On -the right, on the left, and even in front of us ·75 batteries came into -action one by one. When our own guns were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span> silent for a few seconds we -heard their volleys echoing in fours.</p> - -<p>In the distance in front of us all had become still. The Captain -gave the word to cease fire. But the smoke from the powder and the -dust raised from the parched field by the concussion of the rounds -had hardly cleared away when some heavy shells hurtled through the -hedge masking us, leaving three gaping breaches in their wake and -obliterating with their smoke the whole of the eastern horizon.</p> - -<p>"They must have seen the fire of our guns," said Bréjard.</p> - -<p>"And they've got theirs trained to a T," added Hutin. "Six-inchers, -too!"</p> - -<p>As ill-luck would have it, just at that moment a refilling wagon from -the first line, conducted by a corporal riding a big white mare, came -up at a trot.</p> - -<p>While they were still some way off we shouted:</p> - -<p>"Dismount!"</p> - -<p>"Dismount! You'll get us killed!"</p> - -<p>The drivers seemed not to hear.</p> - -<p>"Dismount, you—! Walk!... Walk!..."</p> - -<p>They had already unhooked the full ammunition-wagon, hooked the empty -one to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> limber, and were off at a gallop in spite of our cries.</p> - -<p>Shells were not long in arriving, their whistling modulated by the -wind. One second passed ... two ... three....</p> - -<p>This fear of death—the death which falls slowly from the sky—was an -interminable torture. Everything trembled. The shells burst, and the -wind blew their smoke down upon us.</p> - -<p>I heard a choking groan:</p> - -<p>"Ah.... Ah.... Ah!..."</p> - -<p>Our battery remained intact. The refilling wagon was still galloping -away in the distance. One of the numbers of the adjoining battery had -fallen forward in his death agony, and his forehead, pierced by a shell -splinter, was bathing the bottoms of the cartridge-cases with blood.</p> - -<p>Hutin, still sitting on the layer's seat, suddenly cried out:</p> - -<p>"Why, I can see the swine firing! I can see them ... long way off ... -down there, about ten thousand yards ... I saw the flash.... It's -coming ... it's coming ... look out!..."</p> - -<p>Sure enough, we were shaken by fresh explosions. I shut my eyes -instinctively and felt my face lashed by the cast-up earth, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> I was -not touched. The bottom of one of the cartridge-cases hummed loud and -long, and once again the battery was smothered in smoke. I heard the -clear voice of the Captain as he shouted to the senior N.C.O.:</p> - -<p>"Daumain, get everybody under cover on the right! Major's orders. No -use getting killed as long as we aren't firing."</p> - -<p>We called each other, got clear of the smoke and hurried out of the -line of fire of the Howitzers. But the enemy's shells pursued us over -the field as we ran, crouching down, in scattered order.</p> - -<p>A projectile, the flash of which blinded me for a moment, knocked -down a sergeant of the 12th Battery, who was running by my side. The -man picked himself up immediately. Just above his eyes a couple of -splinters had drilled two horribly symmetrical red holes. He made off, -bending his head so that the blood should not run into his eyes. I -offered to help him, but he said:</p> - -<p>"No, leave me.... Run! It's nothing, this ... skull isn't smashed to -bits!"</p> - -<p>We took cover behind some large hayricks and waited for orders.</p> - -<p>The roll was called:</p> - -<p>"Eleventh?"</p> - -<p>"Eleventh!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Hutin?"</p> - -<p>"Here!"</p> - -<p>"Not wounded?"</p> - -<p>"No, and you?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>The four detachments were complete.</p> - -<p>"And the Captain?"</p> - -<p>"Still down there at the observation-post. Look ... you can see his -elbow sticking out behind that tree. He's all right!"</p> - -<p>Two more volleys of shell burst close to our guns, which still appeared -to have escaped damage.</p> - -<p>How long the night seemed in coming! How we cursed the sun which, its -blood-red disk almost touching the horizon, seemed as though it would -never sink down behind the mangel-wurzel field! It looked absolutely -motionless, stationary.</p> - -<p>Hutin swore and shook his fist at the crimson sphere.</p> - -<p>The Captain signalled for us to come up.</p> - -<p>Behind the hayricks the cry was repeated: "To the guns!"</p> - -<p>We thought we were going to fire, but found that other orders had -arrived.</p> - -<p>"Limbers!"</p> - -<p>A mist, rising from the hollows of the plain, blotted out distant -objects one by one. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> far-off hills occupied by the Howitzer battery -were lost in a purple haze, but quite possibly we could still be seen -thence as we stood silhouetted against the clear western sky.</p> - -<p>We limbered up and rolled off. The Howitzers kept silent.</p> - -<p>The rifle-fire now began to grow fitful, and the guns were hushed in -their turn. A death-like stillness settled down on the plain, which, -as the sun sank, became illuminated by burning buildings, the flare of -which blazed ever more brightly as the night crept on.</p> - -<p>The day of severe fighting which was just drawing to a close had -decided nothing. Each of the adversaries slept in his own positions.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Wednesday, September 9</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>In a field near Sennevières, in position of readiness, we brewed our -coffee. The weather was very hot. This morning the battle had been slow -in opening, but now to the east and north-east the guns were roaring as -incessantly as yesterday.</p> - -<p>Suddenly, about midday, the firing-line on our left opened out and -became slightly curved. We were occupying the extreme wing of the -French army, and were at once seized with misgivings. Was the enemy -outflanking us again?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span></p> - -<p>We questioned the Captain, who was also intently observing the woods -which yesterday had been out of the enemy's range, and which were now -being heavily shelled.</p> - -<p>"What does that mean, sir?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know any more than you, I'm afraid. I only obey, you know.... -I go where I am told to go.... That's all!"</p> - -<p>But Déprez insisted:</p> - -<p>"They're turning our left again!"</p> - -<p>The Captain's finely chiselled face was puckered with anxiety.</p> - -<p>"Well," said he, "they're certainly bombarding woods which they weren't -bombarding yesterday. But that at any rate proves that they haven't -reached them. On the contrary, perhaps they've been threatened on that -side by an enveloping movement of our troops.... Who knows?... Besides, -if they do outflank us we aren't alone here.... We'll face them!"</p> - -<p>He gave us a searching look with his intelligent hazel eyes, and -repeated:</p> - -<p>"We'll face them, won't we?"</p> - -<p>"Of course we will, sir!"</p> - -<p>Coffee was ready. The Captain pulled his aluminium cup out of his -pocket and dipped it into the black beverage smoking in the kettle. The -gunners stood round him, their drinking-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span>tins in their hands, waiting -their turn, and when he had filled his cup helped themselves one after -the other. Conversation ceased, and the men sipped their coffee.</p> - -<p>After a while the cook said:</p> - -<p>"There's some more!"</p> - -<p>"How much?" asked the Captain, anxious not to deprive any one.</p> - -<p>"A good half-pint each."</p> - -<p>The Captain helped himself and the men followed suit. Then, as there -still remained a little coffee mixed with grounds the operation was -repeated.</p> - -<p>With that startling rapidity which we had observed each time we had -had to retire on the Meuse, the country became alive with lines of -infantry. Companies and battalions were emerging from the woods and -from behind the hedges, and overspread the stubble-fields, massing in -the hollows.</p> - -<p>"Hallo! what does that mean?" asked Bréjard.</p> - -<p>"Are those swine turning tail?" exclaimed Millon, crossing his arms.</p> - -<p>The Captain anxiously observed the movements of the infantry.</p> - -<p>"No," said he. "Those are reserve troops advancing towards the north in -order to face the enemy if he outflanks us."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span></p> - -<p>Orders came for us to go and take up position between Sennevières and -Nanteuil-le-Haudoin.</p> - -<p>There could be no doubt about it. The enemy was turning our lines.</p> - -<p>We were seized with a fit of wild rage. Would they manage to pass us, -and get to Paris? To Paris ... to our homes ... to kill, sack, rape?...</p> - -<p>"Ah," growled Hutin, "what wouldn't I give to murder some of those -savages!"</p> - -<p>"Trot!" commanded the Captain.</p> - -<p>Bending down over their horses' necks the drivers urged the teams -forward with voice, knees, whip, and spur.</p> - -<p>The same gust of wind seemed to carry with it men, horses, and -guns—all this artillery let loose like a tide on the barren fields, -over whose furrows it billowed and surged.</p> - -<p>We took up position with our guns pointing north-east. Behind us the -sun, already low in the western sky, lit up the railway-line and the -road from Nanteuil to Paris, flanked with tall trees.</p> - -<p>Sections of infantry began to fall back.</p> - -<p>"You see?" repeated Millon. "They can't stick it, the beasts! Haven't -they read the Army Order then?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span></p> - -<p>Suddenly, almost behind us, rifle-fire broke out. We had been -outflanked.</p> - -<p>On the main road to Paris, and between the road and the railway, dense -masses of infantry were debouching from behind Nanteuil. We were -encircled by a huge hostile horseshoe, and it now seemed as if the only -means of retreat open to the 4th Army Corps was the narrow road running -south-east between Sennevières and Silly.</p> - -<p>An officer wearing an aviator's cap arrived in a motor-car and hurried -up to the observation-post. Shortly afterwards the Major ordered us to -turn the guns right round.</p> - -<p>At any moment we might be caught between two fires, for, to the -north-west of Nanteuil, on the hills commanding the road, there could -be no doubt that the enemy's artillery was taking up position in order -to support the infantry attack.</p> - -<p>Our batteries opened fire.</p> - -<p>The same wild frenzy immediately gained possession of men and guns. The -latter became roaring monsters—raging dragons, which from their gaping -mouths belched fire at the sun as it sank to rest in the soft summer -twilight. Piles of smoking cartridges-cases mounted up behind the guns. -In the stricken zone in front of us we could see men waver,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span> turn tail, -run, and fall in heaps. From the heights above Nanteuil, from which our -guns could have been counted, came no answering roar of artillery.</p> - -<p>For a long time the slaughter continued.</p> - -<p>"Ah! <i>That</i> lot will never get to Paris!"</p> - -<p>Night fell. The infantry regiments began to retire in order down the -hollow of which we were occupying one of the slopes. Some mounted -Chasseurs passed by at a trot, followed by a whole brigade of -Cuirassiers. It was the retreat!</p> - -<p>We were beaten!... beaten!...</p> - -<p>The enemy was marching on Paris!</p> - -<p>The sun was now but a red crescent on the horizon. The horsemen -advancing towards Silly disappeared in their own dust. We still -continued firing, lavishing shrapnel on the plain where men still moved -here and there.</p> - -<p>"Cease firing!"</p> - -<p>The gunners either had not heard, or did not want to hear.... Three -guns still barked. Shouting at the top of his voice the Major repeated -the command.</p> - -<p>Perspiring and brick-red with heat the gunners sponged themselves -over and then, with folded arms, stood silently behind their guns, -contemplating the fields of which not one square inch had been spared.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p> - -<p>We were expecting orders to retire in our turn, but eventually received -instructions to pass the night here. A battalion of infantry had been -sent to support us, and the men deployed in skirmishing order and took -up positions about two hundred yards from the park, which we had had to -form on the spot.</p> - -<p>We heard that in front of us not a single French unit remained. We were -at the mercy of a cavalry night attack.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Thursday, September 10</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>After yesterday's engagement we had expected a furious cannonade to -begin at dawn. But not a sound was heard. The sun illuminated the plain -and the slopes upon which we were waiting for the enemy in firing -position. Not a single gun was fired, and we began to grow surprised -and uneasy.</p> - -<p>A Lieutenant-Colonel at the head of a passing column recognized the -Major and hailed him.</p> - -<p>"Hallo! Solente!"</p> - -<p>"Hallo!"</p> - -<p>"How are you?"</p> - -<p>"I'm all right, thanks."</p> - -<p>"What's your Group doing there?"</p> - -<p>"Guarding the Nanteuil road."</p> - -<p>"Then you don't know what's happened?"</p> - -<p>"No, what?"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p> - -<p>"The enemy retired during the night."</p> - -<p>"No!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, it's quite true! We've got orders to advance.... The Germans are -retiring all along the line."</p> - -<p>The two officers looked at each other and smiled.</p> - -<p>"Then in that case...."</p> - -<p>"It's victory!"</p> - -<p>The news passed rapidly from gun to gun and nearly set the men dancing -with joy. Victory, victory! And just when we were not expecting it!</p> - -<p>Towards midday we also received orders to advance.</p> - -<p>At Nanteuil a slight recrudescence of life was noticeable. A grocer was -taking down the wooden shutters of his shop, and some of the windows -were thrown open as we went by. As at Dammartin I read on several of -the doors the notice: "<i>Gute Leute</i>."</p> - -<p>The road we were following skirted the fields on which we repulsed the -enemy yesterday. We halted, doubtless waiting for fresh orders.</p> - -<p>The surrounding country was motionless, but, between the Paris road and -the railway, grey-coated corpses lay among the mangel-wurzels as far -as the eye could reach. On the fringe of some large maize-fields six -Germans<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span> had fallen in a heap. The last to die had toppled backwards -on to the others, his stiffened legs pointing skywards. His neck was -doubled up under the weight of his body, and his chin touched his -chest. His eyes were wide open and his mouth twisted in a horrible -grimace of agony. With a single exception, nothing could be seen of the -other corpses under him save the shoulders, necks, and feet. But one of -them, who had not been killed outright and who lay half buried beneath -the rest, must have died hard. Scalped by a shell splinter he had tried -to rid himself of the ghastly burden crushing his back and legs, but -his strength had failed him. Propped up on one elbow, his mouth wide -open as though his last breath had been a shout, he had died stretching -a huge knotted fist towards the hills we had just left, whence death -had come to him.</p> - -<p>His cheeks, already turning grey, had begun to fall in, and in the -stiffening features from which all semblance of life was rapidly -departing one already seemed to see the hollow-eyed, square-chinned, -grinning mask of Death.</p> - -<p>A little farther on three Army Service Corps men were standing round -a Prussian lying on his back, his arms clasped as if in some awful -embrace. As one of them lifted his head in order to take off his helmet -a stream of black<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> blood gushed from the dead man's mouth and covered -the soldier's hands.</p> - -<p>"Pig!" growled he, and wiped his gory hands on the skirts of the -German's grey coat.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Near-by a Sub-Lieutenant of Engineers was counting the corpses for -burial.</p> - -<p>"So it's you gunners who have given me all this work! I've already -counted seventeen hundred, and I haven't finished yet! There'll be more -than two thousand."</p> - -<p>As I returned, sick at heart, across the maize-fields I stumbled -against something soft. Suspecting a corpse I hastily jumped to one -side.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Again we advanced, towards the north.</p> - -<p>The roadside was strewn with Mausers, bayonets as short as butchers' -knives, cartridge-pouches, helmets, cowhide-packs, wallets, saddles, -dead horses....</p> - -<p>On the evening of the Battle of Virton the Ruettes road had borne -a similar appearance. Upon that occasion I had dejectedly said to -myself: "This is a French defeat," and now I was equally astonished to -realize that I had taken part in a victory, of which these remains were -the proofs, a victory which had snatched Paris from the jaws of the -Germans, saved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> France, and which conceivably might open a new era for -us all. In sight of this Calvary of the German army we told ourselves -that the enemy would evacuate France as quickly as he had entered it.</p> - -<p>Across one of the broad, flat fields ran a yellow line of freshly -turned earth, staked out with rifles planted butt-end upwards. Hundreds -of men—thousands perhaps—had been buried there side by side, and -the air was tainted with all the pestilential odours of decomposition -which escaped through the cracks and fissures in the sun-baked soil. -On approaching one of the scattered clumps of trees under which -other corpses had been buried, the same sickening smell assailed our -nostrils. Despite ourselves we kept sniffing the air with an uneasiness -like that shown by dogs when they are said to scent death.</p> - -<p>Farther down the road we came upon a party of sappers busily plying -pick and shovel. At the bottom of a hole they had just finished digging -lay a brown crupper marked "Uh. 3" (3rd Uhlans), and on the ploughed -land at the edge of the ditch lay a dead horse covered with clayey -earth. Worms were swarming in the putrid blood surrounding him.</p> - -<p>One of the sappers, who was covering up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> the carrion with large -spadefuls of earth, looked up.</p> - -<p>"Phew! he smells bad, doesn't he?" he said. "Nasty job, this! I shan't -apply for undertakers' work when I've finished soldiering! And horses -smell worse than men. We shall end by getting the plague!"</p> - -<p>"When I started to drag him," said another, "his hoof came off in my -hand."</p> - -<p>And he pointed with his foot to an iron-shod hoof lying on the ground -like a stone.</p> - -<p>Close by, in a newly harrowed field, undisturbed save for the -hoof-prints of a couple of horses which had galloped across it, lay two -lances, one of them broken, a light cavalry sword, a Uhlan's helmet, -and a water-bottle.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The weather gradually became foggy. The fields, monotonous and drab -under the grey sky, and littered at intervals with uniforms, arms, and -corpses, imbued us with a sadness which bordered on fear. We had to -keep repeating to ourselves "Victory, victory!" in order once again -to feel the joy—which nevertheless was so deep—of knowing that the -Country was saved.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Saturday, September 12</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>For two days it has rained incessantly, and we have advanced about -twenty-two miles<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> under the downpour. The enemy is still retiring, -his retreat covered by a few Howitzers which appear to be short of -ammunition. Each hour that passes confirms our victory, and we should -be in excellent spirits were it not raining so heavily.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The Captain has sent me to pass a few days with the first line of -wagons, partly on account of persistent diarrhœa, which was -weakening me considerably, and partly owing to a rather serious cut in -the wrist. Life in my new billet is far less strenuous; one's rations -are better cooked, and one gets plenty of sleep.</p> - -<p>While our batteries keep up a lively bombardment on the rear of the -German columns in retreat, the first lines of wagons are installed in -a wide ravine cut right across the plateau as if by giant swordstroke. -It almost seems as if the rain converged in this hollow from all points -of the compass. Shells fall also, but they bury themselves without -bursting in the marsh near-by, raising geysers of mud.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>To-day the N.C.O. of the 6th gun, to which I am temporarily attached, -called the men round him:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p> - -<p>"<i>Les poilus!</i>"<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>"Here we are!" answered a voluntarily re-enlisted man who was already -grey about the temples. "Hairies without a dry hair on our bodies!"</p> - -<p>"Listen to this!"</p> - -<p>And the N.C.O. in a hoarse voice began to read an order of the day:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p>"<i>For five days, without interruption or respite, the 6th Army has -been engaged in combat with a foe strong in numbers, whose morale -has hitherto been exalted by success. The struggle has been a hard -one, and the loss of life due to gun-fire, and the exhaustion -caused by want of sleep and sometimes food, have exceeded all that -could have been imagined. The courage, fortitude, and endurance -with which you have borne all these hardships cannot be adequately -extolled in words.</i></p> - -<p><i>"Comrades, the G.O.C. has asked you, in the name of your Country, -to do more than your duty; you have responded even more heroically -than seemed possible. Thanks to you, victory has now crowned our -arms, and now that you know the satisfaction of success you will -never let it escape you.</i></p> - -<p><i>"For my part, if I have done anything worthy of merit, I have been -rewarded by the greatest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> honour which in a long career has fallen -to my lot—that of commanding men such as you.</i></p> - -<p><i>"From my heart I thank you for what you have done, for to you I owe -that which has been the aim of all my efforts and all my energy for -the last forty-four years—the Revenge for 1870.</i></p> - -<p><i>"All honour and thanks to you and to all combatants of the 6th Army.</i></p> - -<p><i>"Claye (Seine-et-Marne) 10th September 1914.</i></p> - -<p> -<i>"Signed: Joffre.</i><br /> -</p> - -<p><i>"Countersigned: Manoury."</i></p></blockquote> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>"Hear, hear!" cried some one.</p> - -<p>"I say, sergeant," shouted the old soldier who had spoken before, "as -the General is pleased with us, can't you get them to ask him to turn -off some of this water?"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We started off again. The country through which we had been marching -since dawn, with halts of one and sometimes two hours during which the -guns went into action, seemed, at the first glance, an endless and -almost deserted plain. The beetroot-and corn-fields where the crops, -often in sheaves, had now rotted, seemed to succeed each other without -interruption from one side of the horizon to the other under the -lowering, cheerless sky, from which the cold rain poured relentlessly -down. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> suddenly, in the middle of the flat and barren country, -there opened a dale whose existence one would never have suspected, -well wooded and so deep that even the church steeple of the village -nestling in its lap was hidden from view.</p> - -<p>Under the stinging rain the teams walked on with heads held low and -twitching ears, their coats shining like oil-skin. By this time many of -our horses were only kept on their legs as if by a miracle. The foul -weather had put the final touch to their ruin, and we had to abandon -three of them, one after the other. They keep going until they reach -the extreme limit of their strength, and then suddenly they stumble -and stop dead; after that no power on earth will make them advance -another inch. They have to be taken out of the traces, unharnessed, and -abandoned where they stand. They remain in the same place until they -die.</p> - -<p>The men were apathetic and taciturn under their black cloaks. Water -ran down our backs and made us shiver. Many of the drivers had turned -their képis round so that the peaks protected their necks. Their faces, -wincing under the sting of the lashing rain, were half hidden in their -upturned collars. Our shirts clave to our shoulders and our trousers to -our knees. The soaking garments absorbed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span> warmth of the body, and -we experienced the horrible sensation of gradually becoming chilled to -the marrow. It seemed as if life was slowly ebbing from our limbs and -as if we were dying by inches.</p> - -<p>We passed a group of miserable, saturated foot-soldiers, from the -skirts of whose coats the rain ran in streams. Some of them had thrown -sacks full of straw over their shoulders. One man was sheltering his -head and back underneath a woman's skirt, and others under capes, -neckerchiefs, and flowery-patterned bed-curtains.</p> - -<p>The road was a river of liquid clay upon which neither the men's boots, -horseshoes, nor the tyres of the wheels left a trace.</p> - -<p>As night approached the grey vault of the sky seemed to sink still -lower, drawing in the horizon over the fields, and almost to touch the -earth itself. A dense fog first surrounded and then smothered us. We -could not have told upon which side the sun was setting; the west was -as opaque as the east. The yellow, diffused light gradually became -weaker. Here and there by the wayside we could still distinguish the -dark forms of dead horses. Night fell. The rain was trickling down my -back as far as my loins. I was very cold and now felt more acutely than -ever that indescribable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> sensation as if my life's blood was being -slowly sucked from my veins. The battery lumbered on and on....</p> - -<p>It was perhaps ten o'clock when we finally halted on the outskirts of -a village and ranged up our carriages by the side of the road. We had -to wait there some time, sitting motionless on the limbers and becoming -more frozen every minute. Our teeth chattered with cold. The delay was -probably caused by a cross-roads, a block in the transport traffic, a -passing convoy, or some other obstacle; in any case we could not move -on. I began to wonder whether we should have to pass the whole night in -the rain....</p> - -<p>Eventually we reached a field in which we bivouacked, stretching the -lines between the carriages. The hurricane lamps formed large yellow -points in the opaque darkness, piercing the night without lighting -anything. There was no sound save the squelching of dragging footsteps -as the exhausted men and horses moved about in the mud.</p> - -<p>The sergeant-major summoned the corporals for the issue of rations. But -the distribution between the guns had not been finished and the men -immediately went away again, preferring to wait until the next day to -get their rations. The sergeant-major shouted after<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span> them, declaring -that if there should be an alarm they would risk going for a whole day -without food. He was perfectly right, but no one listened to him.</p> - -<p>The darkness was so intense that it was difficult to follow the road, -and in order to keep together the men kept shouting:</p> - -<p>"Eleventh!... This way.... Eleventh!..."</p> - -<p>Convoys passed by, splashing us with mud. A wheel just grazed me. -After a long march the only shelter we could find was some rickety old -barns, open to the four winds of heaven, in which a thin sprinkling -of straw hardly separated us from the beaten-down earth. Here the -battery, silent, soaked to the skin and smelling like wet animals, sank -shivering into a troubled sleep, continually interrupted by the cries -of men dreaming.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Sunday, September 13</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>This morning the sun was shining. Clouds were still banked up to the -west, but the blue, which cheered us up wonderfully, eventually spread -over the whole sky. We continued our march forward.</p> - -<p>The enemy's Howitzers were still bombarding the country round us, but -spasmodically and at haphazard. The Germans were being hotly pursued; -in the villages we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> learned that less than two hours previously -stragglers were still passing through. It seems that yesterday the -enemy's retreat almost became a rout. Disbanded infantrymen without -arms, gunners, dismounted horsemen—all fled pell-mell, pursued by the -fire of our ·75's and harassed by our advanced guard.</p> - -<p>At Vic-sur-Aisne, while waiting till the pontoon bridge should be -clear, I entered a pretty little house, the doors and windows of -which had been left wide open by the Germans on their departure. The -wardrobes and chests of drawers had all been broken into and pillaged. -Women's chemises and drawers together with other underlinen were -trailing down the staircase. A meal was served on the dining-room -table, but the overturned chairs bore witness to the precipitation -with which the guests had fled. I was hungry and sat down without -hesitation. The food was good although cold.</p> - -<p>The leading carriages of the column had already begun to cross the -bridge before I learned that the luncheon I had just eaten had been -prepared for the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, but had been -interrupted by the arrival of the French advanced guard.</p> - -<p>We crossed the Aisne without difficulty. How came it that the enemy was -allowing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> us to cross the river? The thought of a trap, such as that -we laid for the Germans when they crossed the Meuse, made me a little -uneasy.</p> - -<p>Near Attichy our batteries went off to take up position, while the -first lines of wagons halted on a winding road leading to the plateau -through some extremely dense woods, all damp and odorous after the -rains of yesterday. In a little quarry of white stone yawning on one -side of the road in the full glare of the sun, I lay down with a few -comrades in some tall ferns. I was nearly asleep when, suddenly, the -noise of a bursting shell, which had just fallen close by, spread in -vibrant waves through the trees, of which every leaf seemed to rustle.</p> - -<p>At the entrance to the quarry appeared a gunner staggering from side to -side, his face deathly pale. He grasped his right elbow with his left -hand and let himself fall among the bracken.</p> - -<p>"Oh!" he murmured, "I'm hit!"</p> - -<p>"Where?"</p> - -<p>With a slight movement of the head he indicated his elbow, which was -cut open and bleeding. And, suddenly, from the road which at this point -made two successive bends and then plunged beneath a dark vault of big<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span> -beech-trees, came a confused sound of groans, cries, and stamping.</p> - -<p>A driver hurried up without his képi, his face streaming with blood.</p> - -<p>"Come quickly ... it's fallen down there ... it's fallen on the road! -Everything's all messed up, the horses are on top.... Oh, my God!...</p> - -<p>"Are you wounded?"</p> - -<p>"No ... where?"</p> - -<p>"Your cheek...."</p> - -<p>"Oh, that's nothing—it's a horse, my off-horse.... Come on!"</p> - -<p>More shells whistled overhead. We started to run. Suddenly, at the bend -of the road I stopped dead, breathless, paralysed by a ghastly sight.</p> - -<p>Under the sun, which, breaking through the branches, marbled the white -road, lay a shapeless mass of mangled men and horses. The entire teams -of the forge and store wagon were welded together in a writhing heap of -bleeding flesh. Men were struggling underneath. In the middle of the -road lay two gunners, face downwards; others were dragging themselves -about on their hands among the fallen saddle-horses. Wounded were -moving in the ditches.</p> - -<p>From this shambles rose long-drawn-out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> groans similar to the harrowing -cries made by certain animals at night, a muffled and interminable -"Aaah!... aaah!" rising and falling like some savage song. Blood was -running in streams in the gutters on each side of the way. A nauseating -stale stench, like that of a slaughter-house, a sort of warmth, an -odour of steaming flesh and flowing blood, a smell of horses, entrails, -and animal gasses gripped our throats and turned our stomachs.</p> - -<p>One man, who lay buried beneath the team of the forge, had succeeded in -passing his arm through a mass of tangled intestines, but the viscera -had gripped his wrist in a tenacious grasp. He shook them furiously, -scattering jets of blood in all directions. Round him the horses lay -writhing in their death agony, breaking wind, dunging, staling, and -scraping the ground with their stiffening limbs, their shoes grating -stridently on the flints. In their death-throes they strained at the -traces and one heard a noise of cracking chains. The vehicle to which -they were harnessed advanced a few inches, and then rolled back.</p> - -<p>Near-by lay a dead foot-soldier, his whole chest one gaping wound. In -his wide-open blue eyes was a fixed expression of horror that went to -my heart like a knife. An artilleryman, his stomach ripped open, had -been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span> pinned to the road in an almost erect posture by a wounded horse -which, bleeding at the nostrils, had fallen across his feet.</p> - -<p>Whenever the groaning and wailing stopped for a second one heard the -noise of the blood as it burbled and trickled stream by stream and drop -by drop, and the gurgle of the intestines which lay in an entangled -pink and white mass on the road.</p> - -<p>I ran to help the man buried under the forge team. His face was red -all over, and horribly convulsed, his hair and beard glued with blood, -and his white eyeballs rolling like those of one asphyxiated. A horse -in its agony was threatening to kill a gunner wounded in the loins who -was dragging himself along on his hands, so I quickly killed the animal -with a revolver shot. It was only then that I perceived, stretched out -between two horses, my friend M——, very pale, with closed eyes. I ran -up and put my arm round him in order to lift him up.... All my blood -suddenly ceased to flow, my heart stopped beating.... My arm had sunk -up to the elbow in an enormous wound in my friend's back....</p> - -<p>I stood up. For an instant the ghastly scene turned round and round.... -I thought that I should faint with horror. I put my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> hand—dripping -with blood—to my forehead.... I daubed my face with gore. In order not -to fall I had to lean up against the wheel of the forge.</p> - -<p>A hospital orderly had succeeded in extricating a couple of untouched -stretchers from the ambulance, which had also been shattered by the -shell. On one side of the road the Medical Officer, still much upset, -himself slightly wounded by the explosion, was occupied with some -first-aid dressing. Three of us hoisted on to one of the stretchers a -big, fair-haired gunner with a Gaulois moustache, whose foot, almost -completely severed from the leg, dangled in the air, and who was -yelling with pain. We remembered that there was a dressing-station at -the foot of the hill on the fringe of the woods.</p> - -<p>We started off, bending our knees in order to jolt the stretcher as -little as possible, but we continually had to step over the scattered -limbs of horses and pick our way between corpses so disfigured as to be -unrecognizable.</p> - -<p>A wounded man clasped my leg as we passed, lifting up a deathly face -which the blood, running from his ear, had surrounded with a gory -collar. His eyes implored us to stop, and in a low voice of profound -supplication he murmured:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span></p> - -<p>"For God's sake don't leave me here!"</p> - -<p>But we could not carry two men at a time. I bent down a little:</p> - -<p>"The others will be along in a minute or two with the other stretcher. -They'll take you. Come, now, let go of my foot!..."</p> - -<p>We left the shambles and began to breathe again....</p> - -<p>The closely meshed cloth of the stretcher retained the blood of the -wounded man, whose foot swam in a red pool. He was suffering horribly -and twisted his arms together, groaning:</p> - -<p>"Oh, my foot!... You're shaking me.... Oh, how you're shaking me!"</p> - -<p>And then:</p> - -<p>"For God's sake walk slowly!"</p> - -<p>In spite of all our efforts we could not avoid the shaking which caused -him so much pain, and he continued to murmur, his voice getting fainter -and fainter:</p> - -<p>"Walk, walk ... slowly!..."</p> - -<p>His lips silently repeated "walk" until a fresh jolt made him cry out.</p> - -<p>In front of the field-hospital some medical officers had improvised an -operating-table in a shady part of the road. The wounded were laid out -in rows on the edge of the ditch. A<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> fat doctor with four stripes on -his arm ran hither and thither, shouting.</p> - -<p>Carried on stretchers or limping on foot, either alone or with the aid -of their comrades, the wounded arrived. One man's chin was no more than -a bloody jelly; one of his eyes was shut and the other wide open.</p> - -<p>The veterinary surgeon's horse, shot through by a shell splinter, -had followed the wounded as far as the ambulance, but as soon as he -stopped he sank to his knees by the side of the road. The eyes of the -animal were full of a suffering almost human, and as he turned his head -towards me I fired my revolver in his ear. With a dull, heavy thud like -that of an axe as it sinks deep in a tree-trunk, the animal fell on -his flank, and from the top of the slope skirting the road rolled over -twice into the field below.</p> - -<p>We had at once to return to the scene of slaughter, where we were badly -needed. As soon as I left the fresh air and sunshine and re-entered -the woods I felt almost paralysed by the thought of what I was going -to see, and the shadows of the trees, growing darker as the daylight -waned, helped to intensify my fear.</p> - -<p>"Come on!..."</p> - -<p>Two saddle-horses with bleeding wounds were walking away from the -shambles by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> instinct. With faltering steps they slowly descended the -road towards the sun. The dead horses had been unharnessed and dragged -to one side of the way, but two artillerymen had been left lying in the -middle of the road, and some one, either out of force of habit or out -of pity for the dead, had broken two branches off one of the beeches -and had covered their faces with leaves.</p> - -<p>In the gutters the rivers of blood had become congealed. The hot, fetid -smell, imprisoned under the vault of the trees, still floated in the -air, more nauseating and terrifying than ever. The efforts the men -had made in order to unharness the horses and clear the roadway had -caused the intestines to split and break, and they now trailed about -everywhere, covered with dust, separated by several yards from the -gaping, empty bodies from which they had been torn.</p> - -<p>Two prisoners, tall men whose height was increased by their long -grey cloaks and pointed helmets, came down from the plateau. The -foot-soldiers accompanying them, fearing that this spectacle of death -might cause their enemies too keen a delight, had blindfolded them, -and led them by the hand in and out the corpses. But the Germans had -recognized the smell of blood. A line of uneasiness barred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span> their -foreheads and they continually sniffed the tainted air.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Monday, September 14</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>At Attichy we spent the night in some splendid, well-closed barns -in which the hay lay deep, but our rest was disturbed by horrible -nightmares. I dreamt that I was rolling among mutilated corpses in -rivers of blood. When I awoke it was raining.</p> - -<p>A countryman with a drooping white moustache brought us some beer -and wine in buckets. He lived in an isolated house easily visible -from our barn, in a copse on the side of the hill. During the German -occupation he had left his house as being too solitary and had taken -up his quarters in the village. When the enemy took their departure -the day before yesterday he had returned to his house accompanied by a -foot-soldier. He was going on ahead when through the broken-in front -door he saw, in the hall, a helmeted German in the act of aiming at -him. He jumped to one side, exposing the French soldier behind him, -whereupon the German at once dropped his rifle and threw up his hands. -The two Frenchmen seized him and, sitting him down on a chair in the -kitchen, shot him through the head. There they left him, still sitting, -his head on his breast and the blood dripping<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> from his forehead -between his knees on to the tiled floor, and went off to reconnoitre -the surroundings of the house and the garden. They could discover -nothing suspicious, but when they returned to the kitchen they found it -empty. Nothing remained of the German save a pool of blood in front of -the chair. But near the door and on the stairs were red stains and they -heard groans coming from the garret.</p> - -<p>We asked the peasant:</p> - -<p>"Well, what did you do with your Boche?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, he's still in my garret," he answered placidly.</p> - -<p>"But you must get him out of that. He'll soon begin to smell!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I'm going to dig a hole for him to-night near the dung-heap."</p> - -<p>And, as I ventured to say that instead of killing the man treacherously -they might have taken him prisoner, seeing that he had surrendered:</p> - -<p>"Why?" asked the peasant. "Wouldn't he have killed me if I'd been all -alone? And yet I'm a civilian!"</p> - -<p>"No!" he added, "we shall never kill enough of those swine!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The wind had risen and the rain ceased.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> Our Group advanced along the -Compiègne road, which runs by the side of the river. But we had hardly -gone a mile when the word was given to halt. We prepared to make our -soup, but there was no water, and I searched in vain for a spring or -well. Finally we decided to draw water from the Aisne. On the opposite -bank a dead German was lying among the rushes, half his body submerged -in the stream. Well, we would boil the water, that was all! One must -eat!</p> - -<p>As night fell a horseman arrived with orders. We set off at a trot.</p> - -<p>Under the lee of a high wall some Spahis were resting, their burnous -making red patches in the dusk. Near them their little horses stood -motionless under their complicated harness. Against an apple-tree -leaned an Arab with magnificently cut features, as regular as those -of a statue. Under the purple, woollen hood his brown face bore an -expression of that resigned melancholy, at once so pitiful and so -noble, in which men of his race always languish when far from the -desert. His large, apathetic black eyes, which seemed fixed upon -something in the distance, had a mystic look in them. He appeared to -feel cold. The gunners greeted him smiling:</p> - -<p>"Hallo! old Sidi!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span></p> - -<p>But the Arab, without moving, only replied with a condescending blink -of his eyes.</p> - -<p>The batteries took up position, the first line of wagons halting behind -a screen of acacias. The silence of the night was hardly broken by a -confused murmur of the far-off battle when suddenly, as if at a given -signal, more than forty French field-guns, almost in unison, fired a -terrific volley across the plateau.</p> - -<p>The vivid flashes from the muzzles cleft the twilight like red -lightning. The air continued to vibrate. It was as though the -atmosphere were filled with huge sound-waves dashing and splitting one -against the other like the waves of the ocean in a storm. The earth -quivered in response to the twanging air. Gradually the night became -darker.</p> - -<p>Our batteries were certainly firing at registered aiming-points. The -enemy only replied now and again, and then at haphazard.</p> - -<p>Suddenly a rumour began to circulate:</p> - -<p>"The Germans are entraining! That station is being bombarded!..."</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, I shouldn't prevent 'em taking their tickets," said an -imperturbable-looking reservist. "I shouldn't interfere with 'em. Let -them clear out and let us go back home.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> I've a wife and two kiddies. -It's no joke, war!..."</p> - -<p>It was pitch-dark when the guns, one by one, gradually became silent. -In a few moments there was complete stillness, a stillness almost -surprising, almost disturbing after the deafening cannonade.</p> - -<p>We rejoined the batteries. Noiselessly, one behind the other, the -carriages plunged like phantoms into the darkness, the soft field, -as it yielded under the wheels, giving a strange impression of -cotton-wool. The nocturnal clarity, diffused and as if floating, did -not enable us to see what kind of field it was which the long column -was crossing without a jolt or jangle, with only an occasional creaking -of badly oiled wheels.</p> - -<p>The whole countryside smelt of death, and this was not due to -imagination. Far off a burning building stood out like a fixed point of -light. The massive trees of a neighbouring park filled us with nameless -fears.</p> - -<p>The wheel of the limber passed over something soft and elastic which -yielded under the weight. I felt sure that it was a dead man, and -looked behind me fearfully. But I could see nothing.</p> - -<p>We halted on the outskirts of a village called Tracy-le-Mont, where the -supply-train was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span> waiting for us. Rations were issued, the men in their -cloaks standing in a black circle round the provision wagon, which was -lit by a solitary lantern. Hutin and Déprez were among them. Somebody -was calling out the guns:</p> - -<p>"Third!... Fourth!..."</p> - -<p>"First!" cried Hutin.</p> - -<p>"You've missed your turn. You'll have to come last now."</p> - -<p>We talked while waiting. Hutin was very tired and hungry.</p> - -<p>"There's some good grub going," said he. "We're going to get some fresh -meat."</p> - -<p>"Yes, but fires will be forbidden."</p> - -<p>"I suppose you haven't seen the postmaster?" he asked suddenly.</p> - -<p>"No, why?"</p> - -<p>"Because in the first line you see him more often than we do."</p> - -<p>"Well, I've begun to doubt whether there is such a person."</p> - -<p>"It's true.... The brute never turns up! Confound it all! If only we -got letters sometimes the time would pass quicker. The last I had was -simply to say that they hadn't any news of me. It does seem hard!"</p> - -<p>"First gun!"</p> - -<p>"At last," said Hutin. "Good-bye, old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span> chap! I'm off to get my grub. -Try to get back to us soon."</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Tuesday, September 15</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>It was splendid weather when we awoke. During the night it had rained -a little, but we had surrounded our guns with armfuls of hay gathered -from some large ricks near-by. I slept under the ammunition wagon, -which sheltered me as far as the knees, and I had covered my feet with -a couple of sheaves. The ground was not very damp and I slept well in -spite of the shower.</p> - -<p>With the dawn the sky cleared. The air was soft and warm, and the tall -trees in their infinite variety of green shades stood out in clear-cut -silhouettes against the pale blue of the sky. The grass, although cut -short, now that the summer was ending, had regained some of its lost -freshness.</p> - -<p>Here and there in the fields dark heaps arrested the eye. These were -the bodies of fallen Germans. Once one has seen three or four one -instinctively searches for them everywhere, and a forgotten wheat-sheaf -in the distance looks like a corpse.</p> - -<p>We started, the wheels of the leading carriages tracing a well-marked -track across the fields. On one side lay a dead German. The vehicles -had brushed by him as they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span> passed and would have crushed his feet had -the drivers not seen him in time. His face was still waxen in colour, -and the eye-sockets alone had begun to turn green. The solemn, regular -features were not lacking in a certain virile beauty.</p> - -<p>The man sitting next me on the wagon looked long at the dead man's face -as if trying to catch his last expression.</p> - -<p>"Poor devil!" said he, shrugging his shoulders.</p> - -<p>A little moved myself, I echoed:</p> - -<p>"Yes, poor devil!"</p> - -<p>But the wheel-driver, who had left a wife and children behind him, and -was wondering how they fared, turned in his saddle:</p> - -<p>"Dirty pig!" he growled.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>This morning the battle started early and with unusual violence on a -front which appeared to stretch from east to west. As far as one could -see the sky was fleecy with shell smoke.</p> - -<p>"There!... And they said the Germans were going—were entraining! Do -you see them over there?... Brutes!"</p> - -<p>"Yes. They were detraining!"</p> - -<p>The men bitterly cursed their erstwhile credulity. Nevertheless I -knew that this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> evening they would be ready to believe the news that -the Russians had reached Berlin, provided that it was sufficiently -vigorously affirmed.</p> - -<p>We learned the truth from some passing foot-soldiers. The Germans had -entrenched themselves strongly on the wooded hills and in the quarries. -The pursuit was held up, and a new battle was about to begin.</p> - -<p>I asked a sergeant:</p> - -<p>"But those aren't the Germans we were on the heels of yesterday and the -day before, are they?"</p> - -<p>"No," he answered, "these must be troops which were behind them in -Belgium."</p> - -<p>The first line, installed in a narrow valley, replenished every -half-hour the battery which, in position near a large farm, was -emptying wagonful after wagonful of shells. The German artillery swept -the plain, and some six-inch Howitzers, whose objective seemed to be -the bend of a neighbouring road, aiming too high, threatened to catch -us in enfilading fire at any moment. On the other hand, one of their -77 mm. batteries had opened fire on a wood commanding the other end -of the valley. There could be no thought of trying to get out of this -uncomfortable position by way of the plain. The enemy would see us -and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> Howitzers would reach us with ease. The officer in charge of -the train, Lieutenant Boutroux, was perplexed. Finally he decided to -face the 77 mm. guns, and we began to work round the edge of the wood, -shrapnel shell bursting over our heads. Soon the valley curved inwards. -The danger zone was passed. Unscathed, and keeping well screened from -the enemy, we took up a fresh position in another gully almost exactly -similar to that we had just left.</p> - -<p>We lacked water, and in order to find it had to follow a path leading -across the field to some barns, from the roofs of which pipes ran down -into a couple of water-tanks. A ladder was propped up against one of -the latter, and I climbed up out of curiosity. The metal plating of -the inside was covered with rust, and out of the turbid water, which -was slowly sinking, emerged an old boot, a felt cap, and all sorts of -shapeless objects of cloth or metal, coated with green slime. We had -nevertheless to content ourselves with this water!...</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The sound of the battle was indicative of no decision; it neither -approached nor became fainter. The wounded who passed told us that -since the morning the infantry had been continually launched against -the strong en<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>trenchments without being able to break through them. The -gun-fire did not slacken until nightfall.</p> - -<p>We rejoined the batteries, cutting across the plain now hidden from -the enemy by the falling darkness. Somewhere a machine-gun was still -crackling. A thin rain was floating in the air and we rapidly became -wet through. We had to lie in the open among the mangel-wurzels, and -the horses were not taken out of the vehicles.</p> - -<p>It was almost impossible to sleep. The moment we lay still we began to -shiver and our teeth chattered. I had a vague fear that the cold, which -ran down my spine in long shudders, might kill me unawares if I went to -sleep.</p> - -<p>My feet resting on the wheel, I curled up on the top of the ammunition -wagon, preferring the icy contact of the steel to the dampness of the -ground. The rain began to fall more heavily.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Wednesday, September 16</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Quite early this morning the dull, far-off thud of a Howitzer echoed -and re-echoed, and immediately afterwards, as if fired by a train of -powder, all the guns on the plateau began to roar.</p> - -<p>Astruc came up:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Lord!" said he, "I had a funny experience last night! Just think ... -the others had bagged all the places under the wagons, and, as I was -looking about, I saw a great big chap, at least six feet long, covered -over with a blanket in the middle of the field. 'Well,' said I to -myself, 'if there's room for one there's room for two,' and I lifted up -the blanket and snuggled in beside him. But as I went to sleep I pulled -it little by little to my side. Suddenly the long 'un sits up, wide -awake, and starts shaking me!... At first I said nothing—pretended -to be asleep. I was so tired! But he went on shaking me, and then -he shouted: 'What the blazes do you think you're doing?' Finally I -grunted, 'All right! No need to make such a row....' And then I rubbed -my eyes, and got up.... Do you know who it was?... It was the Major! -I'd pulled his blanket off him! I didn't lose my head. I told him that -I felt awfully ill—fit to die—and that there wasn't any more room -underneath the wagon.... Then he muttered something, I don't know what, -and settled down again. I didn't hesitate an instant, but lay down -beside him. Then he said: 'Well, for God's sake don't take all the -blanket, at any rate!'"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p> - -<p>The battery went off to take up position, and the first line of wagons -returned to the gully where we sheltered yesterday.</p> - -<p>My wrist was hurting me. In spite of the dressing the wound had been -poisoned by the blood of the wounded and dead at Attichy.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The postmaster arrived with a sackful of letters.</p> - -<p>"At home they seem to think the war will last until New Year," said -somebody.</p> - -<p>"But the Russians?"</p> - -<p>"Oh! the Russians...."</p> - -<p>"Well, let's see ... October, November, December.... That makes another -three months and a half.... Why, we shall all be dead of exposure -before then!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Hardly five hundred yards away from our park some big farm buildings -suddenly burst into flames, the walls surrounding the yard showing up -on the bare fields like a massive square of luminous masonry. The smoke -at first rose in heavy, dark spirals pierced here and there by yellow -flashes and then shot straight up into the clear sky in a tall column.</p> - -<p>We knew that there were sheep in the farm. The bombardment had ceased, -and I decided to save one or two of the animals in order to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> supplement -our ordinary rations. Two gunners of the 12th Battery, the carriages of -which were lined up close to ours, had the same idea.</p> - -<p>We set out for the farm as rapidly as possible. The field we had to -cross had been ploughed up yesterday by the German Howitzers. The enemy -doubtless thought that infantry lay concealed behind the buildings, -and the whole day long his heavy guns had vainly mown down the -mangel-wurzels.</p> - -<p>"They've gone to work as though they wanted to plant trees in fives," -remarked one of my companions. And he added:</p> - -<p>"And they've done the job jolly well! I know something about it, for -I'm a gardener."</p> - -<p>On the edge of a shell crater two gendarmes lay stretched side by side -among the scattered clods of earth. One of them, a big, red-haired -man, had a great gaping wound in his chest, and his right arm, doubled -up in a strange posture, looked as if it had two elbows. The body of -the other, a grey-headed corporal, seemed untouched, but in one of his -eye-sockets there was nothing but a clot of blood, and the eye itself -was hanging on his temple at the end of a white tendon.</p> - -<p>"Poor old chap!" said the gardener.</p> - -<p>He leaned over the corpse with its ghastly, one-eyed face staring at -the sky, and reverently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span> covered it with the silver-badged cap which -had fallen near the dead man's side.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Behind one of the blue-slated roofs, which was still intact, lively -flames were now breaking out but were immediately stifled by the clouds -of smoke. A magnificent cone-shaped fir-tree, of funereal aspect, -mounted guard over the fire like a solitary sentry.</p> - -<p>We approached the building. Near the wall of the yard were lying two -gunners and a couple of horses. They had just been killed, and the -blood on the ground was still red. I recognized one of the men as the -orderly of one of our officers. The other had fallen face downwards, -his arms crossed under him.</p> - -<p>A shell had bored a great hole in the yard. Three ducks, despite the -heat of the flames, were dabbling about in a little green pond near a -square-shaped dunghill. Another, the head of which had been cut off by -a shell splinter, was lying on its side at the edge of the water.</p> - -<p>Against the background formed by the great dark curtain of smoke, which -from where we were standing hid half the sky, the skeleton of a barn -stood out like a fascinating framework of molten metal. Long flames -darted out from the doorway and licked a plough and a harrow which had -been abandoned there.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> Above the hay-shoot a pulley-wheel for hoisting -fodder, mounted in a recess in the front of the building, was red-hot. -The roar of the guns was no longer audible, being drowned by the -crackling of the fire and the sharp hiss of the sparks as they fell in -the pond. One of the ducks, stung by a glowing splinter, was shaking -her feathers.</p> - -<p>"We're none too soon," said the gardener. "The mutton will be half -cooked already."</p> - -<p>The sheepfold was only separated from the shed, which was now alight, -by a bake-house, and was already full of smoke, through which the -woolly backs of the animals loomed like even denser clouds. The -door was open, but the stupid beasts had not fled, and had crowded -together against the end wall under the window communicating with -the bake-house, through which came the smoke which was gradually -asphyxiating them. Huddling together they pushed forward as though -trying to break down the wall with their foreheads.</p> - -<p>"Come on," said the gardener. "You, Lintier, stand there ... at the -door. That's how we'll work it. We'll both of us rush in and each pull -out one of them, and you put a bullet through them as they come out. -Understand?"</p> - -<p>"All right!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p> - -<p>I had a glimpse of the shadowy forms of the two men dodging about in -the smoke. Then I heard the scraping of hard hoofs on the ground and -one of the gunners reappeared grasping with both hands the tail of a -fat sheep which he pulled out backwards. I killed the animal on the -threshold, and immediately afterwards a second. The gardener went in -again to fetch a third.</p> - -<p>I replaced my revolver in the holster, and each of us hoisted a sheep -on to our shoulders. They encircled our necks like heavy furs, which we -kept in place by grasping the pointed feet bunched together in front -two by two. From their heads, hanging down behind, blood dripped down -our backs. We started off across the mangel-wurzel field.</p> - -<p>Suddenly the gardener cried out:</p> - -<p>"Listen!"</p> - -<p>We stopped.</p> - -<p>"Down!"</p> - -<p>"We're seen!"</p> - -<p>We heard the scream of heavy shell approaching, and at once threw -ourselves flat on the ground behind the sheep, which formed a sort of -rampart. Down came the shells between us and the farm. We jumped up, -and, in spite of our heavy burdens, ran till we were out of the line -of fire. We passed the dead<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> gendarmes and did not stop until we had -reached a row of poplars which hid us from view. Three projectiles -swooped down on the spot we had just left.</p> - -<p>Winding our way through the copses and hollows of the plateau we -regained the park in safety.</p> - -<p>I resumed my seat on a bundle of wood near the fire, while a gunner, -who was a butcher by trade, methodically cut up one of the sheep strung -up by the foot to the store wagon.</p> - -<p>As I led the horses down to drink at the tanks I took a short cut -across the fields in the hope of finding some potatoes, beetroot, or -perhaps some onions. We were specially in need of onions, for some of -our food was most insipid and we knew of no other flavouring.</p> - -<p>I found neither onions nor potatoes, but, on the other side of a knoll, -I saw some foot-soldiers stretched out on the loose sheaves of wheat. -Their red breeches were visible a long way off. Evidently some of those -who had fallen in the engagements of the 12th.</p> - -<p>In a hollow a little farther on I also came upon some German corpses. -Thirteen Frenchmen and seventeen Germans had fallen there, almost side -by side. And yet the Frenchmen seemed more numerous. Red patches on the -yellow of the stubble-field, they caught the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> eye, whereas the Germans -were hardly noticeable.</p> - -<p>The arms and packs of the dead men had been taken away, and coats, -tunics, and shirts had been unbuttoned so that the medals could be -unpinned. Their necks, bared chests, and eyelids had already turned a -greenish-grey. A little sergeant, who had fallen backwards on to some -sheaves which now pillowed his head, still held his right arm starkly -in the air. The stiffened fingers of his outstretched hand seemed -clasped in a grip of agony. On his sleeve the gold bar shone in the sun.</p> - -<p>As I passed on, some swallows, whose low flight announced rain, skimmed -over the knoll, their pointed wings lightly touching the dead men.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Thursday, September 17</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Our line of wagons still remains in the same hollow, nor has the -battery changed position. Although during the last two days it has -fired more than five hundred shells the enemy has not been able to -discover its whereabouts.</p> - -<p>Fighting continued, growing ever more violent in character, near -Tracy-le-Mont, Tracy-le-Val, Carlepont in front of us, Compiègne on the -west, and on the east, parallel to the Aisne, towards Soissons.</p> - -<p>We neither advanced nor retired, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> that was all we knew of the -engagement. We have begun to fall into regular habits here; soup is -served and the horses are watered at the same hour every day.</p> - -<p>On my way to the water-tanks this morning I saw an odd-looking priest. -Sitting astride his horse in the middle of the road he was talking to -a surrounding group of gunners and foot-soldiers. He was booted and -spurred, and a long waterproof cape, fastened under his chin, floated -down over the crupper of his horse. A big wooden cross hung from his -neck on to the varnished strap of his revolver-holster, and into his -wide black belt he had stuck a German bayonet.</p> - -<p>Standing in the stirrups he looked like some strange militant monk as -he stroked the neck of his horse.</p> - -<p>"Yes," said he, "he's a nice beast. He belonged to a Uhlan whom I found -after the battle last week, near Nanteuil, where I was going to hear -confessions. He had been abandoned, so I took him. It is much better -than walking."</p> - -<p>And he added:</p> - -<p>"He saved my life yesterday.... I was going to the outposts where there -had been some fighting and where I had heard that I was wanted. I was -quite alone, and suddenly I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> met a patrol of Uhlans. They fired at -me, but missed. I was angry at not being able to go where I wanted, -and as I wheeled round I let them have a revolver shot. As a priest I -ought not to have done that, ought I? But I couldn't help it. I saw one -topple over. The others pursued me, but my horse went like the wind, -and after a time they gave up the chase. So I turned round again and -followed them. I found the man I had shot. He didn't understand a word -of French. I was able to give him absolution before he died, but it was -a near shave!"</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Night was falling when we rejoined the battery. It was raining, and we -wondered whether we should again have to sleep in the mud.</p> - -<p>I found my comrades of the first gun—Hutin, Millon, and -Déprez—covered with mire and black with powder, their faces gaunt with -weariness.</p> - -<p>"Hallo!"</p> - -<p>"Ah, Lintier!" said Hutin. "We've had a bad time of it to-day! I -really don't know how it is we are still here!... I don't know.... Ask -Millon...."</p> - -<p>Millon nodded his head. He seemed at the end of his strength.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Gratien is dead."</p> - -<p>"Oh!"</p> - -<p>"Killed as he was mounting his horse ... a small splinter in the spine. -He didn't move.... A shell came right through the shield of the third -gun without bursting.... And another fell not two yards off our trench!"</p> - -<p>"Ah! That one did burst. We were badly shaken.... My hair and beard -were singed."</p> - -<p>"No one wounded?"</p> - -<p>"No one in the battery, except Gratien, who was killed.... Yes, though! -Pelletier got his forehead grazed by a splinter. Come and have a look -at the ammunition wagon—it's like a nutmeg-grater. It began to smoke -at one time. Suppose it had blown up!... It was full ... thirty-six -high-explosive shells!..."</p> - -<p>It was now quite dark, so we lit the hurricane lamps. Somebody called -out:</p> - -<p>"Eleventh, to your billets!"</p> - -<p>"Right!"</p> - -<p>"First gun ... fifth gun...."</p> - -<p>"Fifth!"</p> - -<p>"To your billets, eleventh!"</p> - -<p>We followed a man carrying a hurricane lamp, and found that we had to -share our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> billets with some foot-soldiers from the south whose accent, -so to speak, smelt of garlic.</p> - -<p>The men of the firing battery let themselves fall in the straw like -foundered horses, and, after having made sure of a warm place, I -sallied out with a couple of comrades of the first line in order to -find something to eat and drink.</p> - -<p>The narrow, badly paved streets were alive with the shadowy forms of -men jostling each other, the indistinct coming and going of horsemen -and wagons, the noise of many feet plodding through the mud, and the -confused sound of voices and respiration.</p> - -<p>A little café, near which the pavement had been broken up by a shell in -the afternoon, was crowded with foot-soldiers, A.S.C. men, and Zouaves.</p> - -<p>The bottles, jugs, and glasses standing on the counter half hid the -shadeless brass lamp with which the place was lit, and threw huge, -uncouth shadows across the narrow, smoke-filled room on to the walls.</p> - -<p>There was a babble of voices and laughter. Every one was drinking, and -the proprietor still had some liqueurs and rum left. The tired-out -soldiers soon became drunk with alcohol, tobacco, and tales of the war.</p> - -<p>This diminutive café, where there was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> little light, a little warmth, -and a whole world of oblivion, was a veritable haven in the immense -weariness of the night, among the thousands of soldiers stretched out -everywhere round us, in the open or in barns, sleeping as soundly as -the dead men just laid low in the fields by the shrapnel bullets.</p> - -<p>We succeeded in finding a bottle of champagne. Never had the sparkle of -wine seemed to me so delicious.</p> - -<p>Nobody was asleep when we returned to our billets. Despite the -complaints of the gunners the southern infantrymen went on talking, -swearing, and leaving the door open....</p> - -<p>"Aren't you chaps ever going to go to sleep?" thundered a gunner from -the depths of the darkness.</p> - -<p>"Hold your jaw!"</p> - -<p>"Here! shut the door, can't you?"</p> - -<p>Men continually trod on our feet and chests and let their rifles and -packs fall on us. The air was full of grumbling and vituperation. It -was nearly midnight, and Moratin lost his temper:</p> - -<p>"Now are you ever going to shut up, you ——! If you don't, I'll go and -fetch the Major!"</p> - -<p>A broadside of oaths rose from the straw.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> The gunners replied. Dozing -men, waking up, yelled:</p> - -<p>"Shut your mouths! <i>Shut 'em</i>, do you hear?"</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Friday, September 18</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>Day was just breaking as we moved slowly along the roads across the -plain, our horses sinking up to the fetlocks in clayey mud.</p> - -<p>We met large parties of wounded—Tirailleurs, Zouaves, and, above all, -soldiers of the line. They overflowed the road on either side as they -plodded on with heavy steps which dragged in the gutters and puddles.</p> - -<p>The dawn was misty. It was half-past four, but we could not see the -faces of the wounded until they were actually passing our carriage, -when we had a vision of white bandages and of others crimson-red. But -when the troops had gone by in the vague, uncertain light, we could -only perceive a slowly rolling sea of heads and shoulders.</p> - -<p>In the eyes of some of my comrades who yesterday were so close to death -and who to-day were still stiff, tired, and dejected, I caught sight of -looks of envy. They were aware of the orders which had arrived during -the night, namely, that we were to return to our positions of yesterday.</p> - -<p>They were not afraid, but the familiarity<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span> with danger, which had made -them brave, had in no sense impaired their love of life—the life -which they felt bubbling in their veins and which, in a few moments -perhaps, might be spent, with all their red blood, on the field of -mangel-wurzels. They were thinking of those who had died yesterday, of -Corporal Gratien, of Captain Legoff—an officer adored by his men—of -the six numbers of the 6th Battery who were reduced to a shapeless, -bleeding pulp at the bottom of their trench.</p> - -<p>It is at moments like these, at once melancholy and solemn, when the -regular creaking and jolting of the wagons and the measured hoof-beats -of the horses numb the senses and make one drowsy, that one's thoughts -turn most bitterly to the future of bygone dreams, to all promised joys -and pleasures, to all the happiness for which the past has paved the -way and which might possibly have been realized without difficulty....</p> - -<p>Dawn—I do not know why—is always a sad hour. And on the mornings of -battle this inherent sadness is rendered more poignant by the dread of -the terrible and perhaps final experiences which the day just born may -hold in store. Regrets and fears become linked in a vicious circle of -thought from which there is no escape.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span></p> - -<p>One's only desire is to live—to return alive in the evening—but to -conquer first, to prevent the enemy from reaching our homes, above all -to protect the weak and loved ones behind us, in France, whose lives -are even more precious to us than our own. To conquer! And still live -to-night!</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The battery again took up position near the holocaust of the farm, -which was still burning, and the wagons returned to their gully.</p> - -<p>My wrist was giving me considerable pain, and the medical officer -wanted to send me behind the lines on sick-leave, but I preferred to -rest with the wagons a few days longer and then return to my gun.</p> - -<p>The rain began to fall in torrents. On the edge of a lucerne-field one -of our horses, which we had to abandon yesterday, was rolling in its -death agony. The straw we had brought with us, hashed up by the wheels -of the vehicles and by the hoofs of the horses, and mingled with the -water and mud which had collected in the clayey hollow, formed a kind -of noisome quicksand into which we sank ankle-deep.</p> - -<p>The men did not open their lips except<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> to swear or complain. No -more dead wood was to be found in the copses; all had been consumed -yesterday and the day before. We could not light a fire. Some passing -gunners told us that there were still some faggots in a farm near the -water-tanks, and we at once hurried thither. On the plain the corpses -were no longer lying among the loose sheaves. On one side of the Tracy -road, which was now nothing more than a swamp, the earth had been dug -up in the middle of the field of mangel-wurzels and two crosses roughly -fashioned out of planks marked the grave.</p> - -<p>The farm to which we had come in our quest for wood had been arranged -as a first-aid post. The buildings surrounded a yard, in the centre of -which, near the dung-heap, were ranged up several green-tilted carts -marked with the red cross. In one corner a heap of cotton-wool and some -blood-stained bandages and compresses were slowly burning.</p> - -<p>In the stable and cow-sheds one could see, through the half-open -doors, the recumbent forms of sick and wounded lined up on the straw -underneath the empty troughs and mangers. Some hospital orderlies -in canvas clothing were busy making soup. A medical officer stalked -stiffly by in his white smock. Not a cry of pain was to be heard.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p> - -<p>In the wood-shed some sick men—nine or ten pale and gaunt -foot-soldiers—were lying on trusses of hay which they had not even -untied. One man, whom we could not see owing to the darkness, was -breathing stertorously with a noise like an engine.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The firing was less violent than yesterday. An aviation park had been -formed a few hundred yards from our hollow, behind the farmhouses in -which the Staff had taken up its quarters for the day. This proximity -rendered our position increasingly unsafe. The enemy's Howitzers tried -to reach the aeroplanes standing on the field, and though they seemed -to be firing at haphazard, shells continually fell here and there on -the outskirts of our park.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The day was drawing to a close without giving any indication as to the -issue of the battle, which had already been in progress five days.</p> - -<p>But towards evening a long convoy of Moroccan <i>Carabas</i> passed on the -road near-by, marching southwards towards the Aisne. They were followed -by some infantry. What could be the meaning of it? We could not help -feeling uneasy.</p> - -<p>The dusk deepened into darkness and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> long golden beams of the -searchlights began to sweep the plain. Under the hard, unyielding light -the smallest objects—a hayrick, a shed—cast huge inky shadows on the -field.</p> - -<p>Next, some artillery passed by, also heading towards the Aisne. We -could not see the carriages, but recognized them by the familiar -creaking and rattling. Occasionally they halted a moment or two, -and then another sound became audible—a sound like a far-off -torrent—caused by infantry on the march on some other road across the -plain.</p> - -<p>It started to rain again.</p> - -<p>We rejoined our batteries at the water-tanks. A ceaseless tide of men -brushed by our carriages, their shadowy figures rising and falling as -they passed in the darkness.</p> - -<p>"What regiment is that?" I asked. No one answered.</p> - -<p>"What regiment is that?"</p> - -<p>Apparently a regiment of dumb men. They continued to march by in the -gloom without giving any reply.</p> - -<p>"What regiment is that passing? Can't you speak French?"</p> - -<p>"Hundred and third."</p> - -<p>"Where are you going to?"</p> - -<p>"We don't know."</p> - -<p>"Where are you going to?" I repeated.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p> - -<p>"We don't know," came the answer again.</p> - -<p>On the fields of mangel-wurzels flanking the road we could see masses -of motionless artillery. Was the Army Corps retiring? And yet we had -not been outflanked this time.... I was suddenly seized with anxiety.</p> - -<p>It began to rain harder. Under the moving ray of a searchlight I caught -a glimpse of a long road black with men and horses.</p> - -<p>My carriage had ranged up close to those of the first gun.</p> - -<p>"Hutin!"</p> - -<p>"Here! Yes? Hallo, it's you!"</p> - -<p>"Yes.... Well, are we retiring?"</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"What? The whole division is falling back!..."</p> - -<p>"We're being replaced."</p> - -<p>"Think so?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. I've seen some gunners of the Corps which is replacing us."</p> - -<p>"In that case we shall get some rest."</p> - -<p>"No, I don't think so. I've heard that they mean to make a turning -movement over by the forest of Compiègne and the forest of Laigle with -the Moroccan Division."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Rain ... darkness ... smoking prohibited. The surrounding gloom was -alive<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> with distant footfalls, the muffled rumble of wheels, jingle of -arms, and the heavy breathing of men and animals.</p> - -<p>Behind the infantry regiments of the division we began a slow march -interrupted by the halts of the foot-soldiers ahead and by other -unknown impediments.</p> - -<p>About midnight we crossed the Aisne. Rain was still falling. Two -hurricane lamps marked the entrance of the pontoon bridge constructed -by the Engineers. The planking gave under the weight of the column and -one heard the water plashing against the metal bottoms of the boats.</p> - -<p>The road was now clear, and the batteries on ahead broke into a trot. -A horse which had become entangled in the traces stopped our wagons -for a moment or two, and before we were able to catch up the head of -the column a cross-roads suddenly brought us once more to a halt. -In the dense darkness there was nothing to indicate which road the -leading vehicles had taken. We listened.... A distant rumble seemed -to come from the right, and we wheeled in the direction of the sound. -The drivers urged their horses forward. We strained our eyes in an -attempt to pierce the gloom, always hoping to see the bulky form of -an ammunition wagon or gun loom out of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span> darkness ahead. But we -hoped in vain. The road became narrower, and at every moment we risked -falling into the ditch. Finally we had to confess to ourselves that we -had lost our way.</p> - -<p>The Lieutenant gave the word to halt. We prepared to wait for daybreak -before continuing our march. The downpour redoubled in violence, and -it was impossible to find shelter. The gunners huddled together on the -limber-boxes and became motionless, while the drivers stamped up and -down in the mud at the heads of their teams.</p> - -<p>Overcome by fatigue I had begun to get drowsy in spite of the cold and -the wetness of my clothes, which stuck to my skin like icy poultices -and seemed to suck all the warmth from my body. Suddenly I became aware -of footsteps splashing in the gutters by the side of the road. Men were -passing by the wagon. I thought that possibly somebody had discovered a -barn and was leading them to it. I followed.</p> - -<p>Sure enough, after a few minutes' walk we came to a house, the black -bulk of which rose up suddenly before me, darker than the surrounding -darkness.</p> - -<p>My foot knocked against a ladder. Perhaps it led to a window? I -clambered up and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span> found myself in a loft of which the flooring was -rotten and gave way under my tread. I clutched the low framework of -the roof and advanced cautiously. Some one was already asleep there; I -heard his breathing. Stretching myself carefully athwart the beams and -pillowing my head on a bundle of wood, I prepared to go to sleep. It -was almost hot in the loft.</p> - - -<p><i>Saturday, September 19</i></p> - -<p>We started off again at dawn in a drizzling rain. The road, studded at -intervals with the bodies of dead horses, wound through interminable -woods of tall beeches from which the rain dripped heavily. Endless -enfilades of swamped and deserted trenches stretched away on either -side and were finally lost in the undergrowth. Tall, heavy trees had -been felled and laid athwart the road, which had sunk beneath their -weight. And when they had been dragged into the ditches in order to -leave the way clear for the troops, their stout branches had scored -deep scratches in the road, which had soon been converted into -quagmires by the rain.</p> - -<p>We passed through Pierrefonds, where, beneath the leaden sky, the -magnificent outlines of the château rose up amid the verdure darkened -by the rain, and then entered the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> forest of Compiègne, with its lofty -beeches standing in colonnades, below which lay long lines of swamped -trenches zigzagging between the trees, with here and there a primitive -hut made of branches and ferns, and more and more dead horses.</p> - -<p>The sun, breaking out between two clouds and piercing the leaves, threw -emerald-green lights on the wet moss. Among the dark tones the bright -trunks of the birches flashed intermittently.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Compiègne! The town, occupied by the enemy for a few days only, did not -appear to have suffered very much. Gun-fire was audible from far off, -to the north-east.</p> - -<p>We crossed the Oise and rejoined our batteries at Venette, an outlying -suburb.</p> - -<p>In the large hall of a farm to which I had gone in search of provisions -the farmer's wife, a matron of over fifty summers, was depicting the -horrors of the German occupation to four gunners.</p> - -<p>She broke off as I came in.</p> - -<p>"Some milk and eggs? You want to buy them? No! I won't sell them, but -I'll give you them.... Please wait a moment."</p> - -<p>And she resumed her story.</p> - -<p>"Well, as I was saying, it was just like that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span> ... in front of their -father. They trussed him up with his back to the wardrobe so that he -couldn't help seeing everything. Five or six of them there were, and -one officer. They violated both girls—only eighteen and twenty, and -such nice, honest girls too!... Yes—all six of them, one after the -other! The poor things screamed all the time!... Oh, those aren't -men!... They're just beasts!..."</p> - -<p>And lowering her voice a little, but without embarrassment, she -continued:</p> - -<p>"More than one woman went through the same thing. I did ... yes!... And -yet I'm no young girl.... I've a son who is a soldier like you.... Oh, -God, it's awful!... It happened one evening, at about this time ... -four of them had arrived here to sleep. How was I to defend myself?... -The best thing was to say nothing. There have been women who have tried -to defend themselves and who have been simply ripped up ... that's all! -My husband was out, getting in their things. I thought to myself, 'If -he comes in, what will happen?... He'll kill some of them....'"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I would, too! I'd have killed them!" interrupted a voice from the -darkness at the end of the room.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p> - -<p>I had not seen the man as he sat smoking his pipe in a corner of the -hearth.</p> - -<p>His wife turned towards him.</p> - -<p>"Poor old dear! You'd perhaps have killed one of them, but the -others would have killed both of us.... Besides, as far as I'm -concerned—well—I know I'm too old!... That's what my husband -said—afterwards.... That won't lead to any consequences!"</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Sunday, September 20</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>A long march in a stinging hail-storm, first towards the west and then -northwards. We are evidently attempting a turning movement against the -German right wing.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Monday, September 21</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>The day broke with the calm brightness of early autumn. We continued -our enveloping movement.</p> - -<p>Towards midday a heavy French battery in position near the road -suddenly began to fire. Our officers went off at a gallop to -reconnoitre. We thought we were going into action, but were finally -told that we should not be wanted to-day and were sent off to camp in -a park near Ribécourt. We ranged up the guns on a lawn flanked by a -mag<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>nificent wood of beech-trees bordered by rhododendrons.</p> - -<p>On one side of us lay an unruffled sheet of water, reddening under the -brilliant sunset, and, on the other, among the clumps of trees beneath -which lay flower-beds set off by blood-red sage, rose a fine modern -château. Under the rich foliage a little rustic bridge spanning the -river gave an effect curiously Venetian.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The evening was sultry, but nevertheless we made our bivouac fires -under the chestnut-trees flanking the river. In the darkness of the -night, which had now fallen, the pond looked like an enormous blot of -ink. We were almost blinded by the yellow flare of our fires and could -no longer distinguish the river banks, thus risking at every step a -fall into the water.</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Tuesday, September 22</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>We passed the night on some straw in the outbuildings.</p> - -<p>My wrist is now healed, and I am going to return to my post with the -first gun.</p> - -<p>Under the morning sun the pond shone like a silver mirror, and the -little Venetian bridge struck a bright note among the dark tones of the -trees, while the water flowing underneath, over the slime and rotten -leaves, was jet-black.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> The château stood out starkly against the pale -blue sky, and the yellow gravel of the walks and the vermilion sage -afforded a bright contrast to the uniform green of the lawns.</p> - -<p>The battery moved on. The crackling of rifle and machine-gun fire -accompanied the roar of the artillery. The enemy was evidently making -a stand against our enveloping movement, which it was doubtless the -intention of the French commanders to accentuate. We resumed our march -towards the north, heading for Roye. The success of the manœuvre -depended on numbers, and I wondered whether we had sufficient men -available.</p> - -<p>In a field by the wayside some Senegalese Tirailleurs, fine-looking, -ebony-coloured men dressed in navy blue uniforms, were making coffee -with the simple gestures and admirable attitudes of people untrammelled -by civilization.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The officers had gone off to reconnoitre. We halted at the foot of a -long slope in the middle of some large mangel-wurzel fields forming a -kind of basin near the village of Fresnières, where heavy shells were -falling.</p> - -<p>The line of fire, forming an angle towards Compiègne, stretched from -north to south. We could not be more than a mile or two, as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> the crow -flies, from the plains we had been occupying during the past few days -on the banks of the Aisne, near Tracy-le-Mont.</p> - -<p>I do not know what echo or confusion of sound prevented us from -locating the position of the battle exactly. Fighting was going on in -the direction of Ribécourt and Lassigny, but the heavy battery which -had been bombarding Fresnières was now silent. Behind the woods columns -of black smoke were curling upwards. Fires or shells bursting? It was -impossible to tell.</p> - -<p>But our chief anxiety was the northern horizon, which was masked by a -line of poplars, and from which occasional and unsustained rifle-fire -revealed the presence of the enemy. The Germans might reply to our -enveloping movement by trying to execute a similar manœuvre.</p> - -<p>On the edge of the woods to the north-east large numbers of troops -could be seen in movement. A long black column of artillery was winding -its way across country. The hoof-beats of a far-off squadron, trotting, -sounded like the reptation of some huge serpent. The whole countryside -was alive. From where we stood one would have said that it was only the -leaves of the mangel-wurzels moving in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> the wind, but in reality it was -infantry deploying in skirmishing order.</p> - -<p>We took up position in a field. The ground under my gun was extremely -soft, and it seemed a foregone conclusion that the carriage would -continue to recoil with the result that a perpetual error in laying -would retard our rapidity of fire. The second gun was no better placed -than ours, but the other section, in position on a stubble-field, -was on much firmer ground. The battery would thus lose all cohesion, -but there was no help for it. It was impossible to use the position -assigned to us to better advantage.</p> - -<p>In front of us, some 77 mm. guns were sweeping the fields, but -these did not cause us much anxiety. In relation to the position -which, judging from their fire, they were occupying somewhere to the -north-east, we were well covered. But, beyond Lassigny, standing out -amid the verdure, rose a line of lofty, wooded hills which commanded -the whole of the plain and from the summit of which our battery was -certainly visible. We could not take our eyes off their threatening -crests. What lay hid in their gloomy forests?</p> - -<p>We were well within range of heavy artillery should the enemy install a -battery at that point.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Come on," said Bréjard, "we must make a hole and get to work quickly."</p> - -<p>In feverish haste we dug a trench behind the ammunition wagon. Another -group of ·75's, occupying a position parallel to ours, opened fire on -Lassigny.</p> - -<p>The ·77's now increased their range, and every round became more -threatening.</p> - -<p>"To your guns ... by the right, each battery!" commanded the Captain.</p> - -<p>"What range? We haven't heard the range," shouted Millon.</p> - -<p>"Eleven hundred!"</p> - -<p>"How much?"</p> - -<p>"Eleven hundred!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, they're not far off!"</p> - -<p>"Sounds bad, that," growled Hutin.</p> - -<p>The gun reared, and immediately recoiled more than two yards. We had -to man it forward into position, but the spade and wheels had sunk so -deep in the soil that try as we would the six of us could not move it. -Our shoulders to the wheels, struggling and sweating, we began to get -nervous and angry. Finally we had to call to the detachment of the -second gun to come and help us.</p> - -<p>Some infantry had taken up position in front of the battery. We -signalled to them to move to the left.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span></p> - -<p>"They'll get cut in two, the idiots!"</p> - -<p>"To the left!"</p> - -<p>"What fools!"</p> - -<p>"To the left!"</p> - -<p>The Lieutenant, his lungs exhausted, waved his long arms.</p> - -<p>"Lord! aren't they stupid, those fellows!" We shouted in chorus:</p> - -<p>"To the left ... <i>to the left</i>!"</p> - -<p>At last they moved off, and we could fire.</p> - -<p>"Eight hundred!"</p> - -<p>We thought we had not heard aright.</p> - -<p>"Eight hundred!"</p> - -<p>So the enemy was there, behind the crests, and was advancing....</p> - -<p>What was the French command waiting for? Why did they not throw forward -the troops which, over towards Fresnières, were swarming on the -mangel-wurzel fields?</p> - -<p>Moratin, who was standing on the refilling wagon, cried out:</p> - -<p>"Go on, let 'em have it full! That shell from the first gun mowed down -a heap of them. There! you can see them, the brutes!... You can see -them!..."</p> - -<p>His words gave us strength to push the gun, the wheels of which kept -turning backwards, forward into position again.</p> - -<p>"Hutin!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What?"</p> - -<p>"Did you hear?"</p> - -<p>"Hear what?"</p> - -<p>"There it is again."</p> - -<p>"Bullets ..."</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"In threes, double traverse!"</p> - -<p>The Captain had climbed into an apple-tree close to the fourth gun. The -bullets, brushing over the crest, were too high to touch us, but they -continually cut down leaves round the Captain. We begged him to come -down. For the tenth time one of the gunners insisted:</p> - -<p>"You mustn't stay there, sir!"</p> - -<p>The Major interfered:</p> - -<p>"Come down, De Brisoult!"</p> - -<p>But the Captain, his glasses to his eyes, continued to scan the -northern horizon and only answered quietly:</p> - -<p>"But I can see very well, sir ... very well. Nine hundred!..."</p> - -<p>"Nine hundred!"</p> - -<p>"Nine hundred!" repeated the gunners.</p> - -<p>Our infantry had doubtless retaken Lassigny. German shells were now -bursting over the town, giving off clouds of yellow smoke.</p> - -<p>"One thousand!"</p> - -<p>We had at last found a more or less firm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> position for our gun, and our -fire accelerated as the enemy fell back.</p> - -<p>"Eleven hundred!"</p> - -<p>"Twelve hundred!... Cease firing!"</p> - -<p>The detachments piled up in front of the trenches the ejected -cartridge-cases which strewed the field. Bullets still continued to -hum over our heads, but the 77 mm. shells were now falling wide of the -mark. We remained motionless at the bottom of our trenches. Every few -minutes Hutin asked me:</p> - -<p>"What time is it?"</p> - -<p>When I told him he became impatient:</p> - -<p>"Confound it!" said he, "we don't seem to be getting on!"</p> - -<p>In the afternoon, on an order from the division, the Major commanded -the limbers to be brought up.</p> - -<p>The drivers arrived on horseback, at a trot.</p> - -<p>"Dismount!" shouted the Captain.</p> - -<p>They did not hear. Bullets, skimming over the crest, still whistled by. -They would inevitably be killed.</p> - -<p>"Now then, altogether," said the senior N.C.O.... "One ... two ... -three.... Dismount!..."</p> - -<p>Twenty voices were raised in a single shout. This time they heard, and, -without stopping<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> the limbers, the drivers hurriedly tumbled off their -horses.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>We took up a fresh position still nearer the enemy between two lines of -poplars in a meadow overgrown with tall grass. Almost immediately the -77 mm. guns, which since the morning had been searching for us without -success, began to threaten our battery. The enemy could not have seen -our movements, and no aeroplane was visible aloft. Had our position -been signalled by a spy?</p> - -<p>A foot-soldier passed, holding his abdomen with both hands and shifting -from one foot to the other in the throes of intense suffering.</p> - -<p>"Is there an ambulance over there?"</p> - -<p>"Have you had a bullet in the stomach?"</p> - -<p>"No, here ... between the legs. It burns, it burns frightfully!"</p> - -<p>"Listen," said Millon, "make for our limbers—over there on the left, -behind the trees. They've nothing to do, and will perhaps be able to -help you."</p> - -<p>"Thanks! I'll go to them."</p> - -<p>"But take care between the trees in the meadow. The shells are falling -thick there!"</p> - -<p>The unfortunate soldier moved off slowly, writhing with pain.</p> - -<p>The Captain was standing at the foot of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span> first poplar of one of -the two lines, intent upon making observations. Men ready to transmit -orders by word of mouth lay at regular intervals on the exposed ground -between the battery and the observation-post.</p> - -<p>The 77 mm. shells were now bursting directly overhead. We took cover. -Every few seconds the enemy's shrapnels sowed the position with -bullets, the lead twanging on the steel armour of the ammunition wagon. -Nobody moved, and no one was wounded.</p> - -<p>Then I saw Hutin, who, sitting on the layer's seat, was sheltering -behind the gun-shield, suddenly jump to his feet:</p> - -<p>"Good God!" he ejaculated, "the Captain!"</p> - -<p>"Hit?" we asked anxiously.</p> - -<p>"It burst just over the tree he was leaning up against!"</p> - -<p>In spite of the danger the whole detachment at once stood up like one -man.</p> - -<p>"Can you see him, Hutin?"</p> - -<p>"No...."</p> - -<p>Lieutenant Homolle, the Major's little A.D.C., who quietly came up, -unprotected, from the observation-post, shouted to us from a distance:</p> - -<p>"Will you take cover, you idiots!"</p> - -<p>"The Captain?"</p> - -<p>"He's not hurt."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span></p> - -<p>And, when he had reached us and taken shelter behind the ammunition -wagon, he added:</p> - -<p>"I've got two in the thigh.... That's nothing—they didn't go in ... a -couple of bruises, that's all. The shell's got to burst pretty close -to do any damage. The most annoying thing about it is that the Captain -can't see the Germans. We can't fire!"</p> - -<p>The enemy's fire redoubled in violence, and shrapnel bullets riddled -the poplars, making a noise like falling hail. Shorn-off leaves, -carried by the wind, were scattered round the guns.</p> - -<p>One of the liaison officers—one of the <i>hurleurs</i><a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> as they are -called—wounded in the side, hurriedly left the position. Astruc, -wounded in the chest and vomiting blood, also left the field, leaning -on the arm of a comrade.</p> - -<p>We again became motionless under the shell-fire.</p> - -<p>Since a moment or two I had felt an unaccustomed itching in my beard. -Had I caught trench pest? Hutin lent me his looking-glass, but, while -I was carefully combing myself, I felt a sudden burning sensation in -my right hand, in which I was holding the glass, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> which I had -stretched beyond the protective bulk of the ammunition wagon. At the -same time something hit me in the chest. Feverishly, with my left hand, -I fingered the cloth of my uniform and found a rent in it breast-high. -I felt myself suddenly grow weak. I tore open my tunic and shirt ... -nothing ... I could see nothing. My skin was unscratched.</p> - -<p>My pocket-book, letters, and letter-case, which I carry in the pocket -of my shirt, had stopped the bullet. The blood was spurting from my -wounded hand. That was nothing. Instinctively I had pocketed the -looking-glass. I do not know how it had remained between my fingers, -for my thumb was now no more than a pendant piece of tattered flesh.</p> - -<p>"You'll have to clear off," said Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel, who was -crouching down next to me.</p> - -<p>Hutin stood up:</p> - -<p>"Lintier!" he cried, in a voice vibrating with horror which went -straight to my heart.</p> - -<p>"It's nothing, old chap ... only my hand."</p> - -<p>"I'll dress it for you!"</p> - -<p>But shells were falling incessantly and I refused to let him get from -under cover.</p> - -<p>"Run off quick!" said the Lieutenant.</p> - -<p>I ran off across the meadow, crouching<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span> down as much as possible -under the menace of the shrapnel bullets. Blood was dripping on to my -leggings and thighs, and sticking the cloth of my breeches to my knees. -From my hand the bullet had projected a red, star-shaped piece of flesh -and tendons on to my chest.</p> - -<p>Suddenly came the whistling of approaching shells.</p> - -<p>At the foot of one of the poplars two horses had just been killed. I -threw myself down between them in the long, blood-stained grass. The -shells burst. With a dull sound a large splinter ripped up one of the -inert bodies protecting me.</p> - -<p>I immediately set off again, rapidly getting out of the 77 mm. Howitzer -line of fire. My wounded hand was covered with earth and horse's blood. -As I crossed a road or embankment, I suddenly found myself faced by the -threatening muzzles of twenty French field-guns lined up on the field. -There was nothing for it but to retrace my steps.</p> - -<p>Behind the motionless artillery some Moroccan Tirailleurs were lying -among the mangel-wurzels. I nearly trod on them before I discovered -their presence.</p> - -<p>A Captain stood up and beckoned to me:</p> - -<p>"Come here, gunner, and I'll bandage you.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> Got your first-aid -dressing?... In the inside pocket of your tunic?... Hallo, it's all -torn! Been wounded in the chest? No?... Well, you're lucky!..."</p> - -<p>He examined my hand.</p> - -<p>"H'm ... nasty!... lot of earth and gun-grease got into it.... We must -clean that off and disinfect the wound as soon as possible.... I'll -take off the worst with some cotton-wool."</p> - -<p>I was out of breath with running, and the blood was throbbing in my -temples and buzzing in my ears. The instinct of self-preservation -suddenly deserted me, and, as I stood motionless, I began to feel -faint. My legs shook and gave way as though broken at the knees. The -figure of the officer standing by me seemed to turn round and round.</p> - -<p>"Hallo! Steady!" he cried.</p> - -<p>He forced the neck of a flask between my lips and poured a draught of -rum down my throat. I immediately felt strengthened from head to foot -and laughed as I thanked him.</p> - -<p>"That's all right!" said he as he finished dressing my hand.</p> - -<p>The field-hospitals of the division were at Fresnières, and I started -off in that direction. My hand felt as though it had turned to lead, -and, as I walked across country, holding<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> myself stiffly erect with a -view to resisting another fainting fit, buoyed up by the thought that -I should soon be under cover, far from the shells and the battle, an -unwonted lassitude, a yearning for sleep and silence, a weakening of -will-power suddenly took possession of me and seemed to penetrate to -the very marrow of my bones. It seemed to me that when I got to the -hospital I should sleep for days on end.</p> - -<p>To sleep—to sleep—and, above all, no longer hear the guns, no longer -hear anything. To live without thinking, and in absolute silence; to -live after so many times having narrowly escaped death. Suddenly I -remembered what the Captain of Tirailleurs had said—that my wound was -dirty, infected with earth and horse's blood. The fear of gangrene, of -lock-jaw, and of all other forms of hospital putrefaction gripped me by -the throat.</p> - -<p>At Fresnières an enormous shell had just killed, in front of the door -of the hospital, a medical officer, a nun, and four wounded men. The -bodies were laid out side by side on the pavement, but the corpse of -a Tirailleur, a great, dark-skinned giant whose arms, stretched out, -spanned an extraordinary space, still lay in the cut-up roadway. The -air was full of the distant whistling of shells. In the face<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> of this -menace which remained hanging over my head, now that I could no longer -fight, I was seized with an instinctive and puerile feeling of revolt. -I was no longer fair game.</p> - -<p>In the yard outside the hospital, among the stretchers bearing wounded, -blood-stained men, some hospital orderlies were laying the more severe -cases on a large table covered with a flowery-patterned oil-cloth. Two -medical officers were hurriedly dressing them.</p> - -<p>One, a big, brown-haired man with gold-rimmed spectacles, beckoned to -me. I went up to him.</p> - -<p>"Well, what's wrong with you?"</p> - -<p>"Shrapnel...."</p> - -<p>"Let's have a look!"</p> - -<p>He unwound the bandage, and, as soon as he took off the compress, the -blood began to spurt like a fountain. He looked at the wound and made a -grimace.</p> - -<p>"H'm ... it bleeds badly...."</p> - -<p>He called one of his subordinates, a bearded officer, who hurried up.</p> - -<p>"Look ... we'd better take the thumb right off, hadn't we?"</p> - -<p>"I should think so!..." said the other.</p> - -<p>"Right. We'll cut that off for you at once," said the officer with the -gold-rimmed glasses.</p> - -<p>I protested:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Cut off my thumb!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, unless you want to keep it on like that. Here, wait a moment...."</p> - -<p>A Colonial infantryman had just been brought in, the blood gushing from -a large wound in his shoulder. The medical officer knelt down beside -him and feverishly felt about with his fingers among the torn shreds of -flesh, trying to pinch the artery.</p> - -<p>"Cut off my thumb!..." echoed in my ears.</p> - -<p>I quickly made up my mind. Seizing a compress and a strip of rolled -lint from the table I managed with the aid of my left hand and teeth -to bandage my wound in a rough-and-ready fashion, and without being -observed by the officers, who were intent upon the severed artery, I -slipped out of the hospital.</p> - -<p>I knew that I should find the other divisional hospitals at -Canny-sur-Matz, about a mile and a half from Fresnières.</p> - -<p>I came upon a café still open in spite of the shells, and bought a -flask of brandy. I placed my revolver holster on my left side, within -reach of my sound hand, for night was coming on, and often, under cover -of the darkness, patrols of German cavalry managed to slip between the -network of French outposts and supports.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Canny road made a wide detour, so I decided to strike across -country. The steeple of the village church, standing out sharply -against the crimson sky, would serve as a guide.</p> - -<p>My hand continued to bleed. I kept up my strength with frequent pulls -at my brandy-flask and felt confident that I should be able to reach -the next hospital.</p> - -<p>On a sloping field, near a square-shaped hayrick, some infantry lay -stretched out, their red breeches making bright patches in the shadowy -grass. A passing puff of wind bore with it a disquieting smell. The -arm of one of the prostrate soldiers on the top of the knoll stretched -straight up in the air, motionless against the clearness of the western -sky-line.</p> - -<p>Dead men!</p> - -<p>I was about to go on my way, when in the shadow of the hayrick I saw -a human figure crouching over one of the bodies. The man had not seen -me.... He turned the corpse over and began to search it. I at once -cocked my revolver, and carefully, without trembling, aimed at the -looter. I was about to pull the trigger when a sudden fear stopped me. -I could see his movements quite clearly, but his face, turned sideways -against the dark<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> background of the hayrick, was not discernible. The -thought that he might be a gendarme identifying the dead made me lower -my weapon.</p> - -<p>"What are you doing there?" I shouted.</p> - -<p>The man jumped as though stung by a whip-lash, and stood up, his -features sharply defined against the clear sky. I saw that he was -wearing a flat cap with a broad peak.</p> - -<p>"Mind your own business and I'll mind mine!" he retorted. With that he -made off, running in zigzags under the menace of my revolver, like an -animal trying to cover its tracks.</p> - -<p>I fired ... he stopped a moment. Had I hit him? A streak of light -flashed out from his shadow, and a bullet hummed past my ear. Off he -went again but, just as he was about to disappear behind a bush, I -fired a second time. I thought I saw him fall among the brambles.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>I arrived at Canny, where a red lantern shining through the darkness -marked the entrance to the hospital. Wounded were stretched out in -the porch, and the yard was full of them. The medical officers were -hard at work in a veranda adjoining the main building. Through the -multicoloured glass windows a diffused light filtered slowly,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> vaguely -illuminating the men stretched on the straw. Now and again, when the -door of the veranda opened, a rectangle of crude light spread along the -ground, showing up a line of stretchers and the suffering faces of the -severely wounded who were waiting for first aid. Two orderlies carried -off the first stretcher of the row. The door swung to behind them and -the yard was again plunged in a flickering half-light.</p> - -<p>I stood there, very tired, looking stupidly at the scene. My hand was -still bleeding, but only drop by drop now.</p> - -<p>I asked a passing orderly:</p> - -<p>"Do you know when they'll be able to dress my wound?"</p> - -<p>"To-night. Lie down in the straw."</p> - -<p>I lay down where I was. Suddenly I heard a voice, at once infantile and -yet grave, in my ear:</p> - -<p>"You wounded?" it said, with a strange accent.</p> - -<p>I turned and found a tall negro lying by my side. I could see nothing -of him but two shining eyes.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I'm wounded, Sidi. You too?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, me wounded."</p> - -<p>He appeared to reflect for a moment:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Blacks ... wounded, wounded, wounded ... and then killed ... killed -... killed ... Boches ... oh! many, many Boches ... William!"</p> - -<p>"Ah! so you've heard of William?"</p> - -<p>"William ... bad chief ... lot of women ... many women!... ah!..."</p> - -<p>He paused an instant and then continued:</p> - -<p>"He many women ... big, bad chief ... like way back there ... back -there ... killed the women ... cut ... cut.... Whish!... like that!..."</p> - -<p>"Why?"</p> - -<p>"Bad ... ah!... he got big house ... put women's heads on top ... on -roof.... Ah, bad...."</p> - -<p>He searched for words:</p> - -<p>"Yes, put heads of women—many women—on roof of house ... bad, very -bad...."</p> - -<p>I was in too much pain to sleep, and had perforce to listen to his -childish babble.</p> - -<p>"So ... down there ... bad chief stick women's heads on roof ... not -good, no!... down there!..."</p> - -<p>And then the Senegalese began to speak in his own language, a lisping, -sweet-sounding tongue. Perhaps he was delirious.</p> - -<p>I felt cold, but nevertheless, after a time, found my eyelids growing -heavy. Covering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span> my legs with straw as best I could I stretched myself -out and went to sleep.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was still night when I awoke, and a thin rain, or rather drizzle, -was falling. I was colder than ever, and my wound pained me severely. -The veranda was still lit up. I could see the shadowy form of the negro -lying next to me, but could no longer hear his breathing. I stretched -out my hand and felt his. It was icy cold. The straw under me seemed -wet. I looked, and discovered that my feet were lying in a pool of -blood.</p> - -<p>I stood up. The severely wounded had now been dressed. A fire had been -lit in the kitchen of the farmhouse, and a white-faced Algerian was -dozing in front of it. On the mantelpiece an alarum clock, standing -between two brass candlesticks, marked two o'clock.</p> - -<p>I had my wound dressed. It appeared that after all it would not be -necessary to amputate my thumb. A N.C.O. took down my name, and on -the cloth band which held my arm in a sling pinned a hospital ticket: -"Severe shrapnel wound in left hand. To be invalided back, sitting."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span></p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Literally: "Take care of the children."—"Thank you."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Poilu (literally "hairy"): a popular term for the French -soldier, equivalent to our "Tommy."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Shouters.</p></div></div> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>Wednesday, September 23</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p>I had to walk five miles along the main road, upon which the crowd of -men wounded in the head, arms, and shoulders gradually became less -dense. Finally, I reached Ressons ... the station, the train.... Then -the interminable jolting of the cattle-truck half full of mouldy loaves -of bread ... fever, thirst. At last the hospital ... bed ... women's -hands, the bandage stiff with black blood taken off ... silence ... ah, -silence!...</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>On the 30th September the morning post brought me at the hospital a -letter from my friend Hutin, which I copy here in all its simplicity:</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 60%;"><i>"September 25, 1914</i></span><br /> -</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">"My Dear Lintier</span>,—Do write as soon as you can and let us -know how you are. I hope you'll soon be all right again, and all the -other fellows in the detachment join with me in wishing you rapid and -complete recovery.</p> - -<p>"You probably do not know of the misfortune which befell the battery -only a few minutes after you left. The Captain was killed—a shrapnel -bullet just under the left eye. You remember how we all said: 'If<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> -anything happens to him he can count on all of us?' Well, when we -saw him fall the whole lot of us ran out to help him. But it wasn't -any use. It was all over. We carried the body back to the battery. -Lieutenant Hély d'Oissel took over the command and we went on firing. -He was crying as he gave the ranges. When, about eight o'clock, we got -orders to leave the position, and had propped Captain de Brisoult upon -one of the limber seats of the first gun, half the battery had got -tears in their eyes. Two gunners sat one on each side of him. They had -covered his face with a white handkerchief. At Fresnières we watched -over him all the night. He was buried there.</p> - -<p>"Since then we haven't done much. Besides, we've been a bit unsettled -by this loss. I can't tell you where we are, but if I tell you that the -battery has hardly changed place since you left, you will know more or -less where we are engaged.</p> - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Always yours,</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"<span class="smcap">Georges Hutin</span>."</span><br /> -</p> - -<p>My eyes also became moist as I read these lines.</p> - -<p class="center">THE END</p> - -<div class="transnote"> -<p> -TRANSCRIBERS NOTE:<br /> -Liége was not spelt with a grave accent until 17 sept 1946.<br /> -The author's spelling was correct at the time of writing.</p> -</div> - -<p class="center" style="margin-top: 5em;"><small> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">PRINTED AT THE COMPLETE PRESS</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">WEST NORWOOD</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">LONDON</span></small><br /> -</p> - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My .75, by Paul Lintier - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY .75 *** - -***** This file should be named 54816-h.htm or 54816-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/8/1/54816/ - -Produced by Brian Coe, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: My .75 - Reminiscences of a Gunner of a .75mm Battery in 1914 - -Author: Paul Lintier - -Release Date: June 1, 2017 [EBook #54816] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY .75 *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - -MY .75 - - - - - MY .75 - - _REMINISCENCES OF A GUNNER - OF A .75m/m BATTERY IN 1914_ - - FROM THE FRENCH OF - - PAUL LINTIER - - WITH A PREFACE BY - - FRANCES WILSON HUARD - - [Illustration] - - NEW YORK - GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY - - - - -PREFACE - -BY FRANCES WILSON HUARD - -_Author of "My Home in the Field of Honour"_ - - -All during the three weary years of this great war _real_ pleasures -have been few for those of us whom Fate has destined to be more or less -closely associated with the daily tide of events. - -As I look back at present I feel that one of my first treats was when -I came upon Paul Lintier's newly published volume called "Ma Piece." I -read it, reread it and recommended it to those of my American friends -who, able to read French, clamoured for some real human document; the -war as seen by an actual participant. - -Aside from the clear, concise style, devoid of any pretentious literary -flourishes, the incidents were what gripped me. They were the direct -answer to those thousand and one questions that we, the civilians shut -up in the army zone, tortured by fear and anguish, asked ourselves and -asked each other a hundred times a day. - -Soldiers and diplomats, critics and litterateurs, wives and sweethearts -all over the fair land of France devoured and discussed the book. And -little did I dream that it would one day be my privilege to write a -preface introducing to my compatriots this _chef d'oeuvre_ already -recognised by the French Academy, the winner of the Prix Montyon. -This I may truly say is the greatest pleasure yet fallen to my lot. -Pleasure, alas! not unmixed with pain, for were it not a nobler task -to extol the virtues of the living than sing the praises of those gone -before? - -It was not my fortune to have known Paul Lintier. He fell in the very -flower of his manhood, unmindful of the sacrifice for country, ignoring -his glorious contribution for the safety of future generations. But -with his passing on the Field of Honour, something besides a son, a -soldier, and a poet was lost to France--lost to us all. It is such -spirits as his that make a country great, make the world worth while. -It is for such reasons that we should treasure all the more carefully -his only contributions to posterity. - -His name, yesterday unknown, now justly stands graven on the records -of all time. This humble artilleryman lost in the masses of the -combatants, jotted down on his knees a work that shall stand as one of -the most immutable witnesses of the conflict; a book that long after -we have gone will remain; an incomparable document, a magnificent -offering to those who later on shall study the souls and gestures of a -generation of heroes by whom France was saved. - -Some one has said, and wisely, that what most pleases us when perusing -a book is to find the author corroborating our own thoughts,--giving -voice to our unborn sentiments--providing us with material for -comparison. If this be true, then there is no reason why "My .75" -should not live on forever. - -Further than a really great literary talent, this book reveals the -profound and generous soul of the entire "Jeunesse Francaise" ready -to sacrifice itself without counting, for the highest ideal that ever -inflamed a people. - -The admirable patience, the great good humour, the intelligent -cleverness and heroic devotion together with the plain, simple courage, -all the deep-rooted, undreamed of qualities of the French Race, are to -be found within its covers, making it a monument to stoic virtue. - -How we love them, all the "Camarades"--Hutin, Depres, Brejard, -Lieutenant Hely d'Oissel--and the others--the four million others who -on August second, nineteen hundred and fourteen, stood willing, ready, -to perish for their ideal, glad to offer their lives with a smile. - -The dedication to "Captain Bernard de Brissoult, whose glorious death -facing the enemy, drew from eyes burned by powder and long vigils, -the terrible tears of soldiers," is one of the most touching things -I know, and I should like to feel that all those of my compatriots -who close the book have shed a tear of admiration and regret for Paul -Lintier, who died for France, March sixteenth, nineteen sixteen, in the -twenty-third year of his age. - - New York, - - July, Nineteen hundred and seventeen. - - - - -I. MOBILIZATION - - -War! Every one knows it, every one says so. It would be madness not to -believe it. And yet, in spite of all, we hardly feel excited; we don't -believe it! War, the Great European War--no, it can't be true! - -But why shouldn't it be true? - -Blood, money, and more and more blood! And then we have so often heard -people say: "Now there'll be war," and nevertheless we remained at -peace. And it will be so this time. Europe is not going to become a -shambles because an Austrian Archduke happens to have been murdered. - -And yet, what are we hourly expecting as we sit here in nervous -idleness in the barracks, unless it is the order for general -mobilization? Sergeants of all ages arrived yesterday at Le Mans, and -every train to-day has brought others. Since reveille a man dressed in -coarse corduroy has stood at the window watching the artillerymen and -horses coming and going in the square. Every now and then he takes a -brandy-flask from his pocket and has a pull at it. - -I was lying on my bed. Hutin, the chief layer of the first gun, was -spread-eagled on his, smoking, his knees in the air and his heels -drawn up under him. Noticing that my pack was crooked, I got up, -mechanically, and put it straight. - -"Hutin!" - -"Yes?" - -"Come and have a drink!" - -"All right!" - -The barrack square was less noisy than usual. There were no drivers -just returned from the polygon unharnessing their teams in front of the -stables. No word of command was heard from officers directing firing -practice underneath the plane-trees. In a corner one of the guards of -the artillery park was oiling his guns. A cavalryman, both hands in -his pockets and the reins slung over one arm, was leading his horse to -the trough or the forge. Over by the wall of the remount stables, in -the full glare of the sun, a few orderlies were grooming their horses -in a listless fashion. A continuous stream of men on their way to and -from the canteen--like a black line of insects crossing a white gravel -path--marked out one of the diagonals of the square. In front of the -canteen there was a scramble for drinks. It was hot. - - * * * * * - -Midday, and we are still waiting for news. Suppose all this should only -turn out to be another false alarm! - -White-clad gunners, with nothing to do as there is no firing practice, -are strolling about the courtyard in search of news. In the Place de -la Mission inquisitive onlookers press close up to the railings; it is -difficult to say why. The majority of them are women. In front of them -a few gunners pass with a smile and a swagger, already assuming the air -of brave defenders. - -Near the guard-house which serves as a visitors' room, but where no -visitors are allowed to enter on account of the fleas which infest -it at this time of year, wives, mothers, sisters, and friends have -come to see their soldiers. All make a brave attempt to hide their -feelings. But their expression betrays their anxiety, which has lined -their foreheads and sharpened their features. There are dark rings -round their eyes, and the eyes themselves are restless and sunken. -They continually avert their gaze, lest the fears and forebodings -which no one can banish should be read in their faces. When they go -away, through the little door under the chestnut-trees, after having -watched the soldiers disappear down the passage at the end of the -barracks, their feelings suddenly find vent in a sob, at which they -are themselves surprised. Rapidly, and almost shamefacedly, pressing -a rolled-up handkerchief to their lips, they turn aside into the Rue -Chanzy, as if all the men there did not understand their trouble.... - - * * * * * - -At four o'clock I went out with Sergeant Le Mee by special permission -of the Captain. We went to my room in the Rue Mangeard to leave Le -Mee's outdoor uniform there, together with a bag and some papers. - -We were about to have dinner. I had just uncorked a bottle of old -claret, when Le Mee caught hold of my arm. - -"What's that?" - -Up from the street a loud murmur came through the open window. At the -same moment something magnetic, indefinable and yet definite, shot -through both of us. We looked at each other, I with the bottle held to -the brim of the glass. - -"At last!" - -Le Mee nodded assent, and we hurried to the window. In the street -below, near the artillery barracks, surged a dense crowd. All faces -reflected the same expression of stupor, anxiety, and bewilderment. -In the eyes of all shone the same strange gleam. Women's voices were -heard--voices that quavered and broke.... - -"Well, Le Mee, here's to your health and let's hope that in a few -months we shall have another drink together!" - -"Here's luck to us both!" - -Grasping our swords we ran back to the barracks. That night we once -again slept in our beds. - - - _Sunday, August 2_ - -My kit was ready. I had rolled up some handkerchiefs in my cloak. - -A sergeant came in: - -"Now then, all of you go to the office!" - -The sergeant began distributing the record books and identity discs. - -On one side of mine was inscribed: "Paul Lintier," and, underneath, -"E.V. (engage volontaire) Cl. 1913"; on the other: "Mayenne 1179." - -A fly was buzzing about in the office. For one moment there rose up -before me a vision of a battlefield--with dead men lying stretched -out on the edge of a pit, and a non-commissioned officer hastily -identifying them before burial. - -The "Great Event" had at last come to break the monotony of our barrack -life, and no one thought of anything else. It was almost as if a -sort of blindness prevented us from looking ahead and confined each -man's attention to the preparations for departure. This indifference -astonished me, and yet I myself shared it. - -Was it decision or courage? To a certain extent, perhaps.... Did we -really believe there was going to be war? I am not too sure of it. It -was impossible to realize what war would be--to gauge the whole horror -of it. And so we were not afraid. - -From one of the barrack windows I saw the following scene: - -A young man, promptly called up by the general mobilization, had just -come out of a house opposite. He was walking backwards, shading his -eyes from the sun in order to see the face of some one dear to him who -stood at one of the second-floor windows. A fair-haired woman, very -young and extremely pale, watched him with longing eyes from behind the -muslin curtains, doubtless afraid to let him see her distraught face -and tear-stained cheeks. She was standing close behind the curtains, -her hand on her breast, with the fingers spasmodically stretched out -in an attitude eloquent of grief. As he was about to disappear from -view in a bend of the road, she suddenly opened the window wide, and -showed herself for an instant. The man could not see her. She took two -unsteady steps backwards, and sank into an arm-chair, where she sat -huddled up, her face in her hands, and her shoulders shaken with sobs. -Then, in the semi-darkness of the room, I caught sight of a servant -with a Breton cap carrying a baby to her.... - - * * * * * - -At noon we left the barracks in order to take up the quarters which had -been assigned to us a little way down the Avenue de Pontlieue. - -The 10th and 12th Batteries of the 44th Regiment of Field Artillery -were to assemble upon a war footing in the cider-brewery known as -Toublanc. - -We had nothing to do except shake down straw bedding. A gas-engine was -throbbing with an incessant double beat which got on one's nerves after -a while. On the doors of the available buildings were crudely chalked -the numbers of the regiments to which they were allotted. - -The stables were installed in a shed open on one side, at one end of -which casks containing harness were piled up. These stables would have -been quite comfortable if they had not smelt so horribly owing to the -dirty lavatories adjoining them. - -The men's quarters had been arranged in a kitchen garden full of black -currant-bushes and peach-trees, and consisted of an old, tumble-down -outhouse, which seemed to have escaped complete destruction solely -owing to the vines and virginia creepers growing over it, which, in -a clinging embrace of closely woven branches and tendrils, held its -crumbling walls together. The grapes were already large and fat, -promising a fine harvest. I wondered where we should be when the time -came for them to be gathered. - - * * * * * - -No one troubled to ascertain whether war had been declared. After all, -the declaration only meant a few words already spoken, or about to be -spoken, by diplomatists. The war was already a reality. We felt it. The -only question which occupied our minds was when we were to start, and -this nobody could answer. - -The men were cheerful, unconcerned, and much less nervous than -yesterday. Personally, I did not feel weighed down under the -intolerable burden of anxiety which I had expected to crush me at -such a time. I wanted to ask all my comrades whether they really -believed that in a few days we should be under fire. And if they had -answered "Yes," I should have admired them, for, if I remained cool and -collected before the yawning chasm opening out before us, it was merely -because I had not yet realized its depths. - -I kept repeating to myself: "It is war--ghastly, bloody war ... and -perhaps you will soon be dead." But nevertheless I did not feel in the -least afraid; I did not believe that I should be killed. I realize now -that it is true that, in the presence of a dead person one has loved, -one does not at first believe that he (or she) is dead. - - * * * * * - -I have written these notes sitting on a packing-case, using the bottom -of an upturned barrel as a table. A stable-guard, after eyeing me a -moment or two, came and looked over my shoulder. - -"Lord!" said he, "you've got it badly!" - - - _Monday, August 3_ - -We don't yet know whether war has been declared, but Metz is reported -to be in flames and some even say taken. Some French aeroplanes and -dirigibles are said to have blown up the powder magazines there. There -is also a rumour that Garros has destroyed a Zeppelin manned by twenty -officers, and that on the frontier our airmen have been tossing up as -to who shall first try to ram an enemy airship. The Germans are said to -have crossed our frontier yesterday in three places. But yesterday we -heard that our soldiers, in spite of their officers, had broken through -on to German soil. The rumours going about are numberless, and the most -likely and unlikely things are said in the same breath. - -What are we to believe? Nothing, of course. That is best. - -But we thirst for news, and yet, when any is brought in, we shrug our -shoulders incredulously. Nevertheless, when a success is reported we -are so anxious to believe it that the majority of sceptics only require -a sufficiently vigorous affirmation in order to accept it as true. - -I intend to note down every day both fables and facts. But at present -I am not in a position to distinguish between what is true and what is -false. - -I am only endeavouring, in these hurriedly scribbled pages, to give -some idea of the different elements which go to form the state of mind -of an individual soldier lost among a crowd of others. In this sense -fact and fable are the same thing; but later on, if this notebook is -not buried with me in some nameless grave out yonder, these notes may -perhaps serve to form a history of legend. A history of legend--that is -as much as I dare hope to achieve! - - * * * * * - -I have an hour or two free for writing, and am using a bench as a desk. -Behind me the horses keep stamping intermittently on the cement floor -of the shed. It would not be so bad if these lavatories did not smell -so abominably. - -We have been informed that we are to start on Friday. To Berlin! To -Berlin! - -Berlin! That's the objective. It was in everybody's mouth! But did -we not mark time to the same refrain in 1870, almost at this time of -year? And what happened afterwards? The recollection made me shiver. -Superstition! - -Is England going to come into line with us against Germany? England is -the great unknown quantity at the present moment. Nevertheless, she is -hardly mentioned here. - -To Berlin! To Berlin! - -The cry echoes on all sides. - - * * * * * - -Although I had begun to convince myself of the reality of events, the -excitement of departure and the irritation caused by knowing nothing -definite had set my nerves jangling and prevented me from realizing to -the full the approaching horror. - -We had harnessed our horses and formed the gun-teams. - -A gun in a 75 mm. battery is composed of the gun itself and ammunition -wagon, each with its limber, and each drawn by six horses harnessed -in pairs. The detachment consists of six drivers, six gunners, a -corporal, and a sergeant, who is the gun-commander. But my gun, the -first of the 2nd battery, is also accompanied by the section-commander, -the battery-leader, a trumpeter, and the Captain's orderly with his -two horses. In all, eighteen men and nineteen horses. Of the eighteen -men, seventeen are serving their time. For nearly a year now they have -led the same life; each day they have executed the same manoeuvres -together. One detachment, therefore, is a real entity, and forms a -little society by itself, with its habits, likes and dislikes. - -Brejard, the section-commander, really commands it himself, as he did -before the general mobilization. So nothing seems changed. Hubert, the -new gun-commander, a reservist, has his thoughts centred on his young -wife, whom, after only a few months of married life, he has had to -leave at his farm, where the corn is still standing. - -Brejard, who must be about twenty-four, is tall and spare, with -unfathomable grey eyes, an obstinate chin, and rather strong features. -He enlisted when very young, and, by dint of hard and methodical work, -passed into Fontainebleau high up in the list. - -Corporal Jean Deprez affords a contrast to Brejard. Dreamy and -imaginative, bored by regimental life, and far from reconciled to -the prospect of many months of war, Deprez, as far as the Service is -concerned, is a weakling to whom any exercise of his authority, small -though it is, goes against the grain. He has momentary flashes of wit, -and, although as a rule very unenthusiastic and rather moody, he is -nevertheless an amusing conversationalist at times, and is a staunch -friend. The lack of work in the barracks has for some part thrown us -together, and both were pleased to find ourselves side by side when the -moment came to take the field. - -With Corporal Deprez on one hand, and Gun-layer Hutin on the other, I -had not the least feeling of loneliness in the tremendous excitement -of mobilization, and the hourly expectation of the breaking of the -storm. - -Hutin is a little fellow with a thick crop of black hair and a -moustache. His regular features are lit up by a pair of attractive dark -brown eyes of rather roguish expression. Energetic, quick-tempered, -fairly ambitious, intolerant, quick to make up his mind, and extremely -intelligent, capable of real friendship and even devotedness, I have -grown fond of his spontaneous and varied character. - - * * * * * - -In the Avenue de Pontlieue the commandeered horses were standing in -line. There were hundreds of them, heavy, pot-bellied, docile animals, -with splendid manes and shaggy fetlocks. They were held by men in -smocks, standing motionless on the curb, chafing at the delay and -longing for their dinner. Near-by, along the wall of the artillery -barracks, was collected a heterogeneous medley of carts and lorries, -also requisitioned. - -A motley crowd was thronging the avenue--women in light-coloured summer -dresses and soldiers in uniform and canvas clothing presenting an -incongruous appearance. Reservists were arriving in groups. Almost all -looked quiet and undisturbed, and some even wore a cheerful air. One -or two were obviously drunk, and others looked as though they were. -I only saw one who was crying. He was sitting on a heap of straw, -engaged in fixing a brand-new yellow strap to his revolver-holster, and -tears were falling on his clumsy fingers as he fumbled with the stiff -leather. I put a hand on his shoulder, whereupon he half turned round -and said, with a jerk of his head: - -"Oh, my God! My wife died in childbed last week.... There's the -baby-girl--only eight days old--left all alone with nobody to look -after her!" - -"What have you done with her?" - -"Well, the only thing I could ... took her to the Infants' Home." - - * * * * * - -It is when the post comes in that the men look saddest. - - * * * * * - -We are confined to quarters, but the non-commissioned officers are -allowed to take the men, two or three at a time, to the _abreuvoir_ as -the cafe opposite is called. - - - _Tuesday, August 4_ - -Yesterday evening at nine o'clock, by way of a purely theoretical -roll-call, the Lieutenant opened the door of our den. - -"Every one all right in there?" - -"Yes, sir, thank you! Warm as pies!" - -"Nothing you want?" - -"Yes, sir, we'd like to start!" - -"Oh! to start, would you?" - -This morning Pelletier, the trumpeter, a Parisian who seems able -to turn his hands to almost anything, began sharpening our swords. -Standing in front of a bench in his shirt-sleeves, he worked an -enormous file with a horrible screeching noise which sent cold shudders -down one's spine and set one's teeth on edge. From time to time he -paused in his work, and, with furious thrusts and slashes, tried the -points and edges by cutting up some old deal cases lying in a corner. - -From the depths of our quarters, where we live in an atmosphere -alive with the most ridiculous rumours, waiting for orders to -entrain, the tumult of the general mobilization in the streets and -on the neighbouring Paris-Brest railway line sounds like incessantly -reverberating thunder in an atmosphere charged with electricity. - -One of my fellow-countrymen, Gaget, who is clerk to the Artillery -Staff, told me that war has not yet been declared. He is in a position -to know. His mother has written to him from Mayenne saying that my -family believe me to be already at Verdun. I wonder if my letters are -not being delivered.... - - * * * * * - -This afternoon Deprez went to the laundry to get his washing. In the -shop a young woman, the wife of a corporal of artillery who joined the -colours this morning, threw her arms round his neck and began to cry. - -He came back much upset. - - * * * * * - -Some of the men have gone with their horses to bring back our war -material from the station. The park is arranged on the wide footpath of -the Avenue de Pontlieue, where the plane-trees shelter our 75 mm. guns -and ammunition wagons. Women stop to look at them, and some shake their -heads despondently. - -It appears that we are to entrain to-morrow evening. We are beginning -to get thoroughly bored here, and do not know how to fill in our -time. I am going to get some sleep in our den at the farther end of -the kitchen garden, where it is cool and shady. The sun, through the -open door, only lights up a large rectangle of straw, covered with -haversacks and gleaming weapons. The weather has been splendid to-day, -fine and clear, and, now that twilight is near, the air is beginning -to hum with those midges which fly round and round in circles and are -supposed to herald fine weather. - -I was able to get out for a moment. Some women, their eyes swollen with -crying, looked at us with pity, and spoke to us--the first young men to -go--in voices full of sympathy: - -"When do you start?" - -"To-morrow--perhaps the day after." - -"Where are you going?" - -"We're not sure--either Verdun or Maubeuge." - -"Well, the best of luck!" - -"Thanks so much.... Good-bye!" - -Good luck!... I hope so!... It is a sort of lasting farewell they bid -us, out of the fullness of their hearts, before we start for the Great -Unknown. - - - _Wednesday, August 5_ - -War has been declared since the 3rd, and fighting is in progress all -along the frontier. - -Serious losses have already been reported. Eleven thousand French -and eighteen thousand Germans are said to have fallen in the opening -engagements. Whether these figures mean killed or injured I do not know. - -The news, true or false, damped our spirits for a few moments. But -our extraordinary indifference soon gained the upper hand. Besides, -has there ever been a more favourable occasion for revenge--for the -_Revanche_--than this. - - - _Thursday, August 6_ - -The Germans have entered Belgium, in spite of the convention of -neutrality. I don't think this will surprise anybody. But what does -astonish us, and what must also astonish the enemy, is the fierce -resistance the Belgians are making. - -The Germans have just failed in a massed attack on Liege. If the -Belgian Army alone has managed to worst them, what hopes dare we not -entertain? - -England is joining us. That is now certain. With the French, English, -Russians, Belgians, and Serbians allied, we ought soon to see the last -of this military Power which is supposed to be so formidable. The news, -official this time, made us all the more impatient to leave Le Mans and -the wearying quarters in which we live. - -On the Paris-Brest railway trains full of infantry, cavalry, and -equipment have been passing incessantly. Grinding and screeching they -laboriously roll over the bridge which spans the Avenue de Pontlieue, -and which is heroically guarded by obese Territorials, wearing dirty -canvas suits, and armed with Gras rifles with fixed bayonets. A crowd -of women with children in their arms or clinging to their skirts are -waiting there beneath the noontide sun. They stand for hours on end, -watching the procession of military trucks decorated with greenery -and illustrated with crude chalk drawings. Clusters of soldiers are -to be seen on the foot-boards, and in the brake and guards' vans. In -the avenue clouds of dust are raised by commandeered horses which, -harnessed to forage wagons, are being tried there, and which, under -the unaccustomed yoke, become refractory, lash out, and finally get -entangled in the traces. The women separate hurriedly, dragging their -children with them, in order to avoid a prancing horse or the oncoming -wheel of a wagon. But nevertheless, obstinate, excited, and as if -intoxicated with the noise, light, and continual movement, they stay -there in spite of all discomfort. Whenever a train passes a broadside -of shrill cries rises from their groups, which collect, separate, -disperse, and are again encompassed by the dangers of the avenue. - -In front of the Toublanc cider-brewery flowers and ribbons in bunches, -sprays, and cascades carpet the pavement and smother the gun-carriages, -ammunition wagons, and limbers. Women and girls arrive with armfuls of -hortensias, iris, and roses. Their faces lit up by the sun and by the -excitement of the moment, appear and disappear among the flowers. As -the sentinels are not allowed to let any one approach too close, they -throw their bouquets from a distance. Artillerymen, who have nearly -finished loading up their trucks, thank them by blowing kisses which -put them to flight. - -I saw one girl fastening a huge tricolour bunch on the bayonet of -one of the sentinels--evidently her lover. The steel shone amid the -blossoms. - - * * * * * - -Women timidly bar the way to the horsemen in order to decorate their -bridles and saddle-bags with garlands. And overhead the splendid August -sun beats down, shedding a golden light on the dust of the roadway and -the green of the trees, and lighting up the faces of the women and the -flowers. - - - _Friday, August 7_ - -For some time now I have observed the first gesture of a soldier who -has just received a letter. He tears it open hurriedly, and, without -pulling it out of the envelope, rapidly fingers it to see whether it -contains a postal order.... - -I was out to-night with Deprez, when a woman, powdered and painted, -with podgy cheeks and a chest and stomach forming an undivided mass of -shaking fat, accosted us: - -"Forty-fourth?" - -"Yes." - -"Do you know Corporal X? Give him the best wishes from Alice. He'll -know.... Alice is my name.... You won't forget?... Poor old Joe!..." - -Then, as we prepared to go on our way: - -"Won't you come in?" she said, with the usual glance of invitation. - -"No, thanks," answered Deprez politely, "we haven't got time." - -After we had gone a little farther, he added: - -"That's a message which I'm shot if I'll deliver!" - - - _Saturday, August 8_ - -At last we have received orders to entrain. Our first taste of war -has been a sort of flower-show. A crowd of women and grey-haired men -were waiting for us under the trees on the other side of the avenue. -Children, their tiny arms full of flowers, ran up to us; their -mothers waved their hands and smiled. But how sad the smiles of these -women were! Their swollen eyes told a tale of tears, and the lines -lurking round their lips, despite their smiles, showed that another -breakdown was not far off. The younger children--and quite tiny ones -came toddling across the street--were obviously finding the day's -proceedings finer than a circus. They laughed and clapped their hands -with delight. - -We passed the fag-end of the morning getting the limbers and wagons -ready and furbishing up the harness. Twelve o'clock struck. As the hour -of departure approached the tumult in the avenue calmed down, and the -crowd waiting in the shade became gradually quiet. - -There was almost complete silence when the Captain gave the order, in -clear resonant tones: - -"Forward!" - -Like an echo there rose from the crowd a loud hurrah, through which I -nevertheless distinctly heard two heartrending sobs. - -Never was there a brighter August day. The limber-boxes and gun-wheels, -the straps and hooks of the harness--even the muzzles of the guns -themselves--were festooned with flowers and ribbons, the bright hues -of which were blended together in a harmony of colour against the -iron-grey background of the guns. - -This morning the Captain, Bernard de Brisoult, said to us: - -"Take the flowers they offer you, and decorate your guns with them. -They are the only send-off the women can give you. And, whatever you -do, keep calm! Then they'll be much braver when you go off." - -The streets, through which we proceeded at a walking pace, were gay -with flags and bunting. The departure of the soldiers, many of whom -would never return, was attended with a degree of composure and good -order which was really admirable. The gunners, sitting motionless on -the limber-boxes or walking beside the horses, smiled and laughed -merrily as the women by the wayside waved them farewell. We felt moved, -of course, but it was rather the emotion of the crowd in the street -which affected us than any feeling born in our inner selves. - - * * * * * - -Entraining was effected easily and expeditiously. As it was very hot, -the gunners hoisting the material on to the trucks had discarded -their vests, and, with red faces, their shoulders to the gun-wheels, -they united their efforts whenever the gun-commanders gave the word -"Together!" which was echoed down the whole length of the train. The -drivers had great difficulty in getting their teams into the boxes. The -old battery horses were used to the manoeuvre, but the commandeered -animals resisted obstinately. Girths were slung round them, two by -two, and they were hauled by force on to the foot-bridges. Once in the -vans they had to be turned round and backed into position so that four -could stand on each side. This operation was accompanied by a deafening -din of iron-shod hoofs on the wooden floors and partitions. The horses -once safely installed and secured face to face in their places by -picket-lines, the stable-pickets began to arrange the harness and -forage in the space between the two lines. - - * * * * * - -Just as the train was starting I was attacked by a sort of dizziness. -Something in my chest seemed to snap, and I felt almost choked by a -sudden feeling of weakness and fear. Should I ever come back? Yes! I -felt sure of it! And yet, I wonder why I felt so sure! - - * * * * * - -CONNERRE-BEILLE. I am sitting on a truss of hay between my -eight horses. At every moment, in spite of my whip, they bite at the -forage and nearly pull away my seat. The door of the van is opened -wide on the sunny country. - - - _Sunday, August 9_ - -The train rumbled on for fifteen to eighteen hours. A long journey like -this is best passed as a stable-guard. I made myself comfortable on -some shaken-up hay, and, cushioning my head in a well-padded saddle, -eventually fell asleep. - -The horses, almost all of which were suffering from strangles, -slobbered and sneezed over me, and eventually woke me up. It was -already day. A thick summer mist was floating over the fields at a -man's height from the ground. The sun, breaking through it in places, -lit up myriads of shimmering grass-blades, dripping with dew. - -Sitting at the open doors of the vans, their legs dangling over the -side, the gunners watched the country flit past. The empty trains -passing us in the opposite direction frightened the horses, which -neighed and whinnied. No one--not even our officers--knew whither we -were bound, and the engine-driver himself said that he didn't know, but -that he was to receive orders on the way. - -The Territorials guarding the line greeted us as we passed by holding -out their rifles at arm's length. We waved our whips in answer. - -"Morning, old chap!" - -"Good luck to you, boys!" - - * * * * * - -RHEIMS. First the canal, then a glimpse of the town, and then -open country again, with fields of ripe corn yellow in the morning -sun. There were only a few sheaves to be seen. The crops were standing -almost everywhere, motionless in the heat, casting golden lights on -the gently rolling hills and quiet beauty of the countryside. I felt -as though I could not see enough of it. In a few days, perhaps, I -should no longer be able to see the splendour of the sun-kissed corn -and the gorgeous mantle it throws over the symmetrical slopes of the -harvest-land like a drapery of old lace lightly shrouding a graceful -Greek form. - -The train rolled slowly on towards Verdun. In each village, from the -gardens adjoining the railway-line, girls and children threw kisses to -us. They threw flowers, too, and, whenever the train stopped, brought -us drinks. - -It was already dusk when, after passing the interminable sidings and -platforms of Verdun, with its huge bakeries installed under green -awnings, the train finally came to a standstill at Charny. We had -been travelling for more than thirty hours. Before we had finished -detraining it was quite dark. - - - - -II. APPROACH MARCHES - - -We were crossing the Meuse. The sun had gone down and the river, -winding its way between its reedy banks and marshy islands in the -afterglow of the crimson western sky, looked as though it was running -with blood. To-morrow, or perhaps the day after, the appearance may -have become reality. I do not know why these blood-red reflections in -the water affected me so much as this last moment of the evening, but -so it was. - -Night fell--a clear night, in which I uneasily sought for searchlights -among the stars. By the wayside, in one of the army cattle parks, -countless herds lay sleeping. The country would have been absolutely -still and silent had it not been for the muffled rumble of our column -as we marched along. The last reflections of the daylight and the first -beams of the moon, just rising in the east, were welded together in a -weird, diffused light. - -We were marching eastwards, and, as the road skirted the dark mass of -a steep hill, the moon rose clear ahead over the gloomy pine-trees, -which stood out like silhouettes on the horizon. Soon the battery -entered a dark wood, where the drivers had difficulty in finding the -way. Nobody spoke. Occasionally the moon peeped through the trees, and -showed up a horseman. It almost seemed as if the yellow light threw off -a palpable golden powder; the brasswork of the equipment and the tin -mugs of the men shone as though they were gilded. One man passed, then -another, and the shadows, clear cut on the road, seemed to form part of -the silhouettes of the horsemen and magnify them. Of the rest of the -column, lost in the night of the forest, nothing could be seen. - -We had been told that the enemy was not far off, somewhere in the -plain stretching beyond the hills. At every cross-roads we were afraid -lest we should take the wrong turning and find ourselves in the German -lines. Besides, this first march of the campaign, at night-time, -had something uncanny about it which scared us a little in spite of -ourselves. - -The column came to a halt just outside a village. Troops were camping -on both sides of the road, and lower down, in one of the fields a -gloomy artillery park had been formed. Despite the hour--nearly -midnight--the heat was oppressive, and the stars were lightly veiled by -a thin mist. The bivouac fires cast flickering shadows of soldiers in -varying stages of undress, some of them naked to the waist. - -A little farther on, in a meadow where the 10th Battery was already -encamped for the night--men and horses lying in the damp grass--we -parked our guns. - -We had to lie on the bare ground, and between drivers and gunners -a competition in cunning at once arose as to who was to have the -horse-cloths. Most of the men stretched themselves out under the -ammunition wagons and guns, where the dampness of the night was less -penetrating. But I was still on stable duty, and had to keep watch on -the horses, which were tied side by side to a picket-line stretched -between two stakes. The animals not only kicked and bit each other, -but their collars kept getting loose, and one or two, succeeding in -throwing them off, ambled off into the fields. I spent the night in -wild chases. One little black mare in particular led me a dance for -several hours, and I only caught her at last by rustling some oats in -the bottom of a nose-bag. - -Grasping my whip, and wet up to the knees with dew, I had surely -fulfilled my task as stable-picket conscientiously. - - - _Monday, August 10_ - -At 3 a.m. the grey shadow of a dirigible passed overhead beneath the -stars. Friend or enemy? - -At daybreak the park began to stir. Men draped in their rugs emerged -from between the gun-wheels and from underneath the limbers and -stretched themselves, yawning. We set about digging hearths and -fetching wood and water, and before long coffee was steaming in the -camp kettles. - -On the Verdun road infantry regiments--off to the firing-line no -doubt--were already defiling, the long red-and-blue column rippling -like the back of a huge caterpillar. The battalions were hid, for a -moment, by the cottages and trees of the village. But farther ahead, on -the corn-clad slopes of the hills, one could just distinguish, in spite -of the distance, the movements of troops marching on the thin white -ribbon of a road. - -We waited for the order to harness. - -The meadow in which we had camped for the night sloped down, on the -one side, into marshy ground watered by a stream issuing from a mill -and running through the rank grass, and was bounded on the other by -a rampart of wheat-sheaves. To the east a high hill of symmetrical -contour, covered with yellow barley and tawny wheat, gave one the -impression of a golden mountain shining in the sun. - -Behind the horses tied together in parallel lines the harness made -black patches in the grass. Some of us had slept there under our rugs. -Saddles, propped up on their pommels, served as pillows to the men, -who, half undressed, with bare chests, slept soundly. I would willingly -have slept too, for I was tired out with running about all night, but -I could not help thinking of my mother, and of the anxiety the news of -the hecatombs of Alsace must have caused her. She had no idea of my -whereabouts and would be certain to think that I should be in the thick -of any fighting in progress. - -On the road columns of artillery succeeded the regiments of the line. -It was nine o'clock, but so far no sound of battle had yet reached us. -A driver, shaking his rug, woke me, and I started up. In my turn I -roused Deprez, who was sleeping near me. Was it the guns? No, not yet. - -Officials news came that the Alsace army, whose headquarters were -at Mulhouse, had been defeated by the French in a great battle at -Altkirch. The beginning of the Revenge!... But there was talk of fifty -thousand dead.... - -Held spellbound by a sort of magnetic fascination Deprez and I riveted -our gaze on the lofty line of hills to the east which stood between us -and Destiny. Yonder were others like ourselves, masses of men in the -plains and in the woods, men who would kill us if we did not kill them. - -Overcome by the heat, I allowed my thoughts to dwell on these and -similar reflections, and in vain endeavoured to banish from my mind the -horrible picture of the fifty thousand men lying dead on the fields of -Alsace. Eventually I fell asleep. - - * * * * * - -They have just killed, by means of a revolver-shot behind the ear, a -horse which had broken its leg. The carcass is going to be cut up, and -the best portions distributed among the battery detachments. There -seems no likelihood of going into action to-day. - - * * * * * - -The soup-kettles had been put on the fires. On the side of the hill, -where the corn stood in sheaves, the men were building straw huts in -which to pass the night. - -As the sun sank, damp vapours began to rise from the stream and the -marshy ground adjoining it. Side by side on our bed of straw Deprez and -I, booted and spurred, our revolver holsters bruising our hips, fell -asleep with our faces upturned to the stars, which seemed to shine more -brightly than usual in the eastern sky. - - - _Tuesday, August 11_ - -Shortly after dawn we were ready to start. Some of the 130th Infantry -had arrived at the next village, called Ville-devant-Chaumont, to take -up their quarters there. Pending the order to advance I entered into -conversation with a little red-haired foxy-faced sergeant: - -"Ah," said he, "so you're from Mayenne.... Well, I don't know whether -many of the 130th will ever get back there.... There was a scrap -yesterday.... Slaughter simply awful!... My battalion wasn't touched, -but the two others!... There are some companies which don't count -more than ten men, and haven't a single officer left.... It's their -machine-guns which are so frightful.... But what the devil can you -expect? Two battalions against a whole division!" - -"But why didn't the third battalion join in?" - -"Blessed if I know.... You never know the reason of these things." - -And he added: - -"Some of our chaps were splendid.... Lieutenant X, for example.... He -jumped up, drew his sword, and opening his tunic he shouted to his men: -"Come on, lads!..." And he was killed on the spot.... The flag?... -That was taken by the enemy, retaken by one of our captains, and then -again captured. Finally, a chap with a good-conduct badge got hold of -it, and managed to hide it under a bridge before he died. One of the -sections of the 115th found it there.... And then the artillery came up -at last.... Three batteries of the 31st. They soon made the blighters -clear off.... They abandoned two batteries, what's more!" - - * * * * * - -Orders came to unharness. What a heat! Transparent vapours rose from -the ground and made the horizon quiver. From time to time we heard the -muffled sound of the guns but more often we mistook the noise of the -carts on the road for firing. Fleecy white clouds forming above the -crests of the hills gave one the impression of shells bursting. For a -moment their appearance was most deceptive. - -I saw one of the men of the 130th coming back from the firing-line in -a wretched condition, without cap, pack, or arms. It seemed wonderful -that he should have managed to drag himself so far. With staring, -frightened eyes he looked nervously from one side to the other. The -gunners surrounded him as he stood there, with bent shoulders and -hanging head, but he only answered their questions by expressive -gestures. - -"Done for!" he murmured. "Done for!" - -We couldn't hear anything else. His lips kept moving: - -"Done for!... Done for!" - -Down he flopped in the middle of us, and immediately fell asleep, -his mouth wide open and his features contracted as if with pain. Two -gunners carried him into a neighbouring barn. - -I heard to-day that a priest of Ville-devant-Chaumont had been arrested -on a charge of espionage and sent to Verdun. - -We availed ourselves of our leisure in order to wash our linen and have -a bath in the river. Then, stretched naked on the grass, we waited -until the sun had dried our shirts, socks, and underlinen, which lay -spread out around us. - - - _Wednesday, August 12_ - -The French are fond of heroic legends. I have now found out the truth -about the affair in which two battalions were said to have been cut up, -and there is not the least resemblance to the highly coloured yarn of -the little fox-faced sergeant. - -On August 10 the officers of the 130th had not the slightest suspicion -that the enemy were so close. A few men were taken by surprise as they -were going down to the river, unarmed and half undressed. Immediately -afterwards the fight began, and the 130th defended themselves bravely -against superior numbers, at first without any support from the -artillery, which, having received no orders, remained in its quarters. -At last three batteries of the 31st arrived and succeeded in repelling -the German attack. We were the victors. - -As for Lieutenant X, who, according to the sergeant, had been killed as -he stood bare-chested encouraging his men to attack, it appears that, -in reality, he fell into the river called the Loison. The chill of the -water, together with the excitement of the first brush with the enemy, -set up congestion, but he is now reported to be perfectly fit again. -That is fortunate, for he is a valuable officer. - -Several of his men, charging too soon, also fell into the river, which -flows right across the fields between very low banks. There they -remained as if entrenched, with the water up to their waists, and -fought as best they could. The flag of the 130th was never even taken -out of its oil-skin case. - -The whole day was spent in sleeping, cooking, and in bathing in the -river. Some of the drivers with their teams were told off to transport -the wounded of the 130th to Verdun. - -When night fell we stretched ourselves out on the grass under the clear -sky and sang in chorus until we gradually fell asleep. - -If only those we have left behind anxiously waiting for news could have -heard us! - - - _Thursday, August 13_ - -To-day some of the 130th brought back a grey German military coat, a -pair of boots, a Uhlan's helmet, and a sort of round infantryman's cap, -looking like a small cheese. These spoils were hung up in a barn, and -attracted a crowd of gunners. They belong to a sergeant-major who was -proudly exhibiting them to the spectators, calling special attention to -a small rent in the back of the coat. - -"That's where the bullet went in that did for old Steinberg," said he. -"His name's marked inside.... See?" - -And he drew himself up, beaming. - - - _Friday, August 14_ - -We had started off again at dawn, and now stood waiting for orders. The -Captain had sent the battery forward down the lane leading to the main -road to Verdun. The horses splashed about in the water running out from -a drinking-trough hard by, and spattered us liberally with mud. After -waiting till the sun was well up, we unbridled and gave the teams some -oats. - -Reserve regiments of the Army Corps began to file by--the 301st, 303rd, -and 330th. The men were white with dust up to the knees. Stubbly beards -of eight days' growth darkened their faces and gave them a haggard -appearance. Their coats, opened in front and folded back under their -shoulder-straps, showed glimpses of hairy chests, the veins in their -necks standing out like whipcord under the weight of their packs. These -reservists looked grave, resolute, and rather taciturn. - -They swung by with a noise like a torrent rushing over pebbles, the -sight of our guns bringing a smile of pleasure to their faces. The -foremost battalions climbed up the hill. There were so many men that -nothing could be seen of the road, nor even of the red breeches. The -moving human ribbon scintillated with reflections cast by kettles, -shovels, and picks. - -We had filled our water-bags, and some of the soldiers, as they -streamed past, replenished their drinking tins from them. Then they -strode on, their lips glued to the brims, restraining the swing of -their step in order not to lose a drop of the precious liquid. - -At last the battery moved on. But it was only to camp at Azannes, about -a mile south-east of Ville-devant-Chaumont, where we were hardly any -nearer to the enemy. On the road a continual cloud of dust was raised -by guns and wagons, motors full of superior officers, and squadrons of -cavalry escorting red-tabbed Staffs. The horses were smothered in it, -and our dark uniforms soon became grey, while our eyebrows and unshorn -chins looked as if they had been powdered. Paris motor-omnibuses, -transformed into commissariat wagons, put the final touch as they -lumbered by, and left us as white as the road itself. - - * * * * * - -"Limber up!" - -"What?" - -"Limber up, quick now, come along!" - -The order was repeated by the N.C.O.'s, and the Captain, who passed us -spurring his horse, said simply: - -"We are going into action." - -Then, followed by the gun-commanders, trumpeters, and battery-leaders, -he set off at a gallop. - -We passed through Azannes, where we were to have camped. It is a -wretched-looking village, full of manure-heaps, and composed of -low-built cottages eloquent of the fact that here no one has thought it -worth while to undertake building or repair work of any kind. It is not -that the surrounding country is barren, but the perpetual threat of war -and invasion has nipped all initiative in the bud. The poorer one is -the less one has to lose. - -After passing Azannes the column lapsed into silence. The road skirted -the cemetery, in the walls of which the infantry, at every few yards, -had knocked loopholes through which we caught glimpses of graves, -chapels, and crosses. At the foot of the walls lay heaps of rubble and -mortar. Farther on, near the edge of a wood, the field had been seared -by a narrow trench, covered with lopped-off branches bearing withered -leaves, and showing up against the fresh green grass like a yellow -gash. - -In front of the trench barbed wire had been stretched. The enemy, -therefore, was presumably not far off. - -Amid the monotonous rumble of the carriages we tried to collect our -thoughts. The prospect of the first engagement brought with it an -apprehension and dread which clamoured for recognition in each man's -mind. There is no denying the fact. - -The battery rolled on its way through a large wood. The road, almost -blindingly white in the midday sun, formed a striking contrast to the -arch-shaped avenues of sombre trees, whose green plumes towered above -us at a giddy height. - -By the side of the road stood a horse with drooping head and the -viscous discharge due to strangles running from his nostrils; he did -not even budge as the guns and wagons thundered on their way. It seemed -almost a miracle that the bones of the poor beast's haunches had not -broken through his skin. His flanks, heaving spasmodically, seemed -to meet behind his ribs, as if they had been emptied of flesh and -entrails. He was a pitiful sight. In the shade of a bridle-path yet -another abandoned horse was still browsing. - -Between two clumps of trees lay a pond bordered by reeds and rushes, -its surface shimmering like a silver mirror--an effect which was -heightened by the dark woodlands in the background. In the distance the -magnificent line of lofty hills which had hidden the horizon from us at -Ville-devant-Chaumont, and which we had now flanked, formed an azure -setting to the picture. On one side of the road stood a farmhouse. In -a small paddock near the flood-gates of the pond we saw a freshly dug -grave in the shade of an elder-bush. A cross, roughly fashioned out of -a couple of branches tied together, was planted in the newly turned -soil, and a ruled leaf torn out of a pocket-book, stuck on to some -splinter of the wood, bore a name roughly written in pencil. - -On emerging from the forest our batteries, which up to then had been in -column of route, rapidly deployed down the side of a long valley, half -hidden by the oat-crops, through which infantry, whose presence could -only be guessed, caused ripples to flow like those raised by a puff of -wind on still water. - -Where was the enemy? What were these positions worth, and from what -point could they be observed? Was the infantry on ahead protecting us? -In a fever of excitement we formed up in battery in a neighbouring -meadow. The limbers retired to the rear and took cover in the woods. -Brejard at once ordered us to complete the usual protection afforded -by the gun-shields and ammunition wagons by piling up large sods of -turf which we hacked up with our picks. As far as the eye could reach -stretched the motionless oats, like masses of molten metal under a -sky of unbroken blue. As the gun-layers could not find as much as a -tree or sheaf to serve as an aiming point we had to plant a spade in -front of the battery. I should not have suspected the strength of the -artillery--more than sixty guns--waiting for the enemy in this field, -had I not seen the batteries take up their positions, and had it not -been for the observation-ladders upon which, perched like large black -insects on the points of so many grass-blades, the gun-commanders were -to be seen surveying the land to the north-east. - -We were ready for action, and lying behind our guns awaited the word -"Fire!" No sound of battle was audible. - -A gunnery officer brought some order to the Captain, and the latter, -waving his kepi, signalled for the limbers to be brought up. - -"Hallo! What's up now?" - -"We're off," answered Brejard, who had overheard the orders. - -"Aren't the Germans coming then?" - -"I don't know. That officer told the Captain that after this the fourth -group would be attached to the seventh division." - -"Well, and what then?" - -"Well, the fourth group has got to go." - -"Where?" - -"Probably to camp at Azannes." - -Rather disappointed at having done nothing we returned westwards by the -same road, bathed in an aureole of crimson light cast by the setting -sun. - -The horse with the strangles was now lying down in the ditch. He was -still breathing, and from time to time tossed his head in order to -shake off the wasps which collected in yellow clusters round his eyes -and nostrils. - -We encamped at Azannes, and the horses, tethered under the plum-trees -planted in fives, wearied by the march, the dust, and the heat, let me -rest and dream away my four hours' duty. - -The night was clear, illuminated by the Verdun searchlights which -stretched golden fingers into the sky. A magnificent mid-August night, -scintillating with constellations and alive with shooting stars which -left long phosphorescent tails behind them. - -The moon rose, and with difficulty broke through the dense foliage of -the plum-trees. The camp remained dark except for occasional patches -of light on the grass and on the backs of the horses as they stood -sleeping. My fellow-sentry was lying at the foot of a pear-tree, -wrapped in his greatcoat. In front of me the plain was lit up by the -moon, and the meadows were veiled in a white mist. Both armies, with -fires extinguished, were sleeping or watching each other. - - - _Saturday, August 15_ - -I was helping Hutin to clean the gun. - -"Well, Hutin, war's a nice sort of show, isn't it?" - -"Well, if it consists in fooling about like this till the 22nd -September, when my class will be discharged, I'd rather be in the field -than the barracks. We've never been so well fed in our lives! If only -that lasts!..." - -"Yes, provided it lasts! Only, there are Boches here." - -"Who cares?" - -"And then, we don't get many letters." - -"No, that's true; we don't get enough," said Hutin with some -bitterness, viciously shoving his sponge through the bore. - -And he added: - -"And as for the letters we write ourselves, we can't say where we are, -nor what we are doing, nor even put a date. What is one to write?" - -"Well, I simply say that it is fine and that I am still alive." - - * * * * * - -Always the same silence along the lines. That has lasted for days now. -What can it mean? For us, pawns on the great chess-board, this waiting -is agonizing, and stretches our nerves to that painful tension which -one feels sometimes when watching a leaden sky, waiting for the storm -to break. - -To-day I saw General Boelle, whose motor stopped on the road quite -close to our camp. - -He is a man with refined features, of cheerful expression, still -youthful-looking despite his white hair and grizzled moustache. - - * * * * * - -The classic popularity of war trophies has not diminished. Quite a -crowd collected round a cyclist who had brought back from Mangiennes -two German cowskin bags and a Mauser rifle. - - * * * * * - -It is astonishing how quickly instinct develops in war. All -civilization disappears almost at once, and the relations between man -and man become primitively direct. One's first preoccupation is to make -oneself respected. This necessity is not implicitly recognized by all, -but every one acts as if he recognized it. Then again, the sense of -authority becomes transformed. The authority conferred on the Captain -by his rank diminishes, while that which he owes to his character -increases in proportion. Authority has, in fact, but one measure: the -confidence of the men in the capability of their officer. For this -reason our Captain, Bernard de Brisoult, in whom even the densest -among us has recognized exceptional intelligence and decision under a -great charm of manner and invariable courtesy, exercises, thanks to -this confidence, a beneficial influence upon all. And yet his actual -personality, as our chief, makes little impression upon one at first. -Captain de Brisoult never commands. He gives his orders in an ordinary -conversational tone; but, a man of inborn tact and refinement, he -always remains the Captain, even while living with his men upon terms -of intimacy. It is hard to say whether he is more loved than respected, -or more respected than loved. And soldiers know something about men. - -In the rough masculine relations between the artillerymen among -themselves there nevertheless remains a place for great friendships, -but they become rarer. The ties of simple barrack comradeship either -disappear or harden into tacit treaties of real friendship. The -mainspring of this is rather egoism than a need of affection. One is -vividly conscious of the necessity of having close at hand a man upon -whose assistance one can always rely, and to whom one knows one can -turn in no matter what circumstances. In the relationships thus solidly -established, without any words, a choice is implied; they are not -engendered by affinities of character alone. One learns to appreciate -in one's friend his value as a help and also his strength and courage. - - - _Sunday, August 16_ - -I have only just heard of an heroic episode which occurred during -our expedition on Friday. It might be called "The Charge of the -Baggage-train." - -During our march through the woods towards the enemy we were followed -at some distance by our supply wagons. When we turned, we passed them, -and they resumed their position behind the batteries. The head of the -column had almost reached Azannes when the rear was still in the thick -of the woods. Suddenly a lively fusillade was opened from the depths of -the trees on the right and left of the train, and at the same time the -noise of galloping horses was heard from behind. The N.C.O. bringing up -the rear behind the forage wagon, who was riding near the cow belonging -to the Group, which was being led by one of the gun-numbers, convinced -that the enemy's infantry was attacking the column from the flank while -a brigade of cavalry was coming up from the rear, yelled out, "Run for -your lives! The Uhlans are coming!" The gunners jumped on the vehicles -wherever they could, and, suddenly, without any orders, the column -broke into a gallop. The men followed as best they might. But the -horses of the forage wagon, restive under the lash, reared, backed, and -jibbed, kicking the cow, which, in her turn, pulled away from the man -leading her, first to right and then to left, finally breaking loose -and setting out at a gallop behind the wagons in a thick cloud of dust. - -A few seconds afterwards the cavalry which had been heard approaching -came up. It was the General of Artillery, who, with his Staff and -escort of Chasseurs, had routed our baggage-train. As for the -fusillade, it came from two companies of the 102nd of the line, who, -concealed in the woods, had opened fire on a German aeroplane. - -The weather is getting worse. Already yesterday evening the storm -gathering on our left had made us prick up our ears as if we heard -gun-fire. At breakfast-time we were surprised by a heavy shower, and -had to abandon the kettles on the fires and take shelter under the -wagons and trees. To-day it has been raining slowly but steadily. If -this weather goes on we shall have to look out for dysentery! - -Sitting on blankets in a circle round the fire, which was patiently -tended by the cook, we drank our coffee. My comrades asked me to read -them a few pages from my notebook, and wished me a safe return in order -that these reminiscences, which to a great extent are theirs also, -might be published. - -"Are you going to leave the names in?" - -"Yes, unless you don't want me to." - -"No, of course not. We'll show them to the old people and children -later on, if we get back." - -"If I am killed, one of you will take care of my notebook. I keep it -here--see?--in the inside pocket of my shirt." - -Hutin thought a little. - -"Yes, only you know that it's forbidden to search dead men. You'd -better make a note in your book to say you told us to take it." - -He was quite right, so on the first page I wrote: "In case I am killed -I beg my comrades to keep these pages until they can give them to my -family." - -"Now you've made your arrangements _mortis causa_," said Le Bidois, who -was reading over my shoulder. And he added: - -"That doesn't increase the risk either." - -Le Bidois is a thin, lanky fellow rather like the King of Spain, for -which reason Deprez and I have nicknamed him Alfonso. Every day we fire -off the old Montmartre catch at him: - - _Alfonso, Alfonso, - Veux-tu te t'nir comme il fo!_ - -We also call him "the Spanish Grandee." He never gets annoyed. - -"A jewel of a corporal!" as Moratin, his layer, always says. - - * * * * * - -Some of the 26th Artillery have brought back two ammunition wagons -abandoned by the enemy at Mangiennes. Painted a dark colour they -resembled the old 90 mm. material with which we used to practise when -training at Le Mans. They were followed by two large carts, of the -usual type used by the Meuse peasantry, long and narrow in build, -full of packs, tins, kepis marked 130, camp-kettles already blackened -by bivouac fires, belts with brass buckle-plates, and caps with dark -stains on them. On the top bristled a heap of bayonets and rifles, -red with rust and blood. A large blue flannel sash, sopping wet, hung -behind one of the carts, and trailed in the muddy road. These were the -remains of the unfortunate infantry killed at Mangiennes. - -This spectacle, rendered the more harrowing by the rain, moved us more -than all the stories we had heard about last Monday's fight. - -As I was taking some horses down to drink I saw, near the gate of the -loopholed cemetery at Azannes, some soldiers who had fallen asleep, -stretched out anywhere, exhausted and half undressed. They might have -been taken for dead men. That is how I think the Mangiennes people -must have looked. And these remains also conjured up a vision of the -trenches where they were lined up. - -In the absolute silence which for eight days now has reigned all along -the line we have almost forgotten the work of death for which we have -come here. - - * * * * * - -At nightfall, after swallowing some hot soup, we returned to our -billets, which are in a large barn where it is possible to get a good -sleep in the straw. Soldiers of every rank and regiment were swarming -in the village, the blue dolmans of the Chasseurs and the red breeches -of the Infantry giving a welcome dash of colour to the sombre uniforms -of the Artillery and Engineers as they all jostled together in the -street. Some of them, carrying in each hand a pailful of water, shouted -and swore at the others to let them pass. - -It was still raining, and from the manure-heaps by the side of the road -thick clouds of steam arose. The cavalrymen had made hoods of their -horse-cloths, and many of the foot-soldiers were sheltering their heads -and shoulders under sacks of coarse brown canvas which they had found -in the barns or wagons. The whole of this muddy multitude was almost -silent and solely bent upon getting back to their billets. Almost the -only sound was the squelching of many feet in the mire. Four sappers, -scaling a ladder to a loft from which hay was crowding out through a -dark, wide-open window, looked like a bunch of black grapes hanging in -mid-air. - - - _Monday, August 17_ - -It was still raining when we started. Carts full of debris continued to -pass us, each more heavily laden and each more dreadful to see than -the last. - -I heard that a Chasseur, whom I noticed yesterday morning mounted on a -little bay horse, had been surprised by a party of Uhlans. They bound -him hand and foot and then, with a lance-thrust in the neck, bled him -as one bleeds a pig. A peasant who had witnessed the scene from behind -a hedge told me of this devilish crime. He was still white with horror. - - * * * * * - -Last night the horses lay in mud and dung. This morning their manes and -tails were stiff with mire, and large plasters of manure covered their -haunches and flanks, giving them the appearance of badly kept cows. As -for us, besmeared with dirt up to the knees and with our boots a mass -of mud, we looked more heavy than ever in our dark cloaks, which were -wet through and hung in straight folds from our shoulders. - -We again started off, this time to take up fresh quarters at Moirey. -From Azannes to Moirey is little more than a mile, but the road was -blocked with wagons, and at every instant we had to halt and draw to -one side. - -The Captain gave the word: - -"Dismount!" - -The men, tortured by diarrhoea, availed themselves of the opportunity -and scattered into the fields. - -At Moirey we encamped under some plum-trees planted in fives, where -we were as badly off as we had been at Azannes. Under the feet of the -horses the grass immediately became converted into mud. - -The first thing to do was to cover over with earth the filth left there -by troops who had preceded us. The question of sanitary arrangements -is a serious one. It is true that a sort of little trenches called -_feuillees_ are dug on one side of the camp, but many men obstinately -refuse to use them, and prefer to make use of any haphazard spot at -the risk of being driven off by whip-lashes by others of more cleanly -disposition. A regular guard has to be kept round the guns and horses. -It is useless for the officers to threaten severe punishment to any -man taken in the act outside the _feuillees_. Nothing stops them. The -Captain keeps repeating: - -"What a set of hogs!" - - * * * * * - -To-night the sound of the guns is quite close. Perhaps we shall go into -action at last. - -It was a difficult job to find any wood fit to burn. Such as there was -was damp and when burning gave off a thick acrid smoke which the wind -blew down upon us. We had to fetch the water for the soup from more -than 300 yards away, and then keep a constant look-out to prevent the -horses from getting at it. The bread just given out was mouldy, and we -had to toast it in order to take away the musty taste. - -When it is time to water the teams the only street of the village is -thronged with horses either led or ridden bare-back. Six batteries -are encamped round Moirey, and there is only one pond into which a -thin stream of clear water, not more than two fingers thick, trickles -from a fountain. Every twenty paces one has to stop and manoeuvre in -order to avoid kicks, and the men, annoyed by the delay, swear at each -other without reason. After four or five minutes one advances another -twenty paces, and, when finally the pond is reached, the men and beasts -sinking ankle-deep in mud, it is only to find that hundreds of horses -have left so much drivel and slime on the water that our animals refuse -to drink. - -It is reported that there has been a great battle near Nancy and that -we have won the day. Why don't we advance also? - - - _Tuesday, August 18_ - -Lucas, the cyclist of the battery, succeeded in finding two bottles of -champagne, which he hid in a corner of the guard-house where Le Bidois, -who was on sentry duty, kept an eye on them. - -Lucas is a young draughtsman of talent. His character is faithfully -reflected by his face--fresh, mobile, perhaps a little feminine. You -meet him in the morning and he seizes you by the arm: - -"Oh, my dear chap ... such a pretty little woman ... a perfect -dream!..." - -And the same evening he will say: - -"Oh, my dear chap ... such a fraud.... No, not a word!... What a fraud!" - -It appears that at Damvillers, a neighbouring village, he has made the -conquest of a little woman who sells tobacco. And he still manages to -get hold of cigarettes, writing-paper, liqueurs, and even champagne, -whereas no one else has been able to lay hands on any of these luxuries -for some time past. - -When night fell he gave us a sign, and Deprez and I followed him to the -door of the guard-house in which loomed the lanky figure of Le Bidois, -who was leaning on his sword. The guard-house is an old tumble-down -hut only kept erect by the ivy growing round it. The door only boasts -one hinge, and the worm-eaten steps leading to the loft are crumbling -into dust. But still we found it a snug enough place in which to drink -our champagne. - - - _Wednesday, August 19_ - -The first gun has a team which is the joy of the whole battery. This -is owing to Astruc and his off-horse Jericho. Astruc, with bright -brown eyes and a face like a carrion-crow, is not much taller than -a walking-stick and has hardly any legs. Jericho is a vicious brute -that kicks, bites, and refuses to be groomed. Astruc holds long -conversations with him, and every morning greets him like one greets an -old friend who is a little crabbed, but of whom one is really fond: - -"Well, Jericho, old boy, what have you got to say? Have you been -dreaming of German mares?" - -Brejard pointed out to Astruc that Jericho is a gelding. - -"Oh!" retorted Astruc, "I expect he gets ideas in his head all the -same." - -But to-day Jericho was in a specially bad temper, and wouldn't let -himself be bridled in order to be led down to the watering-place. - -"What's up, old chap?" asked Astruc. "Oh, I see what you want! You -haven't had your quid this morning, have you?... It's your quid you're -after." - -And he held out in the hollow of his hand a pinch of tobacco which the -horse swallowed with avidity. When Astruc is astride his near-horse, -Hermine, Jericho bites his boot, and the more Astruc whips him the -harder he clenches his teeth. - -"Well," says Astruc, "I bet that if I leave Jericho in a melee he'll -eat as many Boches as he can get his teeth into. If only we'd a hundred -more like him!" - -And looking the horse full in the face he added: - -"It's odd, you know! The brute's got a naughty twinkle in his eyes ... -just like one of those girls...." - -A corps of pontoon engineers passed by our camp, their long, -steel-plated boats loaded on carts, keel uppermost. Some foundered -horses, tied behind the vehicles, followed with hanging head and -limping step, a look of suffering in their bleared eyes--a pitiful -sight. Far down the road, winding its way through the long valley and -white under the morning sun, one could see the column toiling up a hill -as if ascending to the blue sky. At that distance men and horses seemed -no more than a swarm of black ants, but the steel bottoms of the boats -still glinted in the sunshine. In front of us the long line still -passed slowly by. - - * * * * * - -The men's health is excellent, but the horses stand this new life -less successfully. Last Friday we had to leave one on the road, and -yesterday an old battery horse named Defricheur died in his turn. We -had to prepare a grave for him, and four men had been digging for more -than an hour in the hard and rocky ground when the mayor of Moirey -arrived on the scene. The grave had been dug too close to the houses, -so they had to drag the heavy carcass farther on and begin digging -again. Unfortunately the measurements of the new grave had been badly -calculated, and Defricheur, a proper gendarme's horse, could not be -crammed into it. The men were heartily tired of digging and so, with -a few blows of their spades and picks, they broke his legs and folded -them under his belly, so that at last he could be squeezed into the pit. - -The hill which had limited our horizon at Ville-devant-Chaumont ... was -still to be seen rising on the east in solitary splendour, its outlines -traced as if by compasses. Beneath the azure sky it shone like a mass -of burnished bronze. - -Moirey lies in the lap of a valley and consists of a few dilapidated -cottages roofed with broken tiles. No matter from which side one goes -away from the village it is instantly hidden by an intervening spur of -the hills, so that one can only see the top of the roofs and the short, -rectangular steeple covered with slates. - -As we were grooming our horses in a field through which a brook bubbled -along amid the iris, a bevy of white-capped girls came down from the -village. - -The only means of getting over the river was a narrow bridge. This we -barred by standing a couple of horses athwart it, and, by way of toll, -demanded kisses. The girls, their rosy-cheeked faces smiling under the -spreading butterfly-wings of their caps, at first hesitated. Then one -of them took a run, jumped, and splashed into the water. The others -learnt wisdom from her example and decided to pay the toll. - -"Come on now! Just a kiss, you know!" said Deprez. "That's not so dear -in war-time!" - -They paid conscientiously. - - - _Friday, August 21_ - -To-day there was a fog when we awoke. Almost immediately the Captain -gave the word to harness, and five o'clock had not yet struck when we -started. The road was cut up into ruts by the artillery which for three -days had been passing over it, and we were so shaken on the limbers -that we could scarcely breathe. - -Luckily the column was advancing at a walking pace. - -The fog had collected at the end of the valley. On the right enormous -and regularly formed mounds rose like islands out of the sea of mist. -I could not take my eyes off their symmetrical curves, as perfect as -those of Cybele's breasts. - -Farther on the road straggled across a plain, the ample undulations -of which reminded one of the rise and fall of the ocean on days when -there is a swell. In every direction it was studded with wheat sheaves, -but there were few trees except an occasional group or line of poplars -welded together by the fog in an indistinct mass of dark green foliage. - -Not a sound of battle was to be heard. - - * * * * * - -On the way we fell in with some baggage-trains and ambulances, and -learnt from their drivers that the enemy was still far away. - -Nevertheless the country had already been prepared for battle. A -farmhouse by the roadside had been fortified, the windows barricaded -with mattresses and small trusses of straw, while a few loopholes -had been knocked in the garden wall. The fields were furrowed with -trenches as far as the edge of a wood, where some abatis had been set -up. Earthworks had been thrown up along the sides of the road, and in -front were heaped ladders, a couple of harrows, a plough, a roller, and -several bundles of straw. Two carts had been placed athwart the road, -but they had been pushed one to each side and lay thrown back with -their long shafts pointing upwards. - -We still rolled on across this desolate country. So similar were its -aspects that it almost seemed as if we were not advancing at all. - -At last the fog lifted, and, suddenly, before we were able to guess -that the end of the dreary scenery was near, a magnificent view opened -out before us as if by enchantment. We were on the crest of a hill -between two valleys, on one side of which thick woods descended in -leafy terraces to the hollow of a narrow dell in which, through a -meadow of vivid emerald green, a little black river trickled on its -way. The forests surrounding this meadow, as if placed there in order -to embellish and enhance its beauty, looked like a magnificent ruff -of low-toned olive tints. In front of us, just where the road turned -off at an angle, a spur of woodland rose with the forbidding aspect of -a fortress. On the right, forming a contrast to the quiet and peaceful -little river, a broad valley, with symmetrical slopes lightened here -and there by corn standing yellow in the sun, opened out wide and -invitingly. The river flowing through it was hardly visible, but the -roads, villages, and the railway line were quite distinct. On the one -hand lay Velosnes, and on the other Torgny, their white walls and red -roofs showing up on the green background of the fields. - -There was nothing in the scene to suggest that war was on foot, and -gun-shots heard from a distance were no more startling than the noise -of carriage wheels. - -It was a fine morning, to which the mist, softening the outlines of -the landscape, lent additional charm. The narrow S-shaped road we were -following plunged into the valley. The horses made efforts to keep back -the guns, and especially the ammunition wagons, which were pushing them -down the slope. Their shoes slipping with the dislodged stones, they -braced their backs and felt their way cautiously. - -The river at this point constituted the frontier between France and -Belgium. A custom-house official was leaning up against the parapet of -the bridge. - -One of the men called out to him: - -"No fine linen or lace to-day, old man!" - -And another: - -"Suppose there's no duty on melinite, is there?" - -The official grinned. - -The first Belgian village, Torgny, afforded a contrast to the French -hamlets through which we had been passing since dawn. Our villages are -tumble-down, dirty, and redolent of manure and misery. Torgny, on the -contrary, was clean and bright, the windows of the houses boasting -not only curtains but even, sometimes, embroidered blinds, while the -shutters, doors, and window-joists were painted light green. - -On all sides we were greeted with smiles by the placid and open-faced -villagers. Through the windows of the cottages we could see red-tiled -floors, and in the semi-darkness of the interiors the glow of brasswork -on stoves and lamps reflected by carefully polished furniture. - -Our column halted in the village, the men carefully wedging the wheels -of the vehicles to prevent them from backing down the slope. A woman -and a fair, slightly built girl were sitting in front of their house, -of which the lower half was a mass of wistaria. We asked them where -the road led to, and a conversation began in which not only mother and -daughter took part, but also the grandmother, a wizened little woman -with a wrinkled face out of which peered a pair of bright brown eyes; -she had come out to see what was happening. They talked with a drawling -sing-song accent, which nevertheless was in no way disagreeable to our -ears. - -"Have the Germans come as far as this?" - -"Yes, they've come, only they didn't do any harm.... They hadn't -the time. Five or six of them came down from the woods up -there--cavalrymen. But they went back almost at once. Some of the -villagers saw them. There were also some French cavalry here, in blue -and red uniforms." - -"Chasseurs?" - -"I suppose so. They are so nice and polite.... At first, as there -weren't many of them, we almost quarrelled as to who should have them. -When the Uhlans came out of the woods they saw the French and went in -again." - -"And the Belgian soldiers?" - -"Not seen any of them," said the old lady. "But my granddaughter saw -some at Arlon last year." - -"Yes," chimed in the girl, "and they are better dressed than you." - -We prepared to make ourselves comfortable in the chairs which had been -brought out for us, and chatted while waiting for the order to advance. - -"You ought to be very grateful to us," said the grandmother. "We -stopped them, and they hadn't reckoned on that! They thought we were -sheep and found we were lions--yes, lions! They even say so themselves!" - -We willingly acquiesced. - -In future we shall always be able to count upon the goodwill of the -Belgians, for we owe them a debt of gratitude. That is no more solid -basis for affection than that which underlies the feelings of a -benefactor towards his protege. Nothing is more soothing to the spirit -than a sense of superiority and legitimate pride. - -There can be no doubt but that the blood so bravely shed for us in -Belgium will be productive of more friendship than twenty years of -sustained efforts to maintain the French language and culture against -the rising tide of Germanization. And, forty years later, when we -meet a Belgian, we may be sure that he will remind us, in his pleasing -accent: - -"Yes, but you know ... without us in 1914...." - -It will be a pleasure to him to recall all that France owes to his -glorious little country. More, he will be grateful to us for the debt -we owe her. - -"Oh, of course it has cost us a lot to defend our neutrality," said -the old woman. "It is awful what the Germans have done in our country. -They seem to have a special hatred for the women. There was one down -there.... We knew her quite well.... And they first cut off her breasts -... and then disembowelled her.... And they've done that to countless -others! Oh! its too awful! They must be worse than savages. You must -tell your people about it, when you get back--about that, and about -everything else we've had to suffer. But you won't do the same when you -get into Germany, will you?" - -She added: - -"I am very old--over seventy--and I had never seen war in Belgium." - -The poor old woman spoke almost without anger, but in a trembling voice -and with infinite sadness. - -We encamped at Torgny. As soon as the horses had been picketed and -the oats distributed, Deprez and I hurried to the wistaria windows to -ask if we could buy a little milk and some eggs. The old woman was -most upset; it seemed that she had already given everything to the -Chasseurs. But she sent us a little farther on to the house of one of -her daughters who, she said, would milk the cow for us. She added: - -"We've a good loft here, where you would be quite comfortable and warm -in the straw. So come back to sleep in any case." - -We knocked at the door she had pointed out to us a couple of houses -farther on, and were received as though we had been expected. - -"It's some artillerymen, mother," said a young woman, who was nursing a -child in her arms. "They want some milk." - -Her mother came out of the next room. - -"I'll go and milk the cow," said she. "Good evening, messieurs; please -sit down; you must be tired." - -Lucas had somehow managed to find some eggs. - -"Shall we make you an omelette with bacon?" asked the daughter. "It -won't take long. But do sit down. I'm sure you've been standing about -enough to-day!" - -Almost immediately the fat began to sizzle in the pan. - -At every moment infantrymen and Chasseurs knocked at the door, and the -two women distributed the milk from their cow, refusing all payment. -When there was no more left they were quite wretched at having to -disappoint the men who continually arrived on various quests. - -"We've given all we had. I'm so sorry!" they said. "We've only a small -bowl left for the baby. You see, we've only one cow!" - -A Chasseur brought back a kettle he had borrowed; another asked for the -loan of a gridiron. Never has Frenchman been more warmly welcomed in -France. - -The fair-haired girl, with whom we had been talking shortly before, -came back carrying an earthenware milk-jug in her hand. - -"Have you any milk, auntie? There are some soldiers who want a little. -They're ill, some of them." - -"Oh, darling, I'm so sorry! There are only a few drops left for baby!" - -"Oh, dear!..." - -The girl saw us seated at table round the smoking omelette, and smiled -at us as though we were old acquaintances. I told her that if I ever -returned home I should perhaps write a book about what I had seen in -the war. - -"And will you please tell me your name, so that I can send you the book -as a souvenir to you and your family. You have all been so good to us -Frenchmen." - -"My name is Aline--Aline Badureau." - -"What a pretty name--Aline!" - -She prepared to go. - -"I hope that you will return home," she said to me, "so that you can -send us your book. But I'm sure you'll forget. They say that Frenchmen -forget very soon." - -I protested vehemently. - - - - -III. THE ATTACK. THE RETREAT - - - _Saturday, August 22_ - -We slept in the barn which the kindly old woman had placed at our -disposal, and in which the hay was deep and warm. At three o'clock -in the morning one of the stable pickets came to call us through the -window. We harnessed our horses as best we could in the darkness. - -An extremely diffused light was beginning to spread over the -countryside, and the mist, rising from the meadows, dimmed the -clearness of the dawn. We marched on through the powdery atmosphere. -The fog was so thick that it was impossible to see the carriage -immediately ahead, and from our places on the limber-boxes the lead -driver and his horses looked like a sort of moving shadow. - -Eventually we reached the little town of Virton. All the inhabitants -were at their doors, and offered us coffee, milk, tobacco, and cigars. -The men jumped off the limbers and hurriedly drank the steaming drinks -poured out for them by the women, while the drivers, bending down from -their horses, held out their drinking-tins. - -"Have you seen the Germans?" we asked. - -"Only one or two came to buy some socks and some sugar. I hope they -won't all come here. Will they?" - -"Aren't we here to prevent them?" - -The women's open faces, framed in their dark brown hair, were perfectly -calm. Fat little children, like cherubs sprung to life from some canvas -of Rubens, ran by the side of the column as we moved on, and others, a -little bigger, kept crying: "Hurrah for the French!" - -Our batteries joined up behind a group of the 26th Artillery on the -Ethe road--a fine straight highway, flanked by tall trees. In the fog -the sheaves in the fields looked so much like infantry that for a -moment one was deceived. A few ambulances were installed in one of the -villages. A little farther on some mules, saddled with their cacolets, -were waiting at the end of a sunken road. - -We had hardly passed the last houses when suddenly rifle-fire broke out -with a sound like that of dry wood burning. A machine-gun also began to -crackle, staccato, like a cinema apparatus. - -Fighting was going on quite close, both in front of us and also to the -right, somewhere in the fog. I listened, at every moment expecting to -hear the hum of a bullet. - -"About turn!" - -"Trot!" - -What had happened? Where were the batteries which had preceded us? We -turned off to the right. The firing ceased. The march in the fog, which -kept getting thicker, became harassing after a while. At all events we -were sure, now, that the enemy was not far off. - -Finally, at about seven o'clock, we halted. Not a sound of the battle -was to be heard. We unbridled our horses and gave them some oats. The -men lay down by the side of the road and dozed. - -Suddenly the fusillade broke out again, but this time on the left. I -asked myself how our position could have altered so in relation to that -of the enemy. A few minutes ago the fighting was on our right. Perhaps -it was only a patrol which had gone astray. I gave up thinking about -it. Doubtless the fog had confused my sense of direction. - -This time the firing sounded more distant. A single detonation, like a -signal, was heard. I thought at first that it was one of the drivers -whipping up his team, but a minute later the crackling of rifles broke -on our ears in gusts, as if carried by a high wind. And yet the air was -quite still, and the fog floated, motionless, on all sides. - -Suddenly the sun broke through and the mists disappeared as if by -magic, like large gauze curtains rapidly lifted. In a few moments the -whole stretch of countryside became visible. The cannonade began at -once. - -On the right were some meadows in which flocks were feeding, and, -farther on, a line of wooded hills, in the lap of which nestled a tiny -village. - -On the left and towards the north the horizon was hidden by a -semicircle of hills through which a river wound its tortuous course, -draining the stubble-fields on either side. A large, bowl-shaped -willow-tree made a solitary green blotch on the background. - -A battery was evidently already installed there, four dark points -indicating the position of the four guns. As we stood waiting on -the straight road, the perspective of which was accentuated by the -trees flanking it on each side, the twelve batteries of our regiment, -followed by their first lines of wagons, formed an interminable and -motionless black line. - -The Captain gave the order: - -"Prepare for action!" - -The gun-numbers who had been lying beneath the trees jumped to their -feet and took off the breech-and muzzle-covers which protect the guns -from dust when on the road. This done, they got the sighting-gear -ready, and saw that the training and elevating levers were in good -working order. - -We were surprised in our work by an explosion quite near at hand. -Above the stubble-fields a small white cloud was floating upwards. It -expanded, and then disappeared. And suddenly, near the bowl-shaped -willow-tree, six shrapnel shells burst, one after another. - -I felt an odd sensation, as if my circulation was growing slower. But I -was not afraid. For the matter of that, no immediate danger threatened -us. Only I had an intuition that a big battle was about to begin, and -that I should have to make a great effort. - -The gunners anxiously riveted their eyes on a point of the horizon -where shells were now falling almost incessantly. Of course none of -them would have confessed to their anxiety, but there was a significant -lull in the conversation. I do not know what we were waiting -for--whether the fall of a shell or the arrival of orders. - -For my part I excused myself for feeling apprehensive. The baptism of -fire is always an ordeal, and the motionless waiting on the road had -worked on my nerves. The enemy need only have lifted his fire in order -to hit us as we stood there, defenceless, in column formation. - -Besides, such emotions are only skin-deep. Even if anxiety could -plainly be read in every man's face we still kept smiling and inwardly -resolved to do whatever might be necessary in order to make the coming -battle a French victory. - -The Colonel passed by, accompanied by Captain Manoury and a Staff of -Lieutenants. He gave us a quiet but searching look, which seemed to -gauge our mettle and encourage us at the same time. The small group -of horsemen made off rapidly, ascending the slopes which were being -bombarded by the enemy. - -"Attention!" - -We were going into action. - -On the side of the horseshoe-shaped ring of hills sections of infantry -were deploying and advancing by successive rushes. Of a sudden men rose -up and ran across the fields, and again as suddenly, at an inaudible -word of command, threw themselves down, disappearing from view like so -many rabbits. They went on farther and farther, and at last we saw -their outlines silhouetted against the sky-line as they crossed the -ridge of the hill. - -It was about ten o'clock, and very hot. From the unknown country on -the other side of the hills came the awe-inspiring roar of battle. The -rifle-fire crackled continuously and the noise of the machine-guns -sounded like waves beating against the rocks. The thunder of the heavy -guns drowned, so to speak, the general din, and blended it into a -single roar, similar to that of the ocean in a storm, when the waves -gather and break with dull thuds amid the shriek of the wind as it -lashes the waters. - -The battle-line seemed to lie from east to west, the Germans holding -the north and the French the south. - -"Forward!" - -First we had to cross a meadow traversed by a stream almost hidden in -the high grass. The gunners took the off-horses by the bridle and urged -them forward, while the drivers whipped up their teams into a trot. The -sun was shining under the wheels of the ammunition wagon as it suddenly -proved too much for the horses and sank heavily up to the axle in the -mud. It was eventually dislodged by some strong collar-work. - -Where on earth were we going to? We seemed to be bound for the -bowl-shaped willow-tree, near the heights from which the German -machine-guns, for more than two hours, had been riddling every square -inch of ground. Why were we being sent there? Were there not plenty of -excellent positions on the hills? We should inevitably be massacred! -But still the column advanced at a walking pace towards the sloping -field in which shells were falling at every moment. - -Why? Why? Death had reigned supreme there ever since the fog lifted. We -were riding into the Valley.... - -I felt a choking sensation grip my throat. And yet I was still capable -of reasoning. I understood quite clearly that the hour was come for me -to sacrifice my life. All of us would go up, yes!--but few would come -back down the hill! - -This combination of animality and thought which constitutes my life -would shortly cease to be. My bleeding body would lie stretched out -on the field; I seemed to see it. A curtain seemed to fall on the -perspectives of the future which a moment ago still seemed full of -sunshine. It was the end. It had not been long in coming, for I am only -twenty-one. - -Not for an instant did I argue with myself or hesitate. My destiny had -to be sacrificed for the fulfilment of higher destinies--for the life -of my country, of everything I love, of all I regretted at that moment. -If I was to die, well and good! I was willing. I should almost have -thought that it was harder!... - -We continued to advance at a walking pace, the drivers on foot at their -horses' heads. Presently we reached the willow-tree. A volley.... -From far off came a sound at first resembling the whirr of wings or -the rustle of a silken skirt, but which rapidly developed into a -droning hum like that of hundreds of hornets in flight. The shell -was coming straight at us, and the sensation one then experiences -is indescribable. The air twangs and vibrates, and the vibrations -seem to be communicated to one's flesh and nerves--almost to the -marrow of one's bones. The detachment crouched down by the wheels of -the ammunition wagon and the drivers sheltered behind their horses. -At every moment we expected an explosion. One, two, three seconds -passed--an hour. The instinct of self-preservation strong within me, I -bent my shoulders and waited, trembling like an animal flinching from -death. A flash! It seemed to fall at my feet. Shrapnel bullets whistled -by like an angry wind. - -But the column still remained motionless in the potato-field, which -was so riddled by gun-fire that it was difficult to steer the vehicles -between the shell craters. - -Why were we waiting? How we wished that we could at least take up -a position and reply to the enemy's fire! It seemed to me that if -only we could hear the roar of our .75's the dread of those deathly -moments would become less intense. But we seemed to be merely awaiting -slaughter; the minutes dragged by and we still remained motionless. - -Some shells, which for a moment I thought had actually grazed the -limber, hurtled by and shook me from head to foot, making the armour -behind which I was sheltering vibrate. Fortunately the ground was -considerably inclined, and the projectiles burst farther back. I -perspired with fear.... Yes, I was badly frightened. Nevertheless I -knew that I should not run away, and that I should, if necessary, let -myself be killed at my post. But the longing for action grew more and -more insistent. - -At last we started off again, progressing with difficulty across the -furrowed field. The drivers could hardly manage their horses, which had -been seized with panic and pulled in all directions. - -Hutin gave me a nod: - -"You are quite green, old chap!" he said. - -"Well, if you could see your own face ..." I answered. - -A shell fell, throwing up a quantity of earth in front of the horses -and wounding the centre driver of the ammunition wagon in the head, -killing him instantly. - -"Forward!" - -Near the crest of the hill we took up our position on the edge of an -oat-field. The limbers went off to the rear to shelter somewhere in the -direction of Latour, the steeple of which could be seen overtopping the -trees in the valley on our left. Crouching behind the armoured doors of -the ammunition wagons and behind the gun-shields, we awaited the order -to open fire. But the Captain, kneeling down among the oats in front of -the battery, his field-glasses to his eyes, could discover no target, -for yonder, over the spreading woods of Ethe and Etalle, now occupied -by the enemy, a thick mist was still floating. All round us, behind our -guns, over our heads, and without respite, high-explosive and shrapnel -shell of every calibre kept bursting and strewing the position with -bullets and splinters. Death seemed inevitable. Behind the gun was a -small pit in which I took refuge while we waited for orders. A big bay -saddle-horse, with a gash in his chest from which a red stream flowed, -stood motionless in the middle of the field. - -What with the hissing and whistling of the shells, the thunder of -the enemy's guns, and the roar from a neighbouring .75 battery, it -was impossible to distinguish the different noises in this shrieking -inferno of fire, smoke, and flames. I perspired freely, my body -vibrating rather than trembling. The blood seethed in my head and -throbbed in my temples, while it seemed as if an iron girdle encircled -my chest. Unconsciously, like one demented, I hummed an air we had been -singing recently in the camp and which haunted me. - - _Trou la la, ca ne va guere; - Trou la la, ca ne va pas._ - -Something brushed past my back. At first I thought I was hit, but the -shell splinter had only torn my breeches. - -The battery became enveloped in black, nauseating smoke. Somebody was -groaning, and I got up to see what had happened. Through the yellow fog -I saw Sergeant Thierry stretched on the ground and the six numbers of -the detachment crowding round him. The shell had burst under the chase -of his gun, smashing the recoil-buffer, and effectually putting the -piece out of action. - -Kneeling side by side, Captain Bernard de Brisoult and Lieutenant -Hely d'Oissel were scanning the horizon through their field-glasses. -I admired them. The sight of these two officers, and of the Major who -was quietly strolling up and down behind the battery, made me ashamed -to tremble. I passed through a few seconds of confused but intense -mental suffering. Then it seemed as though I was awakening from a sort -of feverish delirium, full of horrible nightmares. I was no longer -frightened. And, when I again took shelter, having nothing else to do -as we were not firing, I found I had overcome my instincts, and no -longer shook with fear. - -A horrible smell filled the pit. - -"Phew!" I ejaculated hoarsely, "what a stink!" - -Peering down I perceived Astruc in the bottom of the hollow. In a voice -which seemed to come from the bowels of the earth he replied: - -"All right, old son! Don't you worry ... it's only me. I'm sitting in -a filthy mess here, but all the same I wouldn't give up this place for -twenty francs!" - -Over the crest of the hill came some infantry in retreat. The sound of -the machine-guns approached and eventually became distinguishable from -the roar of the artillery. - -The enemy was advancing and we were giving way before them. Shells -continued to fly over us, and entire companies of infantry fell back. - -The officers consulted together. - -"But what are we to do?... There are no orders ... no orders," the -Major kept repeating. - -And still we waited. The Lieutenant had drawn his revolver and the -gunners unslung their rifles. The German batteries, possibly afraid of -hitting their own troops, ceased firing. At any moment now the enemy -might set foot on the ridge. - -"Limber up!" - -The order was quickly carried out. - -We had to carry Thierry, whose knee was broken, with us. He was -suffering horribly and implored us not to touch him. In spite of his -protests, however, three men lifted him on to the observation-ladder. -He was very pale, and looked ready to faint. - -"Oh!" he murmured. "You are hurting me! Can't you finish me?" - -The rest of the wounded, five or six in number, hoisted themselves -without assistance on to the limbers and the battery swung down the -Latour road at a quick trot. - -We had lost the battle. I did not know why or how. I had seen nothing. -The French right must have had to retire a considerable distance, for, -ahead to the south-east, I saw shells bursting over the woods which -that morning had been some way behind our lines. We were completely -outflanked, and I was seized with qualms as to whether our means of -retreat were still open. We crossed the railway, some fields, and a -river in succession, and approached the chain of hills, wooded half-way -up their slopes, which stretched parallel to the heights the army -had occupied in the morning. These were doubtless to be our rallying -positions. The drivers urged their horses onwards while the gunners, -who had dismounted from the limbers in order to lighten the load, ran -in scattered order by the side of the column. The narrow road we were -following was badly cut up, the stones rolling from under the horses' -hoofs at every step. Half-way up the steep incline we found the way -barred by an infantry wagon which had come to a standstill. A decrepit -white horse was struggling in the shafts. The driver swore and hauled -at the wheels, but the animal could not start. - -One of the corporals shouted out: - -"Now then, get on, can't you?" - -Get on!... As if he could! The driver, without leaving hold of the -wheel which he was preventing from going backwards, turned a distracted -face towards us, almost crying with baffled rage. - -"Get on? How am I to get on?" - -We lent him a hand and succeeded in pushing his wagon into the field so -that we could pass. - - * * * * * - -It was about two o'clock in the afternoon, and the heat was stifling. -The battle seemed to have come to an end, and the only gun-shots -audible came from far away on the left, near Virton and St. Mard. - - * * * * * - -The column stretched out in a long black line on the hill-side as we -crawled upwards through the woods crowning the summit in order to find -a road by which we might gain the plateau. The horizon gradually opened -out before us. Suddenly, from the direction of Latour, a machine-gun -began to crackle; I hurriedly lifted my hand to my ear like one who -drives away a buzzing wasp. - -"They're firing at us!" cried Hutin. - -Bullets began to hum past. Machine-guns had opened fire on us from the -top of the positions we had just vacated. One of the horses, wounded, -fell to its knees and was promptly unharnessed. A gunner, shot through -the thigh, nevertheless continued to march. - -Close by, in a valley where we were sheltered from the fire, we found a -spot where one corner of the field cut a wedge out of the forest. Here -we parked our three batteries and waited for orders. I saw at once how -critical our position was. There was no road leading to the plateau -through the wood, and several vehicles of the 10th Battery, which had -ventured to try a bridle-path, soon found it impossible either to -advance or go back. One of the guns had sunk up to the axle in the -muddy ground. - -The only means of retreat, therefore, was to cross the bare fields -on the right or left and once again run the gauntlet not only of the -machine-guns, but also, perhaps, of the enemy's field artillery, -which by now had had time to come up. The longer we waited the more -problematical became our chances of escaping unscathed. - -Besides, I could not help wondering how long the route across the -plateau was likely to remain available. We were already outflanked, -and in front of us the Germans were still advancing down the -crescent-shaped hills. They had doubtless already occupied Latour. - -The Major still waited for orders. He hardly spoke a word, but every -now and then his jaws contracted spasmodically--a sign of nervousness -we soldiers knew well. He was "cracking nuts," as the men say. He had -dispatched a corporal to ask for instructions, but no one knew where -the Staff was likely to be found at that hour. The army was in full -retreat. - -Eventually a dragoon galloped up and drew rein in front of our -officers. We anxiously crowded round him. He brought information that -the retreat of the army was being effected on the right by the Ruettes -road. The enemy, he said, had already taken Latour, and was advancing -towards Ville-Houdlemont. - -The column immediately leapt into life. Lieutenant Hely d'Oissel, -riding on alone ahead, showed us the way. Again the machine-guns broke -out in the distance, but this time no bullets whistled past us. For a -few moments we were stopped by a paling, which we broke down with our -axes. The open space we had to cross was short--a meadow capping the -rising ground between the trees. We eventually reached Ruettes by a -narrow lane on both sides of which rose steep banks. - -Near the church stood a General without any Staff, and accompanied -solely by three Chasseurs. - -The Tellancourt road was a veritable river. - -In the breathless hurry and bustle of the retreat we had to make our -way through the crowd by force. Such battalions as still possessed -their Majors went on in front with the artillery column. And, tossed -about from right to left like bits of cork in the swirl of a current, -dragged this way and that in the eddies, sometimes pushed into the -ditch, and sometimes carried off their feet by the torrent, the -tattered remnants of troops surged down the road. Wounded, limping, -many without rifle or pack, they made slow progress. Some made an -effort to climb upon our carriages, and either hoisted themselves on to -the ammunition wagons or let themselves be dragged along like automata. - -While the retreat of the infantry divisions continued along the -highway, we turned off down a steep road to the right and reached the -plateau. The day was drawing to a close, and the shadow of the thick -woods at Gueville, between us and the sun, was projected on to the side -of the next hill. Here there were no stragglers, but the ditches were -full of wounded, resting for a moment before continuing the painful -ascent. Many of them looked as though they would never get up again. -Some were lying half hidden in the grass. - -There was already something skull-like about their faces; the eyes, -wide open and bright with fever, stared fixedly from out their sunken -sockets as though at something we could not see. Their matted hair -was glued to their foreheads with sweat, which slowly trickled down -the drawn, emaciated faces, leaving white zigzag furrows in the dirt -of dust and smoke. Hardly one of the wounded was bandaged, and the -blood had made dark stains on their coats and splashed their ragged -uniforms. Not a complaint was to be heard. Two soldiers, without packs -or rifles, were trying to help a little infantryman whose shoulder had -been shattered by a shell, and who, deathly white and with closed eyes, -wearily but obstinately shook his head, refusing to be moved. Others, -wounded in the leg, still managed to hobble along with the aid of their -rifles, which they used as crutches. They implored us to find place for -them on the carriages. - -We contrived to make room for them on the limbers. At every bump and -jolt a big bugler, whose chest had been shot clean through by a bullet, -gave a gasp of pain. - -In the fields by the roadside lay torn and gaping packs, from which -protruded vests, pants, caps, brushes, and other items of kit. The road -itself was littered with boots, mess-tins, and camp-kettles crushed by -the wheels and horses' hoofs, shirts, bayonets, cartridge belts with -the brass cases shining in the dust, kepis, and broken Lebel rifles. -It was a sight to make one weep, and, despite myself, my thoughts went -back to the retreat of August 1870, after Wissembourg and Forbach.... -And yet for a month past we had heard continually of French victories, -and had almost begun to picture Alsace reconquered and the road into -Germany laid open. Nevertheless, at the first attack, here was our army -routed! With some astonishment I realized that I had taken part in a -defeat. - -We reached the edge of the Gueville woods, which were being defended by -the 102nd Infantry. Arms and equipment still bestrew the road, which -had also been cut up into ridges by the artillery and convoys. The -wounded on our lurching and jolting wagons looked like men crucified. - -I questioned the big bugler: - -"Shall we stop? Perhaps this shakes you too much?" - -"No! Anything rather than fall into their hands." - -"Yes, but still...." - -"No, no--that's all right." - -And he bit his lips to avoid crying out. I was very tired, and my head -felt at the same time heavy and yet light. My one desire was to sleep, -no matter where. - -Hardly were we out of the wood when the battery halted in a field full -of wheat-sheaves near a village called La Malmaison. I threw myself -down on some straw. If we stayed there we should certainly not even -be able to sleep; the enemy was too close, and we should probably be -attacked at night. And my one thought was to sleep, to get far enough -away to sleep. I waited for the prophetic order "Unharness!" which -would leave us in this field to fight again in an hour's time--perhaps -at once. But other orders arrived, and off we rumbled once more, -through La Malmaison, which we found congested with troops in disorder. -Night fell. I had now reached the extreme limits of fatigue and began -to be less conscious of what was going on around me. As if in a dream -I saw the men huddled on the limber-boxes, their heads rolling on -their shoulders, and the drivers lurching from side to side on their -horses like drunken men. I still seem to hear a gunner of the 26th -Artillery, who, sitting on the ammunition wagon, was telling how the -three batteries which preceded us this morning on the road to Ethe were -caught by the German machine-gun fire and taken in column formation, -and how he himself had been able, thanks to the fog, to escape almost -alone. - -We went on through the night, our wagons creaking and rattling -with a sound almost like a sort of cannonade. One of the whips was -dragging.... For a moment I thought I heard a machine-gun.... What an -obsession!... The column rolled on through the darkness, the monotonous -rumble of the wheels unbroken by an order or word of any kind. - -About midnight, after a very long march, we again reached Torgny, -and encamped there. The roll was not even called. I threw myself -face-downwards on some hay in a barn, and it seemed to me, as I fell -asleep, that I was dying. - - - _Sunday, August 23_ - -This morning they let us sleep until past eight o'clock. After getting -up we at once led our horses down to the big stone trough in the -middle of the village. The church bells were ringing. So there were -still Sundays! Somehow that seemed strange! I was still sleepy and my -numbed limbs ached abominably, so that it was torture to get into the -saddle. How I longed for a day's rest! - -As I was returning to the camp, Deprez at my side, we met Mademoiselle -Aline, in a light pink dress of flowery pattern, and very daintily -shod. She was doubtless going to Mass. She recognized us and waved her -hand, smiling. - -At the camp we found them waiting for us. - -"Hurry up now!" - -"Bridle!... Hook in!" - -"What? Are we going into action again?" - -"Seems like it.... I don't know," answered Brejard. "Now then!" - -The two batteries now forming the Group, our own and the 12th (the 10th -had been taken by the enemy in the Gueville woods), started off along -the Virton road. It seemed that we were never to get a moment's respite. - -But almost immediately we halted in double column on the grass by -the side of the road. On the hill-side were strong forces of French -artillery in position, the motionless batteries showing up like black -squares on the green slope. - -The roll was called. One or two were missing from my battery. Baton, -the centre driver of the gun-team, had been wounded in the head, -and had been left behind in the hospital at Torgny. Hubert, our -gun-commander, had disappeared, and so had Homo, another of the -drivers. The last time that I had seen Homo he was wandering across a -field swept by the German guns, a wild look in his eyes. - -Lucas, the Captain's cyclist, was also missing, and this worried me -especially. He is always so cheerful, open-hearted, and amusing, and is -one of my best friends. - -There was no news at all of our entire first line, conducted by -Lieutenant Couturier. Standing in a circle round the Captain the -detachments were reorganized. The battery had only three guns left, and -it was necessary to send to the rear the one with the broken hydraulic -buffer. - -How tired I was! As soon as I stayed still I began to fall asleep. - -Hutin opened a box of bully-beef for the two of us. - -"Hungry, Lintier?" - -"Not a bit.... And yet I've not eaten anything since the day before -yesterday!" - -"Same here. Do you think we shall have any more fighting to-day?" - -"I suppose we shall...." - -Hutin thought a little. - -"There's only one thing I love," said he, "and that is to be there." - -"Yes, it's splendid." - -"It's odd that we don't hear the guns to-day." - -"They don't seem to have taken advantage of their victory yesterday in -order to advance." - -"Well," said our gun-layer, "in my opinion we've fallen into an -ambuscade. They were waiting for us there, and they had got all the -ridges nicely registered. That's how they had us! But all that will -change!" - -"I hope so! Oh, Lord, how tired I am! And you?" - -"So am I!" - -We each ate without much relish four mouthfuls of bully-beef and shut -the box again. Besides, the column was already beginning to move. - -Striking across country we reached Lamorteau, a large village on the -banks of the Chiers, where we encamped near the river and waited for -orders. - -The scene was soon brightened by smoke rising straight up in the still -air of the morning, which was already hot. The men made their soup -and the drivers went off to draw water for the horses, which were not -unharnessed. - -Suddenly, on the bridge spanning the Chiers, Lieutenant Couturier -appeared at the head of his column, accompanied by Lucas. The latter -ran up to me. - -"There you are!" - -"There you are!" - -"You devil! You did give us a fright!" - -We grasped each other's hands, and that was all. But I felt immensely -relieved. - -Hubert was also with them. Conversation became lively round the -camp-kettles, in which the soup was already steaming. Afterwards, no -orders having arrived, we slept, and at nightfall returned to Torgny to -camp there once more. - -The Major ordered the horses to be unharnessed and, supposing therefore -that no danger threatened, I stretched myself and gave a yawn of -satisfaction. Then we bivouacked. What work! The guns are placed about -twenty yards apart. Between the wheels of two guns are stretched the -picket-lines, and, when the horses have been tethered to them, and the -harness arranged on the limber draught-poles, the park ought to form a -regular square. - -We took off our vests, for it was still hot. Deprez was distributing -oats among the drivers who stood holding out the nosebags. Somebody -suddenly cried out: - -"An aeroplane!" - -"A German aeroplane!" - -Right overhead, like a big black hawk with a forked tail, an aeroplane -was circling round and round. There was an immediate rush for rifles. -Lying on their backs in order to shoulder their guns, and half -undressed, their open shirts showing hairy chests, the men opened -a brisk fire on the German bird of prey, which was flying low. The -startled horses neighed, reared, and pulled this way and that, many -breaking loose and galloping off across the fields. The aeroplane -seemed to be in difficulties. - -"She's hit!" - -"She's coming down!" - -"No! She's only going off!" - -The men still continued firing, although the machine had been out of -range for some minutes. - -At the drinking-place in the only street of the village there was -always the same crowd of men taking their horses to be watered, some -mounted bare-back, others led; the same shouting and swearing to get -room at the trough, greetings from those who recognized each other, -oaths from others leading their animals who were hustled by the men on -horseback--in short, all the life and movement of an artillery camp. A -Chasseur, shouting profanely, forced his way through the throng. He was -assailed with cries. - -"Here, you aren't in a bigger hurry than any one else!" - -"Yes, I am! Get back to camp quick! I've got orders!" - -"What's the matter now?" - -"All you chaps have got to clear off! No time for amusement, this, you -know; the Germans are coming up. There'll be some more fun in a minute!" - -He spurred forward, and we hurried back to our guns. Was it a surprise? -We limbered up at full speed, and before we had even had time to button -our shirts the first gun left the park. - -"Forward! March.... Trot!" - -We had thrown the nosebags, still half full of oats, on the ammunition -wagons and gun-carriages, and once on the way it was necessary to lash -them so that they should not be shaken off. Hastily throwing on their -clothing, the men jumped on to the limbers as best they could, while -the battery moved forward at a brisk pace on the uneven road. - -We kept continually looking over our shoulders, towards the hills on -the east dominated by Torgny, from which direction we expected to see -the heads of the enemy's column emerge at any minute. I momentarily -awaited the crackling of a machine-gun or the scream of a shell. - -The road in the distance, as it wound through the valley, was black -with horses and ammunition wagons advancing at a trot and raising thick -clouds of dust. Batteries were also to be seen rolling across country. -What was the meaning of this sudden retreat? The whole day long we -had only heard the guns from far off, towards the north. We had now -even ceased to hear them altogether. Had we been surprised, then, or -nearly surprised? But one never knows what has really happened on such -occasions! - -We took up our position on the ridge between the Chiers and the Othain, -where the whole country, its contours and colours continually changing -in the bright sunshine, had seemed to smile at us upon our arrival. -It seemed to me as though the memories awakened by the majesty and -stillness of the scene were deeply rooted in the past. I felt as though -I had aged ten years in one day--a strange and painful impression. - -Our guns were pointing towards Torgny and the plateau above it. At -any moment the order might come to bombard the unfortunate village. -Possibly, even, a shell from my gun might blow to bits the very house -which had given us shelter, and kill the woman whose hospitality had -meant so much to us! That was an awful thought! Oh, this ghastly war! - -But night fell, and as yet the Captain had seen no signs of movement -on the plateau. Behind us the narrow valley of the Othain was slowly -becoming shrouded in shadows. The limbers were stationed 200 yards -from the battery. All fires were forbidden--even lanterns might not -be lit, as our safety on the morrow might depend upon our remaining -undiscovered. The night was clear, but a thin mist partially veiled the -light of the stars, and there was no moon. Motionless, and clustered -together in dark groups, the horses quietly munched their oats. A -far-reaching reddish glow lit up the eastern horizon--doubtless La -Malmaison on fire--and as the darkness deepened other lights appeared -on the right and left of the main conflagration. On every side the -villages were burning. Against the fiery sky the haunches of the -horses, their heads and twitching ears, and the heavy masses of the -guns and limbers stood out like silhouettes. - -Standing side by side with our arms folded, Hutin and I watched the -flaming countryside. - -"Oh, the brutes, the savages!" - -"So that's war, is it?" - -And we both lapsed into silence, struck dumb by the same feeling of -futile horror, and filled with the same rage. I saw a yellow gleam pass -across the dark eyes of my friend--a reflection of the holocaust. - -"And to think we can't prevent it!... That we're the weaker! Oh, Lord!" - -"That'll come in time." - -"Yes, that'll come ... and then they'll pay for it!" - -We threw ourselves down on the straw heaped up behind the guns. A -searchlight from Verdun swept the country at regular intervals, and -the inky sky was lit up by the visual signalling. Huddled together we -gradually fell asleep, a single sentry, wrapped in his cloak, standing -motionless on guard. - - - _Monday, August 24_ - -It was still night when I was awakened and saw a dark shadow standing -over me. - -"Up you get!" - -"What time is it?" - -"Don't know," answered the sentry who had roused me. The villages were -still burning. Feeling our way, and almost noiselessly, we harnessed -our teams, and the limbers came up. A steep decline ... the stones -rolled. In the darkness the horses might stumble at any moment. The -brakes acted badly, and we hung on to the vehicles, letting ourselves -be dragged along in order to relieve the wheelers, which were almost -being run over by the heavy ammunition wagon. - - * * * * * - -At early dawn we passed through a slumbering village. Stretched on -the ground under the lee of the high wall surrounding the church five -Chasseurs were sleeping. Twisted round one arm they held the reins -of their horses, which, standing motionless beside them, were also -asleep. A pale, cold light was breaking through the fog, which had -collected at the bottom of the valley. It was very cold as we marched -along in silence, the men snoring on the limber-boxes. We were going -westwards--retiring, that is to say. Why? Were we not in a good -position to wait for the enemy? Suddenly a silver sun shone through the -mist, surrounded by a halo of light. - -After a long halt in a lucerne-field manured with stable refuse, the -smell of which remained in our nostrils, we took up position on a hill -near Flassigny. But hardly had we done so when fresh orders arrived, -and we started off again, always towards the west. In the space between -two hills we caught sight of a distant town--doubtless Montmedy. - -About midday we halted in a valley near the river. - -"Dismount! Unharness the off-horses. Stand easy!" - -The sun was burning hot, and not a breath stirred in the heavy air. -Our bottles only contained a little of the Othain water, brackish and -tepid, but at any rate it served to wash in. The men went to sleep in -the ditches, the horses standing motionless, exhausted by the heat. - - * * * * * - -The evening was already advanced when our Group received instructions -to push on to Marville, presumably to camp there. - -I recognized the place, for we had passed through Marville on our -way to Torgny. At that time it was a pretty little town with flowery -gardens and river-side villas surrounded by dahlias. Now, however, -the place was deserted. Large carts belonging to the Meuse peasantry -were waiting, ready to start, piled high with bedding, boxes, and -baskets. In one of them I caught sight of a canary-cage side by side -with a perambulator and a cradle. Women, surrounded by children, were -sitting on the heterogeneous heap, crying bitterly, while the little -ones hid their heads in their skirts. Some dogs, impatient to be off, -were nosing uneasily round the wheels of the carts. We asked these poor -people where they were going. - -"We don't know! They say we've got to go.... And so we're going ... and -with babies like these!" - -And they questioned us in their turn: - -"Which way do you think we'd better go? We don't know!" - -Nor did we. Nevertheless, we pointed out a direction. - -"Go that way! Over there!" - -"Over there" was towards the west.... Oh, what misery!... - - * * * * * - -We bivouacked on the outskirts of the town. Near-by flowed a river, -on the opposite side of which two dead horses were lying in a -stubble-field. - -The Captain of the 10th Battery, which we had believed lost, arrived on -horseback at the camp. He told the Major that in the Gueville woods he -had managed to save his four guns, but had had to leave the ammunition -wagons behind. His battery had taken up position somewhere on the hills -surrounding Marville on the south-east, and he had come to get orders. - - * * * * * - -The rent made by a shell-splinter two days previously in the seat of -my breeches was causing me great discomfort. Divided between the wish -to patch it up and the fear lest the order might come to break up the -camp before I had finished, I let the quiet hours of the evening pass -without doing this very necessary work. - - - _Tuesday, August 25_ - -I was awakened by the sun, and stretched myself. - -"A good night at last, eh, Hutin?" - -Hutin, still asleep, made no answer. Deprez called out: - -"Now then, oats!" - -Nobody was in a hurry. Two men, a confused mass of dark blue cloth, -quietly went on snoring amid the straw strewn under the chase of the -gun. Suddenly I thought I heard a familiar sound, and instinctively -turned to see whence it came. - -"Down!" cried some one. - -The men threw themselves down where they stood. In mid-air, above the -camp, a shell burst. In the still atmosphere the compact cloud of smoke -floated motionless among the thin grey mists. - -"It's that aeroplane we saw yesterday we've got to thank for that," -said Hutin, who had been fully awakened by the explosion. - -"Yes, but it was too high." - -"That's only a trial round to find the range. We shall get it hot in a -few minutes, you'll see!" - -"Now then, bridle! Hook in! Quick!" - -The camp at once became full of movement, the gunners hurrying to -their horses and limbers. In the twinkling of an eye the picket-lines -were wound round the hooks behind the limbers, and the teams were -ready to start. Again came the whistling of an approaching projectile. -The men merely rounded their backs without interrupting their work. -High-explosive shells now began to fall on Marville, and others, -hurtling over our heads, swooped down on the neighbouring hills which -the enemy doubtless believed manned by French artillery. The drivers, -leaning over their horses' necks, whipped up the teams, and the column -made off at a trot to take up position on the hills to the west of the -town, which dominated the Othain valley and the uplands on the other -side of the river, whence the enemy was approaching. A veritable hail -of lead, steel, and fire was raining upon Marville. One of the first -shells struck the steeple. The town was not visible from our position, -but large black columns of smoke were rising perpendicularly into the -sky, and there was no doubt that the place was in flames. Amid the roar -of the cannonade, which had now become an incessant thunder which rose, -fell, echoed, and rolled without intermission, it was difficult to -distinguish between shots coming from the enemy's guns and those fired -from ours. After a time, however, we were able to recognize the short -sharp barks of the .75's in action. - -"Attention! Gun-layers, forward!" - -The men hurried up to the Captain. - -"That tree like a brush ... in front...." - -"We see it, sir!" - -"That's your aiming-point. Plate 0, dial 150." - -The men ran to the guns and layed them, the breeches coming to rest as -they closed on the shells. The gun-layers raised their hands. - -"Ready!" - -"First round," ordered the gun-commander. - -The detachment stood by outside the wheels of the gun, the firing -number bending down to seize the lanyard. - -"Fire!" - -The gun reared like a frightened horse. I was shaken from head to foot, -my skull throbbing and my ears tingling as though with the jangle of -enormous bells which had been rung close to them. A long tongue of fire -had darted out of the muzzle, and the wind caused by the round raised -a cloud of dust round us. The ground quaked. I noticed an unpleasant -taste in my mouth--musty at first, and acrid after a few seconds. That -was the powder. I hardly knew whether I tasted it or whether I smelled -it. We continued firing, rapidly, without stopping, the movements -of the men co-ordinated, precise, and quick. There was no talking, -gestures sufficing to control the manoeuvre. The only words audible -were the range orders given by the Captain and repeated by the Nos. 1. - -"Two thousand five hundred!" - -"Fire!" - -"Two thousand five hundred and twenty-five!" - -"Fire!" - -After the first round the gun was firmly settled, and the gun-layer and -the firing number now installed themselves on their seats behind the -shield. On firing, the steel barrel of the .75 mm. gun recoils on the -guides of the hydraulic buffer, and then quietly and gently returns to -battery, ready for the next round. Behind the gun there was soon a heap -of blackened cartridge-cases, still smoking. - -"Cease firing!" - -The gunners stretched themselves out on the grass, and some began to -roll cigarettes. - -Another aeroplane; the same black hawk silhouetted against the pale -blue sky which at every moment was getting brighter. - -The men swore and shook their fists. What tyranny! It was marking us -down! - -Suddenly the enemy's heavy artillery opened fire on the hills we were -occupying as well as on a neighbouring wood. It was time to change -position, since for us the most perilous moment is when the teams come -up to join the guns. A battery is then extremely vulnerable. - -Before the enemy could correct his range the Major gave an order and -we moved off to take up a fresh position in a hollow on the plain. -The wide fields around us were bristling with stubble, and on the -left a few poplars, bordering a road, traced a green line on the bare -countryside. In front of us and behind stretched empty trenches. -Marville was still burning, the smoke blackening the whole of the -eastern sky. The sun was now high in the heavens, and poured a dazzling -light on the stubble-fields. We were suffering badly from hunger and -thirst. The din of the battle seemed continually to grow louder. - -At the foot of some distant hills, still blue in the mist on the -south-eastern horizon, the Captain had perceived a column of artillery -or a convoy and large masses of men on the march. Were they French -troops, or was it the enemy? He was not sure. The mist and the distance -made it impossible to recognize the uniforms. - -"We can't fire if those are French troops," said he. - -Standing on an ammunition wagon he scanned the threatening horizon -through his field-glasses. - -"If it's the enemy, they are outflanking us ... outflanking us! They'll -be in the woods in a moment.... We shan't be able to see them.... Go -and ask the Major." - -The Major was no better informed than the Captain, the orders he had -received saying nothing about these hills. He also was using his -field-glasses, but could not distinguish the uniforms of the moving -masses. In his turn he muttered: - -"If it's the enemy they're surrounding us!" - -A mounted scout was hastily dispatched. We remained in suspense, a prey -to nervous excitement. - -A single foot-soldier had stopped near the fourth gun. He had neither -pack nor rifle. We questioned him: - -"Wounded?" - -"No." - -"Where have you come from?" - -The Captain signalled for the man to be taken to him. The soldier, who -had thrown away his arms, did not hurry to obey. - -"What are those troops down there?" asked the Captain. "French?" - -"I don't know!" - -"Well, where do you come from?" - -The soldier waved his arm with a vague, comprehensive gesture which -embraced half the horizon. - -"From over there!" - -The Captain shrugged his shoulders. - -"Yes, but where are the Germans? Do you know whether they have turned -Marville on the south?" - -"No, sir.... You see, I was in a trench.... And the shells began to -come along--great big black ones.... First they burst behind us, a -hundred yards or more.... Then, of course, we didn't mind 'em. But soon -some of them fell right on us ... and then we ran!" - -"But your officers?" - -The man made a sign of ignorance. Nothing more could be got out of -him. Just at that moment a shell came hissing through the air, and he -at once made off at full speed, crouching as he ran. A few dislocated -words came back to us over his shoulder: - -"_Ah! Bon Dieu de bon Dieu!_" - -The shell burst on the other side of the road, and the moment after -three others exploded nearer still. The Captain had not ceased to -follow through his glasses the doubtful troops which, by now, had -nearly reached the woods. We waited anxiously, standing in a circle -round him. - -"I believe they're French," said he. "Here, Lintier, have a look! -You've got good eyes." - -Through the glasses I was able to distinguish the red of the breeches. - -"Yes, they're French, sir. But where are they going to?" - -The Captain made no reply, and I understood that once again our army -was in retreat. - -A shower of shells poured down on the field behind us. - -The enemy's fire, too much to the left and too high at first, was -getting nearer, and was now corrected as far as training went. -Our lives depended on the whim of a Prussian Captain and a slight -correction for elevation. - -Just at that moment some sections of infantry suddenly appeared on the -edge of the plateau and hurriedly fell back. A company of the 101st had -come to man the trenches behind our guns. - -The air began to vibrate again, and more shells fell, this time right -on the top of us. A splinter brushed by my head and clanged on the -armour of the ammunition wagon. Another shell plumped down in the -trench full of infantry. One, two, three seconds passed; then came a -groan and a cry. A man got up and fled, then another, and, finally, the -whole company. Their heads held low, and with bent knees, they scurried -off. Behind them a wounded man hastily unstrapped his pack, threw both -it and his gun to one side, and limped rapidly away. - -A road orderly arrived with an envelope for the Major. Orders to -retire. We limbered up, and moved off at a walking pace. Under the -bright sun the stubble-field, with its entrails of black earth laid -bare by the gashes torn by the high-explosive shells, seemed to possess -something of the horror of a corpse mutilated with gaping wounds. -Near the points of burst clods of earth had been blown to a distance, -and, round the edge of the hole, the soil was raised in a circular -embankment. We were still threatened by sudden death. Some one asked: - -"Why don't we go quicker?... We shall get done in!" - -But I fancy that all of us were conscious that fatalism--which is, I -believe, the beginning of courage--had got a grip on us. The enemy -was firing without seeing us, and his shells seemed like the blows of -Fate descending from heaven. Why here rather than there? We did not -know, and the enemy assuredly did not know either. In that case, what -was the good of hurrying? Death might as easily overtake us a little -farther on. Useless to hurry, then; absolutely useless.... In front, -our officers, heel by heel, rode on, talking. - -In the trench in which the shell had just burst a single soldier -remained behind. He was stretched out face downwards on a heap of straw -which he had gathered under him for greater comfort. Blood was oozing -from a wound in his back, making large black stains on the cloth, and -the straw underneath him was dyed crimson. Another splinter had hit -him in the back of the neck; his kepi had fallen off and his face was -buried in the straw. All eyes were turned on him as we passed, but not -a word was said. What can one say about a burst shell or a dead man? - -Another defeat! Just as in 1870!... Just as in 1870! We were all -obsessed by the same paralysing thought. - -"They are devilish strong! Look at that!" said Deprez, pointing towards -the plateau where, as far as the eye could reach, swarms of French -infantry could be seen retreating. Latour, six hours' fighting; to-day, -hardly more. Beaten again! Oh, God! - -We felt a blind rage against those who had fallen back. We did not -retreat last Saturday when we were in action by the willow-tree. - -In the distance, towards Marville, columns of artillery were trailing -over the bare fields. A blue and red squadron was raising clouds of -dust. Waves of infantry, diminishing but still noticeable, dust-covered -cavalry, and black lines of artillery could be seen as far as the -horizon, moving under the scorching sun. The guns had ceased to roar -and there was absolute silence. The earth, parched and hot, exhaled a -vapour which seemed to follow the movements of the men. It was almost -as if the entire plateau had begun to march. - - * * * * * - -At Remoiville we came upon a beautiful chateau of the Early Renaissance -period, with severe lines of long terraces and lofty turrets over which -floated a white flag with a red cross. In the village not a soul was to -be seen. Doors and windows were all closed. A few hens were scratching -about on a manure heap, and a pig, which two gunners were killing in a -little sty black with refuse, raised piercing and discordant squeals. -And yet, on the threshold of one of the last houses, a wretched ruin -in the shadowy interior of which we caught a glimpse of a varnished -wardrobe, two old women, bent with age, watched us as we passed with -eyes which were hardly perceptible under their furrowed eyelids. Only -their fingers moved. Their silent and fixed stare, as keen as a steel -blade, followed us like a reproach. Oh, we know it well, the bitter -remorse of a retreat! A deep sense of shame oppressed us as we filed -through these villages which we were powerless to protect, which we -were abandoning to the fury of the enemy. Things in them assumed an -almost human expression; the fronts of the forsaken dwellings wore an -air of dejected suffering. Fancy, no doubt! Just imagination--but -poignant and vivid imagination, nevertheless, for to-morrow all these -villages might be burning and we, from our camp on the hills, should -see the crops and cottages flaming when the sun went down. - - * * * * * - -It seems that the Allies have beaten the Germans in the north and in -Alsace. At any rate the Communal and Army Bulletins, which are given -us sometimes, say so. Then how is it that we are saddled with this -terrible reproach by things and people whom we cannot defend against an -enemy too superior in numbers? - -We waited some time at Remoiville, and then set off across the river, -which boasted a single bridge. The crossing was carried out in good -order. Then, by the only road, across the valleyed country where dark -green forests alternated with fresh pasture-land, the retreat of the -4th Army Corps began. - -The western horizon was limited by a long range of blue hills of -magnificent outlines. It was doubtless upon these that the French -intended to stop and entrench themselves. - -On the right of the road the interminable procession of artillery -and convoys continued: guns of all calibres, ammunition wagons, -forage wagons, carts, supply and store vehicles, division and corps -ambulances, and peasants' carts full of bleeding wounded, their heads -sometimes enveloped in lint turbans red with gore. Keeping to the left -the infantry marched abreast in good order down the road, which was -already badly cut up. In front of us rolled a 120 mm. battery. One of -the corporals had half a sheep hanging from his saddle. - -The 10th Battery had lost all its guns, for when, about one o'clock, -the infantry gave up all resistance, the gunners could not limber -up, the enemy's fire having almost completely destroyed the teams. -Captain Jamain had been hit in the thigh by a shell splinter. We caught -sight of him as he lay stretched on a hay-cart among the wounded -foot-soldiers. - -The forest, very dense and very dark in spite of the blazing sun, -deadened the tramp of the infantry on the march and the rumble of the -wheels. - -In the ditches some foundered horses were standing with drooping heads -and half-closed eyes glassy with fatigue. Occasionally a wheel fouled -them, but they did not budge an inch. They would only lie down to die. - - * * * * * - -As it turned out, however, the 4th Army Corps was not going to await -the enemy on the hills which, in a series of ridges, commanded the -plain and the forest. Some one told me that the whole of Ruffey's Army -was falling back behind the Meuse. The general retreat continued along -the highway, but our Group turned aside down a by-road which led first -to a village swarming with troops, and then zigzagged up the wooded -hill-side. - -We began the ascent. The sky had suddenly clouded over and the air -became sultry. A few drops of rain fell. The main road below, over -which the tide of retreating troops ebbed ceaselessly on between the -poplars bordering it on either side, looked like a canal filled with -black water and moved by a slow current. - -The column halted, and we carefully wedged the wheels. The men were -tired, and hardly any words were spoken. The silence was only broken by -the jingling of the curb-chains as the horses stretched their necks, -and by the patter of the rain on the leaves. - -We advanced another hundred yards or so, and at the next turn of -the road stopped again. A peasant's cart, filled with bedding, upon -which were sitting a woman--obviously pregnant--and an old lady, both -sheltering under a large umbrella, tried to pass the column. But -several of the ammunition wagons, of which the wheels had been badly -secured, had slid backwards and barred the way. A girl was driving the -heavy cart, which was being laboriously dragged up the hill by a mare -in foal between the shafts, and a colt in front, the latter pulling in -all directions. Both the girl and the animals stuck pluckily to their -job. - -"Now then, come up!" - -The mare threw herself into the collar, and, with our aid, they -eventually reached the head of the column, after which the way was -clear. The girl stopped the cart for a moment and caressed the nose -of the heavy animal, from whose haunches steam arose in clouds. We -exchanged a few words. - -"Where are you going to?" - -"We don't know. At any rate we must cross the Meuse.... We're late, -too. All those who had to go went this morning, when we first heard the -guns. But we didn't; we thought we would wait a little longer and see -what happened. But after all we had to go too. Best to go, isn't it?" - -"Yes," we told them, "you'd better go." - -"And the Germans are perfect savages, aren't they?" - -"Yes." - -"They'll burn our houses ... we shan't find anything when we come -back--nothing but ashes. Oh, it's awful!... Can't you kill them all?" - -"If only we could!..." - -"Now then, come up, old girl!" - -The cart moved on. - -"Good luck!" cried the girl over her shoulder. - -"Thanks--good luck!" - -Near the top of the hill was a large clearing in the woods, from which -the forest appeared like a magnificent mantle thrown over the shoulders -of the neighbouring crests, rounding their edges and softening their -outlines. From this point we could see the whole of the Woevre plain -we had just crossed as well as Remoiville and the plateau of Marville, -where, standing sharply out against the bare fields, was the dark line -of poplars near which we had been in action in the morning. - -Here, in a field where the oats were only half cut, we prepared to -wait for the enemy. Our mission was to cover the retreat of the 4th -Army Corps, which still continued below on the main road over which an -interminable procession of Paris motor-omnibuses was now passing. The -sky had become overcast, and the heavy clouds banking up behind us, to -the west, threatened to shorten the daylight. - -Advancing round the edge of the wood, in order not to reveal our -presence, the battery finally came to a halt on the outskirts of the -sloping forest, behind some clumps of trees which afforded good cover. -We unharnessed and placed the horses and limbers against the background -of foliage of which, from a long distance, they would seem to form -part. We hoped to have a quiet evening, especially as the next day -would probably be a very strenuous one. The two batteries which at -present formed the Group, that is to say only seven guns, would have to -hold up the enemy a sufficient time to ensure the retreat of the Army -Corps. But we hardly gave any heed to the morrow, being too tired to -think or reason. - -We had still to take the horses to the pond in the village at the foot -of the hill, and started off down a steep and narrow path through the -wood. The only street of the hamlet was still crowded with troops. -Through the open window of the mayor's house I saw General Boelle. He -looked grave but not worried, and I searched in vain for a sign of -uneasiness in his expression. - -Infantrymen had piled arms on both sides of the road in front of the -houses. A flag in its case was lying across two piles. At the door of -the vicarage at least two hundred men were crowded together holding out -their water-bottles. The cure, it appeared, was giving them all his -wine. Some Chasseurs, their reins slung over their arms, stood waiting -for orders, smoking, their backs to the wall of the church. I overheard -some of their talk. - -"So Mortier's dead, is he?" - -"Yes. Got a bullet in the stomach." - -"What did he say?" - -"Nothing much.... He said, 'They've got me!' and he lay down clutching -his stomach with both hands. He rolled from side to side and said: -'Ah-a-a-ah! They've got me!' His horse, Balthazar, was sniffing at him. -He hadn't let go of the reins ... still held 'em just like I'm holding -these, over his arm. I heard him say, 'Poor old boy!' He was all -doubled up, and groaned and panted 'ouf-ouf!' and then all of a sudden -he stretched himself right out at full length.... One more Chasseur -less! His face wasn't a pretty sight, and I shut his eyes for him. Then -I broke off a branch from a tree and covered his face with it, as I -should like some one to do to me if I went under.... Must cover up the -dead somehow.... After that I came back with Balthazar." - -When we had climbed back up the hill and regained our clearing many -of the foot-soldiers had already left, while others were strapping on -their packs and unpiling arms. We were informed that only one battalion -was to stay there and support us. I wondered what awful attack the next -day might hold in store. - -A Captain of infantry accosted Astruc, who was astride Lieutenant Hely -d'Oissel's big horse. - -"Hallo there, gunner!" - -"Sir?" - -"Well I'm shot if it isn't Tortue!" - -"Tortue, sir? Who's Tortue?" - -"Why, the horse I lost. That's him! There can't be any mistake. -Dismount now, quick, and hand him over!" - -Astruc protested: - -"But, sir, this horse belongs to our Lieutenant! I must take him back -to him. What would he say to me!" - -"Well, I tell you to dismount. I suppose I know my own saddle, don't I? -And Tortue ... why, she knows me.... There! You see there's no doubt -about it. It's Tortue all right, my mare which I lost at Ethe." - -"But, sir, this is a horse, not a mare." - -The officer examined the animal more closely. - -"Oh! ah! Why yes, it's true! Now that's odd ... most extraordinary! I -could have sworn it was Tortue...." - - * * * * * - -Night fell, the mist enveloping the trees round the clearing. Under -the black clouds passed yet another aeroplane, blacker even than they. -Could the pilot see us at that hour? If so we might expect a shower of -shells at daybreak. The machine pitched and tossed in the sky above the -clearing, for the wind had risen and was blowing in gusts from the west. - -We had strewn some cut oats round the guns, as the night was chilly, -and it looked like rain. The wind, freshening into a gale, wrapped our -cloaks tightly round us and almost seemed to move the men themselves. -No light of any kind was to be seen on the plain over which our guns -were pointing, and which soon became shrouded in the impenetrable -darkness ahead. In one corner the clearing cut into the forest, and -here, where the thick brushwood rose like a black wall on either side, -we were allowed to light a fire. The wind blew in gusts on the flames, -which it first nearly extinguished and then rekindled, making the -shadows of the men flicker fantastically on the ground. - -I was tired out--artillery fire creates an irresistible desire -to sleep--and I was also rather hungry. Not feeling possessed of -sufficient courage to wait for the meat to be cooked and the coffee -brewed, I devoured my ration of beef raw and stretched myself out in -the oats behind the ammunition wagon, where I was sheltered from the -wind. - - - _Wednesday, August 26_ - -Reveille came at dawn, and we woke to find a thick fog enveloping the -battery. We were soaking with dew, and our benumbed and swollen limbs -moved jerkily and with difficulty. The uncertain half-light awoke in -us a feeling of anxiety and dread which, still heavy with sleep as we -were, it was hard to throw off. - -Wrapped in our cloaks and standing motionless round the guns, we had -leisure to examine our situation in this clearing in the middle of -the forest. On the right, according to our officers, it was not known -whether there were any French troops. On this side the woods stretched -uninterruptedly from the ridges we were occupying as far as Remoiville. -On the left the movements of the 4th Army Corps were to be carried -out. It is said that normally an army corps takes ten hours to effect -a retreat along a single road. And this retreat had already been in -progress for more than fifteen hours. - -Our position in the clearing was difficult in itself, and might -become positively perilous if the fog did not lift. Nothing could be -distinguished at a distance of fifty yards from the guns, and the enemy -might advance in the plain, threaten the retreating army, and take us -by surprise. - -On all sides of us, therefore, were the woods and their shadows, the -Unknown and Unexpected. In front of us the enemy hidden in the mist; -behind, the Meuse; danger everywhere. - -The thought of the Meuse was especially disturbing. When it should -become necessary for us to retire in our turn, the Germans, whom there -would be nothing to check on the right, might reach the river before -us. Possibly we should not find a single bridge left standing. We might -have to sacrifice ourselves for the defence of the army. - -The hours dragged by. The mists seemed to be collecting on the flank of -the hills facing the Meuse, whence they were wafted by the west wind in -filmy, trailing clouds which gradually curled over the crests of the -hills, floated towards us, enveloping our batteries for an instant, and -then slowly sank down on the plain. - -I have written these notes on my knee, my back resting against the -brass bottoms of the shells in the ammunition wagon, which was opened -out like a wardrobe. The men were standing about smoking, waiting for -orders. - - * * * * * - -At last, about eight o'clock, the sun shone over the top of the hill -and the fog, like a kind of impenetrable gauze, began to draw away in -front of us. One by one the trees reappeared, only the tops of the -loftiest remaining shrouded in the mist. Nothing stirred. The road, -black yesterday with men and horses now appeared absolutely white -between the meadows damp with dew and vividly green under the first -rays of the morning sun. - -Lying flat on our chests in the grass in front of our guns, on a sort -of natural terrace between the stones descending the slope, we scanned -the plain. After a time everything seemed to move, and one had to make -an effort to dispel the illusion. - -The men are saying that we may have to stay here two days. Surely -that cannot be possible? Somebody asserted that he had heard the -instructions given to the Major by a General: - -"You'll stay there," said he, "as long as the position is tenable. I -rely on your instinct as an artilleryman." - -Another man supported the first speaker. - -"Yes, that's right. He said, 'Solente, I rely on your instinct as an -artilleryman.' Why, I heard him myself." - -We also heard that last Saturday's engagement would be known as the -Battle of Ethe. - -"No," said another. "It will be called the Battle of Virton." - -"Ethe, Virton!... What the devil does it matter what it's called. -Seeing that we've had to retreat!..." - -"Oh, yes, but all the same," said the trumpeter, "we ought to know. -Suppose you get back to your people and they ask you what engagements -you've been in. You'll answer, 'I've been fighting in Belgium.' 'Yes,' -they'll say, 'but Belgium is a big place--bigger than our commune! Were -you at Liege, or Brussels, or Copenhagen?' You would look a silly fool!" - -The other shrugged his shoulders. - -With the help of a bayonet we opened a box of bully-beef for the four -of us, and fell to. The only sound was that made by the hatchet of -one of the men who was chopping down a small birch-tree which might -conceivably interfere with the fire of his gun. - -The silence was too intense, the immobility of the countryside too -complete. The enemy was there. We neither heard him nor saw him, but -that only rendered him the more sinister. The unwonted calm, when we -had braced ourselves up for battle, was terrifying, and our nerves -became overstrained. - -I supposed that the retreat of the 4th Army Corps had by this time been -accomplished. Time passed, and the French army was still falling back, -while the enemy advanced cautiously, threading his way through the -woods. - -Suddenly, about two o'clock, a machine-gun began to crackle quite close -by in the forest. A horseman galloped through the clearing and drew -rein beside the Major. We at once limbered up. - -Was our retreat cut off? The staccato rattle of the machine-gun was -now accompanied by intermittent rifle-fire. We had to cross the -clearing diagonally in order to reach a forest path. Quite calmly, and -determined to save our guns, we got our rifles ready. But the column -crossed the close-cropped field without our hearing a single bullet, -and we gained the wood in safety. We had to hurry, for the road, even -if still open, might be closed at any moment. - -Leaning over the necks of the horses in order to avoid the low-hanging -branches which threatened to drag them from their saddles, and gauging -by eye the narrow passage between the trees, the drivers urged their -teams forward with whip and spur. - -The road was still open.... We arrived at Dun-sur-Meuse, where we had -to cross the river. The Captain assembled the non-commissioned officers: - -"The bridge is mined. Warn your drivers to take care of the sacks on -each side of the bridge. They're full of melinite." - -In order to let us through the sappers threw some planks across the pit -they had opened up in the centre of the bridge. - -The hindmost vehicles of the column had not advanced two hundred yards -on the other side of the Meuse, when a loud explosion shook us on our -seats. The bridge had just been blown up. Behind us a large white cloud -of smoke curled up in thick volutes, masking half the town. - - * * * * * - -As we stood waiting for orders in a field, our guns in double column, -some one called out: - -"There's the postmaster!" - -"At last!" - -"Letters! letters! A man to each gun!" - -For eight days we had been waiting for news, and each man drew a little -aside in order to be alone as he read. - - * * * * * - -It seems certain that the battle of Saturday the 22nd will be known as -the battle of Virton. - - - _Thursday, August 27_ - -It had poured all night, and rain was still falling when we rose. -The thought of all the misery such weather must inevitably cause -spoiled the satisfaction we experienced at feeling fit and fresh after -ten hours' delicious sleep in a well-closed barn. Our horse-cloths -thrown over our heads like hoods and flapping against our calves, we -silently marched in scattered order along the churned-up road, our feet -squelching in the mud, and finally regained the park under the lashing -rain. - -The horses, motionless, glistening with water but resigned, endeavoured -unceasingly to turn their tails to the rain. The stable-pickets had -succeeded in lighting fires but they had had to dig new hearths, for -those of the day before were swamped and black pieces of charred wood -were floating in them. - -The men's cloaks were streaming and hung heavily in stiff folds from -their shoulders. Some of them had turned up their capes in order to -protect their heads. The gunners stood round about, holding their red -hands to the fire. - -"Beastly rain! Two days more like this and we shall all get dysentery!" - -"I'd rather die of that than be killed by a shell," said Hutin. - -"No use trying to make coffee," growled Pelletier. "The fire doesn't -give out any heat.... It would take hours." - -"It's the wood that won't burn. It only smokes." - -"Blow on it, Millon!" - -We turned our boot soles to the heat in order to dry them. The rain -hissed and spat in the fire. - -"All the same," said the trumpeter, "if we hadn't been betrayed things -wouldn't have gone like this!" - -I grew annoyed. - -"Betrayed! I was waiting for some one to come out with that!" - -"Well, I mean it; betrayed! I heard about it yesterday.... It was -a General who delivered up the army plans. I know what I'm talking -about!" - -"Pooh! Camp gossip!" - -"I heard the same thing," affirmed another. - -"Simply camp gossip! From the moment we got scratched that was bound -to come sooner or later. If you're beaten it's because you've been -betrayed! The French can't be the weaker! Lord, no! It's impossible, -of course! But you know there are five German army corps in front of -us. That makes two to one.... No ... well, all the same. Even with two -to one we can't be beaten, can we? And, if we are, we at once begin -to whine about betrayal! Wasn't it you who were always saying that -Langle de Cary's army ought to come up and help us? Eh? Well, it's all -simply because you don't feel strong enough to tackle the Boches by -yourselves." - -"All the same, traitors exist right enough," said the trumpeter with -a sage nod of the head. "There always have been traitors, and there -always will be, to sell France." - -"Idiot!" said Hutin peremptorily. - - * * * * * - -Almost all my comrades thought as I did. A few properly equipped -reinforcements would have enabled us to get the upper hand. Even alone, -here behind the Meuse, we could have managed to stop the enemy. - -Besides, during the days of defeat we had just been passing through, -what a moving picture of our country had been revealed to us! An army -immediately victorious cannot plumb the depths of patriotism. One -must have fought, have suffered, and have feared--even if only for a -moment--to lose her, in order to understand what one's country really -means. She is the whole joy of existence, the embodiment of all our -pleasures visible and invisible, and the focus of all our hopes. -She alone makes life worth living. All this united and personified -in a single suffering being, begotten by the will of millions of -individuals--that is France! - -In defending her one defends oneself, seeing that she is the sole -reason for being, for living. One would prefer to fall dead on the spot -rather than see France lost, for that would be worse than death. Every -soldier feels this truth, either vaguely, or distinctly and clearly, -according to his powers of perception and affection. - -And yet, in the camp, these things are never talked of. The reason -is that words which, in peace-time, too often veiled by their gross -grandiloquence these deeper and finer feelings, would be insupportable -now. This passion, for it is a passion, lies deep down in the heart -with other sacred and inmost emotions, to give outward expression to -which would be almost to profane them. - - * * * * * - -"Come on, now! Harness! Hook in! We're off." - -The rain had soured the men's tempers. - -"Now then! Be careful with your horse, can't you? You might have killed -us!" - -"Untie your horses so that we can get the picket-lines, will you?... -All right, damn you, I'll do it myself." - -"There's a silly fool! Fine place to tether a colt to--the wheel of an -ammunition wagon. He's ripping up the oat-bag. Pull him off, can't you?" - -Cramone, threatening his team with his whip, repeated for the twentieth -time: - -"I'll teach you how to behave, you brutes!" - -"There's another dish lost," shouted Millon. "Who's the idiot who -didn't pick it up yesterday?" - -"Can't you pull your infernal mules back a bit?... We can't limber -up.... Never seen such a fool!..." - -The men pushed and tugged at their horses, which, face to the wind, -continued pulling this way and that in a vain attempt to prevent the -rain stinging their ears. Brejard lost his temper. - -"Lord, what a set! Can't you keep your horses straight?... Look at that -off-leader!... Can't you see he's got entangled?..." - -"Thought we were going to have a rest to-day!" - -"I suppose the Germans are resting, aren't they?" - -The start was difficult. During the night the wheels of the vehicles -had sunk deeper and deeper into the softening soil, and the horses' -hoofs kept slipping on the slope. - -Once on the road the battery broke into a trot, the mud splashing in -sprays from under the feet of the horses. Some of the gunners, attacked -by colic, stopped in the ditches, and then, still doing up their -breeches, ran along by the side of the column in order to overtake -their vehicles. - -We were going to extend a strong artillery position on the heights of -the Meuse valley. From the hills near Stenay the sound of the guns -reached us in gusts, and, some distance off, above the woods, we could -see the shrapnel shells bursting. The rain had stopped, and the sky, -dark a moment previously, suddenly cleared and assumed a uniformly -light grey tint. - -In a meadow by the roadside some peasants, fleeing before the tide of -invasion, had set up their nightly camp. A large green awning sheltered -their cart and formed a tent at the same time. Two shafts projected -from the front end, pointing skywards. An old man and two women--both -pregnant--with half a dozen children clinging to their skirts, watched -us go by. - -The road rose stiffly upwards, and the column slackened its pace to a -walk. I heard one of the women say to the old man, as she gave him a -nudge with her elbow: - -"Go on, father!" - -The old man hesitated, but she insisted: - -"You must!" - -He seemed to make up his mind, and approached us, shifting from one leg -to another. Then, with a red face, he muttered: - -"No! Can't ask for that at my time of life!" - -He was about to go, but we stopped him. - -"Ask for what, old fellow?" - -"For a bit of bread, if you've got any over. It's for the children!" - -"Yes, of course we have! We never eat it all!" - -As a matter of fact we seldom get enough bread. The loaves have to be -sorted out, and, when the mouldy parts have been thrown away, the -ration is usually more than halved. The old man walked by the side of -the limber while the men searched in their bags. - -"Here you are!" - -Two loaves, almost fresh, were held out to him. - -"With an onion and a good set of teeth they're eatable!" - -"Thanks.... Thank you so much.... But I'm afraid you'll be short -yourselves!" - -"Oh, no! That's all right, old chap! Why, we get a wagonful of those -every day!" - -He made off, a loaf under each arm. I saw him hunch his shoulders and -dry his eyes with the sleeve of his coat. - -A shower of shrapnel shells suddenly burst in the distance, over the -dark woods. - -"Swine!" growled Millon between his teeth. He had given up his bread. - -He shook his fist towards the enemy. - -Once in position to sweep the uplands on the right bank of the Meuse, -we dried ourselves in the sun. - -In the afternoon a few horsemen, Uhlans presumably, appeared on the -edge of a distant wood. A broadside of shells quickly made them seek -cover again. - - - _Friday, August 28_ - -"Alarm!" - -"What?" - -"Come on, up you get!" - -"What's the time?" - -"Don't know.... It's still dark." - -"All right, then, we'll get up. Hutin, come on, get up!" - -I shook Hutin, who growled in answer: - -"All right! Oh, Lord, I was so comfortable there!" - -The noise of shuffling straw filled the barn. - -"What's the time?" repeated somebody. - -"Look out there! There's a rung missing in the ladder." - -Noises of feet scraping against the ladder. An oath. - -"Get the lantern!" - -"Where is it?" - -"Hanging behind the door." - -The men groped about for their belongings. - -"My kepi!" - -"Dashed if I can find the lantern! Come and help, can't you?" - -"Sure it can't be two o'clock yet." - -"Come along now, hurry up," cried a sergeant, opening the door. -"Anybody else still asleep?" - -No one replied. Outside, it was very cold, and the night was dark. Not -a star was to be seen. Fires had been lit in the middle of the village, -and coffee was on the boil. The church, a diminutive chapel magnified -by the light from below, had almost the air of a cathedral, its spire -lost in the inky blackness of the sky. Fantastic shadows danced on -the walls, and the windows were momentarily lit up by red or green -lights. A crowd of poor people fleeing from the enemy were sleeping -in the nave, together with some soldiers who in vain had sought -shelter elsewhere. Through the front entrance, which was wide open, -the interior of the church looked mysterious, filled as it was with -fugitive lights and shadows, like those cast by a building on fire. -Under the vivid reflections of the stained-glass windows on the flags -I caught a glimpse of prostrate human figures. In the square, soldiers -coming and going between their fires threw enormous shadows on the -ground and on the walls of the houses. - -Why this alarm? Had the enemy succeeded in crossing the frontier near -Stenay? We set off behind the infantry, whose tramp, tramp sounded like -the movement of a flock of sheep on the road. The night was alive with -moving but unseen forms. The breathing of hundreds of men on the march -was felt rather than heard; every now and then, as if from far off, -came a half-lost word. All this invisible life in movement seemed to -give off currents which traversed the night air like electricity. - -In the distance we heard the sound of the guns towards which we were -marching. - -Soon the first streaks of dawn lit up the wooded hills, which reared -their severe yet splendid crests between us and the Meuse. We passed -through Tailly--a village at the bottom of a ravine, consisting of a -few cottages, a church, and a cemetery. - - * * * * * - -When we arrived at Beauclair, in the valley of the Meuse, the -engagement appeared to have finished. - -In front of the church the infantry who had just been in action were -resting amid their piled arms. The majority were pale--but some were -very red. They had thrown themselves down on the bare ground in the -sun, and not one of them moved a muscle. The stiffened features of -the sleepers were eloquent of tragic weariness as they lay there with -open coats and shirts, showing glimpses of naked chests. All were -indescribably dirty, their legs plastered with mud up to the knees. - -The battery halted outside the last houses of the village, and we at -once set about making coffee. A hulking Tommy came up to ask for an -onion. We questioned him: - -"So they've not succeeded in crossing the Meuse yet?" - -"Oh, yes, they have!... One brigade got over all right ... but the -artillery had mown down the bridges behind them, and so we had a go at -them with fixed bayonets.... Lord! you don't know what that's like, you -chaps!... A charge!... It's awful!... Never known anything like it! If -there _is_ a Hell, I expect there's bayonet fighting always going on -there!... No! I mean it! Off you go, shouting.... Then one or two fall, -and after them lots of others.... And the more that fall the louder -you've got to shout so that the others will come along. And then when -at last you get to close quarters with 'em, why, you're just raving -mad, and you thrust and thrust.... But the first time you feel your -bayonet sink into a chap's stomach, you feel a bit queer.... It's all -soft, you've only got to shove a bit!... But it's harder to withdraw -clean! I was so damned gentle that I upset my fellow--a great big fat -chap with a red beard. I couldn't pull my bayonet out ... had to put -my foot on his chest, and felt him squirm under my tread. Here, have a -look at this!..." - -He drew out his bayonet, which was red up to the cross-bar. As he went -away he stooped down and plucked a handful of grass to clean it. - -The hours passed. The enemy appeared unwilling to make another attempt -to force the passage of the Meuse. - -We heard that d'Amade had made a flank attack on the opposing German -army, and had taken Marville. - -D'Amade! Well done, d'Amade! But ... was it true? - -At Halles, a mile and a half from Beauclair, we encamped at the foot of -some high hills. The guns, which for some time past had been silent, -again began to thunder. The enemy was bombarding the heights above us. - -As billets for the night we had been given a spacious barn. But when at -dusk we went there to get some sleep we found our straw covered with -foot-soldiers, rifles, and packs. - -The artillerymen began swearing: - -"Hallo, what the hell's all this? No more room left?" - -There was a scrimmage to let us find places. - -The barn had a loft above it to which a ladder gave access, and the -floor of which was worm-eaten. We stuffed up the holes with hay. - -"There we are! As usual, the artillery above, and the infantry below. -That's all right.... But mind you don't take the ladder away!" - -"Take care of your feet.... O-o-oh!" - -"Why couldn't you say you were in the straw?" - -"Now then, up you go!" - -Five or six artillerymen were on the ladder at the same time. It bent -beneath their weight. Below, a foot-soldier stood motionless, holding a -candle in his hand. - -"Look out! Don't want your spurs in my face, you know!" - -"Growl away, old chap! Let's get up." - -"The floor's giving way!... They'll fall through." - -"Go on, climb up! It's less dangerous than the shells!" - -"Damn it all, move up a bit, you fellows; otherwise there won't be room -for all of us!" - -"Don't go there! There's a hole.... You'll fall on the Tommies down -below!" - -Downstairs the infantry were grumbling: - -"Can't you keep quiet, up there, eh? We want to sleep! And the straw's -all falling in our mouths!" - -"If only it would stop yours!" - -"Look out, you're on my stomach!" - -"Sorry. Can't see an inch in here.... Can't you raise the lantern over -there?" - - * * * * * - -Again came the sound of a shell bursting in the distance. I hesitated -whether to take off my spurs and leggings, although I knew quite well -that I should sleep better without them. But, if there was an alarm, -should I be able to find them in the straw? Finally, I decided to keep -them on, nor did I unstrap my revolver holster, which was chafing my -side. I tightened my chin-strap so as not to lose my kepi. - - - _Saturday, August 29_ - -Reveille came at two o'clock, together with orders to start at once. -The Germans, we heard, had crossed the Meuse. But our artillery had no -doubt registered the course of the river. I could not understand why we -had not heard the guns. - -In the darkness of the early dawn the road showed up yellow between the -blue-grey fields. On the way I recognized the yew-trees of a cemetery -in which some dead were being buried the day before. - -We stopped in column on the steep ascent towards Tailly, and waited for -orders. The day broke behind the hills and gradually overspread the -whole horizon. - -One by one the regiments of the 7th Division climbed up from the -ravine and passed us. The men looked haggard and tired. Their eyes -were hollow, and the faces of the youngest, drawn and sallow with -privations, were furrowed with lines. The corners of their mouths -drooped. Bending forward under the weight of their packs, in the -attitude of Christ bearing the Cross, the infantry toiled up the hill -as though it were a Calvary. At every hundred yards or so they halted -and re-hoisted their burdens with a jerk of their shoulders. Some of -them were holding out their rifles at arm's length, as though it were a -balance which helped them to march. Others were complaining that they -had had nothing to eat for two days. One of the 101st, a pale, lanky, -thin-faced fellow, with feverishly bright eyes, halted close to us and -stroked the chase of the gun. - -"Lord," said he to Hutin, "you might as well put a shell through my -chest! At least there'd be an end of it!" - -"Aren't you ashamed to talk like that?" - -The other made a vague gesture, shrugged his shoulders, and went off -dragging one leg after him. - -As soon as the infantry had gone by we were ordered to take up our -position on the plain, near the edge of the wood behind which the -regiments of the line were retreating. - -I heard the Major repeat the order received to the Captain: "Prevent -the enemy from setting foot on the plateau. There are no more French in -front of you!" - -"So we are still covering the retreat! A vile job!" said Millon, the -firing number, a good little Parisian chap, with a face like a girl. - -In our present position we ran as great a risk from the rifle and -machine-gun fire as from the shells. Not far off on the edge of the -plateau, near the brush-shaped poplar, was a dark little copse whence -at any minute bullets might come buzzing about our ears. The Germans -might get their machine-guns there without being seen, rather than risk -coming out into the open. And what might we expect then? Oh, well!... -After all, that is what we had come there for. - -"If we hadn't been sold, things would have gone very differently," -growled Tuvache, a Breton farmer, who was brave enough under fire, but -who suffered from bad _morale_. - -And, still obsessed by the idea of treason, he added: - -"And the proof is that they've been able to cross the Meuse without -hindrance." - -Brejard made him stop talking. - -"Why, you're worse than the others, you are! We're fighting from the -North Sea right down to Belfort, aren't we? Well, then, how can you -judge by one wretched little corner? Perhaps we're letting them advance -as far as this in order to surround 'em afterwards.... Some of you -chaps always seem to know more than your Generals.... And besides, all -this time the Russians are advancing. You let things be.... We shall -have 'em some day, never fear! And then they'll pay for this!" - -We awaited the appearance of the heads of the enemy's columns, which -from one moment to another might emerge from the Tailly valley. - -The plateau, shining with dew, had assumed that absolutely silent -immobility one so often notices in the country in the early hours of a -sunny morning. - -Four black points suddenly appeared far down the road! Was it the -enemy's advanced guard? No. We were soon able to recognize three -stragglers and a cyclist. A troop in column of march followed them out -of the valley. In this order they could not be Germans. The column, -which proved to be a battalion of the 101st, passed by, and disappeared -down the road leading to the wood. But, in the rise and fall of the -valleyed country stretching on the north-west as far as the dark masses -of distant forests, Lieutenant Hely d'Oissel had discovered through his -field-glasses large masses of men marching westwards through sunken -roads which almost hid them from our view. Were they the enemy, or were -they the French troops which were occupying the heights of the Meuse -near Stenay and which were now retiring? - -We had already experienced the same terrible uncertainty at Marville. -The Captain climbed up into an apple-tree in order to see better, -and the Major also tried to recognize the mysterious troops. But -neither could distinguish anything. A mist--the dampness of the night -evaporating--was already rising from the ground and veiling the -horizon. If those were German columns, they would threaten the flank of -the retreating army. A scout was sent off at a gallop to reconnoitre. -Time passed, and the columns disappeared. At last the scout came back; -the troops were French. He had seen parties of Chasseurs flanking them. - -Our feet wet with dew, we once again became motionless and awaited the -enemy. - -About midday we received orders to move to the edge of the plateau, -and take up position behind a clump of trees, in order to command the -Tailly valley and the hills on the south of Stenay. And, continually, -successive regiments of infantry emerged from the forest and passed us, -falling back. - -"Dashed if I can fathom it!" said Hutin. - -"Nor can I!" - -It was very hot, and we were thirsty, but our water-bottles were empty. - -We continued to wait until dusk, but the enemy did not appear. - -Night had fallen when we were sent to encamp on the other side of the -woods. - -The moon was rising clear of the tree-tops. The regular clatter of -hoofs and the monotonous roll of the vehicles blended together into a -sort of weary cradle-song, and made us sleepy after a time. In order -to suffer uncomplainingly all the hardships and miseries of war, we -would have asked no more than one hour of affection, of sympathetic -tenderness, in safety, at evening-time, after the long day spent in -watching or fighting. - -The road was level, and we were hardly shaken at all; no one spoke, and -most of us slept or dozed. - -No sound disturbed the stillness of the warm night save that of the -column on the march. Gradually we lost ourselves in pleasing reveries -and memories of the past, forgetting present dangers and distress. On -we jogged through space and time.... Lyons at night-time ... long rows -of lamps lighting the wharves and reflected in the Rhone ... above the -river the amphitheatre of Croix-Rousse with its lights scintillating -like golden points, and above them, again, the stars.... Where did the -town end, or where did the sky begin?... And the Mayenne in the bright -days of autumn and summer, its sombre waters sparkling like black -diamonds.... The memories which rose up before me gradually blurred the -scene of illusive reflections. - -And perhaps I should die in a few hours' time.... - -Almost as if I myself had been able to write those beautiful verses of -Du Bellay, I felt the aching nostalgia of his words: - - _Quand reverrai-je, helas! de mon petit village - Fumer la cheminee, et en quelle saison - Reverrai-je le clos de ma pauvre maison, - Qui m'est une province et beaucoup d'avantage?_ - -I repeated the lines to myself several times. - - - _Sunday, August 30_ - -This morning we marched for hours through clouds of dust, the sun -scorching the backs of our necks. The men were thirsty and continually -spat out the clayey saliva which clogged their mouths. The battery -halted in a valley on the outskirts of a village--Villers-devant-Dun, I -think it was--where the sound of the guns seemed to come from the west -and south as well as from the east and north. This was a surprise, and -at first made us uneasy. Janvier, for the hundredth time, said: - -"That's it! We are surrounded!" - -He was haunted by this idea. However, it was not long before we -discovered that the illusion was solely caused by an exceptionally -clear echo. In reality the fighting was going on near Dun-sur-Meuse. - -We crowded round the fountain, on the surrounding wall of which the -last _Bulletin des Communes_ was pasted. But first we each drank, in -great gulps, at least a quart of fresh water. Afterwards we read the -news. All was going well! Nevertheless, it was announced that Mulhouse -had been retaken. Apparently, then, it had been lost. We exchanged -impressions: - -"Well, Hutin?" - -"Not bad," he answered rather dubiously, "but they don't say anything -about our little show of last week." - -Brejard, on the contrary, was filled with an optimism which nothing -could damp: - -"Virton, Marville--why, all that is a mere nothing on a front as long -as this! We've had to give a little in some sectors, that's all.... But -otherwise things are going quite all right!" - -"All the same, it isn't nice to find ourselves in one of the sectors -which have to give way," answered Hutin. - -"All that will change. We're going to be reinforced.... They say that -De Langle is only a day's march off." - -"He'll have to hurry up if he wants to find any of the 4th Infantry -left!" - -That was true. The regiments of the line, especially those of the 8th -Division, had suffered terribly. Some battalions had been diminished by -two-thirds, and, since the Battle of Virton, many companies were not -more than fifty or eighty strong, and had lost all their officers. How -we wished that De Langle would arrive! - -In the ever-thickening dust and overpowering heat we returned by the -same road to the positions we had occupied the day before at Tailly. -It seemed to us that we had uselessly wasted more than seven hours -marching in a large circle. - - * * * * * - -Another aeroplane appeared. This oppression was becoming unbearable! -We felt like a flock of frightened sparrows beneath the shadow of -the hawk. The Germans have improved and developed the aerial arm -to an enormous extent, and, unfortunately, our .75's are unable to -hit aeroplanes, the mobility of the gun on the carriage not being -sufficient. It is necessary to dig a pit for the spade, and before this -is finished the machine is always out of range. - -The aviator who had just flown over us had thrown out a star in order -to mark the situation of one of our batteries in position on the -heights commanding the river. The guns at once moved off, and took up -a fresh position elsewhere. Shortly afterwards shells began to fall on -the hill they had been occupying--enormous shells, which made the earth -quake for miles around and withered the grass with their dirty, pungent -smoke. - -"I expect those are the famous 22 cm. shells" said the Captain. - -We had nothing to do. Towards Stenay the horizon was deserted and -motionless. For several hours heavy shells continued to fall in threes, -making black holes in the green meadows in which not a soul remained. -We were obviously within range of the guns from which they were fired, -and we had no guarantee that we should not be hit if the enemy lifted -his fire a little. - - * * * * * - -I was struck by the marvellous faculty of adaptability which forms the -basis of human nature. One becomes accustomed to danger just as one -becomes accustomed to the most cruel privations, or to the uncertainty -of the morrow. - -Before the war I used to wonder how it was that old men nearing the -extreme limits of existence could continue to live undisturbed in -the imminent shadow of death. But now I understand. For us the risk -of death has become an element of daily life with which one coolly -reckons, which no longer astonishes, and terrifies less. Besides, a -soldier's everyday life is a school for courage. Familiarity with the -same dangers eventually leaves the human animal unmoved. One's nerves -no longer quiver; the conscious and constant effort to keep control -over oneself is successful in the end. Therein lies the secret of -all military courage. Men are not born brave; they become brave. The -instinct to be conquered is more or less resistant--that is all. -Moreover, one must live, on the field of battle just as elsewhere; it -is necessary to become accustomed to this new existence, no matter -how perilous or harsh it may be. And what renders it difficult--more, -intolerable--is fear, the fear that throttles and paralyses. It has to -be conquered, and, finally, one does conquer it. - -Apart from the necessity of living as well as can possibly be managed, -the greatest disciplinary factors in the life of a soldier under fire -are a sense of duty and a respect for other people's opinion--in a -word, honour. This is not a discovery; it is merely a personal opinion. - -It must also be confessed that this training in courage is far more -easy for us than for the foot-soldiers--the least fortunate of all the -fighting forces. A gunner under fire is literally unable to run away. -The whole battery would see him--his dishonour would be palpable, -irretrievable. Now fear, in its more acute manifestations, seems to me -necessarily to imply annihilation of will-power. A man incapable of -controlling himself sufficiently to face danger bravely will, in the -majority of cases, be equally incapable of facing the intolerable shame -of public flight. Flight of this kind would necessitate an exercise -of will--almost a kind of bravery. The infantryman is often isolated -when under fire; when the shrapnel bullets are humming above him a -man lying down at a distance of four yards from another is virtually -alone. Concern for his own safety monopolizes all his faculties and -he may succumb to the temptation to stop and lie low, or to sneak off -to one side and then take to flight. When he rejoins his company in -the evening he may declare that he lost his squad or that he fought -elsewhere. Perhaps he is not believed, and possibly he was aware -beforehand that no one would believe him; but at least he will have -escaped the intolerable ignominy of running away before the eyes of all. - -To remain under fire is by no means easy, but to keep cool in the -heat of a modern engagement is harder still. At first fear makes one -perspire and tremble. It is irresistible. Death seems inevitable. The -danger is unknown, and is magnified a thousandfold by the imagination. -One makes no attempt to analyse it. The bursting of the shells and -their acrid smoke together with the shrapnel are the main causes of -the first feeling of terror. And yet neither the flashes of melinite, -nor the noise of the explosions, nor the smoke are the real danger; but -they accompany the danger, and at first one is attacked by all three at -once. Soon, however, one learns to discriminate. The smoke is harmless, -and the whistling of the shells indicates in what direction they are -coming. One no longer crouches down unnecessarily, and only seeks -shelter knowingly, when it is imperative to do so. Danger no longer -masters but is mastered. That is the great difference. - -In order to form an exact idea of the effects of a shell, I went with -Hutin to examine a field full of Jerusalem artichokes in which a heavy -projectile had just fallen. In the centre of the field we found a -funnel-shaped hole about ten yards in diameter, so regular in shape -that it could only have been made by a howitzer shell. This kind of -projectile strikes the ground almost perpendicularly, and buries itself -deep in the soft soil, throwing up enormous quantities of earth as -it bursts. Many of the steel splinters are lost in the depths of the -ground, and the murderous cone of dispersion is thereby proportionately -reduced. - -The truth of this can be easily confirmed. In the present case the -farther we went from the hole the higher was the point at which the -artichokes had been shorn off, and at a dozen paces or so from the edge -of the crater the shrapnel had only reached the heads of the highest -stems. It follows therefore that a man lying very near the point of -impact would probably not have been hit. Next came a circular zone -which was entirely unscathed, but a little farther on the falling -bullets and splinters had mown off leaves and stems, and a man lying -down here would have risked quite as much as if he had remained -standing. - -When thus coldly examined a shell loses much of its moral effect. - -The actual organization of the artillery also stimulates a gunner's -courage. The foot-soldier, cavalryman, and sapper are units in -themselves, whereas for us the only unit is the gun. The seven men -serving it are the closely connected, interdependent organs of a thing -which becomes alive--the gun in action. - -In consequence of the links existing between the seven men among -themselves and between each of them and the gun, any faint-heartedness -is rendered more obvious, its consequences much greater, and the -shame it bears in its wake more crushing. Moreover, in this complete -solidarity the effluvia which create psychological contagion are -easily developed; one or two gunners who stick resolutely and calmly to -their posts are often able to inspire the whole detachment with courage. - - * * * * * - -To-day was a day of undisturbed quiet. Over towards Tailly and Stenay -nothing revealed the presence of the enemy. - -When evening approached we were again sent off to encamp on the other -side of the woods. There was a glorious summer sunset, and through the -dark depths of the trees the road opened up a mysterious avenue at the -end of which glowed a western sky more varied in hues than a rainbow. - -All sound of battle had ceased. Gradually the sky darkened and night -fell. As yesterday, the artillery rolled monotonously on through the -shadowy woods. - -One by one the stars were veiled by a rising mist, and the sky became -opalescent with a nocturnal luminosity that flooded the stretches of -the forest, which, from the crests of the hills, could be seen rising -and falling as far as the eye could reach. But underneath the trees -the darkness was intense, and the road would have seemed a trench dug -deep in the earth itself but for an occasional infantry bivouac, the -embers of which glowed faintly through the brushwood, and but for a -damp scent of mint and other herbs which rose from the dark undergrowth -mingled with a certain sensuous smell of animality. We were surrounded -by a delicious freshness with which we filled our lungs and which made -us shiver slightly. - -Millon, who was sitting next to me on the limber-box, told me the story -of his life. It was a sad and simple history. Only twenty, with his -girl's face and roguish yet infantile eyes, he had nevertheless long -been the bread-winner of a family, and now his mother--"my old mother" -as he said in a tone full of deep affection--had been left alone in -Paris with another child, still very young, whose delicate constitution -and highly strung nerves were the cause of continual alarm. He told me -of past misfortunes still fresh in his memory, of the present anxiety -of his people in Paris, and of material worries. - -"Ah," he sighed, "if only my old mother could see me to-night, safe and -sound on the limber!" - - * * * * * - -In the field where the battery halted we had almost to fight in order -to get a few armfuls of straw. The gunners of a battery which had -arrived before us had stretched themselves out haphazard on a fallen -hayrick. They had twenty times more straw than they needed, but when we -tried to pull a little from under them the awakening of the overwrought -sleepers was terrifying. They shouted, cursed, and threatened. Finally -they fell asleep again, growling and grunting under their breath like a -pack of surly dogs. - - - _Monday, August 31_ - -The guns awoke us early, and we prepared to return to meet the enemy. -About seven o'clock we found ourselves back in Tailly, where we learnt -that the day before the enemy had been pushed back as far as the Meuse, -and that Beauclair and Halles were now entirely in French hands. - -Standing in column of route in the village we awaited orders. The -German artillery began to bombard the neighbouring hills. - -In the market-place was a hay-cart in which were lying three wounded -Uhlans. An officer, his hands behind his back, was walking up and down -in front of the cart. Some women and children were standing round them -in a group, silently contemplating the Germans. One or two of the -gunners joined them out of curiosity. The Uhlans looked at them with -sad and troubled blue eyes. - -"They aren't such an ugly set as I should have thought," declared -Tuvache. - -"No?" said Millon. "I suppose you thought they had got a third eye in -the middle of their foreheads, like the inhabitants of the moon!" - -Tuvache shrugged his shoulders: - -"No, only I had an idea they were uglier. They don't look as bad as all -that!" - - * * * * * - -There was severe fighting this morning in the Beauclair Gap, through -which the enemy tried to force a passage. The incessant din of the -battle sounded from afar like the rising tide beating on a rocky shore. - -"Forward! Trot!" - -After having proceeded some three hundred yards down the Beauclair road -we again halted. Soldiers were coming back from the lines, some of them -wounded in the hands or arms, and others in the shoulders. All of them -were bandaged. They stopped to ask us for water or cigarettes, and we -exchanged a few words with them: - -"Are we advancing?" - -"No, but we are holding our ground. It is their machine-guns that are -the trouble. They're just awful!" - -"Are you in pain?" - -"No!" - -"What does it feel like, a bullet?" - -"It burns a bit, but it doesn't hurt much." - -Some others, wounded in the leg, began to pass by. These were evidently -in great pain. They were perspiring with fatigue and heat, for the sun, -now in the zenith, was beating straight down in the hollow through -which the road wound. Many were helping themselves along by the aid of -sticks cut from the hedges. - -An officer's horse went by, led by a stretcher-bearer and bearing a -foot-soldier whose thigh had been broken by a shell. The wounded man -was clutching the animal's mane with both hands, his right leg hanging -helpless. Just above the knee was a rent in his breeches through which -the blood flowed freely, running down to his boot and dripping thence -to the ground. His eyes were closed and his bloodshot eyelids, pale -lips, and the red beard covering his long, bony jaws, made him look -like one crucified. - -"Can you manage to hold out?" asked the stretcher-bearer. - -"Are we still far from the ambulance?" - -"No, not far now. If you feel faint let me know and I'll put you down. -Does it hurt much?" - -"Yes, and it's bleeding.... Look at the blood on the road!" - -"That's nothing. Hold on to the mane!" - -An ambulance passed full of seriously wounded. Instead of being laid -down they had been propped up against the sides of the carriage so that -it should hold more. Under the green tilt I caught a glimpse of one -man with a face the colour of white marble whose head was rolling on -his shoulders, and of another who was streaming with blood. A huge and -swarthy corporal was sharing the box with the driver. His gun between -his knees and one hand on his hip, he was sitting bolt upright with a -grave and determined air, his head enveloped in a turban of crimson -lint. Blood was trickling into his right eye, which, in its red-rimmed -orbit, looked strangely white, and from thence ran down his drooping -moustache, matting the hairs of his beard, and finally dropping on to -his broad chest in black splashes and streams. - -One of the wounded who had been waiting for a long time, sitting by the -roadside, caught hold of a carriage which dragged him on. - -"Please stop and let me get up!" - -"We've no more room, I'm afraid!" - -"I can't walk." - -"But as you see we're full up!" - -"Can't I get on the step?" - -"Yes, if you can manage it!" - -But the vehicle still went on. A gunner helped the man on to the step. - -At the end of a sunken road, in the shade of some tall poplars with -dense foliage which the sun only penetrated in places, two Medical -Corps officers had improvised a sort of operating-table on trestles. -Some wounded laid out on the slope were waiting their turn to be -bandaged. Among the stones a thin, dark-coloured stream of water -was flowing, partially washing away the pools of blood and bits of -red-stained cotton-wool and linen. The air was pervaded by a stale -odour like that of a chemist's shop, mingled with the damp smell of -running water. - -A Captain was brought up in a stretcher, on both sides of which his -arms hung limply down. A hospital orderly cut off the sleeves of -his tunic, and he was then placed on the operating-table. He was an -ugly sight as he lay there with his blood-stained bare arms and his -sleeveless blue tunic encircling his body. While his wounds were being -dressed he gave long-drawn sighs of pain. - -"Right about wheel!" - -We set off up a steep incline across the fields to take up position -on the heights overlooking the Beauclair Gap and the road we had -just left. The battery was backed by a spur of the hills which hid -Tailly from view except for the spire of the steeple, surmounted by a -weather-cock, which seemed to rise out of the earth behind us. - -In this position we were visible to the enemy through the V-shaped gap -between the hills commanding the Meuse. We could see the woods and -fields beyond Beauclair occupied by the Germans, and which the French -batteries ahead of us were covering with shrapnel shell from behind the -sheltering ridges. In the fields in the distance the German infantry -debouching from the woods looked like an army of black insects on a -bright green lawn. We immediately opened fire, and under our shells the -enemy hastily regained the woods, which we then began to bombard. - -The action seemed to be going favourably for us this morning. Some -French batteries had advanced by the Beauclair road and were now -engaged in the gap. On the hills surrounding us in a semicircle other -batteries which, like ours, had taken up positions on the counterslope, -and others still farther off, near the hills directly above the Meuse, -thundered incessantly, the position of the invisible guns being -revealed by clouds of dust and flashes of fire showing up against the -greenery. The firing of these batteries was so violent that little by -little the air became cloudy. An acrid atmosphere of smoke and dust -invaded the valley, in which the numberless echoes multiplied the roar -of the guns as the sound-waves met and intermingled. We were surrounded -by a loud and continual humming and buzzing which deafened us and -almost paralysed our other senses. - -"Cease firing!" - -The detachments became motionless round the guns. It was already midday. - -Suddenly the enemy began to bombard Tailly and the pine-woods -commanding our position. Some limbers which since the early morning -had been waiting on the outskirts of the woods moved off hurriedly. A -section of infantry emerged from the smoke of a high-explosive shell. - -"Take cover!" ordered Captain de Brisoult. - -The fire of the French artillery gradually slackened. A volley of -shrapnel shells burst over the valley where our teams were waiting for -us, and a fuse sang loud and long through the air. Nobody seemed to be -wounded. The limbers standing motionless in the sunshine made a black -square on the grass. - -The enemy appeared to have registered the position of a battery -installed on the other side of the pine-woods, and, under a perfect -hail of howitzer shells, the guns were brought back one by one through -the woods. - -Hutin, who had taken shelter behind the shield, suddenly stood up in -order to see. He crossed his arms. - -"Yes, that's it!" he growled. - -"What is it? But take cover!" - -"That's it! Retreat! Oh, my God!" - -I also stood up. Sure enough, sections of infantry were crossing the -ridges and falling back. - -"Take cover, you idiots!" yelled Brejard. - -A shell swooped down. The splinters whistled through the air and the -displaced earth pattered round us on the dry field. I had stooped down -instinctively, but Hutin had not moved, being too much occupied in -observing the retreat of the infantry, which was becoming more general -every moment. - -"There you are," said he, "now it will be our turn.... I bet ... we -shall retire too.... Here's an A.D.C. coming up.... Oh, if we're always -going to retire like that we may as well take a train!" - -As he had suspected, the A.D.C. brought orders for us to retreat. The -teams trotted up the slope to join the guns. The moment was critical, -and, as ill-luck would have it, the first gun, in position on the -counterslope, began to roll downhill as soon as the spade, which had -been solidly jammed in the ground by the recoil, had been pulled out. -It took eight of us to drag the gun back, and at every instant we -asked ourselves whether we should succeed in assembling the train. The -drivers began to lose their nerve, and backed the horses at random, -this way and that. - -"Now then, all together.... Whoa, there, whoa!... Steady!... Whoa back!" - -A final pull, and we had limbered up. - -"Ready!" - -The team started. - -Beyond the village of Tailly the hill we had to ascend in order to -reach the plateau was very steep, especially where the road skirted the -stone wall of the cemetery. - -Some foot-soldiers resting on both sides of the way had taken off -their packs and piled arms. Sitting in the grass they watched us go by -with that absent and stupefied look peculiar to men just returned from -the firing-line. Suddenly a shrapnel shell, the whistling approach of -which had been drowned by the rumble of the vehicles, burst above the -cemetery. Some of the soldiers promptly dived into the ditch, and -others fell on their knees close to the wall, shielding their heads -with their packs. Two men, who had remained standing, stupidly hid -their heads in the thick hedge. On the limbers we bent our shoulders -and the drivers whipped up the horses. - -At one point the road was visible to the enemy, but when we discovered -this it was already too late to stop. - -A volley of shells.... Over! We had escaped by a hair's breadth. - -We formed up ready for action in the same position as the day before, -overlooking the neighbouring ridges, where the tall poplars served -as aiming-points. The third battery, which had been with us on the -Saturday, had opened up some fine trenches here. But the limbers had -hardly had time to range up on the edge of a copse when high-explosive -shell began to fall round us. - -How had the enemy been able to discover our new position? We were -carefully covered, and were invisible to him on all sides, nor had we -yet fired a single shot, so that our presence had not been betrayed by -smoke or flashes. No aeroplane was in the sky. Then how had we been -seen?... - -We sheltered in the trenches. - -"It isn't at us that they're firing," said Hutin. - -"Then what are they firing at?" - -"I think we've got to thank those fat old dragoons they saw passing on -the road for this! They're aiming at the road." - -But the dragoons got farther and farther away, and the enemy continued -to fire in our direction. There was no doubt that he was aware that -there was a battery in position here. Had we been betrayed by signal -by a spy hiding somewhere behind us? I carefully scrutinized the -surrounding country, but could see nothing. - -Some shells fell a few yards off the guns, smothering the battery in -smoke and dust, and shaking us at the bottom of our trenches. I heard -the Major shout: - -"Take cover on the right!" - -While the Captain and Lieutenant remained at their observation-posts -the gunners hurriedly moved out of the line of fire of the howitzers. -But as we ran along the road across the fields in view of the enemy a -Staff passed by. I was seized with sudden anger. The horsemen would -get us killed! The party consisted of about twenty officers in whose -centre rode a General, a little, thin man with grey hair. A gaily -coloured troop of blue and red Chasseurs followed them. The scream of -approaching shells at once made itself heard, and thrilled long in the -air. The Chasseurs and officers saluted, but the little General made no -movement. This time the enemy had fired too low. - -"To your guns!" - -The Captain thought he had discovered the battery bombarding us: - -"Layers!" he called. - -Feverishly, beneath the shells, we prepared for action. - -"Echelon at fifteen. First gun, a hundred and fifty; second gun, a -hundred and sixty-five.... Third...." - -The fuse-setters repeated the corrector and the range. - -"Sixteen.... Three thousand five hundred...." - -"In threes, traverse! By the right, each battery!..." - -"First gun ... fire!... Second...." - -The rapid movements of serving the guns electrified us. In the -deafening din made by the battery in full action orders had to be -shouted. We no longer heard the enemy's guns; they were silenced by the -roar of our own. We forgot the shrapnel, which nevertheless continued -to fall. - -Suddenly the howitzer fire slackened, and then ceased. - -"They're getting hit!" said Hutin, bending over the sighting gear. - -"Fire!" answered the No. 1. - -"Ready!" - -"Fire!... Fire!..." - -On the plateau behind us companies were retiring in extended order. - - * * * * * - -Night fell. We also received orders to retire. It seemed as if the -earth and the woods were absorbing such light as was left. The -movements of the infantry in the distance were lost in the undulations -of the ground. The men seemed to become incorporated with the fields, -and dissolved, disappearing from view. - -Near a dark shell-crater lay a red heap. A soldier was lying stretched -on his back, one of his legs blown off by a shell, leaving a torn, -bluish-red stump through which he had emptied his veins. The lucerne -leaves and earth under him were glued together with blood. The man's -head had been thrown back in his agony, and the Adam's apple jutted out -amid the distended muscles of his neck. His glassy eyes were wide open, -and his lips dead white. He still grasped his broken rifle, and his -kepi had rolled underneath his shoulder. - - - _Tuesday, September 1_ - -A long night march. It was past one o'clock in the morning when at last -we halted, and we still had to make our soup, water the horses and give -them their oats. This done, we fell into a deep sleep. - -About four o'clock the sergeant on duty came and shook us one by one. -He was greeted with growls. - -"Alarm!" - -"What misery! Can't we even sleep for an hour!" - -It was veritable torture to keep our eyes open. Our limbs were stiff, -our heads heavy, and our loins ached. The weather was foggy and cold. - -We clambered on to the limbers and started off. Numbness at once seized -our feet and then our knees, mounting rapidly. Our heads rolled from -side to side, and we gradually lost consciousness. Some of the drivers -were sleeping on their horses. They slipped more and more to one side -and, just as they were about to fall, were awakened by instinct and -sat straight up in the saddle again. But a moment after one could see -them through the gloom, once more subsiding and gradually slipping, -slipping.... - -Where were we going to? Perhaps the army had been obliged to fall back -below Verdun, because the enemy, who had undoubtedly got a footing on -the hills on the left bank of the Meuse, near Stenay, was threatening -their left flank. But we knew nothing for certain, and were too tired -to think, too tired even to fear! Each man's one desire was to sleep a -whole day through. - -At daybreak we halted near Landres in a sloping field full of -plum-trees. Unless counter-orders arrived we were to stay there and -rest for twenty-four hours. - -We lit fires and started shaking the plum-trees. - -Suddenly a cry broke out: - -"The postmaster!" - -It was answered by a hoarse--almost savage--shout, and the men -literally mobbed the N.C.O. who was carrying a sackful of letters. - -News at last! Some of the letters had been on the way for a fortnight; -ours, it seemed, were not being delivered. What anxiety the people at -home were in! - -After we had read our correspondence Hutin called me: - -"Are you coming to wash your linen?" - -"Yes." - -We hung up our tunics on the low-hanging branches of the plum-trees, -and, our shirts under our arms and with bodies bare save for our -braces, walked down to the river. - -We spent a quiet morning eating, smoking, and writing. At midday the -short, sharp reports of the .75's began to sound on the next range of -hills. At one o'clock we received orders to advance and support a group -of artillery engaged on the heights north of Landres. - -Hardly had we taken up position when an aeroplane passed overhead. -A German machine, evidently; so far we had seen no others. Almost -immediately afterwards shells began to fall around us, but again, as -if by a miracle, the battery remained unscathed in the middle of the -bursting shrapnel and the smoke of melinite. But that would not always -happen! - - * * * * * - -Ah! if only I escape the hecatomb, how I shall appreciate life! I never -imagined that there could be an intense joy in breathing, in opening -one's eyes to the light, in letting it penetrate one, in being hot, in -being cold--even in suffering. I thought that only certain hours had -any value, and heedlessly let the others slip past. If I see the end -of this war, I shall know how to suck from each moment its full meed -of pleasure, and feel each second of life as it passes by, like some -deliciously cool water trickling between one's fingers. I almost fancy -that I shall continually pause, interrupting a phrase or suspending a -gesture, and tell myself again and again: "I live! I live!" - -And to think that in a few moments, perhaps, I shall only be a -shapeless mass of bleeding flesh at the bottom of a shell-hole! - - * * * * * - -There was nothing to do under the shrapnel-fire. The Captain surveyed -the plain with exasperating calmness. - -Presently the enemy increased his range, and the shells passed overhead -and burst in the valley, on a road where we could see first lines of -wagons making off at a gallop in thick clouds of dust. - -Orders arrived.... We were to return to Landres. - -A deep hole had been made in the road by a shell, and near-by lay the -hashed remains of a horse--a limbless, decapitated body. The head, -lying on the edge of the ditch, and apparently intact, seemed to be -looking at this body with a surprised expression in its big, still -unclouded eyes. A shred of flesh and chestnut skin had been blown to -the top of a neighbouring slope. The shell crater, in which lay the -intestines surrounded with purple blood rapidly blackening in the sun, -exhaled a smell of decay and excrement--a sickening odour which nearly -made us ill. - -It seemed that the senior N.C.O. who had been riding this horse had -escaped without a scratch. - -A regiment of Chasseurs was slowly descending the high hill overlooking -Landres on the north-east. - -The setting sun no longer lit up the depths of the valley where we had -parked our guns, but, by contrast, illuminated the more magnificently -the steep incline down which the red and blue squadrons were -descending in good order, their drawn sabres glinting in the gorgeous -orange-coloured light. The Chasseurs passed close by us, and then rode -up the opposite side of the valley towards the sun, whose red disk -still peeped over the hilltop. As they crossed the summit the horsemen -were silhouetted for a moment against the horizon. - -I was tired out, and in spite of my efforts began to fall asleep. I -had the impression that in order to keep awake I should have to adopt -the attitude of the sentries of old--one finger raised, commanding -silence. - - - _Wednesday, September 2_ - -Last night the horses were not unharnessed, and we ourselves had hardly -four hours' sleep on the bare ground, where it is so difficult to get -proper rest. - -It was still dark when we set off again, down a road flanked with dense -woods. The night was dark and filled with weird, grey shadows cast by -the first, almost imperceptible rays of the pallid dawn. I was drowsing -on the shaking ammunition wagon, to which one becomes accustomed after -a time, when I was awakened by the crackling of broken wood and the -heavy thud of a fall. I looked about me, but saw nothing. Then, through -the rumbling of the wheels, I fancied I heard a plaintive cry mingled -with sobs. Yes.... I now distinctly heard the clear voice of a little -girl, calling: - -"Mother! Mother!" - -On a heap of stones by the roadside I was now able to see the wheel -of an overturned cart, a human form on the ground, and round it the -shadows of kneeling children. - -Some more sobs; then the little voice called again: - -"Mother! Mother!... Oh, mother, do answer!" - -The column continued on its way. A convulsive, heartrending wail, -rising from a throat choked by anguish, seemed to echo in my breast: - -"Mother!" - -We should have liked to stop, to make inquiries, and help if we could. -There were several children. Had their mother fainted? Perhaps. Was -there a man with them? Suppose there was not!... I was sorely tempted -to jump down from the ammunition wagon and run back, but I knew that I -should not be able to rejoin the battery. A horseman dismounted, saying: - -"I'll stop the medical officer when he comes up.... We'll catch you up -at the trot!" - -We were carried on by the slow-marching column. So great was the horror -of that which had happened on the side of the road that I was kept -awake despite my weariness, and saw the daylight slowly creeping in. I -think I shall always hear that little voice crying "Mother!" and the -sound of the children's sobs in the grey dawn. - -On reaching the main road we had to halt and let the infantry of the -7th Division pass. The Army Corps was retiring. Some one said that we -were going to entrain. - -To entrain! Why? To go where? It appeared that we had been relieved on -the Meuse by fresh troops, and that the 4th Corps was to be re-formed. - -We were going to rest, then--to sleep! But we had heard that so often -during the last eight days! Could we believe it? And yet it must be -true, for this part of the country would surely not be left defenceless. - -Down the road, wave upon wave, with the swishing noise of open sluices, -battalion succeeded battalion. The soldiers seemed fairly cheerful; -there were even some who sang. - -The 101st Infantry swung by. - -"Is the 102nd behind you?" asked Tuvache. - -"Yes." - -"I ask because my brother is in it." - -The long column still filed by. At last, several minutes later, the -brother arrived. - -"Hi! Tuvache!" - -One of the men turned round: - -"Hallo! It's you!" - -The two brothers simply shook hands, but their joy at meeting again -could be read in their eyes. - -"So you're all right?" - -"Yes, and you?" - -"As you see ... quite all right." - -"I'm glad...." - -"Had any news from home?" - -"Yes, yesterday. They're all well, and they told me to give you their -love if I saw you, and to give you half the postal order they sent me." - -The soldier searched in his pocket. - -"The only thing is that I haven't been able to get hold of the -postmaster to cash it. But, if you want it...." - -"No, you keep it! I've got more money than I want." - -"All right, then. Uncle and auntie both sent their love.... Hallo! I -mustn't lose my company.... I believe we're going to rest a bit...." - -"They say so. In that case we shall see each other again soon.... So -long!" - -Their hands met. The infantryman made a step forward. - -"I'll tell them I've seen you when I write." - -"Yes, so will I!" - -The man ran on, shouldering his way through the ranks. Occasionally we -saw his hand raised above the heads, waving good-bye. - -Following behind the regiments of the 7th Division we began a march -of exasperating slowness. It was very hot, and the dust raised by the -infantry smothered and stifled us. At intervals, by the roadside, dead -horses were lying. - -On reaching Chatel we turned to the left down a clear road and at -last were able to trot. Across the fields and valleys, as far as -the horizon, a long line of grey dust clouding the trees marked the -Varennes road which the division was following. - -It was noon, and it seemed to me that we must have journeyed ten or -twelve miles since we started at dawn. But suddenly we heard the guns -again--not very far away, towards the north-east. - -Near the village of Apremont on the outskirts of the forest of Argonne, -in which the head of our column had already penetrated, three shells -burst. - -Then the enemy was following us! Was there no one to stop him? Had we -not been replaced? Did it mean defeat ... invasion ... France laid open? - -Abreast of our column lines of carts were lumbering along the road. The -whole population was flying from the enemy--old women, girls, mothers -with babies at the breast, and swarms of children. These unhappy little -ones were saving that which was most precious to them--their existence; -the women and girls--their honour, a little money, often a household -pet, such as a dog, a cat, or a bird in a cage.... - -The poorest were on foot. A family of four were making their way -through the woods led by an old man with careworn features. Over his -shoulder he carried a stick, on the end of which was tied a large -wicker basket covered with a white cloth. At his side dangled a -game-bag crammed to its utmost capacity. He was followed up the narrow -forest path by a young woman leading a fat red cow with one hand, -while with the other she held a shaggy-haired dog in leash by means -of a handkerchief fastened to its collar. A little girl was clinging -to her skirts, and letting herself be dragged along. Behind them -came an old woman, bent almost double by age and by the weight of a -grape-gatherer's cask full of linen which she was carrying on her back. -She hobbled along, leaning heavily on a stick. - - * * * * * - -Where were all these poor people going to? Many had not the vaguest -notion, and confessed as much. They were going straight ahead, into -those parts of France which the Germans would not reach. - -"What is the use of staying?" asked an old man querulously. "They'll -burn everything just the same, and I'd rather find myself ruined -and roofless here, but free, rather than back yonder where I should -be in the hands of the Germans. Besides, I've my daughter-in-law to -think of--the wife of my son, who is a gunner like you. She's with -child--seven months gone--and when she heard the guns begin yesterday -the pains came on. At first I thought she was going to be confined; -but it passed off. But I thought we had better leave at once. These -beasts of Germans, who violate and disembowel women ... who knows -whether they would have respected her condition?... Last night we found -a road-mender's hut to sleep in, but I don't know what we shall do -to-night.... And I'm afraid she'll get ill. Just now she's sleeping in -the cart. I must take care that she doesn't get ill! My son left her in -my charge." - -Pointing in the direction our column was following, I asked the old man: - -"Where does this road lead to?" - -"Where?" he replied, a wrathful look suddenly coming into his eyes. -"Why, Chalons and Paris ... the whole of France!" - -And, shaking his head, he added bitterly: - -"Oh, my God!" - -"You see they're half again as many as we are." - -He did not answer immediately, but, after a moment or two, he said: - -"I saw '70.... It's just the same as in '70." - - * * * * * - -The battery rolled on till we had crossed the whole of Argonne. At -Servon, a village on the fringe of the woods, where the infantry were -making a long halt, we stopped for a few minutes. It was two o'clock. - -We led the horses down to the drinking-place, near a mill on the bank -of the green Aisne. The animals waded breast-high into the stream, -where they stood puffing and snorting, splashing the men, who, with -rolled-up trousers, were also paddling with enjoyment in the cool water. - -Finally, near Ville-sur-Tourbe, we parked our guns. Presumably we were -to entrain the same evening at the station close by. - -The forebodings which had seized me in the morning when I saw the enemy -advancing behind us had in no way diminished. Were we going to entrain -and leave the road open to the invaders? Would they not surround the -troops operating in Belgium and those advancing in Alsace?... But were -the French still in Belgium and in Alsace? How we wished that we could -know the truth, whatever it might be! - - * * * * * - -To-night the men were surly and despondent, and one and all were -anxious to escape fatigue duty. Deprez found himself confronted on all -sides by the same sulkiness and apathy. - -"Tuvache, go and fetch water!" - -"But I went yesterday!... It's more than half a mile!... Why can't some -of the others have a turn?..." - -"Well, Laille, did you go yesterday?" - -"No." - -"Right then, off you go!" - -"Oh, but...." - -"I'm not asking for your opinion, you know...." - -"Some of 'em never go...." - -"I tell you once again to go and fetch water!" - -"Well, at any rate, you won't order me to do anything else afterwards?" - -"No." - -Grasping a skin water-bag in each hand Laille slouched off, dragging -his steps and hunching his shoulders. - - * * * * * - -We were informed that we were not going to entrain at Ville-sur-Tourbe. - -We had to swallow our soup boiling hot and eat the meat raw, after -which we set off again in the crimson-tinted twilight. Refugees were -camping in the fields on either side of the road, where they had -prepared to pass the night stretched out on straw strewn beneath their -carts, which would afford but poor protection from the morning chill -and dew. Infants in long clothes were sleeping in cradles. - -We were marching southwards. The moon had risen, and straight ahead -shone a solitary, magnificent star. Presently we reached a dark and -deserted town--Sainte-Menehould--where it was too dark to see the -names of the streets. The road was in lamentable repair, and the -horses stumbled and the guns jolted. Perspectives of abandoned streets -were prolonged by the moon.... Finally we saw ahead the red lamp of a -railway station, where, for a moment, I thought we should entrain. But -we did not even halt. - -Under the wan and yellow moonlight, which magnified the distances, the -country once again spread itself out in long valleys, where no troops -were moving and where no sentinel could be seen. - - - _Thursday, September 3_ - -Towards midnight we halted, and almost immediately afterwards orders -arrived. Our original instructions had been to move on at daybreak, but -the orders just to hand were to the effect that we should remain here. -So we were able to sleep until past nine o'clock. - - * * * * * - -A never-ending stream of refugees was now flowing down the dusty road. - - * * * * * - -We again heard a rumour that we had been replaced on the Meuse by the -6th Army Corps; and that we were going into Haute-Alsace under the -command of General d'Amade. This name, which was very popular, elicited -general enthusiasm. - -"Now it will be different!" - -I questioned a Chasseur, one of General Boelle's orderlies, but either -the man knew nothing, or he would not tell what he knew. - - * * * * * - -The carts of the refugees had to be lined up on one side of the road -in order to make way for the infantry of the 2nd Army Corps arriving -from Clermont-en-Argonne and Sainte-Menehould. These troops seemed to -have suffered less severely than the regiments of the 4th Corps, but -they had no more notion as to their destination than we. They also -spoke of d'Amade, of successes in the north, and of naval victories. -They appeared to be quite unaware that the Germans were advancing -behind us. But were they really advancing? Was it not merely a fresh -allotment of French troops? How we wished that it were! - - - _Friday, September 4_ - -It was still night when we broke up the camp. After a whole day solely -spent in eating and sleeping, we should have felt much refreshed had -we not been tortured with diarrhoea. The Medical Officer had no more -bismuth or paregoric elixir left, and we had no choice but to chew -blackthorn bark. - -The horses were even more exhausted than the men. Many had been -slightly injured in the engagements on Monday and Tuesday, and their -wounds were suppurating. No one seemed to trouble about them, and that -was not the worst, for some of them had to suffer the stupid remedies -applied by the ignorant drivers. I saw one man urinate on his horse's -pastern, which had been cut by a shell splinter. Nearly all the animals -were lame as the result of kicks received at night-time, when the -worn-out stable-pickets fall asleep. Seldom taken out of the traces -and hardly ever unharnessed, the straps, cruppers, and especially the -crupper-loops had made large sores on them which were covered all day -long with flies. And, besides all this, the poor beasts, like the men, -were weakened by incessant diarrhoea. - -All the morning we marched on, through Givry-en-Argonne, Sommeilles, -Nettancourt, and Brabant, the milestones being at first marked "Meuse" -and then "Marne." The dust half veiled the austere, regular hills of -the beautiful country and the magnificent reaches of the forest of -Argonne sloping away to the east. - -About noon we reached Revigny-aux-Vaux, a pretty little white-walled -town surrounded by fields and pasture-lands, where we parked our guns -on the bank of the Ornain, close to the station. As we were leading the -horses down to the river a man dressed like an artisan, who was sitting -by the side of the road, accosted me: - -"Where are you gunners from?" - -"From the Hauts-de-Meuse, over by Dun and Stenay. We've been replaced -there by fresh troops." - -"Replaced?" - -"Yes--they say by the 6th Army Corps." - -"Pooh, that's all rot!... You've just turned tail!... Yes ... simply -that!... Do you know where the Prussians are?" he added, getting up. - -I felt chilled by a sudden fear. Misery was plainly written on the -fellow's bony, emaciated face. When sitting he had not seemed nearly so -tall or thin. - -He stretched out a long arm, and with a shaking hand pointed to the -north-west. - -"They're just outside Chalons, the Prussians!" - -I shrugged my shoulders. - -"You don't believe me? Well, I've come from Chalons--an aeroplane -dropped a bomb on the station just as my train left. And the Prussians -have got to other places as well, if you want to know. They are at -Compiegne! Do you hear?... At Compiegne ... it's certain. You've only -got to ask ... anybody here will tell you. They've got to Compiegne and -they took La Fere as they passed." - -I began to tremble, everything seemed to be turning round me, and for -a moment I thought I should fall. Instinctively I pressed my knees into -my horse's sides and returned slowly to the camp with a haggard face -and an aching heart. - -Hutin was there. I looked him straight in the eyes and said slowly: - -"Hutin! The Germans are at Compiegne!" - -"Where?" - -"At Compiegne!" - -He grew pale and shrugged his shoulders. - -"No!" - -"Yes, at Compiegne!" - -"Compiegne! Compiegne! Why, that's less than sixty miles from Paris! -Oh, my God!" - -We looked at each other. - -"Who let them get through?" - -"Those in the north, I suppose." - -"Then it's worse than in '70!" - -"At Compiegne!" repeated Hutin distractedly. - -Dreadful thoughts of downfall, of treason, of all the bitterness of -defeat and of suffering endured to no purpose rose up like spectres in -each man's mind. - -"I told you so; we've been sold!" declared the trumpeter. - -In spite of everything, I still could not believe in treachery. - -"Sold! Why sold? By whom?... By whom?" - -"How should I know? But they wouldn't be at Compiegne if we hadn't been -betrayed. Oh, it's the old story!... Just like '70.... Bazaine in '70!" - -"We may have been overwhelmed.... There are so many of them!... Three -times our numbers!... Besides, in 1870 the mistake made by the Chalons -army was that they didn't wait for the Germans at Paris. That is well -known. If MacMahon's army had not advanced, had not let itself be -bottled up at Sedan, perhaps we shouldn't have been beaten...." - -I grasped at the idea of a strategic retreat, and tried to convince my -comrades in order to convince myself. But they all remained downcast -and sullen, and kept repeating: - -"Just as in '70!" - -What a refrain! - -Brejard, who had been listening as he smoked, was the only one who was -still confident. - -"The worst of it is," said he, "that we don't know anything for -certain. But, if the other Army Corps are in the same condition as -ours, all is by no means lost. They've probably been pushed back a -bit in the north, like we have been in Belgium. But if they haven't -been taken, that is the main thing, and as for this being the same as -'70--why, there's absolutely no resemblance! In '70 we were alone, -whereas now we've got the English and Russians with us." - -"Oh, don't talk to me about the English and Russians!" said the -trumpeter. - -"Have you seen any of the English, sergeant?" - -"No, but they're over here, all right." - -"They are said to be," corrected Millon. "But it was also said that we -were advancing in the north. A brilliant advance!..." - -"And the Russians!" went on Pelletier. "Why the hell aren't they in -Berlin by this time? They've nothing to stop them on their side...." - -Brejard shrugged his shoulders: - -"Well, but all the same they can't get there by railway, you know!" - -"But a month ought to be enough ... with their famous Cossacks," -retorted the trumpeter. - -And he continued: - -"It's all tommy-rot! Shall I tell you what _I_ think of it, sergeant? -Well, these Russians and English, who have declared war on Germany ... -it's simply sham!... A put-up job! They've engineered the whole thing -together in order to do us in ... just like '70!" - -"Just like '70!" repeated Blanchet, who, sitting cross-legged like a -tailor, was mending a rent in his coat. - -This crushing catastrophe, which had descended upon us like the blow of -a sledge-hammer, made us begin to doubt everything and everybody. - -Why, instead of beguiling us with imaginary victories, could they -not simply have told us: "We have to deal with an enemy superior -in numbers. We are obliged to retreat until we can complete our -concentration and until the English reinforcements arrive." - -Were they afraid of frightening us by the word "retreat" when we were -already experiencing its reality? - -Why? Why had we been deceived, demoralized?... - -Accompanied by Deprez and Lebidois I turned into the garden of a -restaurant and ordered luncheon. Under the leafy arbour of virginia -creepers and viburnum, pierced here and there with dancing rays of -sunlight, blazed a medley of officers' uniforms--chemists, Medical -Corps men, infantry officers of all denominations, A.S.C. officers -and pay-masters, the latter in green uniforms which gave them the -appearance of foresters. - -For fifteen days we had not eaten off proper plates nor drunk from -glasses. The luncheon would have been an untold delight had we not all -three been haunted by the spectre of defeat.... - - * * * * * - -When night fell we entrained. The long platform, littered with straw, -was illuminated at lengthy intervals by oil-lamps. The horses, overcome -by exhaustion, their heads drooping, allowed the drivers to lead them -into their boxes without offering any resistance. The gunners finished -loading up the guns on the trucks, and soon all became silent. The men -installed themselves for the night, thirty in each van, some stretched -out on the seats and others lying underneath, using their cloaks as -pillows. Rifles and swords had been cast into a corner. And, just as -the western sky had ceased to glow, leaving the dreary platform dark -and desolate, the train slowly started. - - - _Saturday, September 5_ - -I had hardly any sleep last night. Every quarter of an hour the train -stopped, and men attacked by dysentery trod on me as they hurriedly -made for the doors in order to jump down on the permanent way. This -morning the same scramble continues. As soon as the train stops one has -a vision of files of gunners making for the bushes, whence they hastily -return when the whistle blows. Luckily the train gathers speed very -slowly. - - * * * * * - -A melancholy day--spent in absently watching the country roll past, -one's mind always hypnotized by the thought of defeat.... - -Often the train does not go faster than a man walking. - - - - -IV. FROM THE MARNE TO THE AISNE - - - _Sunday, September 6_ - -When we awoke, in a fine morning lightly veiled by silvery mists, the -suburbs of Paris were already visible. - -We passed through the forest of Fontainebleau, where troops were -camping amid the broom and bracken, and rolled on through the woods in -which the white walls and red roofs of the villas made a gay splash -on the green background. The gardens were a mass of flowers; huge -sunflowers turned their golden faces towards us. - -We almost forgot the tragedy of the moment. - -Sunday! The bells were ringing. Besides, Paris was quite close now, and -the magnetic power of the great city was already making itself felt. -The Parisians in the carriage could hardly keep still. - -Suddenly, after this dreary journey, and although it would have been -difficult to explain why or how, hope was rekindled in spite of some -more bad news we had learnt on the way, namely, that the Germans had -reached Creil without opposition. - -It was not the strength of the entrenched camp of Paris, of its -garrison, nor of its heavy artillery which restored our confidence; -it was rather the instinctive faith of a child, who, having returned -home, feels irresistible because there seems to be a sort of -reassuring sympathy between himself and surrounding objects--even -the elements. What again sent the blood coursing through our veins -was the indescribable yet definite sensation caused by the presence -of something immortal, of something loved and revered. It was like -a breath of life, like the comforting support of an invincible -Personality, an all-powerful Divinity. - -And then, as Hutin kept repeating: - -"There! That's Paris! that's Paris!" - - * * * * * - -"The English!" - -A convoy of British troops was passing us. The men shouted and waved -their kepis. - -At Villeneuve-Saint-Georges the station was thronged with Highlanders. -Our train came to a standstill and was immediately surrounded by a -crowd of kilted soldiers intent upon examining our guns. Lebidois acted -as interpreter, and there was much hand-shaking and cheering. - -Little Millon stopped a burly Highlander with tattooed wrists and knees -and asked him whether he wore any drawers under his kilt. The other did -not understand and laughed. - -"That's so, isn't it?" said Millon. "If only you'd got a little more -hair on your head and a little less on your paws--why, in that skirt -they'd take you for a girl!" - - * * * * * - -We detrained at Pantin. Except for inscriptions on the wooden panels -or steel shutters of the shops, such as "Owner away at the front," -or, in letters a foot high, "We are French," and save for the faded -mobilization placards, Pantin wore the usual aspect common to such -places on summer Sundays. - -On the pavement and in the roadway swarmed crowds of women in -light-coloured dresses, carefully corseted, their figures curving with -that grace which only Parisian women seem to possess. Soldiers of every -rank and regiment strolled in and out the crush. A Territorial passed -with a woman on one arm, while with the other he led a little boy by -the hand. - -Was it possible that the enemy was at the gates? - - * * * * * - -At Rosny-sous-Bois we camped on a plateau overlooking the town on one -side and the plain of Brie on the other--a depressing enough spot, -devoid of all charm. Far off, towards the south-east, the sound of guns -was audible. - -In the streets, between the greenery of the gardens and the -light-coloured fronts of the villas, the scarlet uniforms, white -blouses, and variegated parasols chequered the crowd with bright dashes -of colour. - -The Zouaves had come down from the forts. - -On the terraces of the cafes, where not a single place remained -vacant, the white aprons of the waiters fluttered in and out among the -multicoloured uniforms of the Chasseurs, Army Service Corps officers, -Artillerymen, Tirailleurs, and Spahis. In front of the Post Office -and round the doors of the bakeries and confectioners' shops the -crowd collected in animated groups. Women ran to and fro greeting the -soldiers, asking questions, searching for a husband, son, brother, or -lover whom they were expecting to arrive. - -Every one jostled together, hailed each other, drank, ate, smoked, and -laughed. Families of placid tradespeople, mildly inquisitive, strutted -in and out the crowd with short, conceited little steps. - -The guns were still roaring, but in order to hear them one had to -separate from the crowd and enter the quiet little streets between the -gardens. - -We heard that fighting was in progress on the Grand Morin. - - - _Monday, September 7_ - -It was broad daylight when I was awakened by Brejard. - -"Up you get," said he. - -"What?" - -"Here, listen to this." - -He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. - - "_Army Order of the Day._ - - "_At the moment when we are about to engage upon a battle upon - which will depend the safety of the country, it is necessary to - remind every one that this is not the time to look back. No effort - must be spared to attack and repulse the enemy. Troops which can - advance no farther must at all costs hold the ground won and let - themselves be killed rather than retire._" - -"Do you understand?" - -Yes, we had all understood perfectly. We should never have been able to -express so simply and yet so completely our inmost thoughts. "Troops -should let themselves be killed rather than retire." That was it! - -"And now, limber up," added Brejard. "We're off there!" - - * * * * * - -Just as the battery was starting, two girls, the sister and fiancee of -one of the gunners, hurried up. For a moment or two they ran, flushed -and panting, by the side of the horses, both speaking rapidly and at -the same time. When they were quite out of breath they held out their -hands, one after the other, to the gunner, who leant down from the -saddle and kissed their finger-tips. - - * * * * * - -We passed through the suburbs and then, by the Soissons road, -approached the plain of Brie. We were going to the front, and I think -that each man felt that we were now passing through the gravest and -most critical moments of a whole century--perhaps of a whole history. - - * * * * * - -Evening fell. The battery had been on the march for more than ten hours -without halting. Far away in the background Montmartre reared its black -silhouette against the western sky. - -The fields were lit up by the stars, which were exceptionally -brilliant, but the road remained dark under the vault of tall trees -planted in double rows on either side, between which floated a -suffocating cloud of dust. A distant searchlight was sweeping the -plain. The battery broke into a trot on the paved road, and the -vehicles jolted and bumped so that it was veritable torture to sit -on them. Sharp internal pains made us twist as we clutched on to the -limber-boxes; our aching backs seemed no longer capable of sustaining -our shoulders, and the breath came in gasps from our shaken chests. -Our hearts thumped against our ribs, our heads swam--we perspired with -pain. Should we never stop? - -Hour after hour we followed the same dark road, but the column had -again slowed down to a walk. The bright headlights of an approaching -automobile suddenly threw the trees into vertiginous perspectives like -the columns of some cathedral, and showed up the teams and drivers as -they emerged from the gloom in a grotesque procession of fantastic -shadows. The motor passed. - -On we lumbered ... on, on.... Should we never stop? - - * * * * * - -"Halt!" - -At last! We parked the guns in a field and then led the horses off to -be watered. - -The only light in the dark little village was a lamp burning in a -kitchen, in which we caught a glimpse of large copper sauce-pans. - -There was no drinking-place and we had to push on to a marshy meadow -through which ran a river. The banks were so steep that the horses -could not drink from the current, and we gave them water out of the -skin bags. - -On our return we found the road crowded with horses. Other batteries -had just arrived. - -An eddy in the stream had just pushed me up against the garden wall of -a chateau when a motor, showing no lights, forced its way through the -herd of horses, throwing against me a confused mass of men and animals -whose weight crushed me against the stone. Another car followed, then -another, hundreds of them, silently and interminably. - -By the light of the moon, which had now risen, I was able to recognize -the oil-skin caps usually worn by taxi-drivers. Inside the cabs I -caught a glimpse of soldiers sleeping, their heads thrown back. - -"Wounded?" asked somebody. - -"No," came the answer from a passing car. "It's the 7th Division from -Paris. They're off to the front!" - - - _Tuesday, September 8_ - -"Attention!" - -It was still pitch-dark. Cinders continued to smoulder on the hearths. -The guns were still roaring, and the vivid jets of fire startled us -like flashes of lightning. A little way off, to the east, a farm or -hayrick was burning. The weather was sultry and a persistent smell of -putrefying flesh permeated the air. - -The battery started; we were off to the firing-line. - -At daybreak we reached Dammartin, where, on the doors and closed -shutters, notices and billeting directions were chalked up in German. -On the front door of one house I saw two words scrawled in pointed, -Gothic handwriting: "_Gute Leute_" (Good people). I wondered who it was -that lived there.... - -We continued on our way. The dull boom of the guns seemed to come from -the bowels of the earth, and continued uninterruptedly. - -By the side of the road a grave had been dug and marked by a white deal -cross bearing a name painted in tar and capped by a Chasseur's shako -with a brass chain. The dead man had evidently not been buried soon -enough, and a sickening smell rose up from the freshly turned soil, -which had cracked under the hot sun. - -The road was still staked out with dead horses, swollen like -wine-skins, their stiffened legs with shining shoes threatening the -sky. From a gaping wound in the flank of a big chestnut mare worms were -wriggling into the grass; others were swarming in her nostrils and -mouth, and in a bullet-hole behind her ear. - -"Trot!" - -The battery became almost invisible in its own dust. We began to pass -wounded, hundreds of wounded--infantry of the line, Alpine troops, -and Colonial infantry white with dust, their wounds dressed with red -bandages. They helped each other along. - -The majority were marching in small groups. Many had stopped to rest. -It was very hot, and I saw several of them round an apple-tree, shaking -down the fruit in order to slake their thirst. - -We had halted while the Major received orders from an A.D.C. I -questioned one of the Colonials, who was wounded in the head. - -"Well, how are things going down there?" - -"Phew! they're falling thick!" - -I did not know whether he was referring to bullets, shell, or men, but -from the expression of the drawn and haggard faces it was easy to see -that the fighting had been severe. - -"Been fighting long here?" - -"Yes." - -"How many days?" - -"It had begun when we came." - -"And when did you come?" - -"The day before yesterday." - -And he repeated: - -"Yes, they're falling thick!" - -We restarted, again at a trot. - -The clear sky, of a pure limpid blue on the northern and eastern -horizon, was fleeced with the white smoke of shrapnel shell; in -the distance black clouds were rising from burning buildings and -high-explosive projectiles. - -We were still pursued by the smell of dead flesh, which harassed and -obsessed us, making us peer about in all directions for hidden corpses. - -Suddenly one of the horses of my ammunition wagon foundered and refused -to go any farther, stopping the whole team. He had to be unharnessed -and abandoned. The other carriages had passed us, and with our five -remaining horses we galloped across country in order to rejoin the -column. The furrows nearly shook us off our seats and we had to hold -on to the box-rails with might and main, bracing our legs against the -foot-rests in order not to fall off. - -We overtook the battery in a village which had been visible from afar -on the flat and bare countryside. The enemy had evidently quartered -there. The doors had been broken in with blows from the butt-ends -of rifles; almost all the windows had been smashed, and were now -mere frames bristling with jagged splinters of glass. Dirty curtains -flapped through them on the outside. Torn-down shutters lay strewn on -the pavement among broken bottles, shattered tiles, and empty tins of -preserves. Others, hanging by one hinge, beat against the fronts of the -houses. - -Through the wide-open doors we could see staved-in wardrobes which had -been thrown down the staircases. Empty drawers, mantelpiece ornaments, -photographs, pictures and prints littered the red-tiled floors. -Mud-stained sheets with the mark of hobnailed boots on them trailed to -the middle of the street, giving to these unfortunate houses something -of the horror of ripped-up corpses. - -The pavements were a mass of furniture thrown out of the windows, -perambulators, go-carts, and broken wine-casks. Wood crunched under the -wheels of the wagon. A pair of pink corsets was lying in the gutter. - -On one of the Michelin danger signals, at the other end of the village, -I read the warning: "_Attention aux enfants--Sennevieres_," and on the -other side a derisive and mournful "_Merci_."[1] - - * * * * * - -We halted where the road traced a straight white line through a plain -covered with mangel-wurzels. The desolate nakedness of the fields was -only broken by a shed, three hayricks, and, farther off, some little, -square-shaped copses and a long line of poplars. To the east and north -the battle growled, whistled and roared like a storm at sea. One would -have thought that the infernal noise came from some deep, subterranean -earthquake. - -We had waited a few minutes when suddenly the countryside sprang to -life. Battalions, debouching from Sennevieres, deployed in skirmishing -order, and other soldiers--hundreds and thousands whose presence one -would never have suspected--rose up from the bosom of the earth and -swarmed like ants over the fields, their breeches making red patches -on the sombre green of the grass. Frightened hares fled from before the -oncoming lines. - -Small groups of wounded again began to go by. They could be seen far -off, black specks on the straight white road dazzling in the sun. - -Some Cuirassiers appeared to be billeted somewhere in the surroundings. -One or two passed by on foot, without helmets or breast-plates, their -chests covered with buff-coloured felt pads fitted with wadded rings -round the armholes. They were carrying large joints of fresh beef. -In the shade of three poplars to the right of the road, just outside -the village, some men were slaughtering cattle and selling the meat. -Near-by lay a dead horse. - -Presently came the order: - -"Reconnoitre!" - -The battery was going into action. Once more I was unable to escape the -little shiver of fear which follows this word of command. - -In the firing position the battery was only masked by a hedge of -brambles and some tangled shrubs, so that from several points of the -horizon we must have been visible to the enemy. The position was not a -good one, but it was the best the surroundings offered. - -The officers had taken up their position near the first gun on a narrow -path cutting across the plain. The battlefield opened out wide before -us. But on the almost flat countryside which bore such an everyday -aspect, and upon which we nevertheless knew the destiny of France was -at stake, not a man, not a gun was to be seen. The thunder-ridden plain -seemed to lie motionless under the shells. - -We had covered our guns with sheaves; yellow under the yellow straw -they might deceive at a distance. Besides, straw affords good -protection against shrapnel bullets and shell splinters. - -We at once fell asleep in the sun with the apathy of pawns who let -themselves be moved, with that fatalism which is an inevitable result -of the life fraught with hourly danger we had been living for a month. - -I was awakened by a word of command. Behind us the sun was sinking. - -"To your guns!" - -Something dark, artillery possibly, was moving yonder at the foot of -some wooded hills more than five thousand yards off. We opened fire. On -the right, on the left, and even in front of us .75 batteries came into -action one by one. When our own guns were silent for a few seconds we -heard their volleys echoing in fours. - -In the distance in front of us all had become still. The Captain -gave the word to cease fire. But the smoke from the powder and the -dust raised from the parched field by the concussion of the rounds -had hardly cleared away when some heavy shells hurtled through the -hedge masking us, leaving three gaping breaches in their wake and -obliterating with their smoke the whole of the eastern horizon. - -"They must have seen the fire of our guns," said Brejard. - -"And they've got theirs trained to a T," added Hutin. "Six-inchers, -too!" - -As ill-luck would have it, just at that moment a refilling wagon from -the first line, conducted by a corporal riding a big white mare, came -up at a trot. - -While they were still some way off we shouted: - -"Dismount!" - -"Dismount! You'll get us killed!" - -The drivers seemed not to hear. - -"Dismount, you--! Walk!... Walk!..." - -They had already unhooked the full ammunition-wagon, hooked the empty -one to the limber, and were off at a gallop in spite of our cries. - -Shells were not long in arriving, their whistling modulated by the -wind. One second passed ... two ... three.... - -This fear of death--the death which falls slowly from the sky--was an -interminable torture. Everything trembled. The shells burst, and the -wind blew their smoke down upon us. - -I heard a choking groan: - -"Ah.... Ah.... Ah!..." - -Our battery remained intact. The refilling wagon was still galloping -away in the distance. One of the numbers of the adjoining battery had -fallen forward in his death agony, and his forehead, pierced by a shell -splinter, was bathing the bottoms of the cartridge-cases with blood. - -Hutin, still sitting on the layer's seat, suddenly cried out: - -"Why, I can see the swine firing! I can see them ... long way off ... -down there, about ten thousand yards ... I saw the flash.... It's -coming ... it's coming ... look out!..." - -Sure enough, we were shaken by fresh explosions. I shut my eyes -instinctively and felt my face lashed by the cast-up earth, but I was -not touched. The bottom of one of the cartridge-cases hummed loud and -long, and once again the battery was smothered in smoke. I heard the -clear voice of the Captain as he shouted to the senior N.C.O.: - -"Daumain, get everybody under cover on the right! Major's orders. No -use getting killed as long as we aren't firing." - -We called each other, got clear of the smoke and hurried out of the -line of fire of the Howitzers. But the enemy's shells pursued us over -the field as we ran, crouching down, in scattered order. - -A projectile, the flash of which blinded me for a moment, knocked -down a sergeant of the 12th Battery, who was running by my side. The -man picked himself up immediately. Just above his eyes a couple of -splinters had drilled two horribly symmetrical red holes. He made off, -bending his head so that the blood should not run into his eyes. I -offered to help him, but he said: - -"No, leave me.... Run! It's nothing, this ... skull isn't smashed to -bits!" - -We took cover behind some large hayricks and waited for orders. - -The roll was called: - -"Eleventh?" - -"Eleventh!" - -"Hutin?" - -"Here!" - -"Not wounded?" - -"No, and you?" - -"No." - -The four detachments were complete. - -"And the Captain?" - -"Still down there at the observation-post. Look ... you can see his -elbow sticking out behind that tree. He's all right!" - -Two more volleys of shell burst close to our guns, which still appeared -to have escaped damage. - -How long the night seemed in coming! How we cursed the sun which, its -blood-red disk almost touching the horizon, seemed as though it would -never sink down behind the mangel-wurzel field! It looked absolutely -motionless, stationary. - -Hutin swore and shook his fist at the crimson sphere. - -The Captain signalled for us to come up. - -Behind the hayricks the cry was repeated: "To the guns!" - -We thought we were going to fire, but found that other orders had -arrived. - -"Limbers!" - -A mist, rising from the hollows of the plain, blotted out distant -objects one by one. The far-off hills occupied by the Howitzer battery -were lost in a purple haze, but quite possibly we could still be seen -thence as we stood silhouetted against the clear western sky. - -We limbered up and rolled off. The Howitzers kept silent. - -The rifle-fire now began to grow fitful, and the guns were hushed in -their turn. A death-like stillness settled down on the plain, which, -as the sun sank, became illuminated by burning buildings, the flare of -which blazed ever more brightly as the night crept on. - -The day of severe fighting which was just drawing to a close had -decided nothing. Each of the adversaries slept in his own positions. - - - _Wednesday, September 9_ - -In a field near Sennevieres, in position of readiness, we brewed our -coffee. The weather was very hot. This morning the battle had been slow -in opening, but now to the east and north-east the guns were roaring as -incessantly as yesterday. - -Suddenly, about midday, the firing-line on our left opened out and -became slightly curved. We were occupying the extreme wing of the -French army, and were at once seized with misgivings. Was the enemy -outflanking us again? - -We questioned the Captain, who was also intently observing the woods -which yesterday had been out of the enemy's range, and which were now -being heavily shelled. - -"What does that mean, sir?" - -"I don't know any more than you, I'm afraid. I only obey, you know.... -I go where I am told to go.... That's all!" - -But Deprez insisted: - -"They're turning our left again!" - -The Captain's finely chiselled face was puckered with anxiety. - -"Well," said he, "they're certainly bombarding woods which they weren't -bombarding yesterday. But that at any rate proves that they haven't -reached them. On the contrary, perhaps they've been threatened on that -side by an enveloping movement of our troops.... Who knows?... Besides, -if they do outflank us we aren't alone here.... We'll face them!" - -He gave us a searching look with his intelligent hazel eyes, and -repeated: - -"We'll face them, won't we?" - -"Of course we will, sir!" - -Coffee was ready. The Captain pulled his aluminium cup out of his -pocket and dipped it into the black beverage smoking in the kettle. The -gunners stood round him, their drinking-tins in their hands, waiting -their turn, and when he had filled his cup helped themselves one after -the other. Conversation ceased, and the men sipped their coffee. - -After a while the cook said: - -"There's some more!" - -"How much?" asked the Captain, anxious not to deprive any one. - -"A good half-pint each." - -The Captain helped himself and the men followed suit. Then, as there -still remained a little coffee mixed with grounds the operation was -repeated. - -With that startling rapidity which we had observed each time we had -had to retire on the Meuse, the country became alive with lines of -infantry. Companies and battalions were emerging from the woods and -from behind the hedges, and overspread the stubble-fields, massing in -the hollows. - -"Hallo! what does that mean?" asked Brejard. - -"Are those swine turning tail?" exclaimed Millon, crossing his arms. - -The Captain anxiously observed the movements of the infantry. - -"No," said he. "Those are reserve troops advancing towards the north in -order to face the enemy if he outflanks us." - -Orders came for us to go and take up position between Sennevieres and -Nanteuil-le-Haudoin. - -There could be no doubt about it. The enemy was turning our lines. - -We were seized with a fit of wild rage. Would they manage to pass us, -and get to Paris? To Paris ... to our homes ... to kill, sack, rape?... - -"Ah," growled Hutin, "what wouldn't I give to murder some of those -savages!" - -"Trot!" commanded the Captain. - -Bending down over their horses' necks the drivers urged the teams -forward with voice, knees, whip, and spur. - -The same gust of wind seemed to carry with it men, horses, and -guns--all this artillery let loose like a tide on the barren fields, -over whose furrows it billowed and surged. - -We took up position with our guns pointing north-east. Behind us the -sun, already low in the western sky, lit up the railway-line and the -road from Nanteuil to Paris, flanked with tall trees. - -Sections of infantry began to fall back. - -"You see?" repeated Millon. "They can't stick it, the beasts! Haven't -they read the Army Order then?" - -Suddenly, almost behind us, rifle-fire broke out. We had been -outflanked. - -On the main road to Paris, and between the road and the railway, dense -masses of infantry were debouching from behind Nanteuil. We were -encircled by a huge hostile horseshoe, and it now seemed as if the only -means of retreat open to the 4th Army Corps was the narrow road running -south-east between Sennevieres and Silly. - -An officer wearing an aviator's cap arrived in a motor-car and hurried -up to the observation-post. Shortly afterwards the Major ordered us to -turn the guns right round. - -At any moment we might be caught between two fires, for, to the -north-west of Nanteuil, on the hills commanding the road, there could -be no doubt that the enemy's artillery was taking up position in order -to support the infantry attack. - -Our batteries opened fire. - -The same wild frenzy immediately gained possession of men and guns. The -latter became roaring monsters--raging dragons, which from their gaping -mouths belched fire at the sun as it sank to rest in the soft summer -twilight. Piles of smoking cartridges-cases mounted up behind the guns. -In the stricken zone in front of us we could see men waver, turn tail, -run, and fall in heaps. From the heights above Nanteuil, from which our -guns could have been counted, came no answering roar of artillery. - -For a long time the slaughter continued. - -"Ah! _That_ lot will never get to Paris!" - -Night fell. The infantry regiments began to retire in order down the -hollow of which we were occupying one of the slopes. Some mounted -Chasseurs passed by at a trot, followed by a whole brigade of -Cuirassiers. It was the retreat! - -We were beaten!... beaten!... - -The enemy was marching on Paris! - -The sun was now but a red crescent on the horizon. The horsemen -advancing towards Silly disappeared in their own dust. We still -continued firing, lavishing shrapnel on the plain where men still moved -here and there. - -"Cease firing!" - -The gunners either had not heard, or did not want to hear.... Three -guns still barked. Shouting at the top of his voice the Major repeated -the command. - -Perspiring and brick-red with heat the gunners sponged themselves -over and then, with folded arms, stood silently behind their guns, -contemplating the fields of which not one square inch had been spared. - -We were expecting orders to retire in our turn, but eventually received -instructions to pass the night here. A battalion of infantry had been -sent to support us, and the men deployed in skirmishing order and took -up positions about two hundred yards from the park, which we had had to -form on the spot. - -We heard that in front of us not a single French unit remained. We were -at the mercy of a cavalry night attack. - - - _Thursday, September 10_ - -After yesterday's engagement we had expected a furious cannonade to -begin at dawn. But not a sound was heard. The sun illuminated the plain -and the slopes upon which we were waiting for the enemy in firing -position. Not a single gun was fired, and we began to grow surprised -and uneasy. - -A Lieutenant-Colonel at the head of a passing column recognized the -Major and hailed him. - -"Hallo! Solente!" - -"Hallo!" - -"How are you?" - -"I'm all right, thanks." - -"What's your Group doing there?" - -"Guarding the Nanteuil road." - -"Then you don't know what's happened?" - -"No, what?" - -"The enemy retired during the night." - -"No!" - -"Yes, it's quite true! We've got orders to advance.... The Germans are -retiring all along the line." - -The two officers looked at each other and smiled. - -"Then in that case...." - -"It's victory!" - -The news passed rapidly from gun to gun and nearly set the men dancing -with joy. Victory, victory! And just when we were not expecting it! - -Towards midday we also received orders to advance. - -At Nanteuil a slight recrudescence of life was noticeable. A grocer was -taking down the wooden shutters of his shop, and some of the windows -were thrown open as we went by. As at Dammartin I read on several of -the doors the notice: "_Gute Leute_." - -The road we were following skirted the fields on which we repulsed the -enemy yesterday. We halted, doubtless waiting for fresh orders. - -The surrounding country was motionless, but, between the Paris road and -the railway, grey-coated corpses lay among the mangel-wurzels as far -as the eye could reach. On the fringe of some large maize-fields six -Germans had fallen in a heap. The last to die had toppled backwards -on to the others, his stiffened legs pointing skywards. His neck was -doubled up under the weight of his body, and his chin touched his -chest. His eyes were wide open and his mouth twisted in a horrible -grimace of agony. With a single exception, nothing could be seen of the -other corpses under him save the shoulders, necks, and feet. But one of -them, who had not been killed outright and who lay half buried beneath -the rest, must have died hard. Scalped by a shell splinter he had tried -to rid himself of the ghastly burden crushing his back and legs, but -his strength had failed him. Propped up on one elbow, his mouth wide -open as though his last breath had been a shout, he had died stretching -a huge knotted fist towards the hills we had just left, whence death -had come to him. - -His cheeks, already turning grey, had begun to fall in, and in the -stiffening features from which all semblance of life was rapidly -departing one already seemed to see the hollow-eyed, square-chinned, -grinning mask of Death. - -A little farther on three Army Service Corps men were standing round -a Prussian lying on his back, his arms clasped as if in some awful -embrace. As one of them lifted his head in order to take off his helmet -a stream of black blood gushed from the dead man's mouth and covered -the soldier's hands. - -"Pig!" growled he, and wiped his gory hands on the skirts of the -German's grey coat. - - * * * * * - -Near-by a Sub-Lieutenant of Engineers was counting the corpses for -burial. - -"So it's you gunners who have given me all this work! I've already -counted seventeen hundred, and I haven't finished yet! There'll be more -than two thousand." - -As I returned, sick at heart, across the maize-fields I stumbled -against something soft. Suspecting a corpse I hastily jumped to one -side. - - * * * * * - -Again we advanced, towards the north. - -The roadside was strewn with Mausers, bayonets as short as butchers' -knives, cartridge-pouches, helmets, cowhide-packs, wallets, saddles, -dead horses.... - -On the evening of the Battle of Virton the Ruettes road had borne -a similar appearance. Upon that occasion I had dejectedly said to -myself: "This is a French defeat," and now I was equally astonished to -realize that I had taken part in a victory, of which these remains were -the proofs, a victory which had snatched Paris from the jaws of the -Germans, saved France, and which conceivably might open a new era for -us all. In sight of this Calvary of the German army we told ourselves -that the enemy would evacuate France as quickly as he had entered it. - -Across one of the broad, flat fields ran a yellow line of freshly -turned earth, staked out with rifles planted butt-end upwards. Hundreds -of men--thousands perhaps--had been buried there side by side, and -the air was tainted with all the pestilential odours of decomposition -which escaped through the cracks and fissures in the sun-baked soil. -On approaching one of the scattered clumps of trees under which -other corpses had been buried, the same sickening smell assailed our -nostrils. Despite ourselves we kept sniffing the air with an uneasiness -like that shown by dogs when they are said to scent death. - -Farther down the road we came upon a party of sappers busily plying -pick and shovel. At the bottom of a hole they had just finished digging -lay a brown crupper marked "Uh. 3" (3rd Uhlans), and on the ploughed -land at the edge of the ditch lay a dead horse covered with clayey -earth. Worms were swarming in the putrid blood surrounding him. - -One of the sappers, who was covering up the carrion with large -spadefuls of earth, looked up. - -"Phew! he smells bad, doesn't he?" he said. "Nasty job, this! I shan't -apply for undertakers' work when I've finished soldiering! And horses -smell worse than men. We shall end by getting the plague!" - -"When I started to drag him," said another, "his hoof came off in my -hand." - -And he pointed with his foot to an iron-shod hoof lying on the ground -like a stone. - -Close by, in a newly harrowed field, undisturbed save for the -hoof-prints of a couple of horses which had galloped across it, lay two -lances, one of them broken, a light cavalry sword, a Uhlan's helmet, -and a water-bottle. - - * * * * * - -The weather gradually became foggy. The fields, monotonous and drab -under the grey sky, and littered at intervals with uniforms, arms, and -corpses, imbued us with a sadness which bordered on fear. We had to -keep repeating to ourselves "Victory, victory!" in order once again -to feel the joy--which nevertheless was so deep--of knowing that the -Country was saved. - - - _Saturday, September 12_ - -For two days it has rained incessantly, and we have advanced about -twenty-two miles under the downpour. The enemy is still retiring, -his retreat covered by a few Howitzers which appear to be short of -ammunition. Each hour that passes confirms our victory, and we should -be in excellent spirits were it not raining so heavily. - - * * * * * - -The Captain has sent me to pass a few days with the first line of -wagons, partly on account of persistent diarrhoea, which was weakening -me considerably, and partly owing to a rather serious cut in the wrist. -Life in my new billet is far less strenuous; one's rations are better -cooked, and one gets plenty of sleep. - -While our batteries keep up a lively bombardment on the rear of the -German columns in retreat, the first lines of wagons are installed in -a wide ravine cut right across the plateau as if by giant swordstroke. -It almost seems as if the rain converged in this hollow from all points -of the compass. Shells fall also, but they bury themselves without -bursting in the marsh near-by, raising geysers of mud. - - * * * * * - -To-day the N.C.O. of the 6th gun, to which I am temporarily attached, -called the men round him: - -"_Les poilus!_"[2] - -"Here we are!" answered a voluntarily re-enlisted man who was already -grey about the temples. "Hairies without a dry hair on our bodies!" - -"Listen to this!" - -And the N.C.O. in a hoarse voice began to read an order of the day: - - "_For five days, without interruption or respite, the 6th Army has - been engaged in combat with a foe strong in numbers, whose morale - has hitherto been exalted by success. The struggle has been a hard - one, and the loss of life due to gun-fire, and the exhaustion - caused by want of sleep and sometimes food, have exceeded all that - could have been imagined. The courage, fortitude, and endurance - with which you have borne all these hardships cannot be adequately - extolled in words. - - "Comrades, the G.O.C. has asked you, in the name of your Country, - to do more than your duty; you have responded even more heroically - than seemed possible. Thanks to you, victory has now crowned our - arms, and now that you know the satisfaction of success you will - never let it escape you. - - "For my part, if I have done anything worthy of merit, I have been - rewarded by the greatest honour which in a long career has fallen - to my lot--that of commanding men such as you. - - "From my heart I thank you for what you have done, for to you I owe - that which has been the aim of all my efforts and all my energy for - the last forty-four years--the Revenge for 1870. - - "All honour and thanks to you and to all combatants of the 6th Army. - - "Claye (Seine-et-Marne) 10th September 1914. - - "Signed: Joffre. - - "Countersigned: Manoury."_ - - * * * * * - -"Hear, hear!" cried some one. - -"I say, sergeant," shouted the old soldier who had spoken before, "as -the General is pleased with us, can't you get them to ask him to turn -off some of this water?" - - * * * * * - -We started off again. The country through which we had been marching -since dawn, with halts of one and sometimes two hours during which the -guns went into action, seemed, at the first glance, an endless and -almost deserted plain. The beetroot-and corn-fields where the crops, -often in sheaves, had now rotted, seemed to succeed each other without -interruption from one side of the horizon to the other under the -lowering, cheerless sky, from which the cold rain poured relentlessly -down. But suddenly, in the middle of the flat and barren country, -there opened a dale whose existence one would never have suspected, -well wooded and so deep that even the church steeple of the village -nestling in its lap was hidden from view. - -Under the stinging rain the teams walked on with heads held low and -twitching ears, their coats shining like oil-skin. By this time many of -our horses were only kept on their legs as if by a miracle. The foul -weather had put the final touch to their ruin, and we had to abandon -three of them, one after the other. They keep going until they reach -the extreme limit of their strength, and then suddenly they stumble -and stop dead; after that no power on earth will make them advance -another inch. They have to be taken out of the traces, unharnessed, and -abandoned where they stand. They remain in the same place until they -die. - -The men were apathetic and taciturn under their black cloaks. Water -ran down our backs and made us shiver. Many of the drivers had turned -their kepis round so that the peaks protected their necks. Their faces, -wincing under the sting of the lashing rain, were half hidden in their -upturned collars. Our shirts clave to our shoulders and our trousers to -our knees. The soaking garments absorbed the warmth of the body, and -we experienced the horrible sensation of gradually becoming chilled to -the marrow. It seemed as if life was slowly ebbing from our limbs and -as if we were dying by inches. - -We passed a group of miserable, saturated foot-soldiers, from the -skirts of whose coats the rain ran in streams. Some of them had thrown -sacks full of straw over their shoulders. One man was sheltering his -head and back underneath a woman's skirt, and others under capes, -neckerchiefs, and flowery-patterned bed-curtains. - -The road was a river of liquid clay upon which neither the men's boots, -horseshoes, nor the tyres of the wheels left a trace. - -As night approached the grey vault of the sky seemed to sink still -lower, drawing in the horizon over the fields, and almost to touch the -earth itself. A dense fog first surrounded and then smothered us. We -could not have told upon which side the sun was setting; the west was -as opaque as the east. The yellow, diffused light gradually became -weaker. Here and there by the wayside we could still distinguish the -dark forms of dead horses. Night fell. The rain was trickling down my -back as far as my loins. I was very cold and now felt more acutely than -ever that indescribable sensation as if my life's blood was being -slowly sucked from my veins. The battery lumbered on and on.... - -It was perhaps ten o'clock when we finally halted on the outskirts of -a village and ranged up our carriages by the side of the road. We had -to wait there some time, sitting motionless on the limbers and becoming -more frozen every minute. Our teeth chattered with cold. The delay was -probably caused by a cross-roads, a block in the transport traffic, a -passing convoy, or some other obstacle; in any case we could not move -on. I began to wonder whether we should have to pass the whole night in -the rain.... - -Eventually we reached a field in which we bivouacked, stretching the -lines between the carriages. The hurricane lamps formed large yellow -points in the opaque darkness, piercing the night without lighting -anything. There was no sound save the squelching of dragging footsteps -as the exhausted men and horses moved about in the mud. - -The sergeant-major summoned the corporals for the issue of rations. But -the distribution between the guns had not been finished and the men -immediately went away again, preferring to wait until the next day to -get their rations. The sergeant-major shouted after them, declaring -that if there should be an alarm they would risk going for a whole day -without food. He was perfectly right, but no one listened to him. - -The darkness was so intense that it was difficult to follow the road, -and in order to keep together the men kept shouting: - -"Eleventh!... This way.... Eleventh!..." - -Convoys passed by, splashing us with mud. A wheel just grazed me. -After a long march the only shelter we could find was some rickety old -barns, open to the four winds of heaven, in which a thin sprinkling -of straw hardly separated us from the beaten-down earth. Here the -battery, silent, soaked to the skin and smelling like wet animals, sank -shivering into a troubled sleep, continually interrupted by the cries -of men dreaming. - - - _Sunday, September 13_ - -This morning the sun was shining. Clouds were still banked up to the -west, but the blue, which cheered us up wonderfully, eventually spread -over the whole sky. We continued our march forward. - -The enemy's Howitzers were still bombarding the country round us, but -spasmodically and at haphazard. The Germans were being hotly pursued; -in the villages we learned that less than two hours previously -stragglers were still passing through. It seems that yesterday the -enemy's retreat almost became a rout. Disbanded infantrymen without -arms, gunners, dismounted horsemen--all fled pell-mell, pursued by the -fire of our .75's and harassed by our advanced guard. - -At Vic-sur-Aisne, while waiting till the pontoon bridge should be -clear, I entered a pretty little house, the doors and windows of -which had been left wide open by the Germans on their departure. The -wardrobes and chests of drawers had all been broken into and pillaged. -Women's chemises and drawers together with other underlinen were -trailing down the staircase. A meal was served on the dining-room -table, but the overturned chairs bore witness to the precipitation -with which the guests had fled. I was hungry and sat down without -hesitation. The food was good although cold. - -The leading carriages of the column had already begun to cross the -bridge before I learned that the luncheon I had just eaten had been -prepared for the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, but had been -interrupted by the arrival of the French advanced guard. - -We crossed the Aisne without difficulty. How came it that the enemy was -allowing us to cross the river? The thought of a trap, such as that -we laid for the Germans when they crossed the Meuse, made me a little -uneasy. - -Near Attichy our batteries went off to take up position, while the -first lines of wagons halted on a winding road leading to the plateau -through some extremely dense woods, all damp and odorous after the -rains of yesterday. In a little quarry of white stone yawning on one -side of the road in the full glare of the sun, I lay down with a few -comrades in some tall ferns. I was nearly asleep when, suddenly, the -noise of a bursting shell, which had just fallen close by, spread in -vibrant waves through the trees, of which every leaf seemed to rustle. - -At the entrance to the quarry appeared a gunner staggering from side to -side, his face deathly pale. He grasped his right elbow with his left -hand and let himself fall among the bracken. - -"Oh!" he murmured, "I'm hit!" - -"Where?" - -With a slight movement of the head he indicated his elbow, which was -cut open and bleeding. And, suddenly, from the road which at this point -made two successive bends and then plunged beneath a dark vault of big -beech-trees, came a confused sound of groans, cries, and stamping. - -A driver hurried up without his kepi, his face streaming with blood. - -"Come quickly ... it's fallen down there ... it's fallen on the road! -Everything's all messed up, the horses are on top.... Oh, my God!... - -"Are you wounded?" - -"No ... where?" - -"Your cheek...." - -"Oh, that's nothing--it's a horse, my off-horse.... Come on!" - -More shells whistled overhead. We started to run. Suddenly, at the bend -of the road I stopped dead, breathless, paralysed by a ghastly sight. - -Under the sun, which, breaking through the branches, marbled the white -road, lay a shapeless mass of mangled men and horses. The entire teams -of the forge and store wagon were welded together in a writhing heap of -bleeding flesh. Men were struggling underneath. In the middle of the -road lay two gunners, face downwards; others were dragging themselves -about on their hands among the fallen saddle-horses. Wounded were -moving in the ditches. - -From this shambles rose long-drawn-out groans similar to the harrowing -cries made by certain animals at night, a muffled and interminable -"Aaah!... aaah!" rising and falling like some savage song. Blood was -running in streams in the gutters on each side of the way. A nauseating -stale stench, like that of a slaughter-house, a sort of warmth, an -odour of steaming flesh and flowing blood, a smell of horses, entrails, -and animal gasses gripped our throats and turned our stomachs. - -One man, who lay buried beneath the team of the forge, had succeeded in -passing his arm through a mass of tangled intestines, but the viscera -had gripped his wrist in a tenacious grasp. He shook them furiously, -scattering jets of blood in all directions. Round him the horses lay -writhing in their death agony, breaking wind, dunging, staling, and -scraping the ground with their stiffening limbs, their shoes grating -stridently on the flints. In their death-throes they strained at the -traces and one heard a noise of cracking chains. The vehicle to which -they were harnessed advanced a few inches, and then rolled back. - -Near-by lay a dead foot-soldier, his whole chest one gaping wound. In -his wide-open blue eyes was a fixed expression of horror that went to -my heart like a knife. An artilleryman, his stomach ripped open, had -been pinned to the road in an almost erect posture by a wounded horse -which, bleeding at the nostrils, had fallen across his feet. - -Whenever the groaning and wailing stopped for a second one heard the -noise of the blood as it burbled and trickled stream by stream and drop -by drop, and the gurgle of the intestines which lay in an entangled -pink and white mass on the road. - -I ran to help the man buried under the forge team. His face was red -all over, and horribly convulsed, his hair and beard glued with blood, -and his white eyeballs rolling like those of one asphyxiated. A horse -in its agony was threatening to kill a gunner wounded in the loins who -was dragging himself along on his hands, so I quickly killed the animal -with a revolver shot. It was only then that I perceived, stretched out -between two horses, my friend M----, very pale, with closed eyes. I ran -up and put my arm round him in order to lift him up.... All my blood -suddenly ceased to flow, my heart stopped beating.... My arm had sunk -up to the elbow in an enormous wound in my friend's back.... - -I stood up. For an instant the ghastly scene turned round and round.... -I thought that I should faint with horror. I put my hand--dripping -with blood--to my forehead.... I daubed my face with gore. In order not -to fall I had to lean up against the wheel of the forge. - -A hospital orderly had succeeded in extricating a couple of untouched -stretchers from the ambulance, which had also been shattered by the -shell. On one side of the road the Medical Officer, still much upset, -himself slightly wounded by the explosion, was occupied with some -first-aid dressing. Three of us hoisted on to one of the stretchers a -big, fair-haired gunner with a Gaulois moustache, whose foot, almost -completely severed from the leg, dangled in the air, and who was -yelling with pain. We remembered that there was a dressing-station at -the foot of the hill on the fringe of the woods. - -We started off, bending our knees in order to jolt the stretcher as -little as possible, but we continually had to step over the scattered -limbs of horses and pick our way between corpses so disfigured as to be -unrecognizable. - -A wounded man clasped my leg as we passed, lifting up a deathly face -which the blood, running from his ear, had surrounded with a gory -collar. His eyes implored us to stop, and in a low voice of profound -supplication he murmured: - -"For God's sake don't leave me here!" - -But we could not carry two men at a time. I bent down a little: - -"The others will be along in a minute or two with the other stretcher. -They'll take you. Come, now, let go of my foot!..." - -We left the shambles and began to breathe again.... - -The closely meshed cloth of the stretcher retained the blood of the -wounded man, whose foot swam in a red pool. He was suffering horribly -and twisted his arms together, groaning: - -"Oh, my foot!... You're shaking me.... Oh, how you're shaking me!" - -And then: - -"For God's sake walk slowly!" - -In spite of all our efforts we could not avoid the shaking which caused -him so much pain, and he continued to murmur, his voice getting fainter -and fainter: - -"Walk, walk ... slowly!..." - -His lips silently repeated "walk" until a fresh jolt made him cry out. - -In front of the field-hospital some medical officers had improvised an -operating-table in a shady part of the road. The wounded were laid out -in rows on the edge of the ditch. A fat doctor with four stripes on -his arm ran hither and thither, shouting. - -Carried on stretchers or limping on foot, either alone or with the aid -of their comrades, the wounded arrived. One man's chin was no more than -a bloody jelly; one of his eyes was shut and the other wide open. - -The veterinary surgeon's horse, shot through by a shell splinter, -had followed the wounded as far as the ambulance, but as soon as he -stopped he sank to his knees by the side of the road. The eyes of the -animal were full of a suffering almost human, and as he turned his head -towards me I fired my revolver in his ear. With a dull, heavy thud like -that of an axe as it sinks deep in a tree-trunk, the animal fell on -his flank, and from the top of the slope skirting the road rolled over -twice into the field below. - -We had at once to return to the scene of slaughter, where we were badly -needed. As soon as I left the fresh air and sunshine and re-entered -the woods I felt almost paralysed by the thought of what I was going -to see, and the shadows of the trees, growing darker as the daylight -waned, helped to intensify my fear. - -"Come on!..." - -Two saddle-horses with bleeding wounds were walking away from the -shambles by instinct. With faltering steps they slowly descended the -road towards the sun. The dead horses had been unharnessed and dragged -to one side of the way, but two artillerymen had been left lying in the -middle of the road, and some one, either out of force of habit or out -of pity for the dead, had broken two branches off one of the beeches -and had covered their faces with leaves. - -In the gutters the rivers of blood had become congealed. The hot, fetid -smell, imprisoned under the vault of the trees, still floated in the -air, more nauseating and terrifying than ever. The efforts the men -had made in order to unharness the horses and clear the roadway had -caused the intestines to split and break, and they now trailed about -everywhere, covered with dust, separated by several yards from the -gaping, empty bodies from which they had been torn. - -Two prisoners, tall men whose height was increased by their long -grey cloaks and pointed helmets, came down from the plateau. The -foot-soldiers accompanying them, fearing that this spectacle of death -might cause their enemies too keen a delight, had blindfolded them, -and led them by the hand in and out the corpses. But the Germans had -recognized the smell of blood. A line of uneasiness barred their -foreheads and they continually sniffed the tainted air. - - - _Monday, September 14_ - -At Attichy we spent the night in some splendid, well-closed barns -in which the hay lay deep, but our rest was disturbed by horrible -nightmares. I dreamt that I was rolling among mutilated corpses in -rivers of blood. When I awoke it was raining. - -A countryman with a drooping white moustache brought us some beer -and wine in buckets. He lived in an isolated house easily visible -from our barn, in a copse on the side of the hill. During the German -occupation he had left his house as being too solitary and had taken -up his quarters in the village. When the enemy took their departure -the day before yesterday he had returned to his house accompanied by a -foot-soldier. He was going on ahead when through the broken-in front -door he saw, in the hall, a helmeted German in the act of aiming at -him. He jumped to one side, exposing the French soldier behind him, -whereupon the German at once dropped his rifle and threw up his hands. -The two Frenchmen seized him and, sitting him down on a chair in the -kitchen, shot him through the head. There they left him, still sitting, -his head on his breast and the blood dripping from his forehead -between his knees on to the tiled floor, and went off to reconnoitre -the surroundings of the house and the garden. They could discover -nothing suspicious, but when they returned to the kitchen they found it -empty. Nothing remained of the German save a pool of blood in front of -the chair. But near the door and on the stairs were red stains and they -heard groans coming from the garret. - -We asked the peasant: - -"Well, what did you do with your Boche?" - -"Oh, he's still in my garret," he answered placidly. - -"But you must get him out of that. He'll soon begin to smell!" - -"Yes, I'm going to dig a hole for him to-night near the dung-heap." - -And, as I ventured to say that instead of killing the man treacherously -they might have taken him prisoner, seeing that he had surrendered: - -"Why?" asked the peasant. "Wouldn't he have killed me if I'd been all -alone? And yet I'm a civilian!" - -"No!" he added, "we shall never kill enough of those swine!" - - * * * * * - -The wind had risen and the rain ceased. Our Group advanced along the -Compiegne road, which runs by the side of the river. But we had hardly -gone a mile when the word was given to halt. We prepared to make our -soup, but there was no water, and I searched in vain for a spring or -well. Finally we decided to draw water from the Aisne. On the opposite -bank a dead German was lying among the rushes, half his body submerged -in the stream. Well, we would boil the water, that was all! One must -eat! - -As night fell a horseman arrived with orders. We set off at a trot. - -Under the lee of a high wall some Spahis were resting, their burnous -making red patches in the dusk. Near them their little horses stood -motionless under their complicated harness. Against an apple-tree -leaned an Arab with magnificently cut features, as regular as those -of a statue. Under the purple, woollen hood his brown face bore an -expression of that resigned melancholy, at once so pitiful and so -noble, in which men of his race always languish when far from the -desert. His large, apathetic black eyes, which seemed fixed upon -something in the distance, had a mystic look in them. He appeared to -feel cold. The gunners greeted him smiling: - -"Hallo! old Sidi!" - -But the Arab, without moving, only replied with a condescending blink -of his eyes. - -The batteries took up position, the first line of wagons halting behind -a screen of acacias. The silence of the night was hardly broken by a -confused murmur of the far-off battle when suddenly, as if at a given -signal, more than forty French field-guns, almost in unison, fired a -terrific volley across the plateau. - -The vivid flashes from the muzzles cleft the twilight like red -lightning. The air continued to vibrate. It was as though the -atmosphere were filled with huge sound-waves dashing and splitting one -against the other like the waves of the ocean in a storm. The earth -quivered in response to the twanging air. Gradually the night became -darker. - -Our batteries were certainly firing at registered aiming-points. The -enemy only replied now and again, and then at haphazard. - -Suddenly a rumour began to circulate: - -"The Germans are entraining! That station is being bombarded!..." - -"Oh, well, I shouldn't prevent 'em taking their tickets," said an -imperturbable-looking reservist. "I shouldn't interfere with 'em. Let -them clear out and let us go back home. I've a wife and two kiddies. -It's no joke, war!..." - -It was pitch-dark when the guns, one by one, gradually became silent. -In a few moments there was complete stillness, a stillness almost -surprising, almost disturbing after the deafening cannonade. - -We rejoined the batteries. Noiselessly, one behind the other, the -carriages plunged like phantoms into the darkness, the soft field, -as it yielded under the wheels, giving a strange impression of -cotton-wool. The nocturnal clarity, diffused and as if floating, did -not enable us to see what kind of field it was which the long column -was crossing without a jolt or jangle, with only an occasional creaking -of badly oiled wheels. - -The whole countryside smelt of death, and this was not due to -imagination. Far off a burning building stood out like a fixed point of -light. The massive trees of a neighbouring park filled us with nameless -fears. - -The wheel of the limber passed over something soft and elastic which -yielded under the weight. I felt sure that it was a dead man, and -looked behind me fearfully. But I could see nothing. - -We halted on the outskirts of a village called Tracy-le-Mont, where the -supply-train was waiting for us. Rations were issued, the men in their -cloaks standing in a black circle round the provision wagon, which was -lit by a solitary lantern. Hutin and Deprez were among them. Somebody -was calling out the guns: - -"Third!... Fourth!..." - -"First!" cried Hutin. - -"You've missed your turn. You'll have to come last now." - -We talked while waiting. Hutin was very tired and hungry. - -"There's some good grub going," said he. "We're going to get some fresh -meat." - -"Yes, but fires will be forbidden." - -"I suppose you haven't seen the postmaster?" he asked suddenly. - -"No, why?" - -"Because in the first line you see him more often than we do." - -"Well, I've begun to doubt whether there is such a person." - -"It's true.... The brute never turns up! Confound it all! If only we -got letters sometimes the time would pass quicker. The last I had was -simply to say that they hadn't any news of me. It does seem hard!" - -"First gun!" - -"At last," said Hutin. "Good-bye, old chap! I'm off to get my grub. -Try to get back to us soon." - - - _Tuesday, September 15_ - -It was splendid weather when we awoke. During the night it had rained -a little, but we had surrounded our guns with armfuls of hay gathered -from some large ricks near-by. I slept under the ammunition wagon, -which sheltered me as far as the knees, and I had covered my feet with -a couple of sheaves. The ground was not very damp and I slept well in -spite of the shower. - -With the dawn the sky cleared. The air was soft and warm, and the tall -trees in their infinite variety of green shades stood out in clear-cut -silhouettes against the pale blue of the sky. The grass, although cut -short, now that the summer was ending, had regained some of its lost -freshness. - -Here and there in the fields dark heaps arrested the eye. These were -the bodies of fallen Germans. Once one has seen three or four one -instinctively searches for them everywhere, and a forgotten wheat-sheaf -in the distance looks like a corpse. - -We started, the wheels of the leading carriages tracing a well-marked -track across the fields. On one side lay a dead German. The vehicles -had brushed by him as they passed and would have crushed his feet had -the drivers not seen him in time. His face was still waxen in colour, -and the eye-sockets alone had begun to turn green. The solemn, regular -features were not lacking in a certain virile beauty. - -The man sitting next me on the wagon looked long at the dead man's face -as if trying to catch his last expression. - -"Poor devil!" said he, shrugging his shoulders. - -A little moved myself, I echoed: - -"Yes, poor devil!" - -But the wheel-driver, who had left a wife and children behind him, and -was wondering how they fared, turned in his saddle: - -"Dirty pig!" he growled. - - * * * * * - -This morning the battle started early and with unusual violence on a -front which appeared to stretch from east to west. As far as one could -see the sky was fleecy with shell smoke. - -"There!... And they said the Germans were going--were entraining! Do -you see them over there?... Brutes!" - -"Yes. They were detraining!" - -The men bitterly cursed their erstwhile credulity. Nevertheless I -knew that this evening they would be ready to believe the news that -the Russians had reached Berlin, provided that it was sufficiently -vigorously affirmed. - -We learned the truth from some passing foot-soldiers. The Germans had -entrenched themselves strongly on the wooded hills and in the quarries. -The pursuit was held up, and a new battle was about to begin. - -I asked a sergeant: - -"But those aren't the Germans we were on the heels of yesterday and the -day before, are they?" - -"No," he answered, "these must be troops which were behind them in -Belgium." - -The first line, installed in a narrow valley, replenished every -half-hour the battery which, in position near a large farm, was -emptying wagonful after wagonful of shells. The German artillery swept -the plain, and some six-inch Howitzers, whose objective seemed to be -the bend of a neighbouring road, aiming too high, threatened to catch -us in enfilading fire at any moment. On the other hand, one of their -77 mm. batteries had opened fire on a wood commanding the other end -of the valley. There could be no thought of trying to get out of this -uncomfortable position by way of the plain. The enemy would see us -and his Howitzers would reach us with ease. The officer in charge of -the train, Lieutenant Boutroux, was perplexed. Finally he decided to -face the 77 mm. guns, and we began to work round the edge of the wood, -shrapnel shell bursting over our heads. Soon the valley curved inwards. -The danger zone was passed. Unscathed, and keeping well screened from -the enemy, we took up a fresh position in another gully almost exactly -similar to that we had just left. - -We lacked water, and in order to find it had to follow a path leading -across the field to some barns, from the roofs of which pipes ran down -into a couple of water-tanks. A ladder was propped up against one of -the latter, and I climbed up out of curiosity. The metal plating of -the inside was covered with rust, and out of the turbid water, which -was slowly sinking, emerged an old boot, a felt cap, and all sorts of -shapeless objects of cloth or metal, coated with green slime. We had -nevertheless to content ourselves with this water!... - - * * * * * - -The sound of the battle was indicative of no decision; it neither -approached nor became fainter. The wounded who passed told us that -since the morning the infantry had been continually launched against -the strong entrenchments without being able to break through them. The -gun-fire did not slacken until nightfall. - -We rejoined the batteries, cutting across the plain now hidden from -the enemy by the falling darkness. Somewhere a machine-gun was still -crackling. A thin rain was floating in the air and we rapidly became -wet through. We had to lie in the open among the mangel-wurzels, and -the horses were not taken out of the vehicles. - -It was almost impossible to sleep. The moment we lay still we began to -shiver and our teeth chattered. I had a vague fear that the cold, which -ran down my spine in long shudders, might kill me unawares if I went to -sleep. - -My feet resting on the wheel, I curled up on the top of the ammunition -wagon, preferring the icy contact of the steel to the dampness of the -ground. The rain began to fall more heavily. - - - _Wednesday, September 16_ - -Quite early this morning the dull, far-off thud of a Howitzer echoed -and re-echoed, and immediately afterwards, as if fired by a train of -powder, all the guns on the plateau began to roar. - -Astruc came up: - -"Lord!" said he, "I had a funny experience last night! Just think ... -the others had bagged all the places under the wagons, and, as I was -looking about, I saw a great big chap, at least six feet long, covered -over with a blanket in the middle of the field. 'Well,' said I to -myself, 'if there's room for one there's room for two,' and I lifted up -the blanket and snuggled in beside him. But as I went to sleep I pulled -it little by little to my side. Suddenly the long 'un sits up, wide -awake, and starts shaking me!... At first I said nothing--pretended -to be asleep. I was so tired! But he went on shaking me, and then -he shouted: 'What the blazes do you think you're doing?' Finally I -grunted, 'All right! No need to make such a row....' And then I rubbed -my eyes, and got up.... Do you know who it was?... It was the Major! -I'd pulled his blanket off him! I didn't lose my head. I told him that -I felt awfully ill--fit to die--and that there wasn't any more room -underneath the wagon.... Then he muttered something, I don't know what, -and settled down again. I didn't hesitate an instant, but lay down -beside him. Then he said: 'Well, for God's sake don't take all the -blanket, at any rate!'" - -The battery went off to take up position, and the first line of wagons -returned to the gully where we sheltered yesterday. - -My wrist was hurting me. In spite of the dressing the wound had been -poisoned by the blood of the wounded and dead at Attichy. - - * * * * * - -The postmaster arrived with a sackful of letters. - -"At home they seem to think the war will last until New Year," said -somebody. - -"But the Russians?" - -"Oh! the Russians...." - -"Well, let's see ... October, November, December.... That makes another -three months and a half.... Why, we shall all be dead of exposure -before then!" - - * * * * * - -Hardly five hundred yards away from our park some big farm buildings -suddenly burst into flames, the walls surrounding the yard showing up -on the bare fields like a massive square of luminous masonry. The smoke -at first rose in heavy, dark spirals pierced here and there by yellow -flashes and then shot straight up into the clear sky in a tall column. - -We knew that there were sheep in the farm. The bombardment had ceased, -and I decided to save one or two of the animals in order to supplement -our ordinary rations. Two gunners of the 12th Battery, the carriages of -which were lined up close to ours, had the same idea. - -We set out for the farm as rapidly as possible. The field we had to -cross had been ploughed up yesterday by the German Howitzers. The enemy -doubtless thought that infantry lay concealed behind the buildings, -and the whole day long his heavy guns had vainly mown down the -mangel-wurzels. - -"They've gone to work as though they wanted to plant trees in fives," -remarked one of my companions. And he added: - -"And they've done the job jolly well! I know something about it, for -I'm a gardener." - -On the edge of a shell crater two gendarmes lay stretched side by side -among the scattered clods of earth. One of them, a big, red-haired -man, had a great gaping wound in his chest, and his right arm, doubled -up in a strange posture, looked as if it had two elbows. The body of -the other, a grey-headed corporal, seemed untouched, but in one of his -eye-sockets there was nothing but a clot of blood, and the eye itself -was hanging on his temple at the end of a white tendon. - -"Poor old chap!" said the gardener. - -He leaned over the corpse with its ghastly, one-eyed face staring at -the sky, and reverently covered it with the silver-badged cap which -had fallen near the dead man's side. - - * * * * * - -Behind one of the blue-slated roofs, which was still intact, lively -flames were now breaking out but were immediately stifled by the clouds -of smoke. A magnificent cone-shaped fir-tree, of funereal aspect, -mounted guard over the fire like a solitary sentry. - -We approached the building. Near the wall of the yard were lying two -gunners and a couple of horses. They had just been killed, and the -blood on the ground was still red. I recognized one of the men as the -orderly of one of our officers. The other had fallen face downwards, -his arms crossed under him. - -A shell had bored a great hole in the yard. Three ducks, despite the -heat of the flames, were dabbling about in a little green pond near a -square-shaped dunghill. Another, the head of which had been cut off by -a shell splinter, was lying on its side at the edge of the water. - -Against the background formed by the great dark curtain of smoke, which -from where we were standing hid half the sky, the skeleton of a barn -stood out like a fascinating framework of molten metal. Long flames -darted out from the doorway and licked a plough and a harrow which had -been abandoned there. Above the hay-shoot a pulley-wheel for hoisting -fodder, mounted in a recess in the front of the building, was red-hot. -The roar of the guns was no longer audible, being drowned by the -crackling of the fire and the sharp hiss of the sparks as they fell in -the pond. One of the ducks, stung by a glowing splinter, was shaking -her feathers. - -"We're none too soon," said the gardener. "The mutton will be half -cooked already." - -The sheepfold was only separated from the shed, which was now alight, -by a bake-house, and was already full of smoke, through which the -woolly backs of the animals loomed like even denser clouds. The -door was open, but the stupid beasts had not fled, and had crowded -together against the end wall under the window communicating with -the bake-house, through which came the smoke which was gradually -asphyxiating them. Huddling together they pushed forward as though -trying to break down the wall with their foreheads. - -"Come on," said the gardener. "You, Lintier, stand there ... at the -door. That's how we'll work it. We'll both of us rush in and each pull -out one of them, and you put a bullet through them as they come out. -Understand?" - -"All right!" - -I had a glimpse of the shadowy forms of the two men dodging about in -the smoke. Then I heard the scraping of hard hoofs on the ground and -one of the gunners reappeared grasping with both hands the tail of a -fat sheep which he pulled out backwards. I killed the animal on the -threshold, and immediately afterwards a second. The gardener went in -again to fetch a third. - -I replaced my revolver in the holster, and each of us hoisted a sheep -on to our shoulders. They encircled our necks like heavy furs, which we -kept in place by grasping the pointed feet bunched together in front -two by two. From their heads, hanging down behind, blood dripped down -our backs. We started off across the mangel-wurzel field. - -Suddenly the gardener cried out: - -"Listen!" - -We stopped. - -"Down!" - -"We're seen!" - -We heard the scream of heavy shell approaching, and at once threw -ourselves flat on the ground behind the sheep, which formed a sort of -rampart. Down came the shells between us and the farm. We jumped up, -and, in spite of our heavy burdens, ran till we were out of the line -of fire. We passed the dead gendarmes and did not stop until we had -reached a row of poplars which hid us from view. Three projectiles -swooped down on the spot we had just left. - -Winding our way through the copses and hollows of the plateau we -regained the park in safety. - -I resumed my seat on a bundle of wood near the fire, while a gunner, -who was a butcher by trade, methodically cut up one of the sheep strung -up by the foot to the store wagon. - -As I led the horses down to drink at the tanks I took a short cut -across the fields in the hope of finding some potatoes, beetroot, or -perhaps some onions. We were specially in need of onions, for some of -our food was most insipid and we knew of no other flavouring. - -I found neither onions nor potatoes, but, on the other side of a knoll, -I saw some foot-soldiers stretched out on the loose sheaves of wheat. -Their red breeches were visible a long way off. Evidently some of those -who had fallen in the engagements of the 12th. - -In a hollow a little farther on I also came upon some German corpses. -Thirteen Frenchmen and seventeen Germans had fallen there, almost side -by side. And yet the Frenchmen seemed more numerous. Red patches on the -yellow of the stubble-field, they caught the eye, whereas the Germans -were hardly noticeable. - -The arms and packs of the dead men had been taken away, and coats, -tunics, and shirts had been unbuttoned so that the medals could be -unpinned. Their necks, bared chests, and eyelids had already turned a -greenish-grey. A little sergeant, who had fallen backwards on to some -sheaves which now pillowed his head, still held his right arm starkly -in the air. The stiffened fingers of his outstretched hand seemed -clasped in a grip of agony. On his sleeve the gold bar shone in the sun. - -As I passed on, some swallows, whose low flight announced rain, skimmed -over the knoll, their pointed wings lightly touching the dead men. - - - _Thursday, September 17_ - -Our line of wagons still remains in the same hollow, nor has the -battery changed position. Although during the last two days it has -fired more than five hundred shells the enemy has not been able to -discover its whereabouts. - -Fighting continued, growing ever more violent in character, near -Tracy-le-Mont, Tracy-le-Val, Carlepont in front of us, Compiegne on the -west, and on the east, parallel to the Aisne, towards Soissons. - -We neither advanced nor retired, and that was all we knew of the -engagement. We have begun to fall into regular habits here; soup is -served and the horses are watered at the same hour every day. - -On my way to the water-tanks this morning I saw an odd-looking priest. -Sitting astride his horse in the middle of the road he was talking to -a surrounding group of gunners and foot-soldiers. He was booted and -spurred, and a long waterproof cape, fastened under his chin, floated -down over the crupper of his horse. A big wooden cross hung from his -neck on to the varnished strap of his revolver-holster, and into his -wide black belt he had stuck a German bayonet. - -Standing in the stirrups he looked like some strange militant monk as -he stroked the neck of his horse. - -"Yes," said he, "he's a nice beast. He belonged to a Uhlan whom I found -after the battle last week, near Nanteuil, where I was going to hear -confessions. He had been abandoned, so I took him. It is much better -than walking." - -And he added: - -"He saved my life yesterday.... I was going to the outposts where there -had been some fighting and where I had heard that I was wanted. I was -quite alone, and suddenly I met a patrol of Uhlans. They fired at -me, but missed. I was angry at not being able to go where I wanted, -and as I wheeled round I let them have a revolver shot. As a priest I -ought not to have done that, ought I? But I couldn't help it. I saw one -topple over. The others pursued me, but my horse went like the wind, -and after a time they gave up the chase. So I turned round again and -followed them. I found the man I had shot. He didn't understand a word -of French. I was able to give him absolution before he died, but it was -a near shave!" - - * * * * * - -Night was falling when we rejoined the battery. It was raining, and we -wondered whether we should again have to sleep in the mud. - -I found my comrades of the first gun--Hutin, Millon, and -Deprez--covered with mire and black with powder, their faces gaunt with -weariness. - -"Hallo!" - -"Ah, Lintier!" said Hutin. "We've had a bad time of it to-day! I -really don't know how it is we are still here!... I don't know.... Ask -Millon...." - -Millon nodded his head. He seemed at the end of his strength. - -"Gratien is dead." - -"Oh!" - -"Killed as he was mounting his horse ... a small splinter in the spine. -He didn't move.... A shell came right through the shield of the third -gun without bursting.... And another fell not two yards off our trench!" - -"Ah! That one did burst. We were badly shaken.... My hair and beard -were singed." - -"No one wounded?" - -"No one in the battery, except Gratien, who was killed.... Yes, though! -Pelletier got his forehead grazed by a splinter. Come and have a look -at the ammunition wagon--it's like a nutmeg-grater. It began to smoke -at one time. Suppose it had blown up!... It was full ... thirty-six -high-explosive shells!..." - -It was now quite dark, so we lit the hurricane lamps. Somebody called -out: - -"Eleventh, to your billets!" - -"Right!" - -"First gun ... fifth gun...." - -"Fifth!" - -"To your billets, eleventh!" - -We followed a man carrying a hurricane lamp, and found that we had to -share our billets with some foot-soldiers from the south whose accent, -so to speak, smelt of garlic. - -The men of the firing battery let themselves fall in the straw like -foundered horses, and, after having made sure of a warm place, I -sallied out with a couple of comrades of the first line in order to -find something to eat and drink. - -The narrow, badly paved streets were alive with the shadowy forms of -men jostling each other, the indistinct coming and going of horsemen -and wagons, the noise of many feet plodding through the mud, and the -confused sound of voices and respiration. - -A little cafe, near which the pavement had been broken up by a shell in -the afternoon, was crowded with foot-soldiers, A.S.C. men, and Zouaves. - -The bottles, jugs, and glasses standing on the counter half hid the -shadeless brass lamp with which the place was lit, and threw huge, -uncouth shadows across the narrow, smoke-filled room on to the walls. - -There was a babble of voices and laughter. Every one was drinking, and -the proprietor still had some liqueurs and rum left. The tired-out -soldiers soon became drunk with alcohol, tobacco, and tales of the war. - -This diminutive cafe, where there was a little light, a little warmth, -and a whole world of oblivion, was a veritable haven in the immense -weariness of the night, among the thousands of soldiers stretched out -everywhere round us, in the open or in barns, sleeping as soundly as -the dead men just laid low in the fields by the shrapnel bullets. - -We succeeded in finding a bottle of champagne. Never had the sparkle of -wine seemed to me so delicious. - -Nobody was asleep when we returned to our billets. Despite the -complaints of the gunners the southern infantrymen went on talking, -swearing, and leaving the door open.... - -"Aren't you chaps ever going to go to sleep?" thundered a gunner from -the depths of the darkness. - -"Hold your jaw!" - -"Here! shut the door, can't you?" - -Men continually trod on our feet and chests and let their rifles and -packs fall on us. The air was full of grumbling and vituperation. It -was nearly midnight, and Moratin lost his temper: - -"Now are you ever going to shut up, you ----! If you don't, I'll go and -fetch the Major!" - -A broadside of oaths rose from the straw. The gunners replied. Dozing -men, waking up, yelled: - -"Shut your mouths! _Shut 'em_, do you hear?" - - - _Friday, September 18_ - -Day was just breaking as we moved slowly along the roads across the -plain, our horses sinking up to the fetlocks in clayey mud. - -We met large parties of wounded--Tirailleurs, Zouaves, and, above all, -soldiers of the line. They overflowed the road on either side as they -plodded on with heavy steps which dragged in the gutters and puddles. - -The dawn was misty. It was half-past four, but we could not see the -faces of the wounded until they were actually passing our carriage, -when we had a vision of white bandages and of others crimson-red. But -when the troops had gone by in the vague, uncertain light, we could -only perceive a slowly rolling sea of heads and shoulders. - -In the eyes of some of my comrades who yesterday were so close to death -and who to-day were still stiff, tired, and dejected, I caught sight of -looks of envy. They were aware of the orders which had arrived during -the night, namely, that we were to return to our positions of yesterday. - -They were not afraid, but the familiarity with danger, which had made -them brave, had in no sense impaired their love of life--the life -which they felt bubbling in their veins and which, in a few moments -perhaps, might be spent, with all their red blood, on the field of -mangel-wurzels. They were thinking of those who had died yesterday, of -Corporal Gratien, of Captain Legoff--an officer adored by his men--of -the six numbers of the 6th Battery who were reduced to a shapeless, -bleeding pulp at the bottom of their trench. - -It is at moments like these, at once melancholy and solemn, when the -regular creaking and jolting of the wagons and the measured hoof-beats -of the horses numb the senses and make one drowsy, that one's thoughts -turn most bitterly to the future of bygone dreams, to all promised joys -and pleasures, to all the happiness for which the past has paved the -way and which might possibly have been realized without difficulty.... - -Dawn--I do not know why--is always a sad hour. And on the mornings of -battle this inherent sadness is rendered more poignant by the dread of -the terrible and perhaps final experiences which the day just born may -hold in store. Regrets and fears become linked in a vicious circle of -thought from which there is no escape. - -One's only desire is to live--to return alive in the evening--but to -conquer first, to prevent the enemy from reaching our homes, above all -to protect the weak and loved ones behind us, in France, whose lives -are even more precious to us than our own. To conquer! And still live -to-night! - - * * * * * - -The battery again took up position near the holocaust of the farm, -which was still burning, and the wagons returned to their gully. - -My wrist was giving me considerable pain, and the medical officer -wanted to send me behind the lines on sick-leave, but I preferred to -rest with the wagons a few days longer and then return to my gun. - -The rain began to fall in torrents. On the edge of a lucerne-field one -of our horses, which we had to abandon yesterday, was rolling in its -death agony. The straw we had brought with us, hashed up by the wheels -of the vehicles and by the hoofs of the horses, and mingled with the -water and mud which had collected in the clayey hollow, formed a kind -of noisome quicksand into which we sank ankle-deep. - -The men did not open their lips except to swear or complain. No -more dead wood was to be found in the copses; all had been consumed -yesterday and the day before. We could not light a fire. Some passing -gunners told us that there were still some faggots in a farm near the -water-tanks, and we at once hurried thither. On the plain the corpses -were no longer lying among the loose sheaves. On one side of the Tracy -road, which was now nothing more than a swamp, the earth had been dug -up in the middle of the field of mangel-wurzels and two crosses roughly -fashioned out of planks marked the grave. - -The farm to which we had come in our quest for wood had been arranged -as a first-aid post. The buildings surrounded a yard, in the centre of -which, near the dung-heap, were ranged up several green-tilted carts -marked with the red cross. In one corner a heap of cotton-wool and some -blood-stained bandages and compresses were slowly burning. - -In the stable and cow-sheds one could see, through the half-open -doors, the recumbent forms of sick and wounded lined up on the straw -underneath the empty troughs and mangers. Some hospital orderlies -in canvas clothing were busy making soup. A medical officer stalked -stiffly by in his white smock. Not a cry of pain was to be heard. - -In the wood-shed some sick men--nine or ten pale and gaunt -foot-soldiers--were lying on trusses of hay which they had not even -untied. One man, whom we could not see owing to the darkness, was -breathing stertorously with a noise like an engine. - - * * * * * - -The firing was less violent than yesterday. An aviation park had been -formed a few hundred yards from our hollow, behind the farmhouses in -which the Staff had taken up its quarters for the day. This proximity -rendered our position increasingly unsafe. The enemy's Howitzers tried -to reach the aeroplanes standing on the field, and though they seemed -to be firing at haphazard, shells continually fell here and there on -the outskirts of our park. - - * * * * * - -The day was drawing to a close without giving any indication as to the -issue of the battle, which had already been in progress five days. - -But towards evening a long convoy of Moroccan _Carabas_ passed on the -road near-by, marching southwards towards the Aisne. They were followed -by some infantry. What could be the meaning of it? We could not help -feeling uneasy. - -The dusk deepened into darkness and the long golden beams of the -searchlights began to sweep the plain. Under the hard, unyielding light -the smallest objects--a hayrick, a shed--cast huge inky shadows on the -field. - -Next, some artillery passed by, also heading towards the Aisne. We -could not see the carriages, but recognized them by the familiar -creaking and rattling. Occasionally they halted a moment or two, -and then another sound became audible--a sound like a far-off -torrent--caused by infantry on the march on some other road across the -plain. - -It started to rain again. - -We rejoined our batteries at the water-tanks. A ceaseless tide of men -brushed by our carriages, their shadowy figures rising and falling as -they passed in the darkness. - -"What regiment is that?" I asked. No one answered. - -"What regiment is that?" - -Apparently a regiment of dumb men. They continued to march by in the -gloom without giving any reply. - -"What regiment is that passing? Can't you speak French?" - -"Hundred and third." - -"Where are you going to?" - -"We don't know." - -"Where are you going to?" I repeated. - -"We don't know," came the answer again. - -On the fields of mangel-wurzels flanking the road we could see masses -of motionless artillery. Was the Army Corps retiring? And yet we had -not been outflanked this time.... I was suddenly seized with anxiety. - -It began to rain harder. Under the moving ray of a searchlight I caught -a glimpse of a long road black with men and horses. - -My carriage had ranged up close to those of the first gun. - -"Hutin!" - -"Here! Yes? Hallo, it's you!" - -"Yes.... Well, are we retiring?" - -"No." - -"What? The whole division is falling back!..." - -"We're being replaced." - -"Think so?" - -"Yes. I've seen some gunners of the Corps which is replacing us." - -"In that case we shall get some rest." - -"No, I don't think so. I've heard that they mean to make a turning -movement over by the forest of Compiegne and the forest of Laigle with -the Moroccan Division." - - * * * * * - -Rain ... darkness ... smoking prohibited. The surrounding gloom was -alive with distant footfalls, the muffled rumble of wheels, jingle of -arms, and the heavy breathing of men and animals. - -Behind the infantry regiments of the division we began a slow march -interrupted by the halts of the foot-soldiers ahead and by other -unknown impediments. - -About midnight we crossed the Aisne. Rain was still falling. Two -hurricane lamps marked the entrance of the pontoon bridge constructed -by the Engineers. The planking gave under the weight of the column and -one heard the water plashing against the metal bottoms of the boats. - -The road was now clear, and the batteries on ahead broke into a trot. -A horse which had become entangled in the traces stopped our wagons -for a moment or two, and before we were able to catch up the head of -the column a cross-roads suddenly brought us once more to a halt. -In the dense darkness there was nothing to indicate which road the -leading vehicles had taken. We listened.... A distant rumble seemed -to come from the right, and we wheeled in the direction of the sound. -The drivers urged their horses forward. We strained our eyes in an -attempt to pierce the gloom, always hoping to see the bulky form of -an ammunition wagon or gun loom out of the darkness ahead. But we -hoped in vain. The road became narrower, and at every moment we risked -falling into the ditch. Finally we had to confess to ourselves that we -had lost our way. - -The Lieutenant gave the word to halt. We prepared to wait for daybreak -before continuing our march. The downpour redoubled in violence, and -it was impossible to find shelter. The gunners huddled together on the -limber-boxes and became motionless, while the drivers stamped up and -down in the mud at the heads of their teams. - -Overcome by fatigue I had begun to get drowsy in spite of the cold and -the wetness of my clothes, which stuck to my skin like icy poultices -and seemed to suck all the warmth from my body. Suddenly I became aware -of footsteps splashing in the gutters by the side of the road. Men were -passing by the wagon. I thought that possibly somebody had discovered a -barn and was leading them to it. I followed. - -Sure enough, after a few minutes' walk we came to a house, the black -bulk of which rose up suddenly before me, darker than the surrounding -darkness. - -My foot knocked against a ladder. Perhaps it led to a window? I -clambered up and found myself in a loft of which the flooring was -rotten and gave way under my tread. I clutched the low framework of -the roof and advanced cautiously. Some one was already asleep there; I -heard his breathing. Stretching myself carefully athwart the beams and -pillowing my head on a bundle of wood, I prepared to go to sleep. It -was almost hot in the loft. - - - _Saturday, September 19_ - -We started off again at dawn in a drizzling rain. The road, studded at -intervals with the bodies of dead horses, wound through interminable -woods of tall beeches from which the rain dripped heavily. Endless -enfilades of swamped and deserted trenches stretched away on either -side and were finally lost in the undergrowth. Tall, heavy trees had -been felled and laid athwart the road, which had sunk beneath their -weight. And when they had been dragged into the ditches in order to -leave the way clear for the troops, their stout branches had scored -deep scratches in the road, which had soon been converted into -quagmires by the rain. - -We passed through Pierrefonds, where, beneath the leaden sky, the -magnificent outlines of the chateau rose up amid the verdure darkened -by the rain, and then entered the forest of Compiegne, with its lofty -beeches standing in colonnades, below which lay long lines of swamped -trenches zigzagging between the trees, with here and there a primitive -hut made of branches and ferns, and more and more dead horses. - -The sun, breaking out between two clouds and piercing the leaves, threw -emerald-green lights on the wet moss. Among the dark tones the bright -trunks of the birches flashed intermittently. - - * * * * * - -Compiegne! The town, occupied by the enemy for a few days only, did not -appear to have suffered very much. Gun-fire was audible from far off, -to the north-east. - -We crossed the Oise and rejoined our batteries at Venette, an outlying -suburb. - -In the large hall of a farm to which I had gone in search of provisions -the farmer's wife, a matron of over fifty summers, was depicting the -horrors of the German occupation to four gunners. - -She broke off as I came in. - -"Some milk and eggs? You want to buy them? No! I won't sell them, but -I'll give you them.... Please wait a moment." - -And she resumed her story. - -"Well, as I was saying, it was just like that ... in front of their -father. They trussed him up with his back to the wardrobe so that he -couldn't help seeing everything. Five or six of them there were, and -one officer. They violated both girls--only eighteen and twenty, and -such nice, honest girls too!... Yes--all six of them, one after the -other! The poor things screamed all the time!... Oh, those aren't -men!... They're just beasts!..." - -And lowering her voice a little, but without embarrassment, she -continued: - -"More than one woman went through the same thing. I did ... yes!... And -yet I'm no young girl.... I've a son who is a soldier like you.... Oh, -God, it's awful!... It happened one evening, at about this time ... -four of them had arrived here to sleep. How was I to defend myself?... -The best thing was to say nothing. There have been women who have tried -to defend themselves and who have been simply ripped up ... that's all! -My husband was out, getting in their things. I thought to myself, 'If -he comes in, what will happen?... He'll kill some of them....'" - -"Yes, I would, too! I'd have killed them!" interrupted a voice from the -darkness at the end of the room. - -I had not seen the man as he sat smoking his pipe in a corner of the -hearth. - -His wife turned towards him. - -"Poor old dear! You'd perhaps have killed one of them, but the -others would have killed both of us.... Besides, as far as I'm -concerned--well--I know I'm too old!... That's what my husband -said--afterwards.... That won't lead to any consequences!" - - - _Sunday, September 20_ - -A long march in a stinging hail-storm, first towards the west and then -northwards. We are evidently attempting a turning movement against the -German right wing. - - - _Monday, September 21_ - -The day broke with the calm brightness of early autumn. We continued -our enveloping movement. - -Towards midday a heavy French battery in position near the road -suddenly began to fire. Our officers went off at a gallop to -reconnoitre. We thought we were going into action, but were finally -told that we should not be wanted to-day and were sent off to camp in -a park near Ribecourt. We ranged up the guns on a lawn flanked by a -magnificent wood of beech-trees bordered by rhododendrons. - -On one side of us lay an unruffled sheet of water, reddening under the -brilliant sunset, and, on the other, among the clumps of trees beneath -which lay flower-beds set off by blood-red sage, rose a fine modern -chateau. Under the rich foliage a little rustic bridge spanning the -river gave an effect curiously Venetian. - - * * * * * - -The evening was sultry, but nevertheless we made our bivouac fires -under the chestnut-trees flanking the river. In the darkness of the -night, which had now fallen, the pond looked like an enormous blot of -ink. We were almost blinded by the yellow flare of our fires and could -no longer distinguish the river banks, thus risking at every step a -fall into the water. - - - _Tuesday, September 22_ - -We passed the night on some straw in the outbuildings. - -My wrist is now healed, and I am going to return to my post with the -first gun. - -Under the morning sun the pond shone like a silver mirror, and the -little Venetian bridge struck a bright note among the dark tones of the -trees, while the water flowing underneath, over the slime and rotten -leaves, was jet-black. The chateau stood out starkly against the pale -blue sky, and the yellow gravel of the walks and the vermilion sage -afforded a bright contrast to the uniform green of the lawns. - -The battery moved on. The crackling of rifle and machine-gun fire -accompanied the roar of the artillery. The enemy was evidently making -a stand against our enveloping movement, which it was doubtless the -intention of the French commanders to accentuate. We resumed our march -towards the north, heading for Roye. The success of the manoeuvre -depended on numbers, and I wondered whether we had sufficient men -available. - -In a field by the wayside some Senegalese Tirailleurs, fine-looking, -ebony-coloured men dressed in navy blue uniforms, were making coffee -with the simple gestures and admirable attitudes of people untrammelled -by civilization. - - * * * * * - -The officers had gone off to reconnoitre. We halted at the foot of a -long slope in the middle of some large mangel-wurzel fields forming a -kind of basin near the village of Fresnieres, where heavy shells were -falling. - -The line of fire, forming an angle towards Compiegne, stretched from -north to south. We could not be more than a mile or two, as the crow -flies, from the plains we had been occupying during the past few days -on the banks of the Aisne, near Tracy-le-Mont. - -I do not know what echo or confusion of sound prevented us from -locating the position of the battle exactly. Fighting was going on in -the direction of Ribecourt and Lassigny, but the heavy battery which -had been bombarding Fresnieres was now silent. Behind the woods columns -of black smoke were curling upwards. Fires or shells bursting? It was -impossible to tell. - -But our chief anxiety was the northern horizon, which was masked by a -line of poplars, and from which occasional and unsustained rifle-fire -revealed the presence of the enemy. The Germans might reply to our -enveloping movement by trying to execute a similar manoeuvre. - -On the edge of the woods to the north-east large numbers of troops -could be seen in movement. A long black column of artillery was winding -its way across country. The hoof-beats of a far-off squadron, trotting, -sounded like the reptation of some huge serpent. The whole countryside -was alive. From where we stood one would have said that it was only the -leaves of the mangel-wurzels moving in the wind, but in reality it was -infantry deploying in skirmishing order. - -We took up position in a field. The ground under my gun was extremely -soft, and it seemed a foregone conclusion that the carriage would -continue to recoil with the result that a perpetual error in laying -would retard our rapidity of fire. The second gun was no better placed -than ours, but the other section, in position on a stubble-field, -was on much firmer ground. The battery would thus lose all cohesion, -but there was no help for it. It was impossible to use the position -assigned to us to better advantage. - -In front of us, some 77 mm. guns were sweeping the fields, but -these did not cause us much anxiety. In relation to the position -which, judging from their fire, they were occupying somewhere to the -north-east, we were well covered. But, beyond Lassigny, standing out -amid the verdure, rose a line of lofty, wooded hills which commanded -the whole of the plain and from the summit of which our battery was -certainly visible. We could not take our eyes off their threatening -crests. What lay hid in their gloomy forests? - -We were well within range of heavy artillery should the enemy install a -battery at that point. - -"Come on," said Brejard, "we must make a hole and get to work quickly." - -In feverish haste we dug a trench behind the ammunition wagon. Another -group of .75's, occupying a position parallel to ours, opened fire on -Lassigny. - -The .77's now increased their range, and every round became more -threatening. - -"To your guns ... by the right, each battery!" commanded the Captain. - -"What range? We haven't heard the range," shouted Millon. - -"Eleven hundred!" - -"How much?" - -"Eleven hundred!" - -"Oh, they're not far off!" - -"Sounds bad, that," growled Hutin. - -The gun reared, and immediately recoiled more than two yards. We had -to man it forward into position, but the spade and wheels had sunk so -deep in the soil that try as we would the six of us could not move it. -Our shoulders to the wheels, struggling and sweating, we began to get -nervous and angry. Finally we had to call to the detachment of the -second gun to come and help us. - -Some infantry had taken up position in front of the battery. We -signalled to them to move to the left. - -"They'll get cut in two, the idiots!" - -"To the left!" - -"What fools!" - -"To the left!" - -The Lieutenant, his lungs exhausted, waved his long arms. - -"Lord! aren't they stupid, those fellows!" We shouted in chorus: - -"To the left ... _to the left_!" - -At last they moved off, and we could fire. - -"Eight hundred!" - -We thought we had not heard aright. - -"Eight hundred!" - -So the enemy was there, behind the crests, and was advancing.... - -What was the French command waiting for? Why did they not throw forward -the troops which, over towards Fresnieres, were swarming on the -mangel-wurzel fields? - -Moratin, who was standing on the refilling wagon, cried out: - -"Go on, let 'em have it full! That shell from the first gun mowed down -a heap of them. There! you can see them, the brutes!... You can see -them!..." - -His words gave us strength to push the gun, the wheels of which kept -turning backwards, forward into position again. - -"Hutin!" - -"What?" - -"Did you hear?" - -"Hear what?" - -"There it is again." - -"Bullets ..." - -"Yes." - -"In threes, double traverse!" - -The Captain had climbed into an apple-tree close to the fourth gun. The -bullets, brushing over the crest, were too high to touch us, but they -continually cut down leaves round the Captain. We begged him to come -down. For the tenth time one of the gunners insisted: - -"You mustn't stay there, sir!" - -The Major interfered: - -"Come down, De Brisoult!" - -But the Captain, his glasses to his eyes, continued to scan the -northern horizon and only answered quietly: - -"But I can see very well, sir ... very well. Nine hundred!..." - -"Nine hundred!" - -"Nine hundred!" repeated the gunners. - -Our infantry had doubtless retaken Lassigny. German shells were now -bursting over the town, giving off clouds of yellow smoke. - -"One thousand!" - -We had at last found a more or less firm position for our gun, and our -fire accelerated as the enemy fell back. - -"Eleven hundred!" - -"Twelve hundred!... Cease firing!" - -The detachments piled up in front of the trenches the ejected -cartridge-cases which strewed the field. Bullets still continued to -hum over our heads, but the 77 mm. shells were now falling wide of the -mark. We remained motionless at the bottom of our trenches. Every few -minutes Hutin asked me: - -"What time is it?" - -When I told him he became impatient: - -"Confound it!" said he, "we don't seem to be getting on!" - -In the afternoon, on an order from the division, the Major commanded -the limbers to be brought up. - -The drivers arrived on horseback, at a trot. - -"Dismount!" shouted the Captain. - -They did not hear. Bullets, skimming over the crest, still whistled by. -They would inevitably be killed. - -"Now then, altogether," said the senior N.C.O.... "One ... two ... -three.... Dismount!..." - -Twenty voices were raised in a single shout. This time they heard, and, -without stopping the limbers, the drivers hurriedly tumbled off their -horses. - - * * * * * - -We took up a fresh position still nearer the enemy between two lines of -poplars in a meadow overgrown with tall grass. Almost immediately the -77 mm. guns, which since the morning had been searching for us without -success, began to threaten our battery. The enemy could not have seen -our movements, and no aeroplane was visible aloft. Had our position -been signalled by a spy? - -A foot-soldier passed, holding his abdomen with both hands and shifting -from one foot to the other in the throes of intense suffering. - -"Is there an ambulance over there?" - -"Have you had a bullet in the stomach?" - -"No, here ... between the legs. It burns, it burns frightfully!" - -"Listen," said Millon, "make for our limbers--over there on the left, -behind the trees. They've nothing to do, and will perhaps be able to -help you." - -"Thanks! I'll go to them." - -"But take care between the trees in the meadow. The shells are falling -thick there!" - -The unfortunate soldier moved off slowly, writhing with pain. - -The Captain was standing at the foot of the first poplar of one of -the two lines, intent upon making observations. Men ready to transmit -orders by word of mouth lay at regular intervals on the exposed ground -between the battery and the observation-post. - -The 77 mm. shells were now bursting directly overhead. We took cover. -Every few seconds the enemy's shrapnels sowed the position with -bullets, the lead twanging on the steel armour of the ammunition wagon. -Nobody moved, and no one was wounded. - -Then I saw Hutin, who, sitting on the layer's seat, was sheltering -behind the gun-shield, suddenly jump to his feet: - -"Good God!" he ejaculated, "the Captain!" - -"Hit?" we asked anxiously. - -"It burst just over the tree he was leaning up against!" - -In spite of the danger the whole detachment at once stood up like one -man. - -"Can you see him, Hutin?" - -"No...." - -Lieutenant Homolle, the Major's little A.D.C., who quietly came up, -unprotected, from the observation-post, shouted to us from a distance: - -"Will you take cover, you idiots!" - -"The Captain?" - -"He's not hurt." - -And, when he had reached us and taken shelter behind the ammunition -wagon, he added: - -"I've got two in the thigh.... That's nothing--they didn't go in ... a -couple of bruises, that's all. The shell's got to burst pretty close -to do any damage. The most annoying thing about it is that the Captain -can't see the Germans. We can't fire!" - -The enemy's fire redoubled in violence, and shrapnel bullets riddled -the poplars, making a noise like falling hail. Shorn-off leaves, -carried by the wind, were scattered round the guns. - -One of the liaison officers--one of the _hurleurs_[3] as they are -called--wounded in the side, hurriedly left the position. Astruc, -wounded in the chest and vomiting blood, also left the field, leaning -on the arm of a comrade. - -We again became motionless under the shell-fire. - -Since a moment or two I had felt an unaccustomed itching in my beard. -Had I caught trench pest? Hutin lent me his looking-glass, but, while -I was carefully combing myself, I felt a sudden burning sensation in -my right hand, in which I was holding the glass, and which I had -stretched beyond the protective bulk of the ammunition wagon. At the -same time something hit me in the chest. Feverishly, with my left hand, -I fingered the cloth of my uniform and found a rent in it breast-high. -I felt myself suddenly grow weak. I tore open my tunic and shirt ... -nothing ... I could see nothing. My skin was unscratched. - -My pocket-book, letters, and letter-case, which I carry in the pocket -of my shirt, had stopped the bullet. The blood was spurting from my -wounded hand. That was nothing. Instinctively I had pocketed the -looking-glass. I do not know how it had remained between my fingers, -for my thumb was now no more than a pendant piece of tattered flesh. - -"You'll have to clear off," said Lieutenant Hely d'Oissel, who was -crouching down next to me. - -Hutin stood up: - -"Lintier!" he cried, in a voice vibrating with horror which went -straight to my heart. - -"It's nothing, old chap ... only my hand." - -"I'll dress it for you!" - -But shells were falling incessantly and I refused to let him get from -under cover. - -"Run off quick!" said the Lieutenant. - -I ran off across the meadow, crouching down as much as possible -under the menace of the shrapnel bullets. Blood was dripping on to my -leggings and thighs, and sticking the cloth of my breeches to my knees. -From my hand the bullet had projected a red, star-shaped piece of flesh -and tendons on to my chest. - -Suddenly came the whistling of approaching shells. - -At the foot of one of the poplars two horses had just been killed. I -threw myself down between them in the long, blood-stained grass. The -shells burst. With a dull sound a large splinter ripped up one of the -inert bodies protecting me. - -I immediately set off again, rapidly getting out of the 77 mm. Howitzer -line of fire. My wounded hand was covered with earth and horse's blood. -As I crossed a road or embankment, I suddenly found myself faced by the -threatening muzzles of twenty French field-guns lined up on the field. -There was nothing for it but to retrace my steps. - -Behind the motionless artillery some Moroccan Tirailleurs were lying -among the mangel-wurzels. I nearly trod on them before I discovered -their presence. - -A Captain stood up and beckoned to me: - -"Come here, gunner, and I'll bandage you. Got your first-aid -dressing?... In the inside pocket of your tunic?... Hallo, it's all -torn! Been wounded in the chest? No?... Well, you're lucky!..." - -He examined my hand. - -"H'm ... nasty!... lot of earth and gun-grease got into it.... We must -clean that off and disinfect the wound as soon as possible.... I'll -take off the worst with some cotton-wool." - -I was out of breath with running, and the blood was throbbing in my -temples and buzzing in my ears. The instinct of self-preservation -suddenly deserted me, and, as I stood motionless, I began to feel -faint. My legs shook and gave way as though broken at the knees. The -figure of the officer standing by me seemed to turn round and round. - -"Hallo! Steady!" he cried. - -He forced the neck of a flask between my lips and poured a draught of -rum down my throat. I immediately felt strengthened from head to foot -and laughed as I thanked him. - -"That's all right!" said he as he finished dressing my hand. - -The field-hospitals of the division were at Fresnieres, and I started -off in that direction. My hand felt as though it had turned to lead, -and, as I walked across country, holding myself stiffly erect with a -view to resisting another fainting fit, buoyed up by the thought that -I should soon be under cover, far from the shells and the battle, an -unwonted lassitude, a yearning for sleep and silence, a weakening of -will-power suddenly took possession of me and seemed to penetrate to -the very marrow of my bones. It seemed to me that when I got to the -hospital I should sleep for days on end. - -To sleep--to sleep--and, above all, no longer hear the guns, no longer -hear anything. To live without thinking, and in absolute silence; to -live after so many times having narrowly escaped death. Suddenly I -remembered what the Captain of Tirailleurs had said--that my wound was -dirty, infected with earth and horse's blood. The fear of gangrene, of -lock-jaw, and of all other forms of hospital putrefaction gripped me by -the throat. - -At Fresnieres an enormous shell had just killed, in front of the door -of the hospital, a medical officer, a nun, and four wounded men. The -bodies were laid out side by side on the pavement, but the corpse of -a Tirailleur, a great, dark-skinned giant whose arms, stretched out, -spanned an extraordinary space, still lay in the cut-up roadway. The -air was full of the distant whistling of shells. In the face of this -menace which remained hanging over my head, now that I could no longer -fight, I was seized with an instinctive and puerile feeling of revolt. -I was no longer fair game. - -In the yard outside the hospital, among the stretchers bearing wounded, -blood-stained men, some hospital orderlies were laying the more severe -cases on a large table covered with a flowery-patterned oil-cloth. Two -medical officers were hurriedly dressing them. - -One, a big, brown-haired man with gold-rimmed spectacles, beckoned to -me. I went up to him. - -"Well, what's wrong with you?" - -"Shrapnel...." - -"Let's have a look!" - -He unwound the bandage, and, as soon as he took off the compress, the -blood began to spurt like a fountain. He looked at the wound and made a -grimace. - -"H'm ... it bleeds badly...." - -He called one of his subordinates, a bearded officer, who hurried up. - -"Look ... we'd better take the thumb right off, hadn't we?" - -"I should think so!..." said the other. - -"Right. We'll cut that off for you at once," said the officer with the -gold-rimmed glasses. - -I protested: - -"Cut off my thumb!" - -"Yes, unless you want to keep it on like that. Here, wait a moment...." - -A Colonial infantryman had just been brought in, the blood gushing from -a large wound in his shoulder. The medical officer knelt down beside -him and feverishly felt about with his fingers among the torn shreds of -flesh, trying to pinch the artery. - -"Cut off my thumb!..." echoed in my ears. - -I quickly made up my mind. Seizing a compress and a strip of rolled -lint from the table I managed with the aid of my left hand and teeth -to bandage my wound in a rough-and-ready fashion, and without being -observed by the officers, who were intent upon the severed artery, I -slipped out of the hospital. - -I knew that I should find the other divisional hospitals at -Canny-sur-Matz, about a mile and a half from Fresnieres. - -I came upon a cafe still open in spite of the shells, and bought a -flask of brandy. I placed my revolver holster on my left side, within -reach of my sound hand, for night was coming on, and often, under cover -of the darkness, patrols of German cavalry managed to slip between the -network of French outposts and supports. - -The Canny road made a wide detour, so I decided to strike across -country. The steeple of the village church, standing out sharply -against the crimson sky, would serve as a guide. - -My hand continued to bleed. I kept up my strength with frequent pulls -at my brandy-flask and felt confident that I should be able to reach -the next hospital. - -On a sloping field, near a square-shaped hayrick, some infantry lay -stretched out, their red breeches making bright patches in the shadowy -grass. A passing puff of wind bore with it a disquieting smell. The -arm of one of the prostrate soldiers on the top of the knoll stretched -straight up in the air, motionless against the clearness of the western -sky-line. - -Dead men! - -I was about to go on my way, when in the shadow of the hayrick I saw -a human figure crouching over one of the bodies. The man had not seen -me.... He turned the corpse over and began to search it. I at once -cocked my revolver, and carefully, without trembling, aimed at the -looter. I was about to pull the trigger when a sudden fear stopped me. -I could see his movements quite clearly, but his face, turned sideways -against the dark background of the hayrick, was not discernible. The -thought that he might be a gendarme identifying the dead made me lower -my weapon. - -"What are you doing there?" I shouted. - -The man jumped as though stung by a whip-lash, and stood up, his -features sharply defined against the clear sky. I saw that he was -wearing a flat cap with a broad peak. - -"Mind your own business and I'll mind mine!" he retorted. With that he -made off, running in zigzags under the menace of my revolver, like an -animal trying to cover its tracks. - -I fired ... he stopped a moment. Had I hit him? A streak of light -flashed out from his shadow, and a bullet hummed past my ear. Off he -went again but, just as he was about to disappear behind a bush, I -fired a second time. I thought I saw him fall among the brambles. - - * * * * * - -I arrived at Canny, where a red lantern shining through the darkness -marked the entrance to the hospital. Wounded were stretched out in -the porch, and the yard was full of them. The medical officers were -hard at work in a veranda adjoining the main building. Through the -multicoloured glass windows a diffused light filtered slowly, vaguely -illuminating the men stretched on the straw. Now and again, when the -door of the veranda opened, a rectangle of crude light spread along the -ground, showing up a line of stretchers and the suffering faces of the -severely wounded who were waiting for first aid. Two orderlies carried -off the first stretcher of the row. The door swung to behind them and -the yard was again plunged in a flickering half-light. - -I stood there, very tired, looking stupidly at the scene. My hand was -still bleeding, but only drop by drop now. - -I asked a passing orderly: - -"Do you know when they'll be able to dress my wound?" - -"To-night. Lie down in the straw." - -I lay down where I was. Suddenly I heard a voice, at once infantile and -yet grave, in my ear: - -"You wounded?" it said, with a strange accent. - -I turned and found a tall negro lying by my side. I could see nothing -of him but two shining eyes. - -"Yes, I'm wounded, Sidi. You too?" - -"Yes, me wounded." - -He appeared to reflect for a moment: - -"Blacks ... wounded, wounded, wounded ... and then killed ... killed -... killed ... Boches ... oh! many, many Boches ... William!" - -"Ah! so you've heard of William?" - -"William ... bad chief ... lot of women ... many women!... ah!..." - -He paused an instant and then continued: - -"He many women ... big, bad chief ... like way back there ... back -there ... killed the women ... cut ... cut.... Whish!... like that!..." - -"Why?" - -"Bad ... ah!... he got big house ... put women's heads on top ... on -roof.... Ah, bad...." - -He searched for words: - -"Yes, put heads of women--many women--on roof of house ... bad, very -bad...." - -I was in too much pain to sleep, and had perforce to listen to his -childish babble. - -"So ... down there ... bad chief stick women's heads on roof ... not -good, no!... down there!..." - -And then the Senegalese began to speak in his own language, a lisping, -sweet-sounding tongue. Perhaps he was delirious. - -I felt cold, but nevertheless, after a time, found my eyelids growing -heavy. Covering my legs with straw as best I could I stretched myself -out and went to sleep. - - * * * * * - -It was still night when I awoke, and a thin rain, or rather drizzle, -was falling. I was colder than ever, and my wound pained me severely. -The veranda was still lit up. I could see the shadowy form of the negro -lying next to me, but could no longer hear his breathing. I stretched -out my hand and felt his. It was icy cold. The straw under me seemed -wet. I looked, and discovered that my feet were lying in a pool of -blood. - -I stood up. The severely wounded had now been dressed. A fire had been -lit in the kitchen of the farmhouse, and a white-faced Algerian was -dozing in front of it. On the mantelpiece an alarum clock, standing -between two brass candlesticks, marked two o'clock. - -I had my wound dressed. It appeared that after all it would not be -necessary to amputate my thumb. A N.C.O. took down my name, and on -the cloth band which held my arm in a sling pinned a hospital ticket: -"Severe shrapnel wound in left hand. To be invalided back, sitting." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[Footnote 1: Literally: "Take care of the children."--"Thank you."] - -[Footnote 2: Poilu (literally "hairy"): a popular term for the French -soldier, equivalent to our "Tommy."] - -[Footnote 3: Shouters.] - - - _Wednesday, September 23_ - -I had to walk five miles along the main road, upon which the crowd of -men wounded in the head, arms, and shoulders gradually became less -dense. Finally, I reached Ressons ... the station, the train.... Then -the interminable jolting of the cattle-truck half full of mouldy loaves -of bread ... fever, thirst. At last the hospital ... bed ... women's -hands, the bandage stiff with black blood taken off ... silence ... ah, -silence!... - - * * * * * - -On the 30th September the morning post brought me at the hospital a -letter from my friend Hutin, which I copy here in all its simplicity: - - - _"September 25, 1914_ - -"MY DEAR LINTIER,--Do write as soon as you can and let us know how you -are. I hope you'll soon be all right again, and all the other fellows -in the detachment join with me in wishing you rapid and complete -recovery. - -"You probably do not know of the misfortune which befell the battery -only a few minutes after you left. The Captain was killed--a shrapnel -bullet just under the left eye. You remember how we all said: 'If -anything happens to him he can count on all of us?' Well, when we -saw him fall the whole lot of us ran out to help him. But it wasn't -any use. It was all over. We carried the body back to the battery. -Lieutenant Hely d'Oissel took over the command and we went on firing. -He was crying as he gave the ranges. When, about eight o'clock, we got -orders to leave the position, and had propped Captain de Brisoult upon -one of the limber seats of the first gun, half the battery had got -tears in their eyes. Two gunners sat one on each side of him. They had -covered his face with a white handkerchief. At Fresnieres we watched -over him all the night. He was buried there. - -"Since then we haven't done much. Besides, we've been a bit unsettled -by this loss. I can't tell you where we are, but if I tell you that the -battery has hardly changed place since you left, you will know more or -less where we are engaged. - - "Always yours, - - "GEORGES HUTIN." - -My eyes also became moist as I read these lines. - -THE END - -TRANSCRIBERS NOTE: -Liege was not spelt with a grave accent until 17 sept 1946. -The author's spelling was correct at the time of writing. - - - PRINTED AT THE COMPLETE PRESS - WEST NORWOOD - LONDON - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of My .75, by Paul Lintier - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MY .75 *** - -***** This file should be named 54816.txt or 54816.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/8/1/54816/ - -Produced by Brian Coe, Graeme Mackreth and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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