manner, and the wave melted away. In the background, where ran the
remains of the German lines and wire, there was a mass of smoke, the
red of the shrapnel bursting amid it. Amongst it, I saw Captain
H----and his men attempting to enter the German front line. The Boches
had met them on the parapet with bombs. The whole scene reminded me of
battle pictures, at which in earlier years I had gazed with much
amazement. Only this scene, though it did not seem more real, was
infinitely more terrible. Everything stood still for a second, as a
panorama painted with three colours--the white of the smoke, the red
of the shrapnel and blood, the green of the grass.

If I had felt nervous before, I did not feel so now, or at any rate
not in anything like the same degree. As I advanced, I felt as if I
was in a dream, but I had all my wits about me. We had been told to
walk. Our boys, however, rushed forward with splendid impetuosity to
help their comrades and smash the German resistance in the front line.
What happened to our materials for blocking the German communication
trench, when we got to our objective, I should not like to think. I
kept up a fast walking pace and tried to keep the line together. This
was impossible. When we had jumped clear of the remains of our front
line trench, my platoon slowly disappeared through the line stretching
out. For a long time, however, Sergeant S----l, Lance-corporal M----,
Rifleman D----, whom I remember being just in front of me, raising his
hand in the air and cheering, and myself kept together. Eventually
Lance-corporal M---- was the only one of my platoon left near me, and
I shouted out to him, "Let's try and keep together." It was not long,
however, before we also parted company. One thing I remember very well
about this time, and that was that a hare jumped up and rushed towards
and past me through the dry, yellowish grass, its eyes bulging with
fear.

We were dropping into a slight valley. The shell-holes were less few,
but bodies lay all over the ground, and a terrible groaning arose from
all sides. At one time we seemed to be advancing in little groups. I
was at the head of one for a moment or two, only to realise shortly
afterwards that I was alone.

I came up to the German wire. Here one could hear men shouting to one
another and the wounded groaning above the explosions of shells and
bombs and the rattle of machine-guns. I found myself with J----, an
officer of "C" company, aft