lowing them. They
were actually rushing into the zone of our own fire in order to get at
them. A gallant young lieutenant, who afterwards won the V.C., seeing
the danger, with great pluck, ran in front of the men and halted them
with the words, "Stop, Boys, give the barrage a chance."

In spite of the numbers of wounded and dying men which I had seen, the
victory was such a complete and splendid one that April 9th, 1917, was
one of the happiest days in my life, and when I started out from the
signallers dugout on my way back to Ecoivres, and passed the hill
where I had seen the opening of the great drama in the early morning,
my heart was full of thankfulness to Almighty God for his blessing on
our arms. I arrived at my room in the Chateau at about half past two
a.m., very tired and very happy. I made myself a large cup of strong
coffee, on my primus stove, ate a whole tin of cold baked beans, and
then turned in to a sound slumber, filled with dreams of victory and
glory, and awoke well and fit in the morning, more than ever proud of
the grand old First Division which, as General Horne told us later, had
made a new record in British war annals by taking every objective on
the scheduled dot of the clock.

CHAPTER XVII. (p. 173)

A MONTH ON THE RIDGE.

_April to May, 1917._

The great drawback to a victory in a war of movement, which we were
told we were now engaged in, is that, after an advance, one has to
follow up the line, and consequently, comfortable billets have to be
exchanged for broken down shacks in the forward area. Not many days
after our men had taken Vimy Ridge, Divisional Headquarters had to
move up to the Arras-Bethune road and occupy a chalk cave which was
known as the Labyrinth. It had once been the scene of fierce fighting
between the French and the Germans. Deep down, in passages scooped out
of the chalk were the various offices of the division and the billets
for the staff. The place was very much crowded, and I quickly
perceived that the last person whose society was wanted there was the
Senior Chaplain. Having taken the situation in at a glance, I made my
way to my friend the Staff Captain of the Artillery, and he very
kindly invited me to share with him and another officer, the little
dugout he had chosen for himself. It was entered by a narrow passage
cut through the chalk in the side of the trench, and the roof
consisted of a lar