nce of infantry of the 32d Division that morning, and
haste must be made to reach the appointed spot in time.

So the carriages were taken ahead at a trot, the cannoneers following as
rapidly as they could, along shelled roads, through the ruined village
of Nantillois, passing the infantry arising from their roadside holes
for breakfast. A heavy fog hid the battery from the observation of the
enemy and so removed some of the danger of the undertaking. Shells burst
frequently on the hillside to the right and on the road in front of us,
along which long files of infantry advanced to the attack. When the
other batteries of the regiment came up, in the afternoon of October 9,
they were met by heavy shelling on the road, four shells falling
directly in Battery A.

On the night of October 11 the battery pulled back to the horse-lines,
which had moved to the left, near Cheppy. Arriving in the morning, the
battery had only a few hours' rest, going forward again in the
afternoon, to the left of our former positions, to relieve the 1st
Division. Blocked roads, rain and cold, slow going and long stops,
pushing carriages up long hills--it was an old story, relieved a little
that night by a battalion of engineers who turned out of their shacks
along the road and pushed our guns up the longest and steepest slope. By
morning we were digging trail pits in a flat field on the right bank of
the River Aire just behind the town of Fleville. In the trees along the
river were batteries of the 320th F. A., belonging to the 82d Division,
whose infantry occupied Fleville. Between them and our position were
holes dug for shelter littered with blankets, gas masks, helmets and
other equipment of the German soldiers who had occupied them not long
before. Opposite us the Aire was dammed to form a pool, alongside which
was a sign, "Schwimmung verboten".

Though we had had almost no sleep for two days, we dug all day October
13, to be ready to fire when called upon. To obtain an elevation of 25
degrees, the trail pit must go nearly three feet deep in an arc eight or
ten feet long. If the ground offered much resistance, there was a heavy
job for the five or six men of the gun's crew. Fortunately we slept long
that night, with only an interruption of two hours' guard for each man.

At 6:30 next morning we began firing at a rate of 80 rounds per hour,
continuing, with gradually decreasing rate, until 3:30 that afternoon,
expending a total of about 2,3