story of those January days on the Kodish Front serving
there with the mixed command of Canadians and King's Liverpools and
Dyer's Battalion of Russians. These latter were an uncertain lot of
change-of heart Bolshevik prisoners and deserters and accused spies and
so forth, together with Russian youths from the streets of Archangel,
who for the uniform with its brass buttons and the near-British rations
of food and tobacco had volunteered to "help save Russia." By the rugged
old veteran, Dyer, they had been licked into a semblance of fighting
trim. This was the force which Major Donoghue had at command when again
came the order to take Kodish. This time it was not a great offensive
push to jab at the Red Army vitals, but it was a defensive thrust, a
desperate operation to divert attention of the Reds from their
successful winter operations against the Shred Makrenga front. Two
platoons of Couriers du Bois, the well trained Russian White Guards
under French tutelage, and those same Royal Marines that had been with
him the first time Kodish was taken in the bloody fight in the fall. And
Lt. Ballard's gallant platoon of machine gun men came to relieve the
first "M. G." platoon and to join the drive. They had an old score to
settle with the Bolos, too.

Again the American officer led the attack on Kodish and this time easily
took the village, for the Reds were wise enough not to try to hold it.
Their first lines beyond the village yielded to his forces after stiff
fighting, but the old 12th Verst Pole position held three times against
the assaults of the Allied troops.

Meanwhile the courageous "French-Russians" had marched fourteen miles
through the woods, encircling the Bolo flank, and fell upon his
artillery position, captured the guns and turned them upon the Red
reserves at Avda. But the other forces could not budge the Reds from
Verst 12 and so the Couriers du Bois, after holding their position
against counter attack all the afternoon, blew up the Red field pieces
and retreated in the face of a fresh Bolo battalion from Avda.

And during the afternoon the Americans who were engaged in this fight
lost an officer whose consummate courage and wonderful cheerfulness had
won him the adoration of his men and the respect and love of the
officers who worked with him.

Brave, energetic, cheerful old Ballard's death filled the Machine Gun
Company and the whole regiment with mingled feelings of sorrow and
pride. Over and bey