hold Puits 14, but the position was too deadly even for their
height of valor, and although some men pushed on into this raging fire,
the survivors had to fall back to the woods, where they strengthened
their defensive works.

On the following day the position was the same, the sufferings of
our men being still further increased by heavy shelling from 8-inch
howitzers. Colonel Egerton of the Coldstream Guards and his adjutant
were killed in the chalk-pit.

It was now seen by the headquarters staff of the Guards Division that
Puits 14 was untenable, owing to its enfilading by heavy artillery, and
the order was given for a retirement to the chalk-pit, which was a place
of sanctuary owing to the wonderful work done throughout the night to
strengthen its natural defensive features by sand--bags and barbed wire,
in spite of machine-guns which raked it from the neighboring woods.

The retirement was done as though the men were on parade, slowly, and
in perfect order, across the field of fire, each man bearing himself, so
their officers told me, as though at the Trooping of the Colors, until
now one and then another fell in a huddled heap. It was an astonishing
tribute to the strength of tradition among troops. To safeguard the
honor of a famous name these men showed such dignity in the presence of
death that even the enemy must have been moved to admiration.

But they had failed, after suffering heavy losses, and the
Commander-in-Chief had to call upon the French for help, realizing that
without strong assistance the salient made by that battle of Loos would
be a death-trap. The French Tenth Army had failed, too, at Vimy, thus
failing to give the British troops protection on their right flank.

"On representing this to General Joffre," wrote Sir John French, "he was
kind enough to ask the commander of the northern group of French armies
to render us assistance. General Foch met those demands in the same
friendly spirit which he has always displayed throughout the course
of the whole campaign, and expressed his readiness to give me all the
support he could. On the morning of the 28th we discussed the situation,
and the general agreed to send the 9th French Corps to take over
the ground occupied by us, extending from the French left up to and
including that portion of Hill 70 which we were holding, and also
the village of Loos. This relief was commenced on September 30th, and
completed on the two following nights."

So en