SOLDIER'S NARRATIVE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 140, 6 November 1914, Page 6

SOLDIER'S NARRATIVE.

ATTACK BY NfcHT. "AT THE BAYONET." Tlie following narrative is quoted from a French soldier's letter received by a compatriot residing in London:--"Our strength was about 400 infan. tryuieii. Towards midnight we broke up tfur camp and m.sirehed oil' in great i silence, of course not in closed files, but in open order. We were not allowed to speak to each other or to make any .unnecessary noise, and as- we walkedthrough the forest, the only sound to be heard was the steps and the rustling of tin; leaves. It was a perfectly love, ly night; the sky was so clear, the atmosphere so pure, the forest so romantic, everything seemed so charming and peaceful that 1 could'not imagintt that we Were on the warpath, and that perhaps in a few hours this forest would be aflame, the soil drenched by human blood, and the fragrant herbs covered by broken limbs. . "Yet all those silent, armed men, marching in the same direction as I did, were ever so many proofs that no peace ■meeting or any romantic and delightful adventure; was near,. him 1 wondered what thoughts were stirring all those brains. Suddenly a whisper passed on from man to man. It was the ollicer's command. A halt was made, and in the same whisper we were told that part of us had to change our direction so that the two directions would form a V. A third division proceeded slowly in the original direction.

THE ENEMY SIGHTED.

"I belonged to what may be called the left V. After what seemed lo be about half an hour, we reached the edge of the forest, .and from behind the trees we saw an almost Hat country before us. with here and there a tiny little hill a mere hump four'or five feet high. On the extreme left-hand side the land, seemed to be intersected by ditches and trenches.

"Another whispered command was passed from num to man, and we all had to lie; down on the soil. A moment afterwards we were thus making our way to the above-mentioned ditches and trenches. It is neither the easiest nor the quickest way to move, but undoubtedly the safest, for an occasional enemy somewhere on the hills at the' further end of the fluid would not possibly to able tp detect us. I don't know how lon--it took us to reach the ditches, which were, for the greater part, dry; nor do I remember how long we remained there or what was happening. We were perfectly hidden from view, lying flat down on our bellies, but we were also unable to see anything. Everybody's ears were attentive, every nerve was strained. The sun was ' rising. It promised to be a hot day. ".Suddenly, we heard a shot at a distance of what appeared to be a mile or so, followed by several other shots. I ventured to lift my body up to see what was happening. But the next moment, my sergeant, who was close by me, warned me, i.y a knoeJoon m< shoulder not to move, and the whispered order ran, 'Keep quiet! Hide voavsell'!' Still, the short glance had "been sufficient to see what was going on. Our troops, probably those wiio° had been left behind in the forest, were crossing the plain and shooting at the Germans on the crest of the hill, who returned the fire.

INSISTENT QUESTIONS.

"Ihe silence was gone. Wo hoard the rushing of feet as a short distance; then, suddenly, it ceased when the attacking soldiers dropped themselves to aim and shoot. Some firing was heard, and thou again a swift rush followed. This seemed to last a long time, but it was broken by distant cries, coming apparently from the enemy. It was wondering all the turn; why we kept hiding and did not share m the assault.

'llic rifle-lire was incessant. I saw nothing of the battle. Would our troops be able to repulse tie Germans? Ilou strong were the enemy! They seemed to have no guns, but the number of our soldiers m that field were not so vorv large.

_ "A piercing yell rose from the enemy. Was it a. cry of triumph? A short command rang over the French in the Held an cyder to retreat. A swift rush fol' owed; ou„ troops wire being pursued" by the enemy. What on earth were we .waiting for in the ditches? V bu.de signal, clear and bright. We swan" "to our feet and 'At the bayonet!' the order came. We threw ourselves on the enemy, who were at the same time attacked on the other side by the division which formed the other leg of the Vwhile the 'fleeing' French soldiers turn-' cd and made a savage attack. "ft is impossible to say or describe what one feels at such a moment. I believe it is in a stale of temporary madias, oi perfect rage. It is terrible, and it we could see ourselves in such a state I- feel sure we would shrink from horror.

''Jn a few minutes the field was covered with dead and wounded men almost all of them Hermans, and our .anus and bayonets were dripping with blood. 1 felt hot spurts of blood in my mce ol other men's blood, and a « 1 paused to wipe thorn oil, 1 *aw a narrow stream of blood rnnninn- down mv rifle. " J "Such was the beginning of a summer day in August."