On the 19th I inspected our position in the line with my platoon commanders, as we were going in in a day or two. It was in front of the village of Vis-en-Artois. We were not so soon in the line as we expected, as there was an alarm nearly every night, and on account of an English attack that was supposed to be coming off we were held in readiness by turns in the Wotan line, the reserve gun positions, or in Dury village. Those who had war experience could see that something unpleasant would come of it.
On the 29th November we were, in fact, told by our commanding officer, Captain von Brixen, that we were to take part in a highly-organized counterattack to straighten the bulge that the Cambrai tank-battle had made in our front. We were delighted, certainly, to change the part of the anvil for that of the hammer at last; but we had some reservations on account of the men, after their recent exhaustion in Flanders. Nevertheless, I had entire confidence in the spirit of my company and its iron backbone, in my experienced platoon commanders and excellent N.C.O.s.
On the night of November 30th-December 1st we were put on lorries. It was in the course of this that my company had its first casualties. One of the men let a bomb fall and for some mysterious reason it went off and severely wounded him and one other. Another man, in the hope of getting sent back, pretended to be mad. I did not know whether to laugh or to storm at him. Finally he recovered his reason at the suggestion of a N.C.O., who gave him a powerful dig in the ribs; and we were all able to get in. We were conveyed, tightly packed together, almost as far as Baralle, and there we waited hour after hour for orders in the ditch by the roadside. In spite of the cold I lay down in a grass field and slept till dawn. We were somewhat disappointed when we were told that the 225th Regiment were going over the top without our assistance. Pending developments we were to stand by in the park of the château of Baralle.
At nine o’clock our artillery broke into heavy bursts of fire, and increased between 11:45 and 11:50 to drumfire. Bourlon wood, which owing to the strength of its defences had been left out of the frontal attack, disappeared under yellowish-green clouds of gas. At 11:50 we saw the attacking waves through glasses, as they emerged upon the vacant expanse of shell-holes; while further back, batteries harnessed up and raced forward to new positions. A German scout shot down an English captive balloon in flames, and the observer jumped out with a parachute.
After enjoying this panorama of battle from the high ground of the park we emptied a dixie of dumplings, and in spite of the cold laid ourselves down on the ground for an afternoon sleep. At three, orders came through to go forward as far as regimental headquarters, which were concealed in the lock of a drained canal. We covered this distance in detachments under moderate and scattered shellfire.
From there the 7th and 8th Companies were sent forward to report to the officer commanding the troops in reserve, so as to relieve two companies of the 225th. The five hundred metres we had to go along the bed of the canal were covered by a band of fire. We ran in one mob and reached our goal without a casualty. There were numerous dead here to show that many a company had paid heavy toll. Reserves were crowded along the sides of the canal and were feverishly digging out holes in the retaining walls to serve as cover. As the whole space was occupied, and as the canal was a landmark that drew the enemy’s fire, I led the company off to the right among the shell-holes and gave orders for each man to see to himself. A splinter rang against my bayonet. Lieutenant Tebbe had followed my example with the 8th Company, and now we looked out a suitable shell-hole and covered it with a groundsheet. We then lit a candle, ate our supper, lit our pipes, and talked and shivered. At eleven o’clock I got orders to proceed to the former front line and to report to the C.O. of the battalion in the line, under whose orders the 7th Company was. I gave the order to fall in and led the company forward. There were only isolated shells, but very heavy ones. One of them that crashed in front of us was like a glimpse of hell, and filled the whole canal-bed with black vapour. The men were dumbfounded as though by a blow of an iron fist on the nape of the neck, and stumbled hurriedly on behind me over barbed wire and stone rubble.
A feeling of indescribable discomfort steals upon the nerves, even though the shellfire is not particularly
