01 - In the Field. In the Field (1914-1915) by Marcel Dupont.

01 - In the Field. In the Field (1914-1915) by Marcel Dupont.  
I have merely tried to make a written record of some of the hours I have lived through during the course of this war. A modest Lieutenant of Chasseurs, I cannot claim to form any opinion as to the operations which have been carried out for the last nine months on an immense front. I only speak of things I have seen with my own eyes, in the little corner of the battlefield occupied by my regiment. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter one of In the Field nineteen fourteen nineteen fifteen.
This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
visit LibriVox dot org. Recording by f n H. In
the Field nineteen fourteen, nineteen fifteen by Marcel DuPont. Chapter

(00:23):
one two General chaffields a tribute to sincere gratitude preface.
In the following pages, the reader will find no tactical studies,
no military criticism, no vivid picture of a great battle.
I have merely tried to make a written record of

(00:43):
some of the hours I have lived through during the
course of the war. A modest lieutenant of chasseurs, I
cannot claim to form any opinion as to the operations
which have been carried out for the last nine months
on an immense front. I only speak of the things
I have seen with my own eyes in the little
corner of the battlefield occupied by my regiment. It occurred

(01:05):
to me that if I should come out of this
deathly struggle safe and sound, it would be a pleasure
to me some day to read over these notes of
battle or bivouac. I thought further, that my people would
be interested in them. So I tried to set down
my impressions in my intervals of leisure, days of misery,

(01:25):
days of joy, days of battle. What volumes one might
write if one were to follow our squadrons day by
day in their march. I preferred to choose among many memories.
I did not wish to compose memoires, but only to
evoke the most tragic or the most touching moments of
my campaign. And indeed I have had only too many

(01:49):
from which to choose. I shall rejoice if I have
been able to revive some phases of the tragedy in
which we were the actors for my brothers in arms. Further,
I gladly we offer these impressions to any non combatants
they may interest. They must not look for the talents
of a great storyteller, nor the thrilling interest of a novel.

(02:09):
All they will find is the simple tale of an
eye witness, the unschooled effort of a soldier more apt
with the sword than with the pen m d. Chapter one.
How I went to the front. The train was creeping
along slowly in the soft night air, Seated on a
truss of hay in the horse box with my own

(02:31):
two horses and that of my orderly What a lot.
I looked out through the gap left by the unclosed
sliding door. How slowly we were going, how often we stopped.
I got impatient as I thought the hours we were losing,
whilst the other fellows were fighting and reaping all of
the glory. Station after station we passed bridges, level crossings, tunnels.

(02:56):
Everywhere I saw soldiers guarding the line, and with baynets
of the old chusspots glinting in the starlight. Now and
again the train would suddenly pull up for some mysterious reason.
The three horses fryened at being brought into collision with
each other, made the van echo with the thunder of
their hoofs, and they slipped, stamped, and recovered their balance.

(03:18):
I got up to calm them with soothing words and caresses.
By the light of the wretched lantern swinging and creaking
above the door, I could see their three heads with
pricked ears and uneasy eyes. They were breathing hard and
could not understand why they had been brought away from
their comfortable stable with its thick litter of clean straw.
They were not thinking about the war. But they seemed

(03:41):
to understand that their good times were over, that they
would have to resign themselves to all sorts of discomforts,
march unceasingly past nights in camps under the pouring rain,
keep their heavy equipment on their backs for days together,
and not always get food when they were hungry. Then
the train would set off again with the noise of

(04:01):
tightened couplings and creaking wagons. Whilst I was mechanically looking
out at the darkness dotted here and there with the
colored lights of the signals placed along the line, my
straying thoughts would wander to the fields of battle and
try to picture the scene. On my arrival at the front,
it was the twenty eighth of August, nearly a month

(04:21):
after the order had been given for mobilization, and the
armies had been fighting for some days already. What had
happened we could only glean part of the truth from
the short official announcements. We knew there had been a
hard fight at Shleroy, and at Dinat and in the
direction of Nancy, but the result had not been defined.

(04:43):
I thought I could guess, however, that these battles had
not been decisive, but that they had cost both sides dearly.
I was tempted to rejoice for all that I was
to think that the first great victories would not be won.
Before I joined my regiment. I had not yet been
able to console myself for the ill fortune that prevented

(05:03):
me from starting with the squadrons of the first line.
And yet I had to submit to regulations. The colonel
was inflexible and answered my entreaties by quoting the inex
honorable rule. In every cavalry regiment, the sixth lieutenant, in
order of seniority, must stay at the depot to help
the major and the captains of the fifth squadron. They

(05:24):
must assemble, equip and train the reserve squadrons of the regiment.
I shall never forget what those days were to me,
days of overwhelming work. When in a tropical heat, I
was busy from sunrise to sunset, entering the names of
thousands of men, registering the horses, giving certificates, and providing

(05:44):
food for the lot. It needed some skill to find
billets for them. All the horses were lodged in stables,
riding establishments, and yards. The men in every corner and
nook of this vast district. It was tiresome work and
would have been almost impossis but for the general goodwill
and admirable discipline. But all the time I was thinking

(06:05):
of the fellows away in Belgium, boldly reconnoitering the masses
of Germans and coming into contact with the enemy. At last,
at eleven o'clock on the twenty eighth of August, the
colonel's telegram came ordering me to go at once and
replace my young friend, Second Lieutenant Decei, seriously wounded whilst reconnoitering.

(06:26):
At six o'clock in the evening, I had packed my food,
strapped on my kit and got my horses into the train.
I set off with a light heart, and my fellow
officers of the Reserve and of the Territorials, who were
all still at the depot, came to see me off.
But how slowly the train traveled, and what a long
way off our little garrison town in the west seemed

(06:48):
to me. When I thought of the firing line out
towards the north, I made up my mind to try
and imitate my faithful watlock, who had been snoring in
peace for ever so long. I stretched myself on the
golden straw, and waited impatiently for the dawn, dozing and dreaming.

(07:08):
At about eight o'clock in the morning, the train stopped
at the concentration station of n What a crowd, and
yet what order and precision in this formidable traffic all
the Commissariat trains for the Army must to hear before
being sent off to different parts of the front. The
numerous sidings were all covered with long rows of trucks

(07:29):
in every direction. Engines getting up steam were panting and puffing.
In the middle of this hurly burly men were on
the move, Some of them calm, jaded and patient. These
were the railway men who went about in a business
like way, pushing railway vans, counting packages, carrying papers, checking lists,

(07:49):
and giving information politely and willingly. The rest were soldiers, lost,
bewildered in the midst of this entanglement of lines which
seemed inextricable. They were asking each other questions, swearing, laughing, protesting,
And then they got into a train and were promptly
hauled out and sent to another. But with all this

(08:12):
there was no disorder, no lack of discipline. Everywhere the
same admirable composure reigned that I had already noticed at
the station of my little garrison town. With what Lot's help,
I tidied myself up for a visit to the military
authorities of the station. After many difficulties, and after passing

(08:32):
through the hands of a number of centuries and orderlies
on duty, I came into the presence of a kindly captain,
to whom I stated my case. These are my marching orders. Captain,
how am I to join the light cavalry? Do you
know where it is? Just now? The captain raised his
hands to heaven and with a look of despair, how
am I to know where any regiment is? Now? You

(08:54):
can't expect it. All I can do for you is
to couple your truck on with the commissariat train of
your army Corps. It will take you as far as
the terminus, and there you must see what you can do.
I went back to my horses. After various excursions hither
and thither, which took up the whole morning, I at
last managed to get my horse box coupled to the train.

(09:17):
What a Lot and I, together with the territorial section
that served as guard, were the only passengers The whole
train was composed of vans stuffed with food supplies and
mysterious cases packed into some separate vans carefully sealed. Our
departure was fixed for two o'clock. And meanwhile I had
a chat with the territorial lieutenant who commanded our escort.

(09:38):
I tried to find out from him what had happened
at the front. He did not know any more than
I did, and merely told me how sorry he was
for his own ill luck. You know, our job is
no joke. We start after luncheon, travel all the rest
of the day and part of the night, sleep where
we can, and the next day we go back again

(09:59):
in the empty train. It takes still longer to get back,
and the day after we begin all over again. And
the worthy man quietly folded his hands on the fair
roundness of his figure. He looked a good sort of fellow.
He did his job conscientiously, put his men into the
third class compartments assigned to them, saw that they had

(10:20):
their cartridges, and gave them some fatherly counsel. And then
he invited me into the second class compartment reserved for him,
but I declined, as I preferred to travel with my horses.
The train jolted off. The heat was tropical. We had
pushed our sliding door wide open, and seated on our packages.

(10:41):
We contemplated the smiling summer landscape as it passed slowly
before us. And I came to the conclusion that we
had found out the pleasantest of ways of traveling, to
have a railway carriage to yourself, where you can stand up,
walk about, and lie down, to go at a pace
that allows you to enjoy the scene of the counties
that you passed through, and to be able to linger

(11:03):
and admire such and such of you, such and such
a country mansion or monument of olden days that is
a hundred times better than the shaking and rush of
a trained de luxe. I was delighted and touched by
the sympathetic interest shown in us by the people. Everywhere,
old men, women, children waved their handkerchiefs and called out

(11:26):
good luck, good luck. The worthy territorials answered back as
best as they could. One felt that all their hearts
were possessed with one and the same thought, wish and hope.
The hearts of the men who were going slowly up
to the battle, and those of the people who watched
them pass and sent their good wishes with them. At
one station where we stopped, a group of girls dressed

(11:47):
in white were waiting on the platform under the burning
rays of the sun. With simplicity, grace, and charming smiles,
they distributed chocolate, bread and fruit to all of the men.
The good fellows were so touched that tears came to
their eyes. One of them, an elderly man with a
gray pointed beard, could not help saying, but we aren't

(12:08):
going to fight, you know, We're only here to take
care of the train. That doesn't matter, that doesn't matter.
Take it all the same. You are soldiers like the others.
Vive la France and all the thirty territorials. In deep
and solemn tones repeated, vive la France. What a change

(12:28):
had come over these men who people feared were ripe
for revolt, undisciplined and reckless. What kindness and grace in
the women who stay at home and suffer. An old
railway man said to me, it has been like that, sir,
from the first day of the mobilization. These girls passed
their days and nights at the station. It is really

(12:50):
very good of them, for they won't make anything by it.
The old man was right, they won't make anything by it.
And yet I am sure or that many soldiers who
have passed that station on their way to the front
will keep the same grateful remembrance that I still have.
I shall never forget the group of girls in white
on the sunny platform of that little station. I shall

(13:13):
never forget the simple grace with which they prevailed upon
the men to accept the good things they offered and
even forced upon them. I thanked them as best I could,
but awkwardly enough, trying to interpret the thoughts of all
those soldiers. And when the trainers started again on its
panting course, I felt sorry I had not been more
eloquent in my speech, that I had already forgotten the

(13:36):
name of the little station, and never thought of asking
the names of our benefactresses. We were now getting near
the fighting zone, and I already felt that there was
a change in the state of the mind of the people.
They still called out to us, good luck, good luck.
But earlier in the day this greeting had been given
with smiles and merry gestures. Now it was uttered in

(13:59):
a series and solemn tone. At the station gates and
the level crossings. The eyes of the women who looked
at us were more sad and profound. They fixed themselves
upon ours and seemed to speak to us. Even when
their lips did not move, their eyes still said good luck,
good luck. We saw motor cars rushing along the roads,

(14:23):
and could distinguish the armbands on the men's sleeves and
rifles in the cars or lying in the hoods. And
yet daily life was going on as usual. There were
workers in the fields, tradespeople on the doorsteps of their shops,
groups of peasants just outside the hamlets. But yet a
peculiar state of mind was evident in each one of
these people who were going on with their daily work.

(14:46):
And all these accumulated cares, all these stirred imaginations, produced
a strange atmosphere which infected everything, seemed to impregnate the air.
We breathed and quenched the gaiety of the men in
our train. What a lot, and I were overcome by
a kind of religious emotion. We felt as though we
were already breathing the air of battle. At about six

(15:10):
o'clock we arrived at the station of l where the
train stopped for a few minutes the platforms were crowded
with staff officers. A soldier assured me that the chief
headquarters was here. I wanted to question some one and
try to get some authoritative information as to what was
happening at the front. It seemed to me that I

(15:30):
had a right to know, now that I was at
the point of becoming one of the actors in the
tragedy in progress. A few leagues off, but directly I
came up to these officers, I felt my assurance fail me.
They looked disturbed and anxious. There was none of that
merry animation that had rained in the interior and that
I had expected to find everywhere. And then a strange

(15:53):
and ridiculous fear came over me, the fear of being
looked upon as an intruder by these well informed men
who knew everything. I imagined that they would spurn me
with scorn, or that I should cause them pain by
forcing them to tell me truths people do not like
to repeat. It also occurred to me that I was
too insignificant a person to confront men in so high

(16:14):
of an office, and that I should appear importunate if
I disturbed their reflections. But I was now quite sure
that the official announcements had not told us all. Without
having heard one word, I felt that things were not
going so well as we had hoped. As every day
in our little town in the west, we tried passionately

(16:35):
to divine the truth, Devouring the few newspapers that reached us.
A pang shot through me. I now felt alone and
lost amongst these men who seemed strangers to me. Crossing
the rails, I got back to our train, drawn up
at some distance from the platforms. The sun was on
the horizon. In the red sky, two monoplanes passed over

(16:57):
our heads at no great height. The noise of their
engines made everybody look up. They were flying north, and
I felt a desire to rush upwards and overtake one
of them, and take my seat close to the pilot
behind the propeller, which was spinning round and sending the
wind of its giddy speed into his face. I longed
to be able to lift myself into the air above

(17:19):
the battlefields, and there suspended in space, try to make
out the movements of the clashing nations. I resolved to
have a talk with the engine driver of a train
returning to Paris. Empty. He told me in a few words,
that the French army was retiring rapidly, that it had
already recrossed the Belgian frontier, and that at the moment

(17:41):
it was fighting on French soil. He told me this simply,
and with a touch of sadness in his voice. Shaking
his head gently, he added no comments of his own,
and I did not feel equal to any reply. Full
of foreboding, I returned to my train, and what a
lot he had heard? What the engine driver had told me?

(18:02):
And he said not a word, but looked out into
the distance at the fiery sky. We sat down side
by side and said nothing. So we were retreating. Then
all our calculations and dreams were shattered. All the fine
plans we officers had sketched out together were folly. We

(18:23):
were wasting time. When bending over our maps, we foresaw
a skillful advance on the hills of Belgium's invaders, followed
by a huge victory, dearly bought, perhaps, but one that
would upset the German colossus at a single blow. The
whole thing was an illusion, and I thought what a
fool I had been. I thought of my regiment, how

(18:45):
much of it was there left? How many of those
good fellows were lying dead on foreign soil? How many
friends should I never see again? For I imagined things
to be worse than they really were. I felt absolutely despondent.
What my mind and conjured up was no longer a
retreating good order, but a rout. The train had begun

(19:05):
to move again. The sun had set, and over the
horizon there was but a streak of pale yellow sky
lighting up the country. I sat down in the open
doorway with my legs dangling outside, and as I breathed
the first few whiffs of fresh air, I felt somewhat relieved.
The calm around was such as to make one forget

(19:28):
that we were at war. Darkness came on by degrees.
Suddenly my heart began to beat faster, and I rose
with a nervous movement. What a lot too, had started
up from the straw he had been lying on, we
both exclaimed in one breath. Cannon. It was a mere,

(19:48):
distant growl, hardly audible, and yet it was distinct enough
to be subdued accompaniment to the thousand noises a train
makes as it goes along. We could not distinguish the shots,
but gradually the dull sound became louder and seemed to
be wafted towards us by a gust of air. Then
it seemed to be further off again, and almost to

(20:09):
die away, and again to get louder. There is no
other earthly sound like it. A thunder storm as it
dies away is the only thing that could suggest the
impression we felt. It sends a kind of shiver all
over the surface of the body. Even our horses felt it.
Their three heads were raised uneasily, their eyes shone in

(20:30):
the twilight, and they snorted noisily through their dilated nostrils.
Leaning out, I saw the heads of the territorials thrust
out of the windows. They too had heard the mysterious
and stirring music. No one spoke or joked. Their bodies,
stretching out into space, seemed to be asking questions and
imploring to know the truth. We came nearer to the

(20:54):
sounds of the guns, and could now distinguish the shots
following one another at short intervals. The air seemed to
be shaken, and we might have thought we were but
a few paces off. The train had pulled up sharply
in the open country. It was still light enough for
us to make out the landscape, meadows covered with long
pale grass, bordered by willows and tall poplar trees gently

(21:17):
swaying in the evening breeze. In the background, a thick
wood shut in the view. The railway line curved away
to the right and was lost to view in the
growing darkness. Now that the train was motionless, the impressive
voice of the cannon could be heard more distinctly. The
long luminous trails of the searchlights passed over the sky

(21:38):
at intervals. Impatient at the delay, I got down and
walked along the line to the engine. It had stopped
at a level crossing at the side of the closed barrier.
On the doorstep of her hut, with the light shining
upon her, sat the wife of the gate keeper, a
child in her arms. She was a young woman, fair
and pale. She seemed somewhat uneasy, and yet had no

(22:02):
idea of quitting her post. She was talking in a
low voice to the engine driver and stoker of our train.
I tried to get some information from her, Mon dieu, monsieur.
She said, I know nothing except that the guns have
been firing all day long, since yesterday, and even at
times during the night. The sound comes chiefly from the

(22:23):
direction of g Some soldiers who went by just now
with carts told me the Prussians got into the town yesterday,
but that it was to be retaken today, and that
there were a great many dead and wounded. My hopes
revived a little. I saw it once in my mind.
The German attacks stopped on the river. Weeze our armies recovering,

(22:45):
drawing together and driving the enemy back across the frontier.
Our engine driver explained to me that we had come
quite close to the terminus, but that we should have
to wait some time before we could get in. Other
trains had to be unloaded and show hunted to make room.
I went back to my van. Night had fallen, and

(23:05):
it must have been about nine o'clock. The guns had
suddenly ceased firing, Our lantern had burnt itself out, and
the rest of our weight was made more tedious by
the darkness. An empty train passed us, and then silence
fell once more upon the spot where we waited anxiously
to be allowed to go forwards towards our brothers in arms. Oh,

(23:26):
how we longed to join them, even if it were
only in the middle of a bloody and difficult retreat.
How I longed to be delivered from my solitude. At last,
At about eleven o'clock, the train set off again, without whistling,
and very very slowly. It went along, timidly, so to speak,
and as though it were afraid of coming into unknown

(23:48):
region which might be full of mysteries and ambuscades. In
the distance, I saw some signal lamps waved, and suddenly
we were stopped. What I then saw us sounded me.
I had thought we should draw up to a large platform,
where gangs of men would be waiting in perfect order
to unload the train, sort out the packages, and pile

(24:10):
them up in appointed places for the carts to take
them quietly away. Instead of this, the train stopped at
some little distance from a small station. Standing by itself
in the open country. I could make out some buildings
badly lighted, and around them a crowd of shadowy forms
moving about. And drawn up alongside of our train were

(24:32):
countless vehicles of all sorts and kinds, in indescribable disorder,
made all the more confusing by the darkness. Some of
them were drawn up in a sort of a line.
Others tried to edge themselves in and get a vacant
place among the entanglement of wheels and horses. The drivers
were abusing each other in forcible language. Every now and

(24:53):
again there was an outburst of laughter interspersed with oaths.
All this time A officials were running down from the
platform with papers in their hands, trying to read what
was chalked on the vans. Inquiries and shouts were heard.
Where is the bread over here? No, it's not, where
is the officer in charge? Matches were struck, The few

(25:18):
lighted lanterns there were were snatched from one hand by another.
And in spite of all this apparent disorder, the work
went rapidly forward. Men climbed in through the open doors.
Sacks and heavy cases were passed along. Porters, bending under
their loads, slipped through the maze of vans and carts
to the one they wanted and deposited their burdens. After

(25:39):
giving what a lot orders to prevent any one from
invading our horse box, I slipped out and went towards
the station office to look for the military commissary. I
had great difficulty in making my way through the crowd
of men who seemed to be rushing to take the
train by assault in the darkness. Then I had to
avoid the breaking of my neck in getting across the
maze of rails, the signal wires, and the open ditches.

(26:03):
I got to the station. A number of wounded were there,
lying on the platforms, about a hundred of them, with
their clothes torn and covered with dust. They presented a
sad picture. They were, it is true, only slightly wounded,
but it cuts one to the heart to see soldiers
in that plight, hauled out upon the ground, without straw

(26:24):
to lie upon or any doctor to attend to them. However,
they had all had first aid dressings below the bandages
that bound their heads. Their feverish eyes gleamed in the
light of the lanterns. Their bandaged arms were supported by
pieces of linen tied behind their necks. Several of them
were sitting on baskets, casks, and packages of all kinds,

(26:46):
and they were talking eagerly. Each man was relating with
plenty of gesticulation, the great deeds he had taken part
in or seen. As I passed, I heard scraps of
their conversation. They were in the first line of houses,
then Old chap Our. Lieutenant rushed forward. You should have
seen them scuttle. I was delighted to see that the

(27:08):
morale of these fine fellows didn't seem to be the
least affected. To hear them, you would have thought the
Germans had been driven back at all points. I got
a porter to tell me where the military commissary was.
He pointed out an artillery lieutenant in a cap with
a white band, talking with a group of officers. I
introduced myself and asked him if he knew anything about

(27:30):
the state of affairs. Like everybody else, he could only
give me the very vague information. However, he added, I
can confirm what you have heard about g The first
corpse has just retaken the town, which was defended by
the Prussian guard. It appears that our fellows were wonderful
and that the enemy has suffered enormous losses. However, the

(27:53):
lieutenant's voice trembled slightly, and a shrug of his shoulders
betrayed his despair. I have all orders to evacuate the
station with all my men and my papers. So soon
as the last train has been unloaded, I am to
fall backwards towards l How is one to understand what
all this means. We looked at each other without a word.

(28:15):
Everybody felt dejected and doubtful, not to understand, to have
to obey without understanding why. It was the first time
I had really felt the grandeur of military service. You
must have a soul stoutly tempered to carry out an order,
no matter what, even if that order seems incomprehensible to you.

(28:35):
There must have been in that corner of France, on
the edge of that frontier which we had sworn never
to be violated. There must have been thousands of officers,
thousands of soldiers who would have given their lives rather
than yield up one inch of ground. Then why abandon
that station? Why say so bluntly, to morrow you will

(28:56):
have no need to go so far north to bring supplies.
We shall come nearer to you. We shall withdraw There
I was again allowing my mind to wander and to suffer.
I tried to learn by what means I could get
some information about my regiment. Well, it's very simple, said
the artillery lieutenant. Very kindly, Your commissariat officer will certainly

(29:18):
have come with this convoy to fetch supplies. Try to
get hold of him. He will tell you all about it.
I grasped his hand and went off, glad, indeed at
the thought of seeing my regiment's uniform once more. And
providence seemed to guide me, for I thought I saw
the very man I was looking for in the little
booking office, but I had some difficulty in recognizing him.

(29:40):
He looked aged and worn, his beard had grown quite gray.
Bending over the sill of the ticket office, he was
in the act of spreading the contents of a box
of sardines upon a slice of bread. Yes, it was he,
how tired and disheartened he looked. I pushed open the
door and rushed in posieur comrvins. Ah, it's you. What

(30:02):
have you come here for, my poor fellow? Ah, things
aren't looking very rosy. I plied him with questions, and
he answered, in short coherent sentences, Schleroi, don't talk of it, amen,
grand a hetta comb. Then the retreat day and night

(30:23):
the Germans da ant ah. A nice business, isn't it.
We're retreating. He told me where the regiment was, in
a huge farm a long way off. He said he
could take my canteen in one of his vans. As
for me, I should have to manage as best I
could next day to join my comrades. It would take
some time to get my horses detrained, as the only

(30:45):
platform was still being used for the vans not yet unloaded. Thanks,
I said, well it's quite simple to morrow. I go
straight towards the cannon. Good night, and I went off
to finish my sleepless night. Lying beside me my horses
with my eyes fixed on the chink of the door,
I waited hour after hour for the daylight. When dawn broke,

(31:08):
I had already got what Lot and a couple of
railway men who were still in the station, to bring
my horse box up to the platform. The three horses
were quickly saddled and ready to start. The freshness of
the morning and the joy of feeling firm ground under
their feet again made them uncommonly lively. Indeed, what Lot
came near to feeling the effects of their good spirits

(31:28):
somewhat uncomfortably as he was getting into the saddle. At last,
we started at a quick trot along a white, dusty
road which led straight across the fields still bathed in shadow.
I went first in the direction my friend had vaguely
indicated the night before what a lot followed, leading my
spare horse. The horse's footsteps resounded strangely in this unknown

(31:50):
country where nothing else could be heard. Were we really
at war? Everything seemed on the contrary to breathe perfect tranquility.
What a change from the feverish bustle of the station
the evening before. We rode through a rich and fertile countryside.
The fields stretched out one after another without end, covering

(32:10):
the rounded flanks of the undulating ground with their stubble,
dotted with stacks and golden sheaves. A few hedges and
some clumps of trees broke the monotony of the landscape.
Here and there farms of imposing proportions appeared among the foliage.
No shots were to be heard, nor any sound of
marching troops, and this made me uneasy that I began

(32:33):
to wonder whether something had not happened during the night
to shift the scene of fighting without my knowledge. But
I was about to see something which would remind me
better than the noise of cannon that the scene of
strife was not far off. As the dailout became gradually brighter,
we distinguished figures moving round some straw stacks, Folks who
had collected there to pass the night, sheltered as much

(32:55):
as possible from the cold and the morning dew. I
thought they were soldiers who had lost touched with their
regiments and had taken their brief night's rest in the
open air. But I soon saw my mistake as by enchantment.
As soon as the first rays of the sun appeared,
the sleepers got up, and I saw that they were civilians,
mostly women and children. They were the unfortunate country folk

(33:18):
who had fled before the barbarian hordes. They had preferred
to forsake their homes, to leave them to the invader,
rather than fall into their hands. They had fled, carrying
with them the most precious things they possessed. They had
come away not knowing where they would stop nor where
they could pass the night, And as soon as the
twilight came and found them exhausted on the interminable roads,

(33:40):
they had dropped down by the stacks, grateful for a
humble bed of straw. There they had stretched their aching limbs.
The mothers had carefully made up little beds for their babies.
Families had nestled closely together, and often whole villages had
gathered in the same fields and around the same stacks,
And when the daylight appeared they had got up hurriedly,

(34:02):
and the roads were already crowded with mournful pilgrims seeking
refuge further and further inland. I must confess that I
had not expected to see such a sight. It made
my heart ache. I was seized with a fury, and
longed to be able to rush upon the enemy, drive
him back across the frontier, and restore the dwellings forsaken

(34:22):
by this poor folks. What human being, however cold hearted,
could help feeling deep pity at the sight of these poor, weak,
and inoffensive creatures fleeing before invasion. There were pitable sights
on every hand, a mother pushing a perambulator containing several
small children, whilst five or six others were hanging on

(34:42):
to a dress or trotting along behind her. Poor invalids dragged, pushed,
carried by all means possible, sooner than be left in
the hands of the Prussians, old men helped along by boys,
infants carried by old men, And as they passed, they
all cast a look of distress at the officer, who
rode quickly by, averting his eyes. I thought I saw

(35:05):
reproach in those glances. They seemed to say to me,
why haven't you been able to defend us? Why have
you let them come into our country? See how we
are suffering. Look at our little children who cannot walk
any further. Where are we to go now that, by
your fault we have left the homes of our childhood,
and of our fathers, and of our fathers fathers. Is

(35:26):
that what war is? I urged my horse to get
them out of sight and to reach the fighting line
as quickly as I could. Suddenly, the report of a
gun sounded straight in front of me. Further off, a
few rifle shots were audible, and then guns again, accompanied
by concentrated rifle fire. A kind of shiver passed through

(35:46):
my whole body. My first battle. I was going to
take part in my first battle. I felt really mad
and intoxicated at the thought of at last realizing the
dream of my life. But other feelings were mingled with it.
I reflected, what effect will it have upon me? I
expect I shall come into the middle of the fight
when I get over that ridge? Shall I duck my

(36:08):
head when I hear the bullets whistling and the shrapnel
bursting around me. I am determined to play the man
I know what a lot is close by trotting behind me.
He mustn't see the least symptom of nervousness in me.
The noise of the guns became louder by the way.
I wonder what what a lot feels like. I turned

(36:29):
to look at him and found his face a bit pale,
but directly he saw me glance at his blue North
Country eyes. His face lit up with a broad smile.
Here we are, sir, Yes, what a lot here we are.
I'm sure you don't know what fear is. Oh no, sir,
that's all right. Forward then to the guns. We passed

(36:52):
through a hamlet full of wagons and motors. Some orderlies
were loading them up with rations and boxes. On one
of these I happened to see the number of my
own Army Corps. I'm all right, then, thought I, and
turned to an adjutant of the Army Service Corps who
was superintending the work. Do you know where the staff
of the corpse is? I asked? The man shrugged his

(37:14):
shoulders to show that he didn't, and he didn't care.
What did it matter to him? His job was to
get the goods loaded forget nothing, and then to go
to his appointed post, where he would have to wait
for further orders to unload his stuff in the evening.
He had enough to do. What did anything else matter
to him? However, he pointed in a vague manner. They

(37:35):
went over there. Off I started again over the wide,
undulating plane. The noise of the cannonade became louder and louder,
and I now perceived traces of the work of death.
At a turning of the road there were a couple
of dead horses that had been dragged into a ditch.
I cannot say how painful the sight was to me. Apparently,

(37:55):
the dead horse at the seat of war is a trifle,
and no doubt I should very soon see it with indifference.
But these were the first I had seen, and I
could not help casting a glance of pity at them
poor beasts. A month before they had been showing off
their fine points in the well kept stables of the
artillery barracks. When I saw them, their stiffened corpses bore

(38:16):
traces of all their sufferings. The harness had rubbed great
saws in their flesh. In more than one place. Their
glazed eyes seemed to be still appealing for pity. They
had fallen down, exhausted, finding it impossible to keep up
with their fellows. They had been quickly unharnessed so as
not to block up the road, and had been dragged
to the sunburnt grass. And there it was no doubt

(38:38):
the death agony that had already lasted for some hours
had come to an end. We went on, and in
the distance, here and there, on the plain which now
stretched before us for miles, we saw more of them.
I wondered how it was that so many horses had
fallen in so short a time. It was not a
month since mobilization had been ordered, and hardly ten days

(39:00):
since operations had begun. What a huge effort then the
army must already have made. But I soon forgot the
poor beasts, for we were nearing the scene of the struggle.
Behind the shelter of every swell in the ground were
ammunition wagons. I went up to one of these and
was astonished at what I saw. The limbers, which are
always so smart in the barrack yard, with their gray paint,

(39:23):
were covered with a thick coating of dust or hardened mud.
The horses, dirty and thin, seemed ready to drop. Their
necks were covered with saws, and they were hanging their
heads to eat, but seemed not to have the strength
enough to take up their food. Drivers and non commissioned
officers were sprawling about, sleeping heavily. The cadaverous faces, beards

(39:44):
of a week's growth, and drawn features showed even in
their sleep how exhausted they were. I could hardly recognize
the original color of their dingy uniforms under the accumulation
of stains and dust. It was now eight o'clock in
the morning. The sunshine was beating hot upon the sun sleapers,
but they seemed indifferent to this. They had simply pulled
the peaks of their caps over their eyes and were

(40:06):
snoring away, with their noses in the air and their
mouths open. Beasts and men together formed a group of
creatures that seemed utterly depressed and worn out. I could
never have believed it possible to sleep under such conditions.
With the guns booming unceasingly in all directions, I went
up the nearest ridge and thence got a glimpse of
a corner of the battle. I had expected to see

(40:28):
a sight similar to that which had delighted us at maneuvers.
Troops massed in all the depressions of the ground, battalions
advancing in good order along the roads, and mounted men
galloping about on the higher ground. But there was nothing
of the sort. In front of me, about six hundred
yards off, and under the cover of the brow of
a hill carpeted with russet stubble, I saw two batteries

(40:50):
of artillery firing their guns. I looked intently. The pieces
were in perfect lime with the gunners at their posts.
The shots were fired at regular intervals and were cool deliberation.
The gunners took their time and seemed to be working
very casually. I had expected to see them fairly excited
the men running under a hail of shells. Teams brought

(41:11):
up at the gallop as soon as a few salvos
had been fired, and the guns whirled off at speed
and lined up in battery again some hundreds of yards
further off. On the contrary, these guns seemed to be
planted there for good. The limbers, which were massed to
the rear under cover of a slope, looked very much
like the sections of munitions. I had seen just before.

(41:32):
The men were sleeping in the shadows of their horses,
and the horses were asleep on their feet in their
appointed places. The only man standing was a stout looking
adjutant who was walking up and down with his hands
in his pockets, with his eyes on the ground. He
seemed to be counting his steps. And meanwhile, the two
batteries went on firing salvos of four at a time.

(41:53):
When one was finished, there was a pause of two
or three minutes, and then the other battery took it up.
But what a lot interrupted my reverie. Look over there,
Sir Sabad. I looked in the direction he was pointing out,
and now I no longer felt the uneasy feeling that
had come over me at the sight of what was
going on here. Above a height that overtopped the hill

(42:16):
on which I was about one thousand, five hundred yards away,
the German shells were bursting incessantly. We could distinctly hear
the sharp sound of the explosions in the clear blue
of the sky. They made little white puffs which vanished
gradually and were replaced by others. Their gunners could not
have been firing with the same coolness as ours, for

(42:37):
the white puffs increased in number. The noise they were
making on the spot must have been deafening. From where
I was. We heard the explosions following one upon another
without intermission. But what was most thrilling was to watch
one of our own batteries in action under this avalanche
of projectiles. The slope on which it was placed was
in shadows. Still against this blue gray background, short flames

(43:01):
could be seen flashing for a second at the muzzles
of the guns, and the four reports reached us almost
at the same moment. The gunners could be seen just
as calm under fire as others. Here, the German shells
that tried to scatter death among them burst too high.
They were trying to annihilate this battery, which was no
doubt causing terrible ravages among their men. But the broken

(43:23):
fragments fell wide, and our gunners worked their pieces gallantly.
This was something that more than made up for my
touch of disappointment. At first. My hope revived, and I
started off at a trot straight in front of me,
getting past the ridge under the cover of which the
pair of batteries were plying their guns. No sooner had
I gained the further slope than I understood that what

(43:45):
I had seen hitherto was only the background of the battle.
From this spot, a violent rifle fire was heard in
every direction. In the meadows, there were a large number
of infantry sections crouching behind every available bit of cover.
On the opposite slo long lines of skirmishers were deployed,
and dotted about everywhere. Above their heads rose puffs of smoke, white,

(44:07):
black and yellow, the German shells bursting. The noise of
them was incessant, and the spot where we were seemed
to me very quiet, in spite of the firing of
the two batteries close behind us. Everything was wonderfully colored
by the sunshine. The red trousers of the soldiers lying
in the grass showed up brightly, the mestins on their knapsacks,

(44:29):
and the smallest metal objects buttons, bayonet hilts, bedled buckles,
glittered at every moment. On my left, in a dip
of the ground with a little river running down it,
a gay little village seemed to be overflowing with troops.
I rode towards it in haste, hoping to find a
staff there which could give me some information. The streets

(44:49):
were in fact full of infantry lying about or sitting
along the houses on both sides. In the middle of
the main road was a crowd of galloping orderlies, cyclists
and motor side. I felt rather bewildered in all this bustle. However,
these people seemed to know where they were going. They were,
no doubt carrying orders or information. And yet I could

(45:11):
see no chief officer who appeared to be busying himself
about the action or directing anything. Those who were not
sleeping were chatting in little groups. The soldiers of different
arms were all mixed together, which had perhaps a picturesque effect,
but was disconcerting. Suddenly I heard some one call my name.
I turned round and hesitated a moment before I recognized

(45:33):
in an artillery captain with a red beard, a former
friend who had been a lieutenant in the horse battery
at Loonville. Yes, it was he. I recognized him by
his gray eyes, his hook nose, and his ringing voice. Eh, moncheer,
what are you doing here? You look fresh and fit.
What are you looking for? You seem to be at sea.
I explained my position to him and asked him to

(45:55):
tell me what had happened. Oh, that would take too long.
Your fellows were at Charleroi with us. They had some experiences.
But hang it if I know what they were doing
with us. We beat them yesterday, my friend, Our men
and our guns did wonders. And now there's talk of
our retreating further south. I don't understand it all. Ah.

(46:16):
We have seen some hot work, and you will be
making a rough beginning looking for your regiment, are you.
I haven't seen it yet to day, but you will
see that staff right over there, behind those stacks, yes,
where the shells are bursting. That's General Tea. He can
help you. Only you see he's not exactly in Clover.

(46:36):
Tea has been splendid, always under fire, cheering on his men.
They say he wants to get killed so as to
not see the retreat. I knew General t well. He
commanded a brigade in our garrison, town of our and
a kindly chief. He was clear minded, frank, and plain spoken.
I soon made up my mind to go see him

(46:56):
and see what help I could get to enable me
to rejoin my regiment. It would be a pleasure too
to see him again. I measured the distance with my
eye a kilometer. Perhaps there was no road, and to
go across the fields would not be very easy, as
there were walls and hedges round the meadows. I took
the other way out of the village, and just as

(47:17):
what lot and I were leaving it, we saw some
wounded men arriving. They came slowly, helped along by their comrades,
and there were such a number of them that they
blocked the road. Those faces tied up with bandages, clotted
with perspiration, dust and blood, those coats hanging open, those
shirts torn and showing lint, and bandages reddened with blood.

(47:40):
Those poor bandaged feet that had to be kept off
the ground. All this made a painful impression on me.
No doubt this was because I was not accustomed to
such sights, for others hardly took any notice of it.
The ambulance. Where is the ambulance? Cried the men who
were helping them along at the station, answered, some soul,
hardly looking round, Go straight on and turn left when

(48:03):
you get to the market place, and the sad procession
went its way. I jumped the ditch at the side
of the road and struck across the fields, spurring straight
for general t At that moment the rifle fire became
more violent. Some forward movement was certainly beginning, for the
infantry sections that were lying in cover at the bottom

(48:24):
of the valley began to climb up the slope of
the ridge on which I was galloping. Suddenly my horse
swerved sharply. It had just almost trodden upon a body
lying on the other side of a low wall of
loose stones that I had just jumped. I drew rein
a sob burst from my lips. Oh, I did not
expect to see that. So suddenly a score of corpses

(48:46):
lay scattered on that sloping stubble field. They were zouaves,
and they seemed almost to have been placed there deliberately,
for the bodies were lying at about an equal distance
from one another. They must have fallen there the day
before during Annati, and night had come before it was
possible to bury them. The rifles were still by their side,
with the bayonets fixed. The one nearest to us was

(49:09):
lying with his face to the ground and was still
grasping his weapon. He was a handsome fellow, thin and dark.
No wound was visible, but his face was strikingly pale
under the red chechia, which he had pulled down over
his ears. I looked at what a lot. The good
fellow's eyes were filled with tears. Come thought I. We

(49:30):
must not give way like this. What a lot, my friend,
we shall see plenty more. You know, they were brave
fellows who have been killed doing their duty. We must
not pity them. What a lot did not answer. I
galloped off again towards the big rick, by which stood
General T's staff. I had already forgotten what I had seen,
and my attention was fixed upon that small group of

(49:52):
men standing motionless near the top of the ridge. German
shells kept bursting over them from time to time. We
were now now about a hundred yards off. So I
left what Lot and my spare horse hidden behind a
shattered hovel, and went alone towards the rick. But just
as I was coming up to it, I heard a
curious hissing noise which lasted for about a twentieth part

(50:13):
of a second, and above my head how high I
could not tell vram vram, two shells exploded with a
tremendous noise. I ducked my head instinctively and tried to
make myself as small as possible on my horse. A
thought passed through my mind like a flash. Here we are.
Why on earth did I come up here? My campaign

(50:34):
will have been a short one. And then this other
thought followed. But I'm not hit. That's all their shells
can do. I sha'n't trouble to duck in future. And
yet I was disagreeably impressed. A soldier who had been
holding a horse just before, about thirty yards from me,
ran down the slope whilst the horse was struck dead

(50:56):
and lay in a pool of blood, his body torn open.
But I was now close to the officers composing the
staff of the Tea Brigade. They came towards me, supposing
probably that I was bringing some information or an order.
One of them was known to me, an infantry captain
who had been in garrison at r with me. We

(51:17):
shook hands and I explained the object of this unusual visit.
He replied, your regiment. You will find it to the
left of the army corps. It's the regiment that ensures
a liaison with the corpse. Well, captain, it seems our
troops are advancing. Things are going well. He shrugged his
shoulders sharply, His eyes were hard and somber as he

(51:38):
gazed fixedly at the horizon in the direction of the enemy,
and then said, in an exasperated tone, certainly they are advancing.
See those lines of skirmishers working along there to the
right of the village, and those others further off there
where you see those puffs of yellow smoke. But that
won't prevent us from beginning our retreating movement. At noon.

(52:00):
There are express orders. We must move together with the
whole army. We shall sleep to night twenty kilometers from here,
and not in the right direction. We looked at one
another in silence. I didn't like to ask any further questions,
nor to express my disappointment and the angry feeling that
was becoming stronger in me. The sight of General t

(52:20):
calmed me at once. It seemed to tell me what
my duty was, and to impose silent obedience and firm
faith in our chiefs. Standing alone one hundred yards in
advance of his officers, whom he had told to remain
concealed behind the enormous stack, the general was observing the struggle.
He stood perfectly still, and with his back slightly bent

(52:41):
and his hands behind him, he had allowed his beard
to grow, and it formed a white patch on his
slightly tanned face. In front of him, at some little distance,
two shells had just burst, falling short. The general had
not stirred. He looked like a statue of sadness and
of duty. I had thought of going and introducing myself,

(53:03):
but now I felt I was too insignificant a being
to intrude myself upon a chief who was watching the
advance of his brave soldiers as a father watches over
his children. I turned and I went away, quietly and slowly,
with a feeling of oppression. So I made my way
back again, skirting the firing line behind the ridge, often

(53:23):
obliged to pull up to allow troops to pass to
reinforce the line. Now and then it seemed that the
fighting had ceased at the spot I happened to be in,
But I soon found myself again in the thick of
the artillery and rifle fire. On all the roads I crossed,
there was a continual stream of wounded men limping along
and stretcher bearers carrying mutilated bodies. The heat had become tropical.

(53:47):
It was nearly twelve o'clock. My head began to swim.
My shacko seemed gradually to get tighter and to press
on my temples till they were ready to burst. I
thought I should never find my regiment. Never I came
to a small village and decided to stop and get
some food for ourselves and for my horses, as they
showed signs of distress. There too, the streets were full

(54:11):
of infantry, but to my astonishment, none of them belonged
to any of the regiments of my courts. So I
supposed I had passed its left wing without knowing it.
Bad luck. I rode up the steep alleys looking for
some inn where I could put up, But all the
inns were filled with hot footsore soldiers who seemed thankful
for a moment's rest. They were sitting about wherever there

(54:33):
was any shade to be found, with their coats unbuttoned,
their neck ties undone, and shirts open. They were trying
to recover their vigor by greedily devouring hunks of bread
they had in their wallets, spread with the contents of
their preserved meat tins. At the door of the vicarage,
near the pretty little church, which could be seen from
the surrounding country. I saw an old priest who was

(54:54):
distributing bottles of white wine to an eager crowd of troopers.
I heard him in a gentle voice, Here, my lads,
take what there is. If the Prussians come, I don't
want them to find a drop left. Mercy, mercy, monsieur
le ciere. All at once there was a frightful explosion
quite close to us, which made the whole church square quiver.

(55:17):
A German coal box had fallen on to the roof
of the church, making an enormous hole in it, out
of which came a thick cloud of horrible yellow smoke.
A shower of wreckage fell all around us and made
a curious noise. The windows of all the houses came
clattering down in shivers. In a twinkling, the little square
in front of the vicarage was empty. A few men

(55:38):
who were wounded fled moaning. The rest slung their rifles
and went off quickly in a line close under the
shelter of the houses. I was left alone, face to
face with the white haired priest, who still held a
bottle of golden wine in his hands. We looked at
each other greatly distressed, tenaise, monsieur le officer. He said, suddenly,

(55:58):
take some more of this. I'm going to break all
the remaining bottles so that they shall not drink any
of it. Ah, the savages, Ah, those wretches. My church,
my poor church. And he went across his little garden quickly,
without listening to my thanks. I handed the bottle to Waterlot,
who stuffed it into his wallet with a smile of satisfaction.

(56:19):
But a second coal box soon followed the first. It
was certainly not the place to stay in, so I
decided to be off and postpone my luncheon until I
could find a rather more sheltered dining room. As I
left the village, I saw one of our batteries moving
briskly away. It was the one that had been in
action close to the village and had probably been the
target of the German gunners. It went rapidly down the slope.

(56:41):
The drivers brandished their whips and brought them down upon
their haunches of their jaded animals. They had to make
their haste, for the position had become untenable. The German
guns were concentrating their fire on the hapless village, and
the neighboring ridge. The formidable shells burst in threes. The
ground shook. It was evident that very soon nothing would
be left there but ruins. I resumed my wanderings. I

(57:05):
saw then that what the captain had told me was true.
The retreating movement was beginning to be obvious. Whilst the
firing grew more intense. Along the whole line, small parties
of infantry marched across the fields in an opposite direction
to the one they had taken two hours previously. So
we were beating a retreat. However, I had seen it
with my own eyes. Not only had we held our

(57:27):
ground along the whole line, but at several points our
soldiers were making headway, and then suddenly, and without any
apparent reason, we had to withdraw. It was enough to
make one mad. We had to retreat over the soil
of our France and give it up, little by little
to the hordes which followed on our heels. I had

(57:47):
slackened rain and was allowing my horse to go. As
he light over the country strewn with troops. He seemed
to understand what was happening, and, with his head lowered,
as though he did it reluctantly, he slowly followed the
direction the immense army was taking. I was seized with
the deep feeling of hopelessness. I doubted everything, our men,

(58:07):
of whose bravery in tenacity I had seen proof, and
our leaders, whose courage I knew. My head seemed to
be on fire. But I heard a ringing voice behind me,
calling me by my name. I turned, and my sadness
gave weight a joy as I recognized two light blue
tunics with red collars. I had found the uniform of
my regiment, and my hope revived. I felt I was

(58:30):
no longer alone, and that we might yet accomplish great things.
In front of a score of our chasseurs, rode two
good friends of mine, Lieutenant b and Lieutenant of Reserve DECEI.
What a pleasure it was to shake their hands and
to see their bronzed faces and dusty garments. We went
on together, chatting merrily. SEE knew the village where the

(58:52):
regiment was to be billeted. We went straight for it
at a trot. It was there, at that nightfall, that
I was going to find my chiefs again, my comrades,
and my men, and I should at last take my
part in the fighting. I could not know what the
days to follow had in store for me, but I
did know that none of them would be so cruel
for me as the day when I went to the front.

(59:14):
I was now in the bosom of my military family,
and I look forward to taking my share of danger
at the head of the brave chasseurs. I knew so well.
Doubtless I should now know where we were going, why
we had to advance, and why to retire. It seems
that moral suffering is less keen when it can be
shared with others. I shall never suffer again what I

(59:35):
suffered that day. End of Chapter one, recording by f
n H. Visit w w W dot book Ranger, dot co,
dot u K