He had a battalion chief, named Petit, known in his regiment for his lack of mental equilibrium. He always had ideas more or less strange and fanciful, and he always caused comment by his eccentricities and his bizarreries.
I had ordered an operation to commence in the morning of the 15th, and Petit told all his men, before the attack, that he would give one dollar for every pair of German trousers they brought to him!
Do not laugh, he had more extravagant ideas than that!
The attack was successful and our poilus struck a hard blow; they took numerous prisoners and reaped a mountain of trousers!
This sight was absolutely grotesque; the boches did not know what we wanted with them and this "kilty" disguise did not go well with them at all.
Petit, himself, was literally jubilant, splitting his sides with laughter before the German column about to start for the rear trouser-less.
Lieutenant de Marnac was furious, because he could not admit he carried on war in this manner and took it upon himself to go into the German lines, on a truce, and present his excuses to the general commanding the Division in front.
He fixed a white handkerchief on the end of his cane, took a bugler with him and calmly started out toward the enemy trenches.