Sergeant-Major Lafond’s narrative makes no claim to literary pretension, but it is simply a collection of actual occurrences. It is a series of short narratives which give the life of a company of machine gunners from the day of its formation to the hour when it was so decimated that it had to be reorganized with men from other corps.
What pictures the following titles call to mind: “A Reconnaissance in the Fog,” “The Aeroplane,” “Our First Engagement,” “‘We Have Taken a Picket Post,’” “The Attack,” “The Echelon,” “A Water Patrol”! No man who has lived at the front and has taken part in an attack will fail to recognize the accuracy of these narratives and to experience, as well, emotion, enthusiasm, and pride in having been among “those who were there.”
This record of adventure was very successful when it appeared in the Petit Parisien, and I feel sure that it will be successful in book form. I beg Sergeant-Major Georges Lafond to accept my hearty congratulations on his fine talent and his bravery.
Maurice Barrès,
of the French Academy.
CONTENTS
| Chapter | Page | |
| I | The Search for My Company | [1] |
| II | The Quartermaster’s Billets | [11] |
| III | The Echelon | [21] |
| IV | The Song of the Machine Gun | [31] |
| V | A Reconnaissance in the Fog | [47] |
| VI | Our First Engagement | [58] |
| VII | Easter Eggs | [71] |
| VIII | The Aeroplane | [89] |
| IX | Days in Cantonment | [103] |
| X | An Ordinary Fatigue Party | [122] |
| XI | With Music | [135] |
| XII | “We Have Taken a Picket Post” | [148] |
| XIII | A Night Convoy | [164] |
| XIV | The Songs of the Homeland | [175] |
| XV | A Water Patrol | [188] |
| XVI | A Commander | [199] |
| XVII | The Attack | [217] |
| XVIII | With Orders | [232] |
| XIX | A Wreath | [250] |
| XX | Discharged | [261] |