BOOK TWO LIVE ROUNDS
XIV. THE BACK OF THE FRONT XV. IN THE TRENCHES—AN OFF-DAY XVI. "DIRTY WORK AT THE CROSS-ROADS TO-NIGHT" XVII. THE NEW WARFARE XVIII. THE FRONT OF THE FRONT XIX. THE TRIVIAL ROUND XX. THE GATHERING OF THE EAGLES XXI. THE BATTLE OF THE SLAG-HEAPS
"K(1)"
_We do not deem ourselves A 1,
We have no past: we cut no dash:
Nor hope, when launched against the Hun,
To raise a more than moderate splash.
But yesterday, we said farewell
To plough; to pit; to dock; to mill.
For glory_? Drop it! _Why? Oh, well—
To have a slap at Kaiser Bill.
And now to-day has come along.
With rifle, haversack, and pack,
We're off, a hundred thousand strong.
And—some of us will not come back.
But all we ask, if that befall,
Is this. Within your hearts be writ
This single-line memorial_:—
He did his duty—and his bit!
NOTE
The reader is hereby cautioned against regarding this narrative as an official history of the Great War.
The following pages are merely a record of some of the personal adventures of a typical regiment of Kitchener's Army.