Smoke—and Fire!
We got down a slope in some way, and thought we were practically safe. In fact, I stopped behind the rest to light my pipe, when suddenly from a wood on our right a terrible rifle and machine-gun fire opened; I couldn’t for the moment realize what had happened, but when I saw our chaps dropping (whether shot or taking cover I couldn’t then tell), I thought it was time for yours truly to drop, which I promptly did. I was, however, all on my own, down among some young cabbage plants, and I couldn’t see a soul. Bullets hit up the earth in my face, and the cabbage leaves were perforated in no time. I started to bang away at the enemy for all I was worth, and continued till I had only five cartridges left. I resolved to save these, and expected every moment for the enemy to charge. I am utterly unable to describe my feelings, but you can take it from me I thought my last moment had arrived. It seemed impossible I could be missed by that stream of Maxim fire, but at last, thank goodness! a British battery noticed our predicament. They galloped into position and fired from behind us. The noise of their first shell seemed like a voice from heaven, and as they got range and poured in more shells, the German fire slackened. Then I caught sight of some of our chaps racing for a ditch to my left. I made up my mind to chance it. I sprang up, grabbed my things, and raced for my life. I reached that ditch on the point of exhaustion and fell into a foot of mud and water. What a relief! One of our chaps had been shot dead in the ditch. With three or four others I crawled about two hundred yards till we gained the roadside and temporary safety: Sapper Clift, Royal Engineers.
“Punched!”
I felt as if someone had punched me in the back. A regular Jack Johnson it was, and I went flat on the ground. There I lay for about twelve hours. Then an officer came by and wanted to know where I was hit. I told him, and he said the best thing I could do was to lay there for a bit. Then I found that there was a man on each side of me, quite dead, so I felt quite comfortable with them. Night fell and I must have dozed off, for when I woke up it was stone dark, and I could hear the wounded Germans crying out in agony. I felt like it myself, for I had been lying on my stomach all the time, and it never stopped raining. I happened to raise my head, and I saw a large fire about 500 yards away, and I thought if I could get beside it I should feel better. I tried to get up, but I could not. In the end I had to crawl over the dead body on my right, and I crawled on my stomach for 500 yards till I came to the fire. When I got there I must have fainted, for when I came round it was just getting light. Then I heard voices. I called as much as I could, and they heard me. I saw it was the Northampton outpost. I had nearly gone off again when they picked me up. When they moved me I knew the bullet had gone through my lung. They took me to the hospital and dressed my wound: Pte. H. L. Hook, Royal Sussex Regiment.
[IX. CORNERS IN THE FIGHT]
Deeds
Above heroic, though in secret done,
And unrecorded left through many an age.