“Few! Few!”
We jumped out of our trenches at the command “Fix bayonets, charge!” Only a few of them stood and faced our bayonets, and Lord have mercy on that few! They were actually torn or cut to pieces. Those that ran away halted when they got to the sky-line, and there put up their hands and the white flag. We followed them up, and brought back six machine quick-firers and 324 prisoners. Those we captured had plenty of money, but no food of any kind: Pte. W. McGillicuddy, Irish Guards.
“Hard Neck”
There were forty-nine of us out as an advance guard for the regiment, and we were fired on. Of course, we wanted a shot at them, and we advanced, thinking it was a patrol, but we were not long in finding out that it was a whole German brigade we were into. We had to make a fight and check them, and we fairly peppered them for a while. Then we retired with the Germans at our heels. We got down 700 yards off them, and gave them some more; but we had to retire as the bullets were falling like rain. Fancy 25,000—it was only our “hard neck” that got us out of it: Pte. A. Kenaway, 2nd Batt. Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
Thank Goodness!
Just as we were entering the place a shot rang out and our leading man went down, shot through the heart, so all we could do was to turn round and gallop for it, which we did. I can tell you there were bullets flying in all directions. We had another man hit through the thigh, and four horses—two shot dead and two wounded. One of them had four bullets in him and still galloped. We had to thank our lucky stars the Germans are such bad shots, or they would have got the lot of us; and we have had the same luck with their shell fire: Corpl. T. Askew, 3rd King’s Own Hussars.
The Great Retreat
In five days we retired from Mons to Noyon, a distance of about 130 miles, fighting day and night, with no proper meals. We had to live on the country. I ate nothing but fruit and turnips. At last I was hit by a piece of shrapnel, which has taken away the use of the toes of my right foot and fractured three or four small bones. At the time it simply felt like a scald, and I marched seven miles before I found my foot was bleeding. Whilst trying to close the men up I suffered a second accident to my foot, a wagon-wheel passing over it owing to a skid: Colour-Sergeant Barling.
Outnumbered
Our little lot was waiting for the Germans in a turnip field. We were lying down, and on they came. We let fly, and numbers of them went down. They cracked at us then with their machine guns, and did us a good deal of damage. We were obliged to retire, but there was an off-and-on fight for at least twelve hours. We would get cover and have a smack at ’em, and with their great numbers and our good shooting we did tumble them over. But, my goodness! the numbers did keep coming on, and we had to go back. We advanced and pushed them back, but we were outnumbered again. We fell back, and a crush of us got separated from the rest. There were about sixteen of us, and we found ourselves beyond the German lines: A Private of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.