The seconds ticked away. I listened and listened for ages—twenty seconds by the watch—and nothing happened.
Finally I heard Schuyler’s voice over to the right, calling cautiously “Hey, Cap, isn’t it time yet?”
“Sure it is,” I replied irritably. “Turn ’em loose. It’s after the time now.”
The words were not out of my mouth before his rifle cracked and his voice rang out “First platoon, Fire.”
The shots began to ring out, singly, then a rattle as the other platoons took it up, each man firing a clip; then the rackety-split of the Chauchats. An instant’s lull as we reloaded, and then the command was “Forward!”
Then Hell broke loose.
The Germans had shortened their range. Their barrage dropped right on us. The company runners were behind me in single file, Slover at the rear. A shell burst behind us, killing him in his tracks before he took a step. We knew nothing of it at the time. We pushed across the field to our front, a field studded with stumps and full of underbrush. Shells were bursting all around; the air filled as if by magic with the stifling acrid smoke of high explosive. Several times the concussion of a close one nearly knocked me off my feet, and the fumes blew against my face like the blast from a furnace door. I wondered vaguely when I’d get it, and shouted “Come on, B Company,” until I was hoarse. Occasionally I heard Schuyler cheering on his men. You couldn’t see ten feet for the smoke.
At the far edge of the field we ran into a broad belt of barbed wire. We spread out, looking for a passage. Joe Levy called “Here’s a place, Captain,” and we struggled through; I was dragging a long French VB rifle after me. The wire was about 20 feet across.
We found ourselves at the bottom of a wooded slope, on a rough wagon track. Lt. Schuyler, with Sgt. Reid and a couple of men, had gotten through further along, and we started up the hill, sheltered somewhat from the shells, though they were bursting in the treetops overhead.
I dumped my pack and V. B. rifle by a tree and christened the place company headquarters. Then we went on up the hill. I got out my map and pencil to be sure this was our objective.