vidly describes the
battle of Neuve Chapelle:

"Modern warfare is such an infernal business that any man who is not
killed ought to be cheerful. It all seems like a wild dream to me.
I never heard such a row in all my life. And the bullets and the
shells--it was like passing through the most awful hail storm.

"We were in our trenches at dawn when suddenly a most infernal din
commenced. You never saw such a sight; you never heard such a noise. I
heard one of my men say, 'This is the end of the world,' and I did not
blame him for thinking so. We could see in the distance great masses of
flame, earth and brick in great clouds of smoke, all ascending together
as enormous shells screamed over our heads and burst among the German
entrenchments and the houses of the village. At the end of a half-hour's
bombardment the fire ceased as suddenly as it had begun.

"All this time we were awaiting the order to advance towards Aubers. At
length we jumped out into the open. The air seemed alive with bullets
and shells. There was a buzzing noise, such as you hear in a tropical
forest on a hot summer day. On we moved, until we came to an open
stretch, which was being swept by an infernal shell fire. We crossed
this in rushes to gain the shelter of a few houses, losing some 40 or
men. There we remained for some little time, reforming the battalion and
awaiting further orders. When these came we moved forward over rough,
open ground, coming upon lots of our poor fellows lying dead. They were
from the only battalion which had preceded us.

"Then we entered the German trenches which had been captured. Again we
halted. All this time our shells, German shells and rifle and machine
gun bullets were shrieking overhead.

"Thank goodness, in an action like this you seem to lose your senses!
A kind of elevation above all ordinary feelings comes over you and
you feel as though you were rushing through air. There is so much to
frighten you that you cease to be afraid. Then your senses gradually
come back. That is why all infantry attacks should be carried through
with one overwhelming rush."

GERMAN ADVANCE IN POLAND

On March 12 two German armies were on the move in Poland, seeking to
pierce the Russian lines. One of these armies was advancing along the
road to Przasnysz with the bank of the River Narew as its objective.
This was the main German attack and inaugurated one of the biggest
battles of the war.

Farther south, on the Pilica, a