Wood. Every now and then as I walked, little puffs of dust would rise
from the road in front of me, showing that machine-gun bullets were
falling about. A cavalry patrol of three men, returning down the track
from the direction of the wood, came towards me, and, taking me for a
combatant officer, the corporal saluted and said, "That wood is very
heavily held by machine-guns, Sir, we have just made a reconnaissance."
"That's all right," I said, "I do not intend to take it just yet." I
was going up the track, wondering where I had got to, when I saw (p. 283)
a young officer of the 8th Battalion, followed by his men, coming
towards me. I went to him and told him that I had heard the wood was
very heavily held by machine-guns. He said he knew it and was going to
attack from the side, so I went with them and, as they lay on the
ground and got their Lewis guns in position, I pronounced the
benediction over them and then continued my journey up the railroad.
On the west side of the track at the top of the bank was a hedge. Here
I found the 14th Battalion waiting to follow up the 8th. A young
officer of the latter battalion was lying on the ground dying. He
dictated a farewell letter to his wife, which I afterwards gave to the
Adjutant. On the slope of ground down which the 8th had charged
towards the railway I saw many bodies of dead and wounded men, so I
went up to them to see what I could do. Several were dying, and I
found one poor fellow who had never been baptised; so I took some
water from my bottle and baptised him as he lay there. They would be
carried off when the stretcher-bearers could begin their work.

While I was attending to the wounded, I looked towards the wood at the
other side of the track. I was on a higher level, and so had a view of
the open country beyond, and there, to my astonishment, I saw the
Germans leaving their ambush and running away. I hurried down the hill
to the hedge and shouted out to the 14th Battalion that the Germans
were running away, and an officer came up to make sure. Then orders
were given to the men to charge and they crossed the track and took
possession of the wood. As soon as I had seen the wounded carried off
I followed after the troops, and there once more had the joy of
advancing over newly-won territory.

At a farmhouse a number of our men were gathered for a temporary rest,
and there I learned that the colonel of the 8th Battalion and a large
number of officers and men h