had only eleven cars
all told. We found the rest of the convoy after a hunt, but even then
were not told of the loss, and did not find it out until the next day.

We were finally, after twelve hours' ride, dumped in a big field and
after a few hours' rest started our march. It was hot as Hades and we
had had nothing to eat since the day before. We at last entered a
forest; troops seemed to converge on it from all points. We marched some
six miles in the forest, a finer one I have never seen--deer would
scamper ahead and we could have eaten one raw. At 10 that night without
food, we lay down in a pouring rain to sleep. Troops of all kinds passed
us in the night--a shadowy stream, over a half-million men. Some French
officers told us that they had never seen such concentration since
Verdun, if then.

The next day, the 18th of July, we marched ahead through a jam of
troops, trucks, etc., and came at last to a ration dump where we fell to
and ate our heads off for the first time in nearly two days. When we
left there, the men had bread stuck on their bayonets. I lugged a ham.
All were loaded down.

Here I passed one of Wass' lieutenants with his hand wounded. He was
pleased as Punch and told us the drive was on, the first we knew of it.
I then passed a few men of Hunt's company, bringing prisoners to the
rear. They had a colonel and his staff. They were well dressed, cleaned
and polished, but mighty glum looking.

We finally stopped at the far end of the forest near a dressing station,
where Holcomb again took command. This station had been a big fine stone
farm but was now a complete ruin--wounded and dead lay all about. Joe
Murray came by with his head all done up--his helmet had saved him. The
lines had gone on ahead so we were quite safe. Had a fine aero battle
right over us. The stunts that those planes did cannot be described by
me.

Late in the afternoon we advanced again. Our route lay over an open
field covered with dead.

We lay down on a hillside for the night near some captured German guns,
and until dark I watched the cavalry--some four thousand, come up and
take positions.

At 3.30 the next morning Sitz woke me up and said we were to attack. The
regiment was soon under way and we picked our way under cover of a gas
infested valley to a town where we got our final instructions and left
our packs. I wished Sumner good luck and parted.

We formed up in a sunken road on two sides of a valley that was
p