ir apparent success and promised victory. On they came,
apparently irresistible. We commenced firing, and I had the satisfaction
of seeing gaps blown in their ranks and many of them biting the dust.
Our poor little battery, however, feazed them but little.

And I want to say right at this time that the idea that seems to be
prevalent in the minds of many that the German is not a good fighting
man is a lamentable mistake; he is a good fighter. He has not perhaps
the initiative of the British, or the avalanche-like ardor in a charge
of the French soldier, but with his officers pressing him behind and in
mass formation, he is as formidable a foe as can be imagined.

Our ammunition was exhausted, not a shell remaining, and we grabbed our
rifles, retreating with the rest, and sniping and dropping as we fell
back. We took parts of the guns with us to prevent Fritz making use of
it, and threw them into a shell hole filled with water, as they were too
heavy to carry and manipulate our rifles at the same time, and that
ability was much more precious to us at that particular time than the
gun-parts. One of my chums had been wounded in the pit before we
retired, and was later taken prisoner, and two of my other chums were
killed in the general retreat. My pals with the other guns, forty feet
to our right, did not get all of their ammunition off before the Boches
were upon them, and they, too, died there; they were incinerated alive
in their little pit by smoke shells that started everything ablaze as
they exploded.

The retreat ended in Maple Copse Woods, where we established ourselves
and held the Germans, they resting at the edge of Sanctuary Woods. Under
orders, I and my partner started for Zillebeke, about 400 yards back
from Maple Copse, where we established an observation station, with the
necessary telephonic communication to headquarters, which, when done,
was taken in charge by a relief party from another battery, and I
returned to Belgian Gardens at 11:30 A.M., where I was put in charge of
another gun crew.

I thought I had done a fairly good morning's work and was hoping Fritz
would behave himself for the balance of the day, but my hope was a
delusion, for inside of half an hour Fritzie thought he would like to
see the scenery in Maple Copse, and came on for another try. Heavy
firing began, lasting about five minutes, and over they came again. We
opened up heavily with our battery of four guns, throwing a barrage in