. We are waiting for 'our' shell.

"If we had a communication trench we could escape--but there isn't one.
We reckon the distance: twenty-five yards away another direct hit.
Crash! only twenty yards. Fifteen yards! We have only five minutes to
live. Thoughts of God and home and parents rush through the mind; yet
they are only numb feelings. Crash! ten yards; one more and then comes
'ours.' But no, the next boom was in the trench behind, and in the same
manner that trench was cleared from end to end.

"'Lieutenant T. killed, Lieutenant K. takes command' was passed along.
We have hardly left the trench when bullets begin to whistle round our
heads. Man after man remains behind. At last night sinks and hides the
horrors of the day. I have lost my company and spend the night in the
open with a few others.

"The next morning the sun shone brightly; the morning wind blows coldly
over the furrows and over the dead. I have no words to describe what I
saw--but my heart bled! Near Paschendaal I found my company. Altogether
there are thirty of us--out of two hundred and fifty."

German war literature affords a complete picture of the transformation
of German contempt for the British army into profound respect. As
witness the following:

"It cannot be denied that the English have supported Joffre's offensive
with valour, strength and vigour. The battles which have raged since the
end of September on the front between Givenchy la Gobelle and
Armentieres, have confirmed the deadly seriousness of the English. And
if they have not obtained great successes, still, in this gigantic
grapple, they have displayed desperate courage which compels the
admiration of their opponents.

"The Commander of a division, with whom I spent the last few days, said
to me in a tone of deep conviction: 'Nobody must talk lightly of English
soldiers in my presence. Their bravery and the extraordinary courage of
English officers compels my admiration. Regimental commanders and staff
officers advanced in the first line of their troops. They fight and fall
by the side of their men. I saw several high officers killed myself.'
Besides, I have heard his Excellency's words confirmed by many of his
officers."[234]

[Footnote 234: Julius Hirsch; War Correspondent with the German Army, in
the _Fraenkischer Kurier_, October 22nd, 1915.]

In a previous work the author has expressed the opinion that Great
Britain must employ all her strength in this, the greatest