I was asked to look up some places outside of the town
into which I could put some of the men and build new dugouts. I
selected several places along the banks of Hennebeke brook where the
ground was soft, and the shells would bury themselves and not explode,
and started the men digging the dugouts. The particular spot which the
Germans had chosen to shell that day was the "Cross Roads" and church
of St. Julien. All of the church was gone but a piece of the spire.
The graveyard in the rear of the church was torn all to pieces with
"coal-boxes," and the coffins and remains of dead civilians and
soldiers had been unearthed. These graves had already been carefully
repaired by our men under Pioneer Sergeant Lewis under heavy shell
fire. Some distance east of the church a line of fire trenches had
been cut. These were to be occupied in case of an attack. The shelling
continued all day. In the afternoon about four o'clock my adjutant
and I visited the supporting trenches and dugouts at the forward
lines. We had a chat with Major Marshall and some of the officers over
the telephone, and repeated the orders given to me, that if we were
attacked we were to hold the trenches till support came, for if we
gave any portion of them up we would have to take them back ourselves
with the bayonet.

Lieutenant Dansereau was returning with me about five o'clock to St.
Julien to see what progress had been made on our new dugouts, when a
very heavy cannonade and rifle fire broke out along the northeastern
face of the salient along the section held by the French troops. The
rifle fire seemed to grow heavier every minute and a strange yellow
haze grew over the distant line of the French trenches. I remarked
about the haze to the adjutant, and we both concluded that either the
French or Germans were using some new form of gunpowder that caused
the greenish haze.

For weeks we had become accustomed to heavy bursts of infantry fire,
but these bursts had usually died away. This seemed to continue longer
than usual. As we neared St. Julien I met Captain Alexander, and
ordered him to tell his men to get their rifles and ammunition and
"stand to." The Germans immediately began shelling our dugouts near
the church with "coal-boxes," and in a minute they had put a shell
into one of them and four men were killed. As I passed up the main
street I warned the men and told them to be in readiness to take their
places in the trenches in front of and at the