t
line, orders came through for us to hold ourselves in readiness for a
quick and rapid retreat the following morning. All that night we had
Russian peasants, interpreters, etc., scouring the villages about us for
horses and carts to assist in our withdrawal. At 6:00 a. m. that morning
the withdrawal began. The god of war, had he witnessed this strange
sight that morning, must have recalled a similar sight a hundred years
and more prior to that, at Moscow, when the army of the great Napoleon
was scattered to the winds by the cavalry and infantry of the Russian
hordes. Three hundred and more of the ludicrous two-wheeled Russian
carts preceded us with the artillery, floundering, miring, and slipping
in the sticky, muddy roads. Following at their rear, came the tired,
worn and exhausted troops--unshaven, unkempt and with tattered
clothing. They were indeed a pitiful sight. All that day they marched
steadily on toward Ust Padenga. To add to the difficulty of the march, a
light snow had fallen which made the roads a mere quagmire. Late that
night we arrived at the position of Ust Padenga, which was to become our
winter quarters and where later so many of our brave men were to lay
down their lives in the snow and cold of the Russian forests.

With small delay for rest or recuperation we at once began preparation
for the defense of this position. Our main position and the artillery
were stationed in a small village called Netsvetyavskaya, situated on a
high bluff by the side of which meandered the Vaga River. In front of
this bluff flowed the Padenga River, a small tributary of the Vaga, and
at our right, all too close for safety, was located the forest. About
one thousand yards directly ahead of us was located the village of Ust
Padenga proper, which was garrisoned by a company of Russian soldiers.
To our right and about seventeen hundred yards ahead of us on another
bluff was located the village of Nijni Gora, to be the scene of fierce
fighting in the snow.

On the last day of October Company "A", which had been on this front for
some forty days without a relief, were relieved by Company "C" and a
battery of Canadian Artillery was also brought up to reinforce this
position.

All was now rather quiet on this front, but rumors more and more
definite were coming in daily that the Bolo was getting ready to launch
a big drive on this front. From the location of our troops here, several
hundred miles and more from our base on t