in
where the enemy was. At Denizy, a small village on the way, we were
told that a German general, with his staff, had received a severe
shock there the day before by an unexpected British shell dropping on
his headquarters whilst he was at luncheon. He had jumped up with a
yell and bolted up the hill, but was driven down again by another
shell which landed close by. He was reported to have died almost at
once, but whether from fright or not was not quite clear.

When near Germigny we espied a German column in the distance, and
shelled it heavily with the 61st howitzer battery attached to us
(Major Wilson), causing it to bolt in all directions. The 3rd Cavalry
Brigade now turned up in our front (Hubert Gough's), and with the 5th
(Chetwode's) hustled the enemy along. We were advanced guard again,
and it was difficult to get on, for the Divisional Commander kept
sending messages from behind asking me why the deuce I wasn't going
faster, whilst Gough was sending me protests from the front that I was
treading on his heels, and not giving him time to clear up the
situation!

We halted for some time the other side of Germigny, and then pushed on
to Gandelu, a large village in a cleft of the hills, from the heights
in front of which the German artillery might have made it extremely
unpleasant for us. But none were there, nor were there any at Chezy,
which would have made a perfect defensive position for them, with a
glacis-like slope in all directions.

On the other side of Gandelu, in the wood, we came across the first
signs of the German bolt. A broken motor-car was lying in the stream,
and dead horses and men were lying about, whilst every now and then we
passed two or three of our troopers with a dozen German prisoners in
tow.

As we moved up the steep hill towards Chezy, we came across packs,
rifles, and kit of all sorts flung away, broken-down waggons, more
dead Germans, and, at last, on a whole convoy of smashed waggons,
their contents mostly littered over the fields and road, and groups of
our horsemen beaming with joy. The 3rd Cavalry Brigade had rounded up
this convoy with their Horse Artillery, scuppered or bolted most of
the escort, and captured the rest. Besides this, they had attacked a
whole cavalry division and scattered it to the winds. Their first lot
of prisoners numbered 348, and their second 172.

We halted near the convoy for our usual ten minutes, and examined it
with much satisfaction. There were