THE YPRES TIMES
6 7
odd men from my platoon in so-called shelters along here, and I wanted to make
sure that these people, who are apt to be forgotten at "stand-to," were all on the
alert. Just as I was getting to the last of these (point D in plan), there was a
sudden hissing sound, and a bright crimson glare over the crater turned the whole
scene red. As I looked I saw three or four distinct jets of flamelike a line of
powerful fire-hoses spraying fire instead of watershoot across my fire-trench (see
dotted lines in plan. How long this lasted it is impossible to sayprobably not more
than a minute, but the effect: was so stupefying that, for my own part, I was utterly
unable for some moments
to think collectedly. I re
member snatching a rifle
and making for point B,
when there was a terrific
explosion, and almost im
mediately afterwards one
of my men, with blood
running down his face,
stumbled into me, coming
from the direction of the
crater. He was followed
by one or two others,
most of them wounded.
The minenwerfer had
started, and such men as
had survived the liquid
fire were, in accordance
with orders, giving the
crater a wide berth.
Then broke out every
noise under heaven
"Minnie" and bombs in
our front trench, machine
guns from places un
seen, shrapnel over the
communication trenches,
and the open ground
between us and the sup
port line in Zouave Wood,
and high-explosive on the wood and its vicinity. It was impossible to get up the
trench towards the crater while men were coming down in driblets, so I got out
of the trench to the right of point C to try to get a better idea of the situation,
and was immediately hit. The first thing I saw was men jumping over the edge
of the crater into C Company's trench. It was still the grey light of dawn,
and for some moments I could not distinguish whether they were Boche or British
but, deciding soon that they must be Boche, I told the few survivors of my platoon,
who by that time had joined me, to open fire on them, which they promptly did.
At this point McAfee came up, followed by Scrimgeour, and we had a hurried
consultation. By this time the Boches were in my bit of trench as well, and we
saw that my handful couldn't get back into it. It was a death-trap to stay where
we were, under a shrapnel barrage, so McAfee reluctantly gave the order for me
to get the remnant of my platoon back to the support line. Less than a dozen
men of No. 2 Platoon were all that I could findthose who had faced the flame
attack were never seen againand we started back over the open, with the idea of
checking the enemy as we withdrew.
