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[Page 70]
if he attacked in mass, but there is a machine gun on our right that would give him pie. Right in front of us are some hangars & stone buildings in No Man's Land, much battered by shell fire. A listening party of 3 men went out to a post in front till daylight & patrols went out. You can see them standing out in front when a flare goes up, & it's wonderful how cool they are, though the chap's feelings who sees a flare going to fall about his head must be rotten. Friday 3rd May Here I am, writing this diary, leaning on the parapet in the frontline, on the Amiens front in France. Rather interesting book for that reason, eh? My fountain pen is a positive treasure. At 2.30 a.m. our guns opened on Fritz, Great Scot, they gave him rats, he replied, & wasn't there a din! We weren't touched, both sides' shells were going over our heads, but our company in support were getting some big brutes on their trench. It's unbelievable that in these advanced days, men should go through this. About daylight I could spot a Fritz's head in the distance, & had my first shot in France. Collins, near me, who has never seen war before, said he had never shot at a man before, but the temptation was too great, & he let 3 bullets go but that Fritz's wife isn't a widow yet. I had a sleep in the bottom of the yellow trench for 4 hours this morning. I've never felt so filthy