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[Page 19]
them & during a bombardment or barrage the din is deafening. The ammunition dumps are generally set alight by incendiary shells & the spectacle although grand is fearful, the flames creep around the shells & one by one they explode & destroy everything nearby. Gas shells play an important part especially with artillery, the new mustard gas being very effective & yet more humane than Phosgene. It burns the flesh even when the respirator protects the throat & eyes & having practically no smell men are often gassed without knowing it especially if they use a dugout which had previously been gassed. Time & again I have seen men report from battery for several days in succession having been gassed from the same source. Very few of the Field units escape casualties now-a-days, the back areas being shelled and bomb dropping increasing daily. Even when men are relieved from the line unless taken well back they are harassed