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[Page 140]
shakeing the dirt down on one when they fired. It was a calm evening and it was funny to watch the smoke rings from the guns floating up a couple of hundred feet, into the air before dissapating. The gullies here all run down to the Somme valley, and to stand on the top and look out over the country you would think it was flat, but it isn't; dead land admirable for hiding guns etc; this country was made for war.
We started on the trek again next morning his balloon was still keeping on the horizon At last we came to the trenches of the main line of 1915. Here a few shells were thrown at us and some artillery who were advancing too readily were thrown a bit into confusion. We stopped in the 1915 trenches all day and at night went and got our stew. The number of huge shellholes here is remarkable, light detonating H,E, was not know in those old days; now 1918 they have shells that blow to atoms the moment they touch the ground and leave hardly any hole. The shellholes are full of grass and it makes one think; this bloody holocaust has been going on for 4 years, where are the men who fought here 3 years ago how many are dead; one can't realize it. From here one could see the Peronne away in the distance and Mont St Quentin which one we were in formed was our objective. That night the 19th was to see, were the bridges firm and passable and we were to cross and attack. We advanced down toward the river at about 3 in the morning, but were ordered to turn back as the 19th had found the bridges impassable. Later we heard that