Lewis war diary, August 1917-March 1919 / James Ray Lewis - Page 66
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[Page 66]
Moliens au Bois, (Moliens in the wood) Moliens in the mud would have been better for there was mud everywhere but little water to drink. I tramped all over the town trying to get tucker but it was of no avail for all the cafes and estaminets were closed, and it was deserted except for the ceasless traffic that came through on its road to the line, and churned the streets into mud. We were berthed in tents about a quarter of a mile from the village. The first night Fritz dropped a bomb which exploded harmlessly in a field, and one can see shrapnel bursting in the air after enemy craft.
At night the sky is constantly lit up by intermittent flashes, exactly like the far away lightning in the direction of the line. And one can hear a dull rumbling like distant thunder only sharper.
On the road up here we passed some Hindu and Annam labor companies, these are the most ragtime scarecrow lot one ever set eyes on and are the lowest class they are employed principally on building trenches behind the line. I noticed as we came here, that there were lines of newly constructed trenches all the way from Vignacourt they meant to stop him here for sure.
We went for a route march here