Mercer papers, 9 December 1917-19 June 1919 / Harold Mercer - Page 124
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[Page 124]
May 29th
French headquarters are at St Marie Cappel and we are there to see that our boys do not intrude. The business is done with side-arms only; and in two hours tour of duty on picquet; so that it is easy enough. The Frenchmen here are very friendly and have fraternised with us – that is, the soldiers; some of the civilian population are more suspicious than friendly. Two excited men from a farmhouse near came searching for three fowls which had disappeared; & the sight of two feathers near our tents roused them to a frenzy; but the other feathers had been discretely buried. The fowls tasted very nice.
In the afternoon, while I was on post three French soldiers came along and asked excitedly "Have you heard the news, Dig-gare?" They said the Germans had been pushed back 3 miles, and had lost 10000 prisoners in the Chateau Thierry district. They joined hands & danced round me. Later, the women & children had flowers in their hair; everybody was smiling & laughing. The whole village was humming with excitement. The Germans have been pushed back eight miles & lost 25.000 prisoners. When the estaminets opened it was ten miles, and 40000 prisoners; and before they closed (which they did not do until long past the regulation hours) the word was that the whole bulge of the German push down south has been