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[Page 37]
The Allied offensive was proceeding vigorously along the whole front, and although the fighting was severe in places, the enemy was retreating. The presence of the Americans in the struggle was becoming every day more apparent. My unit formed the second wave in this attack and followed the seventh Battalion "over" in the afternoon amidst a solid stream of lead from Fritz's machine gun out-posts. This was a running fight but sometimes during the four days advance of our troops his machine gunners were clever enough to 'hold" up", temporly, parts of our line, thereby covering the general retreat. Air fighting was going on continually night and day. Shelling from both sides was at its summit. The enemy abandonned many guns. Nobody now needed to have any doubt as to there being "a war on". It was "a glorious stunt". When we relieved I was so weary that I could have fallen asleep on post. I was not wounded in this battle but suffered much from nerve strain and slighty from gas-poisoning. Then we came back through the gas-drenched woods and out on to the road where the waiting Motor transport rushed us back through the night. Twenty kilometres back to Corbie to rest and recuperate the nerves, for only the booming of the big guns could be heard here. A few weeks later by easy stages the unit reached the "forward area".On the twenty third Aug. we "hopped over" at Saint