French breaks off short wher of a body pulls down and it; and then the knives come reason the Boche feared than anything living, and th saw in those woods unwound Germans who flung down when the Senegalese rushed, a their faces, and stood scream the death they could not look -in a lull, a long, grinning ser a cruel aquiline face, approach offered a brace of human e fresh, strung upon a thong. Americain! Voilà! Beaucoup s The hidden guns that fired on them were located with uncanny skill; they worked their automatic rifles forward on-bon! Désirez-vous? Boneach flank until the doomed emplacement was under a scissors fire; then they took up the matter with the bayonet, and slew with lion-like leaps and lunges and a shrill barbaric yapping. They took no prisoners. It was plain that they did not rely on rifle-fire or understand the powers of that arm-to them a rifle was merely something to stick a bayonet on-but with the bayonet they were terrible, and the skill of their rifle grenadiers and automatic-rifle men always carried them to close quarters without too great loss. They carried also a broad-bladed knife, razor sharp which disembowelled a man Later, on the last objective, t dignified Boche major of infar came at discretion out of a dee and spoke in careful English: " of you, Herr leutnant, to put trusty guard of your Americans tried! Ja! These black savage art of war most ignorant, they w us prave Germans in cold plo The Herr General Mangin, that a poignant string of gutturalsyou, Herr leutnant, der very Mangin, it is equal to fünf divis unser front!" Back with his own men again th breaks off short when the weigh ody pulls down and sidewise on then the knives come out. With the Boche feared them worse ything living, and the lieutenant those woods unwounded fighting s who flung down their rites e Senegalese rushed, and covered es, and stood screaming against And they could not look upon. ll, a long, grinning sergeant, with quiline face, approached him and brace of human ears, nicely ung upon a thong. "Bour a! Voilà! Beaucoup souvenir i Désirez-vous? Bon-!" n the last objective, there was a Boche major of Infantry, who scretion out of a deep dugout, In careful English: "Und I peg rleutnant, to put me under d of your Americans true-andThese black savages, of the ost ignorant, they would kill ermans in cold plood! eneral Mangin, that"-here tring of gutturals-"I tell utnant, der very name equal to fünf divisions on of to the gloomy woods? . . . Light through In a hollow just ahead of the ref The wood ended, and the attack burst artillery, directed by the planes line something was being dealt wi out into the rolling wheatland, where the dipped and swerved above the fight. sun shone in a cloudless sky and poppies shells crashed down and made a grew in the wheat. To the right, a great roaring murk of smoke and dust and paved road marched, between tall pop- ering flames of red and green. The lars, much battered. On the road two tenant, his report to the major motor-trucks burned fiercely, and dead spatched, and his company straight men lay around them. Across the road a out, along with men from other units group of stone farm-buildings had been a handful of Senegalese who had atta shelled into a smoking dust-heap, but themselves to him, ran an expert from the ruins a nest of never-die ma- along his waiting squads, and allowed chine-guns opened flanking fire. khaki lines checked and swirled around "Let's see it's July, an' in Texas the The mind to settle profoundly on break them, and there was a mounting crackle be havin' cantaloupes, and coffee, of rifle-fire . . . and the bayonets got in. eggs an' bacon an'The lines went forward to the low crest tenant Corbett, beside him, groaned beyond, where, astride the road, was the a man shot through the body, and Second L first objective; and the assault companies realized that he had been thinking alo halted here to reform. A few Boche Then Corbett seized his arm, and gasp shells howled over them, but the Boche "Lordy! Look atwas still pounding the wood, where the support battalions followed. The tanks debouched from the forest and went for ward the smoke and murk of it still hung lo The shelling forward had abated, b Inte the rolling country t could be seen. It w pageant wherein mov modern war. The tan lumbered in advance battle planes flew 1 ground, rowelling the B machine-gun fire. Th We been hearin' about this mass-formation stuff, an' now we gets a chance at it!" Then: "Aw, hell! Prisoners!" "The low-life bums, they all got their hands up!" "Lookit! One o' them tanks is ridin' herd over them-" It was the garrison of a strong point. The artillery had battered them, and when it lifted, and they had come out of their holes, they found a grace of agile tanks squatting over their defenses with one-pounders and machine-guns. They had very sensibly surrendered, en masse, and were now ambling through the attacking lines to the rear. The officers' whistles shrilled, and the attack went on. The woods fell away be platoons in column, Amer and Regulars, Senegalese an Legion of France, their rifles ward, and the sun on all th And behind the infantry, stra galloped with lean-muzzled on battery-artillery, over last with the rifles. On the attack hovered squadrons of Marines had seen the day goons and lancers, marked fr the sparkle and glitter of lance sabres. And forward through the Boche lines broke and his str crumbled; standing stubborn place; running in panic at and here and there attempting shar Then, without being very clear as to how they got there, the lieutenant and his company and a great many others were at the Vierzy ravine, in the cross-fire of the machine-guns that held it. The ravine was very deep and very precipitous and wooded. A sunken road led into it, and while the riflemen stalked the place cannily, a tank came up and disappeared down the sunken road. A terrific row of rifles and grenades arose, and a wild yelling. Running forward, the Marines observed that the tank was stalled, its guns not working; and a gray frantic mass of German infantry was swarming over it, prying at its plates with bayonets and firing into such open tank is that, when it is in you can fire without f friends inside. The aut especially enjoyed the seconds that followed. the farther slope of the with running Boches, and knelt or lay down at steadily and without ha passed the tank, a greasy man emerged head and inquired after a cigarette very many dead Germans and on its slope when they Wearily now, the down, they left the stone to to the right, in the path of t the 9th and 23d. On line they halted and prepared to a lonesome place. Very thi the assault companies; very support columns. the map, we're here. Turn machine-guns around-gues Thank God, we must have g their artillery, 'cept the heav exa "Lootenant, come up her sake! Lord, what a slew o Beyond rifle-shot, a strong g was advancing. There wer guns with it. It was not deplo intention was very evident. were thirty-odd Marines and a from one of the infantry regi body in sight, flanks or rear But to the rear, a clanging tering, and the thudding of hors "Graves, beat it back an' guns." Graves ran franticall his helmet. The guns halted in dust, and a gunner lieutenant t jaunty, immaculate. He dismo his beautiful pale-blue uniform gleaming boots and tiny jingli and saluted the sweating, unsha rine officer. He looked with his and he consulted his map, and smiled like a man who has ga heart's desire. He dashed back his guns, waving a signal. The guns wheeled around; the galloped back; there was a wh bustle behind each caisson, and t ners with a field telephone came r It all happened in seconds. The first - barked, clear and in |