Gustav P. Capart

“ He turns over slowly and then his gun goes off, having, without doubt, unconsciously pulled the trigger.
Then it is this column of earth which falls showering and covering us with a rain of stones and pebbles, thumping the ground loudly——
And then comes the waking of battle; the stupor is over and a heavy fusillade breaks out along the whole line; machine-guns sputter, and the artillery fire becomes violent——
We are so close to the enemy trench that we hear the cries of the dying and wounded. ”

“ To be in this cursed city of Nieuport is not an enviable "visit at the seashore"—the enemy systematically persists in destroying it: the Casino, the villas and the approaches to the pier are completely torn to pieces. Can you imagine a woman in such a place?
Stories of woman, adventures of woman, anecdotes of woman, serve as topics of conversations. "When you haven't the object of your desires," said a profound philosopher, "you speak of it."
The conversation became general again, when, all at once, Lieutenant Divisia silenced us with a finger before him. ”

“ In going into Sap 13 again, I look up at the heavens. My brain is so tired that I seem to see a cortège of soldiers. Are they the Old Guard and our poilus, our brave poilus? Yes, decidedly, the Old Guard is feasting up there, the Old Guard of Austerlitz——
[86]
The earth, in this clear and luminous night, appears in bold relief and one sees between the torn tree trunks, arms reaching out of the ground, arms lifted to the German heaven, and our own dead fallen on this cursed soil of the Eparges—they seem to contemplate the great fête up there——
It is the morrow. ”

“ We arrive at the top of the Casino, when, suddenly, a whistling announces the arrival of a shell—explosion, smoke—a jagged piece of metal strikes him in the head and I see the man fall in front of me.
The acrid smoke gags me, but I am quickly at his side. He is dead: fractured skull—his face purple—mouth open—his brains strewn on the pavement——
That night while I am at dinner with my comrades, an orderly comes to say that there is someone outside who wishes to speak with me. ”

“ We are heartily received by our sapper-comrades.
At night we all go together into the first-line trench, where there are but few soldiers. It is very black without. Not a rifle shot, not the sound of a cannon. What a difference from the sector in Flanders!
We leave the trench and go over, crouching, into No Man's Land, advancing with great precaution through the tall grass. When a rocket flares from our lines or those of the enemy, we flatten with our faces to the ground and remain without the slightest movement. Then we advance again, holding our breath. ”

“ Night black—night without moon—rifle shots resound like in a cave—we can't see more than a yard in front of us. My friend and I must rejoin a squad of poilus at work.
We have taken a short cut and stumble into shell-holes. We bump into tree stumps—climb hills. Yes, we are lost. We retrace our steps—tired and hungry.
We fall against something—it's a mound! ”

“ The odor of ether and dressings, mingled with the smell of blood, sickens me——
I go outside from time to time, to see if my men have not come up. A company of Fusiliers are being relieved and they file past me. One hears the hurried shuffling of feet. Then an artillery duel starts up. It is very dark in the street. The lantern hanging there casts sinister shadows on the men. Intermittently the sky is brightened up by enemy star-shell. Their lines are less than a mile away.
A soldier passing says to his friend:
"Look, mon vieux, at the red lantern—one of Nieuport's brothels!" ”

“ At certain moments the machine rocked—it did not seem to be going ahead—then it recovered its nose.
"I do not see a place to put it!" Armengaud cried:
"Douaumont, Douaumont is ours!"
It did not matter to me, although we fell; it was perhaps death, but—Douaumont was ours!
The ground seemed to approach very rapidly; Major Armengaud guided his airplane toward a little prairie north of Dugny, bordered by two gullies. We landed easily on the ground, but our "cuckoo" broke a hidden telephone wire——
"Hein! what do you think about it, Capart?"
"What a spectacle—you're an ace, major!" ”

“ A poilu spontaneously took command of the column, his immediate superiors having been killed. The beasts reared and plunged, frightened by the flashes and explosions which succeeded each other rapidly. The men clinging to the bridles were killed on the spot before they could make a move!
A little soldier is lifted high by his frantic mule, which stands, straight up on its hind feet. He curses, he yells, while the timed shell churn the air with wailings like a dying child——
"I say you will not go back—at a time like this, you mules must not go back!" ”

“ Suddenly an explosion, flurry, smoke—right in their midst, les pauvres!
For some instants they all disappear in the cloud—but there is "horizon blue," crumpled bodies and a spinning helmet——
Finally the cloud clears away; there are still some men around him and the sergeant shouts again:
"Nom de Dieu! you laggards! Are you coming to-day or to-morrow!"
They hurry on, striding over the bodies of their comrades who have fallen——
Verdun and the Meuse, March 23rd, 1916. ”

“ The man who guides us is lost—he goes and comes, he makes us take wide detours, he is afraid and is nervous——
A large projectile falls at our side—the poilu is knocked down, giving vent to a raucous cry as he falls. I fall myself to my knees and feel the heat of blood which runs down my chest. My left hand rests on the body of the sapper and I am conscious of it covered with warm blood——
Poulet raises me up, giving me a drink of brandy. Stray bullets whistle around us——
I am only slightly wounded and take Poulet's arm to direct ourselves toward Fort Douaumont where I will have it dressed. ”

“ The sky is marvelous. There are vacant spaces of gilded light to our left—Verdun is somewhat in the haze. To the north the sky is clear—I see the most gorgeous spectacle that my eyes have ever beheld! The cannonade thunders and a thousand flashes burst from the mouths of our guns. Our exploding projectiles [163] form a regular and mobile parabola, marking the advance of our troops——
The enemy reacts but feebly and his barrage is laid down over our old lines. Shell-holes filled with water appear like cups brimming with molten gold! To the west the sky is reddish scarlet ”

“ Suddenly, over there, toward the German lines, a rifle shot broke the stillness of the night, followed by the well-known machine-gun serenade; immediately rockets, star shell and the artillery came to life——
Reymond rises, standing very stiff and straight.
"Ah, hang it! The poor devil must be shot to pieces——"
Our own cannon begin to mix in the fray. Reymond decides to send some men after the others. He is visibly concerned about our soldiers and is on the verge of going himself. ”

“ Redundant with vitality the several stories show a beautiful insight into the character of the French poilu, who, fighting for more than four years, remains unbroken in morale. Unpremeditatedly heroic, killing their adversaries clean, ever chivalrous, witty, smiling in the face of death and obscurity, these soldiers of France will go down in history as martyrs to a definite understanding between peoples. ”

“ Upon arriving at Calonne trench and descending toward Mesnil-sur-les-Côtes, I perceive Eparges on the right. With its mine craters, its smoke, this barren hill, tinted red, appears like a kind of Stromboli——
The road all the way to Longeau is simply exquisite. Eparges mill, demolished almost completely, and overgrown with grass already recalls the ruins of some ancient abbey.
I have traversed the length of the sector with a friend—it is very active to-day. The boches, at break of day, exploded four mines simultaneously. ”

“ Happiness is his who can relax completely after a rough day——
The post-sergeant arrives drenched, his package of letters and newspapers carefully wrapped. He seems ill at ease as if he finds himself in a palace.
"Ménard, give your friend a quart of pinard."
The paquet of letters for Captain Gunther is always very large. Many of them commence like this:
"I thank you from the bottom of my heart for having given us details of the death of our boy. We are proud of him."
Then there are others cheerful enough, others very sad. ”

“ Our artillery has done good work, the wire entanglements are fortunately destroyed.
We leap over more trenches and boyaux—From time to time our glance is arrested by German corpses around which occasionally some of our own have fallen——
Bullets sing in every direction—machine-gun nests we have passed sputter at us from behind. ”

“ We have climbed Eparges hill—we pass through the ruins of the village and they are silhouetted like Christmas eve decorations. The enemy is very near to us and it is drôle to think we have scaled the height to pass an evening, a real live pleasure party.
When we arrive finally at Captain Gunther's dugout, there are cries of joy—. All his staff assist us with the numerous packages. The brave Ménard, with his commanding presence, his flowing mustache and kindly eyes, spares no pains to see that we are settled.
Our dugout has become quite comfortable since the installation of electric lights. ”

“ A few men of the 16th and some stretcher-bearers are kneeling in the nave; others arrive one by one, helmet in hand, without noise——
Scarcely had the service commenced and the priest begun his chant for the dead, than German and French shells screaming, pass over the church, as if they were searching for each other in the air. ”

“ The road from Ornes, before Chaume Wood, has assumed a fantastic appearance! The trees are fallen and the branches are entangled——
The beautiful countryside has become chaotic following this avalanche of projectiles of the preceding days. The bombardment is always frightful. ”

“ The road will be yet long. France has her eyes on us! Our lives belong to her. We will be happy [84] to give them. If we are killed our children will be proud of us!"
In my turn, I speak to them of the Eparges—At this anniversary I feel the blood of my ancestors tingling in my veins, because I am a great grandson of a veteran of the First Empire.
I drink to Eparges, for each one of its letters is the beginning of a word representing the military virtues we must practice here:
Encouragement. ”

“ The oysters and champagne are the best. Oyster forks in this region made us all think—Ménard had a Prince Albert coat on over his uniform. Where did he get it? Mystery!
There is singing, laughing. They become grave when speaking of the comrades who are no more——
From time to time the ruffled form of one of our poilus passes out the door. They know we have not forgotten them. They carry a bottle, a pâté, or a box of cigars—and so the fête extends even to the advanced posts of the first line.
From the listening post to-morrow they will throw oyster shells at German heads. ”

“ Again we traveled over a space of 350 yards in a haze of fire and smoke——
A marmite fell a few steps away, covering us with dirt—I see my comrade stagger, struck on the head with a large mass. Fortunately it is only a ball of turf which knocks him violently to the ground——
He picks himself up, and in a ringing voice:
"Yes, if that one will not get me a vacation, now, you will not be very chic!"
Some hours later we reached Ornes, having had to go through the barrage at Chambrettes, and another, of 305's, on the cavernous road along Chaume Wood. ”

“ THE RELIGIOUS POILU, EPARGES.
December, 1915.
Accompanied by one of my poilus, I ran across the chaplain of the —— Regiment of Infantry, in front of the P. C. [19] of the colonel.
We are both in a sorry plight.
The preceding days have been such an accumulation of physical and moral misery, that I could not help but say to the priest:
"Father, I feel death hovering around me—hear my confession!"
"Confess you here? Do not think of it. You make your own hell on earth in the Eparges. I will pray for you. And you, poilu," he added, turning toward my sapper, "to what religion do you belong?" ”

“ In front, pointing into the starry heavens, the crest of Eparges——
Laboriously we climb the hill, stopping from time to time to get our breath. Only a few cannon and machine guns trouble the calm of the night.
At last we arrive close to Grenet's shelter, where several men formed a group along the embankment. ”

“ Poor young chap! He is unrecognizable. Can this be the happy little fellow of the night before?
On leaving the chapel, I notice that LeBlond is terribly affected and I say nothing to him. We arrive [89] at the dugout where our brave captain, covered with mud, sobs like a child for his lost friend——
Taking LeBlond by the arm, I say:
"Mon vieux, you are down-hearted—go with me along the whole first line—we have our dead to avenge! we must not weep for them——"
During the night LeBlond and I return to Verdun. ”

“ The mined spot is plainly visible—I see the German trench and the barbed-wire entanglement very well.
Farther to the right is the place where Guéneau and I had crouched the night before; I see the tall, yellow grass and the zig-zag path by which we had returned.
Two minutes——
My eyes do not leave the spot, where, in a few moments, human beings will be hurled in the air and disappear. They are our enemies, but one experiences that undefinable feeling that one is conscious of when [34] looking at the guillotine about to fall before you. ”

“ Everything passed very well at the beginning, the artillery preparation was perfect and at the given hour they went at it lively. The sappers captured in the mine twenty-two Germans, all very young, and an officer. They passed them rapidly back and it was at this moment enemy reaction was felt. Kuhn remained the last—the mine blew up—we saw him totter and fall on the parapet of the boche trench, among the partially cut barbed wire. Whether he was killed by the explosion of the mine or a German bullet no one knows—we were forced back and it was very late. ”

“ Lieutenant Ducoux with the Magpie "Anatole" in Malancourt-wood.
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Bullets whistle loudly and clip the earth around us—the leaves, the new and pretty leaves of the wood, flutter and fall in our midst like in the sad days of autumn——
Quiet comes again. A big German officer has the nerve to leap on the parapet of the trench very close to us, and shout:
"Well done, Seventh Engineers!"
His attitude seemed to imply: "You are in no danger now." He then jumps back quickly into his trench.
The wounded in due time are cared for and taken back——
Work is finished for the day! ”