“While we were at work a number of Germans who had stopped behind, and
were hiding in shell holes, commenced a bombing attack on our right.
But they did not keep it up long, for they hoisted a white flag (a
handkerchief tied to a rifle), as a sign of surrender. I should think
we must have made about twenty prisoners. They were very frightened.
Some of them bunked into a sunken road or cutting which ran straight
out from the wood in a southerly direction, and huddled together,
with hands upraised. They began to empty their pockets and hand out
souvenirs—watches, compasses, cigars, pen-knives—to their captors, and
even wanted to shake hands with us! There was no other officer about
at the moment, so I had to find an escort to take the prisoners down.
Among the prisoners was a tall, distinguished-looking man, and I asked
him in my broken German whether he was an officer. ‘Ja! mein Herr!’
was the answer I got. ‘Sprechen sie English?’ ‘Jah!’ ‘Good,’ I said,
thankful that I didn’t have to rack my brains for any more German
words; ‘please tell your men that no harm will come to them if they
follow you quietly.’ He turned round and addressed his men, who seemed
to be very grateful that we were not going to kill them! I must say the
officer behaved with real soldierly dignity, and, not to be outdone in
politeness, I treated him with the same respect that he showed me. I
gave him an escort for himself and told off three or four men for the
remainder. I could not but rather admire his bearing, for he did not
show anything like the terror that his men did.
“I heard afterward that when Captain ——’s company rushed a trench
more to our right, round the corner of the wood, a German officer
surrendered in great style. He stood to attention, gave a clinking
salute, and said in perfect English, ‘Sir, myself, this other officer
and ten men are your prisoners.’ Captain —— said, ‘Right you are, old
chap!’ and they shook hands, the prisoners being led away immediately.
So you see there are certain amenities which are observed even on the
bloodiest of battlefields. I believe our prisoners were all Bavarians,
who are better mannered from all accounts than the Prussians. They
could thank their stars they had Irish chivalry to deal with.
“There were a great many German dead and wounded in the sunken road.
One of them was an officer. He was lying at the entrance to a dugout.
He was waving his arms about. I went over and spoke to him. He could
talk a little English. All he could say was, ‘Comrade, I die, I die.’
I asked him where he was hit and he said in the stomach. It was
impossible to move him, for our stretcher bearers had not yet come up,
so I got my servant to look for an overcoat to throw over him, as he
was suffering terribly from the cold. Whether or not he survived the
night I do not know.
“Our line was now extended across the sunken road and beyond the corner
of the wood to our right. Darkness was coming on. Airplanes were
hovering overhead, and shortly afterward our shells began to form a
barrage in front. The Germans had evidently rallied, for we could see a
long line of them coming up on our right, evidently from the direction
of Leuze Wood. Our machine guns opened fire. The counter-attack was
hung up, but the Germans must have dug themselves in for the night,
for in the morning they gave us a good deal of trouble.
[Illustration:
_Photo by Fairchild, New York._