Out here I have seen the finest and saddest sights of my life. You
see some amusing incidents as well. The Germans were shelling a field
opposite to us for an unknown reason, for there were only a few dead
cows there. Some of our chaps were getting walnuts, and the German
shells were knocking walnuts down and the men were picking them up.
During the first day of the battle here two of our companies were
acting as right-flank guard to the brigade, and we encountered the
Kaiser’s famous Prussian Guards. We were greatly outnumbered, and our
commanding officer told us that we killed five of theirs to one of
ours. They were finely built fellows and a great height: _Lance-Corpl.
J. Ryall, 1st King’s Royal Rifles_.