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But on the eighth day a veritable fury launched itself upon that section of the American-French front, in the shape of seemingly endless brigades of Boches that were hurled "over the top" of their own breastworks, across No Man's Land, and upon the first-line trenches of the Allies.
While waiting, they told me that I had fallen just within the first-line trenches, at a spot where a slight rise in ground hid me from sight of the enemy. Otherwise, they might have had a bad time rescuing me. My Spad was completely wrecked. It fell squarely into a trench, the wings breaking the force of the fall.
In their progress up that sector of the Ridge the windmill came after Pozières, as the ascent of the bare mountain peak comes after the reaches below the timber line. Pozières was beyond La Boisselle and Ovillers-la-Boisselle, from which the battle movement swung forward at the hinge of the point where the old first-line German fortifications had been broken on July 1st.
As the days of the bombardment passed, the air of expectancy was noticeable everywhere through the British army, commanded by Sir Douglas Haig. Finally the word was passed that the infantry was to make the assault early the next morning. Then, "at 7:20 A.M. the rapid-fire trench mortars added their shells to the deluge pouring upon the first-line German trenches.
This constituted the result of what was described as the great Anglo-French drive of the autumn, and the situation on the western front then settled down once more into a state of siege. The first-line trenches of the opposing forces along a wide-flung front were within a short distance of each other.
We stopped at a Head-quarters where a young officer of dragoons was to join us, and learned from him that we were to be allowed to visit some of the first-line trenches which we had looked out on from a high-perched observation post on our former visit to the Vosges.
Meanwhile, like furtive inhabitants of an infamous underworld, we remained hidden in our lairs in the daytime, waiting for night when we could creep out of our holes and go about our business under cover of darkness. Sleep is a luxury indulged in but rarely in the first-line trenches.
During the same night the Germans also directed a violent fire with artillery and mine throwers against Russian trenches in the region of the village of Novoselki, south of Krevo. At daybreak a German column in strength of about a company forced its way into first-line trenches near Novoselki, but as the outcome of a counterattack by Russian scouts was dislodged and driven back.
The second-line defenses were made ready to withstand an attack should the first line be beaten back, and, although it was not within the comprehension of German leaders that it could be possible, the third-line defenses also were made ready to repel the invaders. Between the German first-line trenches and the British front at this point the distance was something under half a mile.
To each division was also attached its own technical and administrative units, engineers, and supply column, and its total strength amounted to 23,000 officers and men of first-line troops. In addition to these five divisions of the First Ban, there was also a regiment of mountain artillery, made up of six batteries, six howitzer batteries and two battalions of fortress artillery.
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