He was on picket duty when the attack
opened. "It was a little after midnight," he said "when the men ahead
suddenly fell back to report strange sounds and movements along the
front. The report had just been made when we heard a rustling in the
bushes near us. We challenged and, receiving no reply, fired into the
darkness. Immediately the enemy rushed upon us, but the sleeping camp
had been awakened by the firing, and our men quickly stood to arms. As
the heavy German guns began to thunder and the searchlights to play on
our position we gathered that a whole Army corps was about to be engaged
and, falling back upon the camp, we found our men ready. No sooner had
we reached the trenches than there rose out of the darkness in front of
us a long line of white faces. The Germans were upon us. 'Fire!' came
the order, and we sent a volley into them. They wavered, and dark
patches in their ranks showed that part of the white line had been
blotted out. But on they came again, the gaps filled up from behind. At
a hundred yards' range, the first line dropped to fix bayonets, the
second opened fire, and others followed. We kept on firing and we saw
their men go down in heaps, but finally they swarmed forward with the
bayonet and threw all their weight of numbers upon us. We gave them one
terrible volley, but nothing could have stopped the ferocious impetus of
their attack.
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