March 30, 1917
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mud and yet more mud, the road gangs not yet showing up in the town. Went to see the local cemetery, rather a fine one and must contain over a thousand Germans. The men are buried in one section, well laid out, graves nicely kept and surrounding a French memorial built to commemorate the Franco-Prussian War. What irony!
The officers had a section to themselves, and most had good headstones. One very prominent grave was that of a German officer and was surmounted by a splendid monument plain but good, with the Iron Cross engraved, indeed several had the iron cross judging by the number of graves so marked. Very little damage had been done a few graves only having been disturbed by shells, a few bones and skulls being unearthed. Two French deputies who had been killed in the town hall were buried during the afternoon, a firing party of 200 Australians being provided and they both looked and acted well, looking well in comparison to the French soldiers present.
Our lads certainly take a lot of beating as soldiers. At night orders came through that all buildings had to be evacuated owing to mines and that all men should live out in tents, etc. for a period of 25 days. We could not see ourselves sleeping in the open so carried on as before. If they want us to sleep outside they will have to provide tents and that is how the matter stands so far as I am concerned.
The matter is serious, however, as more mines have gone off and a tunnel has been discovered running under our building which has many suspicious characteristics. It must have been a great bunk hole of the huns, as it contains about 100 beds, the tunnel itself probably dating back hundreds of years. A roadway blew up to-day well behind our lines, the reason being unknown, perhaps ‘twas a mine which failed to go off before, or else definitely timed to go off when it did.