March 22, 1917
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Had several falls of snow during the day altho’ ‘twas not very cold. Took the day off for a tour round, the chief object being to see Bapaume. Set off about 9 a.m. and proceeded by the duckboard past Flers, a ruin, and the various posts passing through Ligny Thilly, also in ruins. Of course most men had moved up but large gangs were employed laying light railways and clearing and repairing the roads, a work which was proceeding at a good speed.
It was wonderful how any transport had got over the huns’ front line as it was ploughed up into a powder, still it was done altho’ one could see where various mules and horses had been bogged and shot. At times the limbers almost disappear from sight into shell holes, but with teams of 6 horses on the light vehicles and more on the heavy they are rushed through. We passed one huge mine crater about 60 ft. deep and 3 times as wide on the side of Bapaume road.
The road passing through Ligny Thilley was obstructed in two places by mine craters designed to prevent our transport getting through. After pausing here the road was good to Bapaume and pleasant fields met the eye. Bapaume itself was smashed to pieces, not one house was intact and the litter and rubbish was indescribable. Many ruins were still burning having been set alight before the enemy left. The Church was practically non-existent, likewise the station and all rails and even sleepers had been removed, a very thorough evacuation by the enemy.
Gangs of men were employed cleaning up the streets and making some of the ruins possible as billets for the men. Rather an interesting feature was the sight of various signs in German posted at strategic points and the number of men billeted in the various houses was also to be seen. Determined to see the country further on, I went on a further two miles and everywhere Fritz had burned and destroyed even to his dugouts.
All the cross roads were obliterated by huge mine craters to prevent our use of the roads, but otherwise the roads were good. The sight of fields lately under cultivation and splendid avenues of trees was a sight worth walking miles to see after our months of experience of nothing but mud and splintered woods. Was fortunate enough to see a German machine which had just been brought down with a Hun Prince in charge, it was one of the latest types, an albatross-werke.
Altogether I did about 16 miles in country just vacated by the enemy and can see plainly that apart from this front line he had a much better time than we did, we being forced to live in country destroyed by the fighting, while he has fallen back on to pleasant fields and pastures new. So far as I could see he left absolutely nothing of military value behind.