That is the only time I have ever witnessed a scene of that kind under
those circumstances, and it is a rare occurrence indeed that one has the
privilege of seeing such a struggle with such a background.
We were now among the batteries; to the right and left of us the guns
had commenced speaking to the German roads, and the ammunition dumps
there, in retaliation for the destruction of our gun-food; the
anti-aircraft guns were also getting into the chorus, together with the
pom-poms, and the whole swelled into a mighty chorus of sound that
filled every crack and crevice in the air, making one feel as if he were
inhaling sound rather than ozone.
As we neared Pozieres a 9.02 howitzer gun on our left fired a shell that
exploded in the gun and blew the gun and crew in all directions. The
shell also started some ammunition going that was lying about and it was
under the greatest difficulty that the men, whose lives were not lost in
the first explosion, managed to get away. The men were trying to
manhandle the remainder of the guns of the battery and we jumped off our
horses, fastened them to an old wagon lying in the ditch, and headed
over to lend a hand.
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