Читать книгу The War History of the 1st/ 4th Battalion, 1914-1918. The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment онлайн

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Captain G. C. Hutchinson, of the Lancashire Fusiliers, though severely wounded in the German wire, did capital work in this raid, as he continued to direct operations after being hit. Lance-Sergeant Russ and Private Bennett, of the same Battalion, assisted several wounded men back to our lines and later brought in Captain Hutchinson. Sergeant Entwistle, who brought back reports on the progress of the raid, returned to assist in carrying out the retirement, whilst Private Ward and another collected five wounded in a shell hole and brought them in one at a time under heavy machine gun and shell fire.

A Private who was with the party writes:—“Captain Gregson was there; I never saw him look better—he was always one of the smartest Officers in the Battalion, but he seemed to have been got up for the show with greater care than usual. The smoke lifted like a curtain. We were in full view of the Boche trench. We went on till within 50 yards of it and then he opened out with machine guns, rifles, and trench mortars. It was Hell let loose, but someone shouted ‘On the Kellys,’ and on we went, but were cut down like corn. The ‘Jerrys’ were two-deep in their trench, and we realised we were done.” Sixteen men answered the roll-call out of 76. “The worst part of a stunt is always after, when they have a roll-call. To stand there and listen to names being called and try to answer ‘He’s killed’—no one can picture it who hasn’t seen one.”