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72 WITH THE GERMAN ARMIES IN THE WEST
south, with the nearest mortar battery on the left and a field
artillery position on the right. Even the field artillery gunners
had dug trenches by the side of the guns, covered over with
boughs, straw and leaves, thus carefully rnasking themselves
from the French aviators.
From the car, which we left in line with the artillery posi-
tions, we walked some 800 metres in the direction of the
French fire. One has to imagine the infantry positions in
two approximately parallel lines, only a few hundred metres
distant from one another. Behind them come the artillery
positions, also generally speaking in parallel lines. Thus we
were now moving within the space situated between the
German artillery positions and the German infantry lines,
that is to say, the zone bombarded by the French artillery.
The risk was, therefore, fairly great, and we took such pre-
cautions as the ground allowed. Our objective was an observa-
tion post located on the crest of the rise, where a couple of
non-commissioned artillery officers stood immovable as if
nailed to the ground, by the side of their telescope mounted
on a tripod. They were observing the fire of the mortar
batteries and telephoned where the shells had struck and
the position of the hit in relation to the object aimed at.
It is from the reports of aviators and of advanced observation
posts and patrols of officers that the range is obtained and
the fire is directed.
On the lowest part of the slope we were fairly safe, as at
this point we were not visible from the French side. " Look
out for telephone wires," warned Matthiasz, who was leading
the way, as we passed the lines resting on the grass. When
we had reached the middle of the slope, where we were ex-
posed to view from several points on the French line, we
descended into a long communication trench, which led to
the vicinity of the post of observation. The trench was hardly
more than a metre deep and we had to walk almost double
in order not to be seen over its edge. The bottom was very
unpleasant. Owing to the sloping ground nearly all the water
had been drained off, but there was still enough to convert
the trench into a greyish blue bath of slime and mire, through
which we laboriously made our way with our boots sticking
in the mess, and now and again sinking down to the calves,
and this was not made pleasanter by some delightful relics
which the soldiers had left behind.
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