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IN THE REAR OF THE FOURTH ARMY 149
orderlies and despatch-riders who had followed their respective
superior officers so as to be at hand whenever wanted. All
these men seemed to enjoy the opportunity of getting to know
more than their comrades. They did not pay heed to the
greater danger of their position. Reminders of death were
not far to seek. Near by, two soldiers had been buried in the
shade of a small copse. Fresh wreaths were hanging on the
arms of the cross, suggesting that the brave men resting
beneath had but recently fallen victims to the French fire.
The solitary, insignificant little mounds were adorned with
the helmets of the fallen men.
On our return trip, for which we chose a more easterly route,
via the villages of Condé, Autry and Grandpré, we passed
four companies of Landsturm, headed by a spirited band.
It is an unusual thing to hear band music so near the front,
where all has to be as silent as possible and where usually the
only music is that of guns and rifles. The general drove past
the whole detachment and stopped ahead of it by the side of
the road. He then alighted, and we followed his example.
The whole detachment now marched past. When the first
company came up, he called out :
" Good morning, first
company," greeting the others in the same way and receiving
their salute. It was a fine and impressive sight to behold these
sturdy men, among whom more than one was nearing the age
of fifty.
And what a march-past ! It moved me strangely. It vividly
recalled to my recollection a troop of old Swedish territorials,
whom I saw many, many years ago. They were of a similar
stock, faithful in life, faithful in death—without reproach.
Their dark blue uniforms stood out in vivid contrast to the
rusty foliage of the trees. There was nothing lacking in the
equipment of this Landsturm battalion. It was a fine sight,
too, to see the General, with his look of determination blended
with kindness, his white moustache and his steel-grey hair
Erect and tall he stood, in his grey cloak, with his hands
behind his back. There had been no need for him to alight
and salute them, but it pleased his martial soul to look at these
men, who had left hearth and home, wife and children, to
bleed and die, but determined also to fight and conquer for
their country. " We are comrades," he thought, no doubt, as
the last man filed past, and the sound of the music died away
in the distance. And so we ran past the Landsturm battalion
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