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WITH THE FOURTH ARMY 165
on, the hero, dressed in his uniform and greatcoat, was carried
out to the httle churchyard outside the village.
Of course it was a depressing and melancholy experience
to stand beside so many death-beds. Every day numberless
men in the hey-day of youth were thus being gathered to
the eternal rest, in hospitals and trenches. But one gets
accustomed to such sights, as do the soldiers themselves, for it
does not seem to depress or frighten them in the least to see
their comrades die.
When a soldier sees his nearest neighbours fall, he does not
think : Next time it is my turn. On the contrary his train of
reflection seems to be like this : Yes, there they are, poor
chaps, but I am still on my feet and the gaps will soon be
filled. No need to lament over men who are dying for their
country and for the liberty and honour of their people.
Before we left the hospital, we had a look at some of the
identification discs carried by the German soldiers round the
neck, by the French round the wrist. One of the former
read :
" Res. i. R. 17. 6. K. No. 220," and one of the latter :
"Seine, 6, Bau [Bureau] 601," A third bore the somewhat
incomplete inscription :
" Leclerc, Alfred, 1902."
The party at dinner, which was served in the open air,
included the Commander of the Army, Duke Albrecht of
Wiirttemberg, his three sons and his staff, and a young Lieu-
tenant von Hindenburg, son of the famous Field-marshal.
On the return via Cernay, Condé and Challerange I had a
further opportunity of adding to my collection of photographs.
In the first-named village I took a couple of pictures of an
ammunition column, a few soldiers cooking their dinner in a
yard, and a company on the point of starting out and re-
ceiving their marching instructions. In the next village we
came across a fine-looking body of Landsturm, likewise formed
up to receive instructions regarding the work in hand, and a
parked food column with covered wagons and horses. The
most amusing sight was an ammunition column, the wagons
of which had been pulled right under the overhanging trees
on the fringe of the wood and were in addition covered over
with leafy branches, all to conceal them from observation
by French aviators. A field hospital had, if possible, masked
its vehicles still more skilfully, and had likewise established
itself under the trees by the roadside. The horses were not
to be seen anywhere. They had disappeared amongst the
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