The Dermott news., 1918-05-09

could look out of my shelter and see our support lines digging themselves in several hundred yards away, The cannon fire ceased. the machine guns settled down to sn occasional fitful burst and it was midday of beautlfa: spring day.
 \ couple of partridge flew over ne. What did they know or care about all this noise and racket and men getting up in line and killing each other?
 Along about three o'clock things be- gan to llven up again. In the mean time headquarters had been establish ed In sunken road with banks about fifteen feet high on either side Qater this cut was half filled with dead. My aid post was in dugout near by and gradually things got hotter and hotter.
 Our men ha1 dug themselves in and were popping away with their rifles. The field batteries behind us were putting up a barrage. airplanes were clrcllng overhead. both ours and the Germans. The Germans put up counter-barrage the machine guns were going like mad l was standing with the colonel on little rise of ground above the sunken road when the Germans broke through about mile to the north of us. They could he plainly seen pouring over the ridge i'll close formation.
 Tanks Get Into Action.
 Then the tanks came up and you should have seen them run Just like rahbitsl The tanks retired; the Boches reformed and came at 1t again. They tell me that at certain places our men withstood fifteen sue cessiye attacks md that the Germans went down In thousands. One Welsh man told me that his gun accounted for 75 in three minutes during one wave
 Machinegun bullets were nipping hotter. and even though 1t was won derful sight to watch 1 decided dis eretlon was the better part of valor." or something like that, and got down In my dugout.
 l was sitting there smoking c!g- arctic when my orderly came down and said I was being relieved and was to go back and work with the amhu- lance. Fifteen hours later the man that relieved me was captured. But am getting ahead of my story.
 went back to the advanced dress ing station through the hottest shell fire I ever experienced. More than once I went down on my face when a shell burst and the pieces went whiz- zing over my head. l spent the night in Il mined village where the advanced dressing station was located. and all night they shelled It to blazes. It was remarkable how few casualties we had
 About eleven o'clock the morning of the third day q shell blew in the side of our post. but luckily no one was hurt We stuck to it until about four in the afternoon. when We saw our men retiring over ridge in front of HS keeping up n continuous machine gun and rifle fire. and We beat IL back to another village and opened anoth- or post.
 Tho Begrlmed Lord.
 About ten o'clock on the morning of the fourth day Lord Thyme my col onel when was with the battalion. stumbled Into the shack where l was sitting. He looked like a ghost. He had lost his hat. hls face was covered with four days beard the sweat had traced tracks In the dust from his forehead to his chin Ills sleeve was torn and hloody and he had gaSh in his arm where he had been struck by n piece of flying shell ease,
 My God. doe are you heref" nc said You sot out just in time The battalion Is all gone. The sunken road k filled with dend-mostly Huns damn 'cm The line broke on the right: We were surrounded, and at tbe last we were fighting back and hack. Only thirty of LIS got away"
 Sa We knew the Boehe had broken through to our right and our left. and II Was question of how long lt would be before We. too. were surrounded hut We Wunted to stick 1t out as long as Me could.
 Hut not more than m hour later n medical officer rushed in from one of the hattallons and between gasps for breath told us the Germans were on the edge of the village. had shot him through the sleeve with Il machine gun bullet Clueklly that was alD. and for us to beat II.
 The ninth day, sitting around the fire fin our mess after the best dinner WE had had in days. the commanding officer handed me some papers and said. Here Is something that will in- tereSt you, Petit. I want to say we shall he sorry to lose you.
 And this Is what it was: Lieut.. Roswell T. Petit. NJ. R. C.. Is relieved from duty with the British army and will proceed to the A. F. F.. where he will report for duty"
 leave for Paris in the morning This has been n long tale. but the hnif