A mitrailleuse battery planted on top of this well- chosen ridge
Held the road for the Prussians and covered the direct approach to the bridge.
It was madness to dare the dense murder that spewed
from those ghastly machines. (Only those who have danced to its music can know
what the mitrailleuse means.) But the bridge on the Aisne was a menace; our
safety demanded its fall : " Engineers, — volunteers ! " In a body, the Royals
stood out at the call.
Death at best was the fate of that mission — to
their glory not one was dismayed. A party was chosen — and seven survived till the
powder was laid. And they died with their fuses unlighted. Another
detachment ! Again A sortie is made — all too vainly. The bridge still
commanded the Aisne.
We were fighting two foes — Time and Prussia — the moments were worth more than troops.
We must blow up the bridge. A lone soldier darts out from the Royals and swoops
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