Chapter 6OCTOBER 1914, YPRES
The day before James had taken part in an attack, along with the rest of his battalion, with whom he was serving as an ordinary private, since his commission had not yet come through. The charge was a success in overall terms, and it would have been a resounding one, so far as James was concerned, were it not for the fact that he and his platoon had become separated from the rest of the battalion during the action.
This would not have constituted such a big problem in itself, had it not been for the fact that the Boche had left a little band of expert snipers behind to cover their retreat; and James and the rest of the men in his platoon had been forced to take refuge in a ditch, where they were being pinned back by enemy fire. They were all hungry and wet an
