72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - waughfamily.ca

AMIENS.the usual assisting barrage. However, this important lackmattered not a whit to the Kilties. Their morale, alwayshigh, was at "concert pitch,"after the stirring events ofthe past two days, and every man felt himself equal toa dozen Boehes. Through the most intense machine gunand shell fire, they swept into the German positions, wherethe contest swayed for an instant as tartan and field-graystruggled for the mastery. A pause, and the flashing lineof bayonets lifted over the ruins of Maucourt and drovefor the next villageChilly.As the men of the 72nd topped the slight rise upon whichMaucourt stands, they encountered what was then an entirely novel means of resistance the point-blank fire offield guns. Heretofore shell-fire had been more or less animpersonal matter. Gunners thousands of yards in the rearhad pumped shells methodically into a given map-squarewith a comparatively tepid interest, and the troops hadbeen wont to take it in a similar manner. Now, as theBattalion swung over the ridge, two German field guns atChilly opened fire at a range of only 500 yards. As thelayers and loaders worked their guns one could plainly seethe flash of the sun on the brass cartridge-cases almosthear the snick of the closing breech-blocks, and then, asthe black muzzles leaped into tongues of flame well, asone of the men remarked: "theonly good point aboutthat stuff is that if it is going to hit you, you can t hearit coming" -a very doubtful consolation at the best.Despite desperate resistance along the Maucourt-Chillyroad, and the fact that the troops on the left flank wereheld up and unable to keep pace with the 72nd, the Battalion pushed on into the village of Chilly, and driving thegunners from their guns, captured the guns themselves.Routing the enemy from his old dugouts and trenches, theBattalion cleared Chilly of is defenders and pushed its wayto its allotted positions some 200 yards east of the village.By 2:30 p.m. consolidation was well under way, and "B"119