I am sure Captain Belton and Lieutenant Odell's book will be appreciated by a wide circle of readers in this country. A Canadian battalion and an American battalion must be close akin whether on the parade ground or in the battlefield. As these boys from Montreal, Toronto, and Winnipeg have done in France so will the boys do who hail from New York, Chicago, and the Far West. For that reason, and for many others quite as obvious, the appearance of this personal record of scenes and events in the Great War is peculiarly timely just now. I read the proofs at a sitting, and that, I know, is a certain test of the value of any book, be it grim fact or enticing fiction. Louis Tracy. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. How We Prepare for an Attack 13 II. The Attack 31 III. The Call of the Motherland 72 IV. We Move Forward 86 V. Hunting the Hun 101 VI. Trench Routine 127 VII. Behind the Lines 157 VIII. The Bull Ring 171 IX. The Red Cross and the Y.M.C.A. 190 X. Some Trench Songs 204 XI. Bits of War 214 XII. Towards a Bomb-Proof Job 247 XIII. Tips for Recruits 263 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Roadside scene on the British section of the Western front _Frontispiece_ Bringing up wire for a night working party 39 Going his last round at night. All is well in the support line 65 A dog used to carry messages in the trenches 121 A tank in action 143 Bayonet exercise at a training ground Somewhere in France 181 Releasing a pigeon with a message for help 243 How the tanks are parked in the tankdromes 255 HUNTING THE HUN CHAPTER I HOW WE PREPARE FOR AN ATTACK When we make an attack on the Boche, we don't double over No Man's Land with bayonets fixed, shouting and cheering and making a terrible din. To be sure, the bayonet plays an important part in this great war as a weapon of warfare, but it is only used when you get to close quarters. While a man has any cartridges left in his magazine, he is not likely to use the bayonet. A successful attack requires a great deal of preparation. Every detail has to be gone over very minutely, and every officer and man must know exactly what he has to do and be prepared to take all the chances and risks that go to make an attack successful.