IMPRESSIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF A FRENCH TROOPER, 1914-15 [Illustration: NIGHT CHARGE OF THE 22ND DRAGOONS, SEPT. 10-11, 1914.] [Illustration: MAP ILLUSTRATING THE ROUTE FOLLOWED BY THE 22ND REGIMENT OF DRAGOONS.] IMPRESSIONS AND EXPERIENCES OF A FRENCH TROOPER 1914-1915 BY CHRISTIAN MALLET [Illustration] NEW YORK E. P. DUTTON & COMPANY 1916 COPYRIGHT, 1916 BY E. P. DUTTON & CO. The Knickerbocker Press, New York In Memoriam TO MY CAPTAIN COUNT J. DE TARRAGON AND TO MY TWO COMRADES 2ND LIEUT. MAGRIN AND 2ND LIEUT. CLÈRE WITH WHOM MANY PAGES OF THIS BOOK ARE CONCERNED WHO FELL ALL THREE ON THE FIELD OF HONOUR IN DEFENCE OF THEIR COUNTRY “_Dragons que Rome eut pris pour des Légionnaires._” CONTENTS PAGE Frontispiece 9 The 22nd Regiment of Dragoons 11 CHAPTER I.—Mobilisation—Farewells—We leave Rheims 13 II.—Across the Border into Belgium—Life on Active Service from Day to Day—After the Germans had Passed through—The Retreat 26 III.—How we Crossed the German Lines—The Charge of Gilocourt—The Escape in the Forest of Compiègne 43 IV.—Verberie the Centre of the Rally—The Epic of a Young Girl—Mass in the Open Air—From Day to Day 74 V.—The Two Glorious Days of Staden 97 VI.—The Funeral of Lord Roberts—Nieuport-Ville—In the Trenches—Ypres and the Neighbouring Sectors—I Transfer to the Line 110 VII.—The Attack at Loos 144 Index 165 FRONTISPIECE