Produced by Rick Niles, William Flis, and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team. OUT TO WIN THE STORY OF AMERICA IN FRANCE BY CONINGSBY DAWSON AUTHOR OF "THE GLORY OF THE TRENCHES," "CARRY ON: LETTERS IN WARTIME," ETC. NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD MCMXVIII Copyright, 1918, BY JOHN LANE COMPANY Press of J.J. Little & Ives Company New York, U.S.A. TO MY AMERICAN FRIENDS AND BROTHERS-IN-ARMS THIS FRANK APPRECIATION OF THEIR EFFORT IN FRANCE IS DEDICATED CONTENTS PAGE A PREFACE FOR FOOLS ONLY 9 "WE'VE GOT FOUR YEARS" 29 WAR AS A JOB 61 THE WAR OF COMPASSION 109 THE LAST WAR 196 A PREFACE FOR FOOLS ONLY I am not writing this preface for the conscious fool, but for his self-deceived brother who considers himself a very wise person. My hope is that some persons may recognise themselves and be provided with food for thought. They will usually be people who have contributed little to this war, except mean views and endless talk. Had they shared the sacrifice of it, they would have developed within themselves the faculty for a wider generosity. The extraordinary thing about generosity is its eagerness to recognise itself in others. You find these untravelled critics and mischief-makers on both sides of the Atlantic. In most cases they have no definite desire to work harm, but they have inherited cantankerous prejudices which date back to the American Revolution, and they lack the vision to perceive that this war, despite its horror and tragedy, is the God-given chance of centuries to re-unite the great Anglo-Saxon races of the world in a truer bond of kindness and kinship. If we miss this chance we are flinging in God's face His splendid recompense for our common heroism.