The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915Various
History
The New York Times Current History of the European War, Vol 1, Issue 4, January 23, 1915
Various
World War, 1914-1918
A little later we made a painful discovery--Lieut. de Broqueville, our
gallant young leader, was missing. By some horrible mischance he had not
taken his place in either of the ambulances or the motor cars. None of
us had the least idea what had happened to him; we had all imagined that
he had scrambled up like the rest of us, after giving the order to get
away.
There was only one thing to do--to get back in search of him. Even in
the half hour since we had left the town Dixmude had burst into flames
and was a great blazing torch. If de Broqueville were left in that hell
he would not have a chance of life.
It was Mr. Gleeson and Mr. Ashmead-Bartlett who, with great gallantry,
volunteered to go back and search for our leader. They took the light
car and sped back toward the burning town. The ambulances went on with
their cargo of wounded, and Lady Dorothie Feilding and I were left alone
for a little time in one of the cars. We drove back along the road
toward Dixmude, and rescued another wounded man left in a wayside
cottage.
By this time there were five towns blazing in the darkness, and in spite
of the awful suspense which we were now suffering we could not help
staring at the fiendish splendor of that sight.
Dr. Munro joined us again, and after consultation we decided to get as
near to Dixmude as we could, in case our friends had to come out without
their car or had been wounded.
The German bombardment was now terrific. All the guns were concentrated
upon Dixmude and the surrounding trenches. In the darkness under a
stable wall I stood listening to the great crashes for an hour, when I
had not expected such a lease of life. Inside the stable soldiers were
sleeping in the straw, careless that at any moment a shell might burst
through upon them. The hour seemed a night; then we saw the gleam of
headlights, and an English voice called out.
Ashmead-Bartlett and Gleeson had come back. They had gone to the
entrance to Dixmude, but could get no further, owing to the flames and
shells. They, too, had waited for an hour, but had not found de
Broqueville. It seemed certain that he was dead; and, very sorrowfully,
as there was nothing to be done, we drove back to Furnes.
At the gate of the convent were some Belgian ambulances which had come
from another part of the front with their wounded. I helped to carry
one of them in, and strained my shoulders with the weight of the
stretcher. Another wounded man put his arm around my neck, and then,
with a dreadful cry, collapsed, so that I had to hold him in a strong
grip. A third man, horribly smashed about the head, walked almost
unaided into the operating room. Mr. Gleeson and I led him with just a
touch on his arm. This morning he lies dead on a little pile of straw in
a quiet corner of the courtyard.
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