Der Fuehrer - Hitler's Rise to Power (1944) - Heiden

80 DER FUEHRERman was hit and couldn't go on, and the whole column was stuck. Thenwe had to lift the man out of the ditch. We kept on crawling until theditch stopped, then we were in the open field again. We ran fifteen ortwenty yards, then we came to a big pool of water. One after anotherwe, splashed into it, took cover, and caught our breath. But it was noplace to lie still. So we dashed out quick, and double-quick, to a forestthat lay about a hundred yards ahead of us. There we found each otherafter a while. But the woods were beginning to look pretty thin.By this time we had only a second sergeant commanding us: that wasSchmidt, a big tall splendid fellow. We crawled on our bellies to theedge of the woods. Over us the shells were howling and whistling,splintered tree trunks and branches flew around us. And then againgrenades crashed into the wood, hurling up clouds of stones, earth, androots, and stifling everything in a yellowish-green, stinking, sickeningvapor. We couldn't lie there forever, and if we were going to be killed, itwas better to be killed outside. Then our major came up. Again we wentforward. I jumped up and ran, as fast as I could, across meadows andturnip fields, jumping over ditches, over wire and living hedges. Then Iheard someone ahead of me shouting: 'Everybody in! Everybody inhere!' A long trench lay before me; a moment later I had jumped into it.Before me, behind me, to the left and right others followed. Beside mewere Wurttembergers, under me dead and wounded Englishmen.The Wurttembergers had stormed the trench before us. And now Iknew why I had landed so soft when I jumped in. Between 240 and 280yards to the left of us, there were still English trenches; to the right, theroad to Leceloire was still in their possession. An unbroken hail of ironwas whistling over our trench. Finally at ten o'clock, our artilleryopened up in the sector. One — two — three — five — and so on.Again and again a shell burst in the English trenches ahead of us. Thefellows swarmed out like ants, and then we rushed them. We ran intothe fields like lightning, and after bloody hand-to-hand fighting indifferent places, we threw them out of one trench after another. Many ofthem raised their hands. Those who wouldn't surrender were knockeddown. In this way we cleared trench after trench.At length we reached the main highway. To right and left of us was ayoung forest. Forward we went, straight into it! We