Mark of the Lion: The Story of Capt. Charles Upham, V.C. And Bar by Kenneth L. Sandford

Author:Kenneth L. Sandford [Sandford, Kenneth L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780143018643
Google: G9AnAAAACAAJ
Amazon: 0143018647
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 2002-12-31T20:00:00+00:00

There was bright moonlight over the field, but the night seemed dark. It was all silence, just the rhythmic chuffing of men’s boots against the sand and the stones, rifles held high, men walking forward with fear and hope in their hearts, wondering when the earth in front of them would awake and blaze. They were walking towards the enemy, to punch the hole right through the line, to make the gap through which the New Zealand Division must escape.

The fabled spirit that exists between soldiers is born at times like this; not in the frenzy of the encounter, in the violence of the battle, but in the moments when men walk together into danger, steady and deliberate, each man alone, but bound together in some invisible way with his neighbour walking forward a few yards to his right or left.

They walked 200 yards … 500 … 1000 yards. And still no sign of the enemy.

Then a single shot came … another … and in a moment the whole front erupted into flame.

Ahead of the advancing troops a thick curtain of fire was flung up, the interlocking tracer forming an impenetrable screen. Would we still attempt to break through it? How many would succeed?

‘Any delay at this stage must have been fatal, but a most amazing and thrilling thing happened. To a man the whole brigade charged forward. No orders were given; no urging forward by officers and N.C.O.s. With shouting, cheering, and war-cries every man broke into a run as if he knew exactly what was expected of him.’

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