hands and which posterity must needs finish. The white of the flag
of France, not quite so white as in time of peace since thousands
of her sons had taken it in their hands and pressed it to their lips
before they went forward to die for it, yet without stain, since in all
the record of the war there is no blot on the escutcheon of France.
And the blue of the flag of France, true blue, torn and tattered with
the marks of the bullets and the shrapnel, yet unfurling proudly in
the breeze whilst the very holes were patched by the blue of the
sky, since surely Heaven stands behind the flag of France."

The men of Verdun were full of admiration for the glorious
Commander of the Fort de Vaux. They told me that the fort was
held, or rather the ruins of the fort, until the Germans were actually
on the top and firing on the French beneath.

I discussed with my neighbour the fact that the Germans had more
hatred for us than for the French. He said the whole world would
ridicule the Germans for the manner in which they had exploited
the phrase "Gott strafe England," writing it even on the walls
anywhere and everywhere. He added laughingly that it should not
worry the English comrades. "When they read 'Gott strafe
England' all they needed to reply was 'Ypres, Ypres, Hurrah!'"




Poilu And Tommy