being quartered in the miller's private house.

A wash, a shave and a meal worked wonders.

And so the journey was finished, and the Battalion found itself at
length in the theatre of operations.

* * * * *

I have tried in this chapter to give some idea of the ease and
smoothness with which this delicate operation of transportation was
carried out. The Battalions which composed the First Expeditionary Force
had been spread in small groups over the whole length and breadth of
Britain. They had been mobilised, embarked, piloted across the Channel
in the face of an undefeated enemy fleet, rested, and trained to their
various areas of concentration, to take their place by the side of their
French Allies.

All this was accomplished without a single hitch, and with a speed that
was astonishing. When the time comes for the inner history of the war to
be written, no doubt proper praise for these preliminary arrangements
will be given to those who so eminently deserve it.




CHAPTER II

CALM BEFORE THE STORM