Yesterday evening, about 6, in the valley in which our reserves
     stood there was such a terrible cannonade that we saw nothing of
     the sky but a cloud of smoke.  We had few casualties.

Recently a pilot and observer of the Royal Flying Corps were forced by a breakage in their aeroplane to descend in the enemy’s lines.  The pilot managed to pancake his machine down to earth, and the two escaped into some thick under-growth in the woods.

The enemy came up and seized and smashed the machine, but did not search for our men with much zeal.  The latter lay hid till dark and then found their way to the Aisne, across which they swam, reaching camp in safety, but barefooted.

Numerous floating bridges have been thrown across the Aisne and some of the pontoon bridges have been repaired under fire.  On the 20th, Lieut. [name deleted] of the Third Signal Corps, Royal Engineers, was unfortunately drowned while attempting to swim across the river with a cable in order to open up fresh telegraphic communication on the north side.

Espionage is still carried on by the enemy to a considerable extent.  Recently the suspicions of some of the French troops were aroused by coming across a farm from which the horses had been removed.  After some search they discovered a telephone which was connected by an underground cable with the German lines, and the owner of the farm paid the penalty in the usual way in war for his treachery.

After some cases of village fighting which occurred earlier in the war it was reported by some of our officers that the Germans had attempted to approach to close quarters by forcing prisoners to march in front of them.  The Germans have recently repeated the same trick on a larger scale against the French, as is shown by the copy of an order printed below.  It is therein referred to as a ruse, but, if that term can be accepted, a distinctly illegal ruse.

“During a recent night attack,” the order reads, “the Germans drove a column of French prisoners in front of them.  This action is to be brought to the notice of all our troops (1) in order to put them on their guard against such a dastardly ruse; (2) in order that every soldier may know how the Germans treat their prisoners.  Our troops must not forget if they allow themselves to be taken prisoners the Germans will not fail to expose them to French bullets.”

Further evidence has now been collected of the misuse of the white flag and other signs of surrender.  During an action on the 17th, owing to this, one officer was shot.  During recent fighting, also, some German ambulance wagons advanced in order to collect the wounded.  An order to cease firing was consequently given to our guns, which were firing on this particular section of ground.  The German battery commanders at once took advantage of the lull in the action to climb up their observation ladders and on to a haystack to locate our guns, which soon afterward came under a far more accurate fire than any to which they had been subjected up to that time.