In the fall of 1916 I was 19 and I had been in the War for two weeks fighting for King and country. I had been with Dodson company until they all but Roger and I, were wiped out. We were moved to Lord Remington’ s regiment, all within the span of three days. Its funny how one minute you're eating, and the next an artillery strike leaves you with pieces in your stew.

I had been near the French town of Alionse, in between the lorem forest and the Duero river. There had been a terrible fog that covered the area and visibility was poor. Lord Remington wanted to attack immediately before the Germans could move on us. I only knew one other person, Roger he was my friend since basic.  He wasn't much of a talker but he always had fags (cigarettes) on him so he was good to have around. Sargent Rose was a nosey one, he looked and reminded me of an old man with a leathery face. Isaacs was smug, he hated being around us.  He thought his Oxford mind was being wasted on the battlefield with idiots. Lieutenant Mills was the son of  a colonel. Which explained his rank after a month on the battlefield.

We had been waiting for the signal for an hour when it sounded, I ran for a minute before they ordered a retreat. I couldn't see a step in front of me. I walked for what seemed like hours, when I looked at my watch only fifteen minutes had passed. I didn't want to call out for fear of getting shot. I saw a figure and pointed my weapon at it but after a few steps I saw Roger and Mills. They had gotten lost too we searched for our trench for an hour but we only found Gibbs and Fred from the other unit. We saw Sgt. Rose and Isaacs huddled behind a heap of rocks and metal. As we got closer they pulled us in and said “ see that there? It's a hun trench and it's the only shelter we've seen so were going for it.” It seemed stupid but the tench was only a hundred meters long so we agreed. We creeped up slowly to the trench. But when we jumped over, there was no one, it was muddy and wet but well built. It was lonely and frightening, we proceeded to walk down the trench. At the the turn of the corner there was a German behind a huge machine gun. Only he didn't fire he took out a white flag and ran over. He hugged us and cried. Why didn't he fire? He said in a heavy accent “ zank you, got sent you! Vee neet to leev now ur you vill ent like them.” He pointed down trench where we saw bodies gunned by a hail of gunfire.

We all looked at them and Sgt. Rose asked, “ You killed them all ? ” “ ja”. We all looked at him in confusion. Sgt. Rose walked up to him and laughed, “ well we can’t kill a german hating german can we? ,” “ well tie him up!” He continued to yell, “Vee mast leev plees ve vill die.” Shut him up! “ yelled Mills. As Roger and I threw him in a dug out and tied him up there. That night we stayed in the trench until morning when we would move out. As we slept Gibbs kept watch, when we woke he wasn't there. We had to stay in that hellish place for another night until we found gibbs. On the second day there we had gone out for patrol as we got closer to the end we were hit by a thick fog we saw a shape in the distance Mills yelled at him “get on your knees and put your arms up or  we will fire.” The figure just stood there then he started to move or wriggle in place he didn't step forward or anything. It seemed weird until it started to scream in painfully gaged voice. Mills was startled, and shot him two times with his pistol. The figure kept standing as if the bullets did nothing Mills unloaded on him for five minutes. Still he was standing perfectly still. So mills went for the others while I kept watch. That was when the fog began to clear , I saw a familiar shape almost like a British uniform. As the fog cleared I looked in horror as the sun hit the mutilated body of Gibbs. He had gotten tangled in barbed wire the night before. When the others came they were shocked to find what I found and immediately took him down and put him on a small bench and covered him with a blanket. The fog having cleared, we left with our comrade’s body dragging him behind us in a sled we found. As we got about ten meters from the trench we heard a clicking noise, it was Roger and the German they had stepped on mines they stood there as we all watched. Suddenly the thick fog that had been plaguing us for days returned and we could not see them then boom!
I heard footsteps and called out for my mates I didn't hear from them, I walked a few steps in front of me to find Roger, or what was left of him. I wandered for a couple of hours until I found an abandoned machine gun nest I took shelter behind it. As Night fell I began to hear noises in the darkness I kept quiet believing they were enemies until I saw one pass I loaded the gun in case I had to. The next day all I heard was noises I had ran out of supplies and needed more I saw the sled where gibbs and most of the supplies were at. I grabbed the nearest gun and dashed to it as i got closer I saw the body was moving a got scared and aimed my gun at him. As I got closer I saw rats I got angry and kicked them off I saw a shadow I grabbed as much as i could, took the blanket off Gibbs  and ran, he wasn't going to need it anyway. When I got back to the nest it was still there but now it was yelling in the fog. That night there was one more, they just stood there sitting down occasionally around the sled, the next night there were two more. On the third night I was asleep when I was woken up by Gibbs and Roger I thought he was dead but I didn't question it they were my mates. I gave them rations and asked Roger, How he survived the blast?  He just smiled got up and turned to reveal half his face gone I smiled back and he walked into the darkness. I looked at Gibbs who was looking at me with a scorn look. I turned away and tried to get some sleep, but he whispered in my ear “ I'm cold give me back my blanket.” I jumped up but he was nowhere to be seen, I did see the shadows all four of them. Just looking at me the same way I was looking at them they had yellow eyes I got on the gun and fired until the belt was gone, I had mowed them down but one of them began to yell in pain. It was the most gruesome sound ever and I have never been able to forget it. The next day I there was an eerie silence no guns sounding in distance no shells, nothing. When I began to hear english I crawled to it as my legs had become weak. It was the 137th regiment  they put me on a stretcher as they carried me away I saw familiar faces in the mud they had been gunned down all of them.
At the field hospital the doctor said I had gotten hit by the blast and some shrapnel to my leg was lucky I didn't lose my Leg, Vision, or Hearing. I wouldn't regain it for at least another week he said, being the lone survivor of the attack I had to issue reports for the next month or so. I gave them what they wanted to hear, that the whole damn regiment was led into battle by lord remington and they died in glory while taking the trench how else do you explain an empty german trench. I was deemed unworthy for battle a week later, I was given a desk job by mills father now General. I never truly told him how his son died to none of their families.
I'm 97 years old now and have kept that with me this whole but I won't take it to the grave. I still only remember Roger with a mutilated face... and i'm sorry I never told you or your mother how he died until now.