And some lived.
How anyone could have lived through that barrage, God alone knows. But many did. Out of their dugouts they came—to fight as German veterans fight—always doing the unusual—lurking behind a bush—hidden in an old stump—always somewhere unexpected. Every foot of ground was disputed and yielded only for a terrific price. They met steel with steel—fire with fire. It was eye for eye, and life for life. For forty-seven days the battle raged, unabated. Boys reached the pinnacles of glory—boys went screaming into eternity—boys died like men. Twenty-nine combat divisions did the bulk of the fighting. One million two hundred thousand American troops participated. One hundred twenty thousand casualties was America's sacrifice. Such was te Argonne.
