Part 146

to move away, +ab´reiten+; to the right, +nach rechts+.

= whilst the A. followed them (+ihr+, to agree with +Kavallerie+ in the fem. Sing.)

‘to press round’, here +seitwärts vor´dringen+; towards, +auf+; ‘of — infantry’ may be briefly expressed by ‘of the hostile Infantry’.

With — horses, +Durch die massenhafte Truppenbewegung+.

‘to obtain’, here +sich ... machen+; of what was going on, +von dem Verlaufe des Gefechts+, which place after the pron. +sich+.

in — glare, +mit blendend rotem Glanze+, which place before the verb, which stands?

+vor´dringen.+

until — enemy, +bis dieselbe den Blicken des Feindes ... entzogen war+.

Render ‘and — permit’ freely, and say ‘+und spornten dann ihre ermüdeten Pferde zum möglichst schnellen Trabe an+’.

+gedenken+; to — rear, +dem Feinde in den Rücken zu fallen+. The Impf. of the verb +gedenken+ stands, of course, after +fallen+, accord. to App. § 19.

+welches er zu seinen Truppen hegte.+

= in spite of the tired horses and the approaching (+heran´nahen+) night.

= in the possession of fresh horses.

+unbesonnen+, i.e. imprudent.

fighting powers, +Stärke+, f.; ‘men’, here = troops.

Section 175.

THE BATTLE OF KASSASSIN.

III.

Soon darkness came down rapidly upon us. The rattle and roar of combat on our left never ceased, and it was evident that the two thousand Infantry at Kassassin were hard pressed. Presently the moonlight streamed palely over the grey sand, but the clouds of dust obscured the advancing horsemen, who sometimes trotted, sometimes walked.

By about seven o’clock we had got in the rear of the firing, and wheeled in that direction, advancing very slowly to allow the Artillery to come up. We could see the flashes of the enemy’s artillery gleam on the horizon like the flicker of incessant summer lightning.

We slowly drew nearer to the scene of conflict. It was almost dark, but, unfortunately, we showed up a black mass against the bright moonlit sky and ground, and the sudden rush of shell through the air, followed by an explosion far in our rear, showed that the enemy had at last discovered us. They were about fifteen hundred yards away, and we saw nine flashes, one after another, at short intervals, spurt out, no longer like sheet lightning, but in angry jets of flame. Almost simultaneously the sky above us seemed to be torn in pieces as by (= through) a mighty hurricane. Shells screamed and burst, and shrapnel bullets tore up the sand on either side of us.

The brigade now moved to the right to disconcert their aim, and the next salvo of shell missed us. We moved quickly forward, and the gunners again saw us, and the shells burst over and around. Yet, strangely, but few were hit, though it seemed as if the storm would mow men and horses down by squadrons.

= Soon after (+darauf+) the darkness (+Dunkel+, n.) of the night descended (+hernie´dersteigen+) rapidly upon us.

= of the.

+zu.+

+Infanteristen.+

= Now streamed the pale moonlight, etc.

= concealed; horsemen, +Reiterei+, f. Sing.