The dawn broke. The new boys crept from the mud. They scrambled to the barb wire. The met the men who had cycled through the trenches since September. They were no longer boys.
The Leutnant gave the order. They bolted under the barbed wire and toward the farm. Suddenly, the sky opened and thunder rained over the ground held by the French. Bella heard the distant noise. The Allies did not seem to expect the assault and were slow to respond. That gave the Germans time to run through no man’s land. Smiling, it seemed as if Bella would easily reach the farm.
Then, the machine gun fire began. Next, the flame throwers. They missed Bella. It was like he was invincible. Men around Bella began to fall. He picked them up one by one. Throwing them over his shoulders he carried them to the safety of the farm house, nestling them in the hay, like new-born foals. Then, Bella retreated, back to no man’s land. He carried one man after another back to safety. In all, Bella saved twenty men.
Then, the cannon fire started. It hurt his ears. Bella dodged artillery. Angry, Bella wanted it to stop. He picked up a machine gun, heaved it upon his shoulders, and ran toward the enemy. Running and firing, running and firing, Bella made the noise stop. He returned to the farm.
Men laid in the farm house in various states of exhaustion. Some were barely wounded, others, badly. When Bella entered the house, every man stood up and applauded. The Leutnant saluted. “You are the ideal German man.”