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CANCAN 67
and it was for the infantry now to reap the fruits
of the artillery’s labours.
But the work of the artillery fire was not yet
finished. It had to cover the advance of the
infantry until they were close under the ramparts
of the fort, and to keep the defenders under such
a continuous fire that they would be prevented
from raising a rifle or levelling a gun against the
attacking force. For this purpose shrapnel is more
suitable than ordinary shell, bursting as it does in
the air above and in front of the enemy, and rain-
ing such a hailstorm of lead and steel that he has
to keep completely under cover.
We knew then that the infantry was about to
advance. Scanning the whole field of operations
in front of us through glasses, we could for long
see no signs of moving troops, though it was
evident where we should have to look and where
the main attack was going to take place. All
over the eastern section of the defences, from
Sungshuh to East Kikuan, shrapnel was bursting,
sending out little round woolly clouds of smoke,
which were swiftly carried away by the light breeze.
So violent was the bombardment that there was
not a moment the whole day long when at least one
of these small white clouds was not visible above
every fort in the whole section. But where one
shell was fired at another fort, at least three or
four were hurled against the North Kikuan fort
and the two Panlung forts nearly in front of us.
At times the smoke from the bursting shrapnel
leapt forth as regularly as the puffs of steam from
the exhaust pipe of an engine. There could not,
literally, be an inch of ground inside of these forts
which had not been hit by a shrapnel bullet. It
was evident, therefore, that here was the point
where the Japanese meant to strike in earnest.
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