No flashlights could be used, and it was hard to escape being run over.

Yet to step off the boards meant to sink almost to your knees in mud.

The language that one heard at such times in the darkness was not quite fit for ears polite.

It is well that the horses were not able to understand the uncomplimentary speeches that were addressed to them.
There was a tremendous concentration of artillery in the back area.
The town of Anzin, on the bank of the river Scarpe, was filled with heavy batteries.

To ride through it was to run the risk of many unpleasant surprises from the sudden firing of big guns by the wayside.