Human lives were at stake.

The honour of our country was at stake.

The fate of civilization was at stake.
Far over the dark fields, I looked towards the German lines, and, now and then, in the distance I saw a flare-light appear for a moment and then die away.

Now and again, along our nine-mile front, I saw the flash of a gun and heard the distant report of a shell.

It looked as if the war had gone to sleep, but we knew that all along the line our trenches were bristling with energy and filled with men animated with one resolve, with one fierce determination.