The Wars

Robert is in France and is “in charge of this convoy” (69). Two years of fighting have “failed to dislodge” (69) the Germans from an unexceptional nearby ridge. The surrounding fields are nothing but mud: a contaminated, cloying mud that drowns and infects. It is a “shallow sea of stinking grey from end to end” (70). Robert is heading toward Wytsbrouk, an occupied town. There have been language problems with the locals. Robert tries and fails to appease one man, who mutters “maudit anglaise” (71) as he leaves.

Robert’s assigned assistant is Bulger Willie Poole. Unlike most Bulgers, Poole can actually play a bugle. The two of them pause in the road to allow the rest of the convoy to catch up in thick fog that smells of chlorine. A flock of crows bursts out from behind the fog. They feel something is wrong, so Robert sends a man back to search, telling him to use the bugle every fifty seconds. The sounds stop after a while; Robert and Poole discuss birds. The bugle sounds again, and Robert guides the man toward him through the fog using his voice. A different man appears—Levitt, the officer at the rear.