“Where are they?” I demand of Lieutenant Friess as I move away from the field glasses mounted atop an outcrop of the observation trench within newly captured Fort Douaumont.
“I don’t see any.” He replies while looking through his field glasses less than a meter away.

The French are nowhere to be seen.

Behind me flows a trickle of broken men; Limbs, eyes, jaws, ears, hands, all missing. Instead of reserves coming up, we have casualties heading back.

We  should be attacking right now, while the French are in disarray. But how can I attack with this?