With the Franco-Belge Battalion 

(From the diary of H. Galli)

February 11. We assemble to march to the front. 
10 p. m. The orders are rapid and sharp. “No noise”. “In columns 
on the sides, of the road”. We quickly obey. 
Two groups of machine gunners have received an order from Head- 
quarters to put themselves at the disposal of a Spanish Battalion. They 
leave us, hurriedly shaking hands. It is explained to us that we will 
see the two machine gun groups in the morning and that they are 
only a provisional reinforcement for a Battalion that we are to relieve 
just before sunrise. 
We halt for rest. It is impossible to get silence now. Everyone 
wants to talk. The men talk in hurried, hushed voices, conversations, 
reminiscences, stories. But this does not last long. All are overcome 
by the exertions of the previous days and soon there is complete silence. 
4 a. m. Reveille. The dark morning is very cold. Cars are passing 
swiftly by along the road. 
Final preparations are made for action. Rifles, helmets, ammuni- 
tion, all are ready. So is every comrade. 
With our kit on our backs, our rifles slung over our shoulders, we 
advance cautiously. Very soon we move off the road into the fields of 
vines and olive groves which are to provide us with the natural cover 
we shall know how to use. 
From the left to the right, there is the British Battalion, then oursel- 
ves. On our right are the Dimitrov and Dumont Battalions. 
We are in contact with the enemy. It has started. The Dumont 
Battalion is in contact with the enemy too. The machine guns are firing 
fiercely. The Dimitrov Battalion is also in the fight. I can see comra- 
des running from one olive tree to the next, and already there are a few 
forms lying quite still. On the left there are two white houses on the 
top of a hill. The British are approaching the first one. I ask is it not 
a little reckless of them to run and even walk as they are doing over 

41