CHAPTER XII

 Death of Corporal Trésignies

From the Account Given by First Sergeant¹-Major —— of the 2nd Regiment² of Unmounted Chasseurs.

On the 20th of August, the Belgian army, supported by the line of the Antwerp Forts, took position on the Rupel and the Nèthe. In front of it, the 3rd and 9th German Corps³ were quartered. On learning that violent fighting was going on on the Sambre and in the direction of Mons, a sortie was decided⁴ upon for the 25th and 26th of August. The 6th Division took Hofstade and the Schiplaeken Woods. The 1st and 5th Divisions took Sempst, Weerde, and Eppeghem; but, on the left wing, the 2nd Division could not gain the left bank of the Louvain canal and, in the centre, the 6th Division could not occupy Elewyt. The army, therefore, returned to the retrenched⁵ camp.

On the 26th of August, 1914, towards nine in the morning, a platoon of the 2nd Unmounted Chasseurs, under the command of First Sergeant-Major ---- occupied a trench⁶, constructed by the Germans, at Pont-Br?lé, on the south bank of the Willebroeck Canal. A continual rain of balls from the enemy's lines soon made the position impossible, even for our men who were firing as they lay on the ground. There was no retreat possible. It was necessary, therefore, at all costs, to cross the canal. There was a bridge only a few yards away, but its platform was[Pg 114] raised and the crank of the windlass was on the opposite bank.

The Sergeant attempted to construct a raft, but this was almost impossible, as the necessary material was lacking and the enemy's firing was too frequent and violent. He was compelled to give up this idea.

"A good swimmer who will volunteer to cross the canal!" he cried out.

"Present!" replied Private Trésignies, getting up from the ground.

"It is to go and lower the bridge, my boy."

"Right, Sergeant."

Quite tranquilly⁷, Trésignies wrote on a slip of paper the following words for his wife: "Adieu, it is for the King." He handed the message to his officer, slipped off his clothes, and sprang into the water.

Whilst he was swimming, the Sergeant called out to him: "Trésignies, in the name of the Colonel, I appoint you Corporal."

Trésignies smiled in answer to the words, crossed the canal, reached the other bank, climbed on to the abutment of the bridge, and seized the crank. He first turned it the wrong way, raising the bridge still higher, but, on seeing his mistake, he turned it the opposite way. The bridge slowly descended⁸. The man's tall figure stood out against the horizon, looking like an antique statue. The firing from all sides was now aimed at him. His thighs⁹ and his arms were hit. The blood spurted¹⁰ from his wounds and ran down his body. He continued turning, as though nothing had happened, determined¹¹ to accomplish his work of deliverance. He went on turning and turning until his heart was pierced and he fell down on the blue stone. After a few nervous twitches¹², his body re[Pg 115]mained still and lifeless, the head hanging down....

In remembrance of this hero, the Municipal Council of Antwerp decided that one of the streets of the capital should be named after Corporal Trésignies, and that a subscription¹³ should be opened for the benefit of his widow and two children.

1 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

2 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

3 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 retrenched   

v.紧缩开支( retrench的过去式和过去分词 )；削减（费用）；节省

参考例句：

• They retrenched by eliminating half the workers. 他们把人员减半以减少支出。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They retrenched by eliminating half of the workers. 他们藉剔除一半的工作人员来节约开支。 来自互联网

6 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

7 tranquilly   

adv. 宁静地

参考例句：

• He took up his brush and went tranquilly to work. 他拿起刷子，一声不响地干了起来。
• The evening was closing down tranquilly. 暮色正在静悄悄地笼罩下来。

8 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

9 thighs   

n.股，大腿( thigh的名词复数 )；食用的鸡（等的）腿

参考例句：

• He's gone to London for skin grafts on his thighs. 他去伦敦做大腿植皮手术了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The water came up to the fisherman's thighs. 水没到了渔夫的大腿。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 spurted   

（液体，火焰等）喷出，（使）涌出( spurt的过去式和过去分词 )； （短暂地）加速前进，冲刺

参考例句：

• Water spurted out of the hole. 水从小孔中喷出来。
• Their guns spurted fire. 他们的枪喷射出火焰。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 twitches   

n.（使）抽动， （使）颤动， （使）抽搐( twitch的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• No response, just a flutter of flanks and a few ear twitches. 没反应，只有胁腹和耳朵动了几下。 来自互联网
• BCEF(50,100 mg·kg~-1 ) could distinctly increase the head-twitch number in the 5-HTP induced head-twitches test. BCEF50、100mg·kg-1可明显增加5羟色胺酸诱导甩头小鼠的甩头次数。 来自互联网

13 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。