"Just before daybreak, an engineer officer who was hopelessly rattled, ordered us to go into No Mans Land to bring back our wounded who were stranded. In the pitch of darkness, we got away as best we could. During the search, I was buried twice and thrown down several times - buried with dead and dying. The ground was covered with bodies in all stages of decay and mutilation, and I would, after struggling free from the earth, pick up a body. I tried to lift one out with me, it was a decayed corpse.. I pulled his head off - was covered with blood. The horror was indescribable. In the dim misty light of dawn, I ordered my men to go back and sent them off, mad with terror, on the right track for home. Two brave fellows stayed behind and helped me with the only unburied wounded man we could find." - 2nd Lt. John A. Raws, 23rd Australian Infantry BN, (AIF) Aug 8th, 1916, Somme, France