He fell on November 4 at the battle of
Audrechy, leading his men to the assault. A few days before his
death he wrote: "I always look upon this war as an expiation, and I am
proud to be a victim." And again: "Oh, how cold the rain is, and how
severe the weather I For our faith in France I have offered God to let
me be wet and soaked to the very bones."
The story of the Abbe Armand, in the 14th battalion of the Chasseurs
Alpins, is that of a hero. A simple man, he used to open his heart to
his rough comrades, and often in the trenches, under shell-fire, he
would recite the Psalms in a clear voice so that they could hear him.
On November 17, to the south of Ypres, his company was selected to
hold a dangerous position, swept by the heavy guns of the Germans
and near the enemy's trenches. All day until the evening the priest
and his comrades stayed there, raked by a hideous shell-fire. At last
nearly all the men were killed, and on his side of the emplacement the
Abbe Armand was left with two men alive. He signalled the fact to
those below by raising three fingers, but shortly afterwards a bullet
struck him so that he fell and another hit him in the stomach. It was
impossible to send help to him at the time, and he died half an hour
later on the tumulus surrounded by the dead bodies of his comrades.
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