nine o'clock
But no complaint escaped from any man 's lips , for they all felt that at last they were going into action . Four hours of marching brought them into the neighborhood of the British heavy artillery concealed under branches broken from trees or in mud huts , directing their fire on the enemy 's lines by the aid of signals from lookouts far in advance or in the air . The noise of these big guns was terrific , but inspiring . At nine o'clock there was a halt of sufficient length to serve the men with coffee and bread , and then the march was resumed . By and by shells from the guns of the Allies began to shriek high over the heads of the marching men , and were replied to by the enemy shells humming and whining by , seeking out and endeavoring to silence the Allied artillery . Now and then one of these missiles would burst in the rear of the column , sending up a glare of flame and a cloud of dust and debris , but at what cost in life no one in the line knew . As the men advanced the mud grew deeper , the way narrower , the congestion greater .