GAULLE Charles de. 4 L. A. S., 11, 17, 19 and 28 January 1915, to his mother Jeanne de Gaulle in Paris; 1 page in-12 in ink with address on verso (carte de Correspondance des Armées de la République), and 8, 2 and 1 pages in-8. Four letters from the front to his mother. Sector 137, 11 January. "We are here in a sea of mud, so there are quite a few sick. Quite a hard fight the day before yesterday in which the Regiment lost a few feathers (5 officers and 300 men). The Germans are well entrenched, but we'll get them anyway. Colonel Claudel has left command of the Regiment to take over a Brigade. We are commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Boudhors, to whom I remain deputy. Apart from that, everything's going well. This war has to end in our favour. 17th January. He is resting: "We needed it after three weeks in appalling mud and a battle in which we lost a few feathers. There are very few officers left in the Regiment, because in addition to those we lose in the fighting, more and more are falling ill, unable to stand this very hard existence, both physically and morally. [And yet, there's no denying it, we absolutely have to hold out. He thought "that General Joffre was going to take a decisive offensive all along the line, and we had no doubts about his success. But he hasn't done anything about it yet. A lot of detailed actions, always very bitter, it's true; but for reasons unknown to us, no overall action yet. What's more, the ground is in such a bad state, especially around here, that for the moment it's very difficult to carry out large-scale actions. But the mud will dry, and then we'll see. The Russians are currently experiencing similar and even greater difficulties along their entire front. But there too, all this will come to an end. Colonel Claudel, who had taken him on as a deputy, 'passed like a meteor [...] After the battle of 9th January when we attacked a very strongly entrenched enemy, without much result, I was proposed for a citation in the Army Order. But this citation has not yet appeared, because it takes at least a fortnight, - provided of course that it is awarded to me. As for my third stripe, I'll be patient. [...] If I go on living, the war will soon make it imperative to appoint very young people, because old people don't stay here. All this is of little general importance. It now seems likely to me that spring will bring new enemies to Germany and Austria. Doubtless Romania and Italy will decide to march. This would not be the end of the war, for we are dealing with an enemy so determined to throw his last man and his last penny into the balance. In any case, I have no desire whatsoever to see the Japanese land on our shores: it would be too humiliating! Besides, we don't need them as long as we take our courage in both hands and decide to make the supreme sacrifices to wrest the enemy from his positions and pursue him"... 19th January. "The snow is falling heavily today. We are indifferent to it, but we hope that it will bring a heavy frost so that we can get out of the appalling mud in which we are wading, to the great detriment of our offensive. He was 'Mentioned in the Divisional Order. I had rather hoped to be mentioned in the army order, but unfortunately the 33rd was attached to another corps for the battle of 9 January. As a result, that corps naturally gave us very little support, and only the officers killed by the enemy were mentioned in the army order for this affair. As it stands, I am nevertheless very grateful for this award"... 28th January. "I believe we are on the eve of very important military events. Let us see them come with calm and resolution. This time I believe we are talking about a vigorous offensive. Everything will go well. LNC, I, p. 129-133.