Rendezvous.

We moved off after dark the following evening with the intention of making a wide circuit that would bring us out two miles east of the town.

The local company would provide twelve pick and crowbar men and eight shot gun men for it’s protecting party. In case of unforeseen trouble the curate’s house, two miles back was to be a rendezvous.

Coming off the hills we passed the Brickey canal and crossed several fields until we came to the Mount Odell demesne, now in the possession of a French community of nuns. After passing through the extensive demesne we made a wide sweep to the east arriving two hours afterwards at the pre-arranged meeting place on time and without incident.

The bridge proved to be a tougher proposition than we had bargained for and we had no explosives. The working party quite failed to make any appreciable dent in the solid structure which must have been over a hundred years old and very solidly built. The headlights of a night raiding party were now observed coming towards us from the direction of the town and it may have been out of frustration with the bridge and we decided to attack the troops on their return from their marauding expedition.

Impromptu night engagements are likely to have unforeseen results and this one proved to be no exception. In the general melee that followed most of our lads panicked and scattered. The main body of the military lost contact with their officers and retreated in the opposite direction. We destroyed the two enemy vehicles and took some prisoners whom we released. All but one.