A German, fat and heavy, fell halfway through the rafters, and a bayonet was poked into him as he stuck there. The whole ceiling gave way, and the Germans upstairs came downstairs, in a heap. They fought like wolves⁠—wild beasts⁠—with fear and rage. French and Germans clawed at one another’s throats, grabbed hold of noses, rolled over each other. The French sergeant told me he had his teeth into a German’s neck. The man was all over him, pinning his arms, trying to choke him. It was the French lieutenant who did most damage. He fired his last shot and smashed a German’s face with his empty revolver. Then he caught hold of the marble Venus by the legs and swung it above his head, in the old Berserker style, and laid out Germans like ninepins⁠ ⁠… The fellows in the basement surrendered.”