exquisite beauty. From the hedge of this fringe of orchard one sees
the Gommecourt position straight in front, with the Gommecourt salient
curving round on slightly rising ground, so as to enclose the left
flank.

At first sight the position is not remarkable. One sees, to the left,
a slight rise or swelling in the chalk, covered thickly with the
remains and stumps of noble trees, now mostly killed by shell-fire.
This swelling, which is covered with the remains of Gommecourt Park,
is the salient of the enemy position. The enemy trenches here jut out
into a narrow pointing finger to enclose and defend this slight rise.

Further to the right, this rise becomes a low, gentle heave in the
chalk, which stretches away to the south for some miles, becoming
lower and gentler in its slope as it proceeds. The battered woodland
which covers its higher end contains the few stumps and heaps of brick
that were once Gommecourt village. The lower end is without trees or
buildings.

This slight wooded rise and low, gentle heave in the chalk make up the
position of Gommecourt. It is nothing but a gentle rise above a gentle
valley. From a mile or two to the south of Gommecourt, this valley
appearance becomes more marked. If one looks northward from this point
the English lines seem to follow a slight rise parallel with the
other. The valley between the two heaves of chalk make the No Man's
Land or space between the enemy trenches and our own. The salient
shuts in the end of the valley and enfilades it.

The position has changed little since the attack of July 1. Then, as
now, Gommecourt was in ruins, and the trees of the wood were mostly
killed. Then, as now, the position looked terrible, even though its
slopes were gentle and its beauty not quite destroyed, even after two
years of war.

The position is immensely strong in itself, with a perfect glacis and
field of fire. Every invention of modern defensive war helped to make
it stronger. In front of it was the usual system of barbed wire,
stretched on iron supports, over a width of fifty yards. Behind the
wire was the system of the First Enemy Main Line, from which many
communication-trenches ran to the central fortress of the salient,
known as the Kern Redoubt, and to the Support or Guard Line. This
First Main Line, even now, after countless bombardments and nine
months of neglect, is a great and deep trench of immense strength. It
is from twelve to fifteen feet deep, very strongl