nks making good progress
near the road and the canal, but their centre being held up. The Second
Royal Sussex Regiment was then sent forward, late in the afternoon, to
reinforce. The result was that the Germans were driven back far enough
to enable a somewhat broken line to be taken up, running from the
culvert on the railway, almost due south to the keep, and thence
southeast to the main road.

The French left near the road had also been attacked and driven back a
little, but not to so great an extent as the British right. Consequently
the French left was in advance of the British right, and exposed to a
possible flank attack from the north.

The Germans did not, however, persevere further in their attack.

The above-mentioned line was strengthened during the night, and the
First Guards Brigade, which had suffered severely, was withdrawn into
reserve and replaced by the Second Infantry Brigade.

While this was taking place another and equally severe attack was
delivered north of the canal against the village of Givenchy.

At 8:15 A.M., after a heavy artillery bombardment with high explosive
shells, the enemy's infantry advanced under the effective fire of our
artillery, which, however, was hampered by the constant interruption of
telephonic communication between the observers and batteries.
Nevertheless, our artillery fire, combined with that of the infantry in
the fire trenches, had the effect of driving the enemy from its original
direction of advance, with the result that his troops crowded together
on the northeast corner of the village and broke through into the centre
of the village as far as the keep, which had been previously put in a
state of defense.

[Illustration: The places underlined in the above map indicate the
points around La Bassee and southward to Arras, where part of the
British Expeditionary Force was heavily engaged.]

The Germans had lost heavily, and a well-timed local counter-attack,
delivered by the reserves of the Second Welsh Regiment and First South
Wales Borderers, and by a company of the First Royal Highlanders, (lent
by the First Brigade as a working party--this company was at work on the
keep at the time,) was completely successful, with the result that after
about an hour's street fighting all who had broken into the village were
either captured or killed, and the original line around the village was
re-established by noon.

South of the village, however, and close to the can