xt day. The fighting was carried out
yard by yard. There was a certain post, Doleful Post, very valuable to
the Boche because it dominated the immediate neighbourhood. It was our
batteries' business to make it hellishly uncomfortable for him. At 10
A.M. the colonel, after a talk with Division, ordered the Brigade to
bring harassing fire to bear during the next twenty-four hours upon
Doleful Post and the valley running north-east from it. The three
18-pdr. batteries were to work in two-hour shifts, firing 50 rounds an
hour; the 4.5 how. battery was to fire 15 rounds per hour continuously.
Next day the infantry were to storm the post, and thus secure a
jumping-off spot for another forward leap.

With a more or less settled programme laid down--for twenty-four hours
at any rate--the colonel, Hubbard, and I devoted some thought to the
building of our headquarters. "It looks as if we were in for a spell of
trench warfare without the protection we were accustomed to in
trench-warfare days," observed the colonel. "There are no mined
dug-outs to hide in." The cook, a Scottish miner, had contrived a kind
of two-storied habitation in his little stretch of the bank; and he and
Manning and my servant felt themselves moderately safe. The colonel's
home--heavy "elephant" roof and wooden walls stuffed well into the
bank--being complete, the wheeler, the servants, Hubbard, and myself
put backs and forearms into the task of fashioning a similar shelter
for Hubbard and me. I, of course, could not stray far from the
telephone. The staff captain wanted to talk about new ammunition dumps
and gun-repairing workshops. Major Bullivant inquired whether he
couldn't be selected for the next gunnery course at Shoeburyness. Major
Veasey thought it time another captain relieved Drysdale as liaison
officer with the Infantry Brigade. And all the time there were routine
papers and returns to be looked through and signed.

"There's something that will do for the September War Diary," said the
colonel, putting in front of me a letter sent to him by the
brigadier-general commanding one of our Infantry brigades. It ran:--

"I am anxious that you and your officers and men should know how
grateful I and my battalion commanders are to you for the
excellent barrage you gave us yesterday morning (Sept. 18) under
such very difficult circumstances. They all realise that with
the moving of batteries, getting up the ammunition, and the
fr