Enemy counterattack on Delville Wood.]

During the afternoon of July 18, 1916, the enemy developed his expected
counterattack against Delville Wood, after heavy preliminary shelling.
By sheer weight of numbers, and at very heavy cost, he forced his way
through the northern and northeastern portion of the wood and into the
northern half of Longueval, which our troops had cleared only that
morning. In the southeast corner of the wood he was held up by a gallant
defense, and further south three attacks on our positions in Waterlot
Farm failed.

[Sidenote: Progress bought by hard fighting.]

[Sidenote: Enemy in great strength.]

This enemy attack on Delville Wood marked the commencement of the long,
closely contested struggle which was not finally decided in our favor
till the fall of Guillemont on September 3, 1916, a decision which was
confirmed by the capture of Ginchy six days later. Considerable gains
were indeed made during this period, but progress was slow, and bought
only by hard fighting. A footing was established in High Wood on July
20, 1916, and our line linked up thence with Longueval. A subsequent
advance by the Fourth Army on July 23, 1916, on a wide front from
Guillemont to Pozieres found the enemy in great strength all along the
line, with machine guns and forward troops in shell holes and newly
constructed trenches well in front of his main defenses. Although ground
was won, the strength of the resistance experienced showed that the
hostile troops had recovered from their previous confusion sufficiently
to necessitate long and careful preparation before further successes on
any great scale could be secured.

[Sidenote: Two powerful counterattacks.]

An assault delivered simultaneously on this date by General Gough's army
against Pozieres gained considerable results, and by the morning of July
25, 1916, the whole of that village was carried, including the cemetery,
and important progress was made along the enemy's trenches to the
northeast. That evening, after heavy artillery preparation, the enemy
launched two more powerful counterattacks, the one directed against our
new position in and around High Wood and the other delivered from the
northwest of Delville Wood. Both attacks were completely broken up with
very heavy losses to the enemy.

[Sidenote: Delville Wood recovered.]

On July 27, 1916, the remainder of Delville Wood was recovered, and two
days later the northern portion of Longueval and