ready described, others of a minor
character, yet involving much fierce and obstinate fighting, continued
during this period on the fronts of both the British armies. Our lines
were pushed forward wherever possible by means of local attacks and by
bombing and sapping, and the enemy was driven out of various forward
positions from which he might hamper our progress. By these means many
gains were made which, though small in themselves, in the aggregate
represented very considerable advances. In this way our line was brought
to the crest of the ridge above Martinpuich, and Pozieres Windmill and
the high ground north of the village were secured, and with them
observation over Martinpuich and Courcelette and the enemy's gun
positions in their neighborhood and around Le Sars. At a later date our
troops reached the defenses of Mouquet Farm, northwest of Pozieres, and
made progress in the enemy's trenches south of Thiepval. The enemy's
counter-attacks were incessant and frequently of great violence, but
they were made in vain and at heavy cost to him. The fierceness of the
fighting can be gathered from the fact that one regiment of the German
Guards Reserve Corps which had been in the Thiepval salient opposite
Mouquet Farm is known to have lost 1,400 men in fifteen days.

[Sidenote: A general attack.]

The first two days of September, 1916, on both army fronts were spent in
preparation for a more general attack, which the gradual progress made
during the preceding month had placed us in a position to undertake. Our
assault was delivered at 12 noon on September 3, 1916, on a front
extending from our extreme right to the third enemy trenches on the
right bank of the Ancre, north of Hamel. Our allies attacked
simultaneously on our right.

[Sidenote: Guillemont stormed.]

[Sidenote: Counterattacks on Guillemont.]

Guillemont was stormed and at once consolidated, and our troops pushed
on unchecked to Ginchy and the line of the road running south to Wedge
Wood. Ginchy was also seized, but here, in the afternoon, we were very
strongly counterattacked. For three days the tide of attack and
counterattack swayed backward and forward among the ruined houses of the
village, till, in the end, for three days more the greater part of it
remained in the enemy's possession. Three counterattacks made on the
evening of September 3, 1916, against our troops in Guillemont all
failed, with considerable loss to the enemy. We also gained ground