pted to
penetrate British trenches southwest of Wytschaete. The attackers
evidently expected that their heavy gunfire had demoralized the
defenders and looked for an easy victory, but they were speedily
repulsed with considerable losses. Another attempt made under cover of
a heavy bombardment to seize British advance posts to the north of
Ypres also met with disaster.

CHAPTER XVII

GERMAN ATTACK ON HILL 304--BRITISH SURPRISE ATTACK

Early in the morning of January 10, 1917, small detachments of British
troops attacked the German lines to the north of Beaumont-Hamel. For
some days rain and sleet had been falling almost continuously, and the
battle field in this section of the fighting area largely consisted of
swamps and miniature lakes. The British troops following the barrage
fire penetrated the German position on a front of 500 yards. The
Germans had sought refuge from the withering fire of the British guns
in their dugouts, which rain and snow and sleet had converted into
mudholes. The German soldiers were wet and cold and miserable, and
offered but slight resistance. Three officers, nine non-coms., and 109
men surrendered to the British--a larger number than the raiding party
contained.

In the afternoon of January 10, 1917, the British carried out a
successful raid east of Loos which resulted in the capture of a number
of prisoners. Throughout the day British guns pounded German positions
in the neighborhood of Les Boeufs and on both sides of the Ancre
Valley. Destructive bombardment of German trenches opposite Le Sars,
and battery positions in the neighborhood of Gommecourt, produced good
results.

On the following day, January 11, 1917, British troops successfully
attacked German positions to the north of Beaumont-Hamel. The action
had some local importance, for the Germans occupied high ground from
which they had observation of the British trenches.

The British attack was begun shortly before dawn in a dark and heavy
mist. As the first glimmer of morning light appeared the snow began to
fall, hiding with a white mantle the miry battle field, in which the
British troops sank ankle deep as they struggled forward floundering
here and there in old shell holes. The Germans had not recovered from
the nerve-shattering bombardment that had preceded the attack when the
British soldiers were upon them and over their dugouts before they
could bring their machine guns into play. The majority of the Germans