ng concrete machine gun
emplacements and belts of barbed wire, and its fall in one day was
remarkable.

Later in the day the companies went forward over the ground captured by
the other units in the Brigade, and one or two patrols were sent out. The
following evening the Battalion was withdrawn to a bivouac area outside
Croisilles, which vicinity was shelled by a 350 m.m. Krupp gun. The
Battalion was reorganised on a four-company basis once more the next day.

On the 7th September the Battalion proceeded, _via_ Hendicourt and
Riencourt, to a reserve position by Cagnicourt, and on the 10th the
Battalion furnished two companies for manning the Buissy Switch in the
rear of Inchy-en-Artois. Battalion headquarters were situated in the
Hindenburg Line and the two forward companies were just on the fringe of
Inchy, and accommodated in what had lately been the headquarters of the
115th Feldartillerie Regiment. The dugout was cut into the side of the
road and consisted of several well-timbered rooms and there were about
four entrances. This dugout was so well fitted that it actually contained
a pump, to ensure an adequate supply of water for the garrison.

On the 11th September there was an attack by other units in the 57th
Division in conjunction with the Guards Division on the east side of Inchy
and Moeuvres, so as to secure the line of the Canal du Nord. The attack
was covered by an intense bombardment of the enemy front positions and
Bourlon Wood, and the advance of the infantry was covered by smoke.
Officers from the Battalion observed the attack from Buissy Switch to note
where lay the enemy barrage lines. The attack at Inchy was, unfortunately,
a failure.

On the 12th the Battalion took over the defence of Inchy. The right
company was located in Grabburg Post, and the left in a shell crater
position by the Agache Springs. The other two companies were in support.
The conditions were bad, and the men in front had to lie in their shell
craters all day. As these generally contained water, the men got very wet.
The village was incessantly shelled and periodically drenched with gas.
Even night brought no respite and the guns still disgorged their fatal
missiles. Some idea of the intensity of the shell fire may be gained from
the following incident.

"A" Company headquarters and one platoon were quartered in a long cellar
belonging to a factory. The cellar was divided into two compartments, and
of these only the one further