behind our front line, where the infantry had installed
themselves.

The wagon lines were now well over late enemy territory, on the ground
where his batteries had been situated, and the mess was almost beyond
description. In some cases his positions were entirely obliterated,
which spoke volumes for the accuracy of the fire of our heavies,
directed by our gallant airmen, and if it had not been for the
quantities of ammunition and dead horses littered around, it would
have been impossible to have known that positions ever existed there.
Mine shafts had been entirely closed up by the explosion of the great
shells, and a conglomeration of huge craters marked their (p. 085)
locality. There was no rest for anyone these days, and no men were
called upon to perform more strenuous work than our little drivers,
whose untiring and never failing energy was worthy of the highest
praise and admiration: not only had they to care for their pair of
horses, but were incessantly on the go twixt gun positions, dumps, and
wagon lines under the most trying and difficult circumstances, and, at
the same time, the latter were changing positions frequently. However,
they never faltered or grumbled, and had always a cheery smile on
their faces, even when they returned in the middle of the night dead
beat. For days on end it was impossible to get out of one's clothes,
and sleep was almost an unknown quantity: however, what did it matter
as long as we continued to advance, and in spite of everything--this
was a long way better than the monotonous routine of trench warfare.
Everybody looked upon it in this light, and the excitement and never
ending novelty of the experiences under which we were living, carried
us on through thick and thin.

The corps on our left, meanwhile, had by a superhuman effort
penetrated the great Drocourt-Queant switch of the Hindenburg line,
and firmly maintained their grip on the ground to the east of it, and
all counter attacks made by the enemy, to dislodge them, proved
unavailing. The troops to the south had also effected good progress,
and the ill-fated town of Bapaume had again changed hands and passed
for the last time into the keeping of the Allies. Thus it came about
that the enemy troops, in spite of their very determined resistance in
the neighbourhood of Ecoust and Mory, found themselves in a most
perilous position, as the Dominion forces were now well in their rear,
and were carrying out a turning