oon the news came back that, so far, everything was going well;
the village of Loos had already fallen into our hands. As the day wore
on, however, and the expected orders to advance were not forthcoming,
we suspected that all was not as it should be and our fears were
confirmed soon afterwards by instructions being given to prepare to
bivouac overnight on the ground close by. What actually happened was
this:--The initial attack was successful in capturing and overrunning
the enemy's front line trenches over the whole area, but, on advancing
to the second trench system a great deal of wire was found to have
been left unbroken or untouched by our artillery, and this held the
infantry up at vital places. The attack, however, was pressed with
great courage and determination, and in some places the flood of men
swept on, but, unfortunately, in others, little or no progress was
made. The line, consequently, soon presented a crooked, irregular
shape, which made the situation difficult and obscure. The enemy,
moreover, had anticipated the attack and had large reinforcements at
hand which were at once thrown in, and after a ding-dong struggle
throughout the day the advance came to an abrupt standstill. Two
Divisions from the Reserve Corps were then sent in, and, on the
following afternoon, the Guards attacked and helped to a large extent
in straightening out a considerable portion of the line. It was not
until nightfall of the third day that we entered the battle and took
up a position immediately north of Vermelles Station in the back
garden of a row of damaged villas. On our way "in," a couple of
cavalry regiments, which had been holding Loos for the last two days
and which had just been relieved, passed us. There passed also the
remnant of one of the Scottish Divisions which had fought so valiantly
and paid so heavy a price. Footsore, weary, and caked with mud from
top to toe, with every sign of what they had been through upon (p. 010)
them, and heavily laden with "souvenirs" in addition to their full
kit, the men could scarcely crawl along. However, just as one battalion
came abreast of us, in such condition, the pipes tuned up and at once
every head was erect and not a man was out of step as they swung past
us; such is the moral force of the bagpipes. It was one of those
moments in which a lump rises in the throat and a thrill runs down the
spine.

In our new position we speedily learnt what we could do and what we
co