eadly machine guns. Very few indeed survived
to tell the tale, but one prisoner claimed to be most indignant with
the whole proceedings, and expressed his opinion that we did not "play
the game" by withholding our fire, and that they imagined they had
only to walk into our trenches and take possession of them. This
proved to be the last big hostile counter-attack attempted, and indeed
both sides were content to remain in their own trenches. We made a
smaller attack the next week, but it was also unsuccessful, and little
or no ground was gained. The enemy artillery devoted themselves
principally to counter battery work, and several British batteries,
which were ill concealed, had a most unpleasant time. Free use was
made of lachrymatory shell, our first taste of it. One clear,
moonlight night the battery was firing at a slow rate, and apparently
the enemy saw our flashes, for he speedily turned a 4.2 battery on to
us, his shells landing just short of each gun pit. No casualties
resulted, but a shell entered the window of one detachment's billet
and exploded, completely wrecking the room and destroying the men's
equipment. Soon afterwards instructions were issued to change
positions, and this was effected without loss or mishap. The new
position was more favourably placed, some little way in front of the
Fosse at Annequin, and had been constructed by the French. We were now
covering the Hohenzollern Redoubt of evil memory. Another O.P. was
constructed on the railway embankment on the La Bassee-Vermelles line,
which lent itself favourably to the construction of a shaft for
protection, the soil, for the most part, being chalk, as indeed it was
in all the surrounding neighbourhood. It was our misfortune at this
position to say farewell to our Battery Commander, who left us to take
up a Staff appointment with the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, and
all ranks were sorry to lose a leader who had thus far shared all
their joys and sorrows. At the same time we were fortunate in (p. 014)
securing in his successor one who quickly and tactfully took up the
reins of office, and the Battery continued to run on equally smooth
lines.

It now became quite evident that operations would not resume the
nature of a battle, and it was no surprise to receive intimation that
the Division would shortly retire from the conflict. Nobody was sorry
at the prospect of going out, although useful lessons had been learnt
and considerable experi