German escort and a brute of a lieutenant at Douai, and
finally sent to Crefeld, where they were again ill-treated, starved,
and left in tents with no covering--their greatcoats, and even their
tunics, having been taken away,--nothing to lie on except damp and
verminous straw, on muddy wet ground. Many men died of this treatment.
The officers were treated somewhat better, but very harshly, and were
never given enough to eat. Vandeleur's escape is "another story."

That day was a terrible day: Givenchy was bombarded heavily by the
Germans for hours, and rendered absolutely untenable. The Bedfords
held out there gallantly, and stuck to one end of the village whilst
the enemy was in possession of the other; but the heavy artillery was
too much for them, and after losing about sixty casualties, many of
them killed by falling houses, they gradually fell back to trenches in
rear of the village. Griffith (commanding) and Macready (Adjutant)
came to see me about 3 P.M., their clothes and faces a mass of white
dust and plaster, and explained the situation; but there was nothing
to be done, as we had no reserves, and had to stick it out as best we
could.

But by far the worst was what happened to the Dorsets. The account of
what happened was rather confused, but it appears that, depending on
their left being supported by the Bedfords at Givenchy, and their
right by the K.O.S.B.'s (13th Brigade) on the south side of the Canal,
they pushed forward for some distance and dug themselves roughly in,
after driving the Germans back. Then suddenly their front trench was
attacked from the left rear, and a heavy fire poured upon their men as
they retired on their supports. They were also shot down from the
embankment on the south of the Canal--from just where they had
expected the K.O.S.B.'s to be.

At one place about twenty Germans advanced and held up their hands.
The Dorsets then advanced to take their surrender, when suddenly the
twenty fell down flat, and about 100 more who had come close up under
cover of the incident opened a heavy fire on our men and killed a
lot. The battalion retired slowly, in admirable order, to Pont Fixe
and the trenches covering it, and put a big factory there in a state
of defence. But they had lost very heavily: thirteen officers killed
(including Pitt and Davidson), wounded (including Bols and Rathbone),
and missing; and 112 men killed and wounded, and 284 missing--most of
these, I fear, being killed, fo