t without mishap and collected
again short of Gommecourt, where we halted for a meal of bully and
biscuit. Eventually after passing through Gommecourt and Fonquevillers
we struggled on to Souastre, very footsore and completely worn out.

From March 23 onwards it had been one long strain, heavy marching most
days and, with few exceptions, sleepless nights. For myself I was a
very tramp, boots worn to pieces, clothes hanging with mud, and thick
with mud up to the eyes. Undoubtedly it was the most trying experience
physically that I have ever been through. At Souastre I called at rear
Battalion H.Q., where Capt. Herriott of B Company kindly lent me his
rubber boots and some clean socks, a great luxury and comfort. Then I
went on to the Officers' Hut at the battalion reserve camp, and was
able to lie down and sleep till well on into the next day. Souastre
was not a bad place to rest, for it was shelled only very occasionally
with long-range guns.

The following afternoon (April 4) Capt. Kirsopp came to see me and he
brought a motor-car. He wished to reconnoitre a 'battle O.P.,' i.e. a
place in the back area from which to observe enemy shelling of the
forward areas or enemy attacks on our line. I was told that things
were expected to happen next day; and I was instructed to find a post
where I could see what was going on, somewhere in the neighbourhood of
the Chateau de la Haie.

In the morning (April 5) I went with Corp. Walker and L.-C. Cowen to
the Bayencourt Ridge, south of the chateau, and we got into a small
trench. Things certainly were happening, for the enemy was scattering
his heavy high-velocity shells broadcast over the country. He seemed
to direct them chiefly against our battery positions and the roads and
trenches in rear of Fonquevillers and Sailly-au-Bois. The number of
these shells was unusually large; but later on towards 10 A.M. things
began to quieten down in the back area. What had happened was this.
The 37th Division with the assistance of tanks made a counter-attack
on Rossignol Wood. The Germans had prepared to make another of their
grand attacks that same morning. But it was anticipated by about half
an hour. The result was a fierce struggle in which we gained a little
ground and a certain number of prisoners. The German attack therefore
came to nothing, and this proved to be his last attempt of a serious
kind on our part of the front. Anxiety was not however, at an end for
many days to come.