In a former dispatch I commented upon the difficulties and drawbacks which the Winter weather in this climate imposes upon a vigorous offensive.  Early in March these difficulties became greatly lessened by the drying up of the country and by spells of brighter weather.

I do not propose in this dispatch to enter at length into the considerations which actuated me in deciding upon the plan, time, and place of my attack.  As mentioned above, the main attack was carried out by units of the First Army, supported by troops of the Second Army and the general reserve.  The object of the main attack was to be the capture of the village of Neuve Chapelle and the enemy’s position at that point, and the establishment of our line as far forward as possible to the east of that place.

The object, nature, and scope of the attack and the instructions for the conduct of the operations were communicated by me to Sir Douglas Haig in a secret memorandum, dated Feb. 19.

After describing the main topographical features of the battlefield and showing how the Germans had established a strong post with numerous machine guns among the big houses, behind walls and in orchards which flanked the approaches to the village, Sir John proceeds:

The battle opened at 7:30 o’clock the morning of the 10th of March by a powerful bombardment of the enemy’s position in Neuve Chapelle.  The artillery bombardment had been well prepared and was most effective, except on the extreme northern portion of the front of attack.

At 8:05 o’clock the Twenty-third and Twenty-fifth Brigades of the Eighth Division assaulted the German trenches on the northwest of the village.  At the same hour the Garhwal Brigade of the Meerut (British India) Division, which occupied a position to the south of Neuve Chapelle, assaulted the German trenches in its front.  The Garhwal Brigade and the Twenty-fifth Brigade carried the enemy’s lines of intrenchment, where the wire entanglements had been almost entirely swept away by our shrapnel fire.

The Twenty-third Brigade, however, on the northeast, was held up by wire entanglements which were not sufficiently cut.  At 8:05 o’clock the artillery was turned on Neuve Chapelle, and at 8:35 o’clock the advance of the infantry was continued.  The Twenty-fifth and the Garhwal Brigades pushed on eastward and northeastward, respectively, and succeeded in getting a foothold in the village.  The Twenty-third Brigade was still held up in front of the enemy’s wire entanglements, and could not progress.  Heavy losses were suffered, especially in the Middlesex Regiment and the Scottish Rifles.

The progress, however, of the Twenty-fifth Brigade into Neuve Chapelle immediately to the south of the Twenty-third Brigade had the effect of turning the southern flank of the enemy’s defenses in front of the Twenty-third Brigade.  This fact, combined with powerful artillery support, enabled the Twenty-third Brigade to get forward between 10 and 11 A.M., and by 11 o’clock the whole of the village of Neuve Chapelle and the roads leading northward and southwestward from the eastern end of that village were in our hands.