Apart from the 400 dead found near our lines in our centre, our patrols afterwards discovered some 300 dead further out in front of our left, killed by our artillery.

Thursday, the 22d, saw a renewal of the pressure against us.  We succeeded, however, in holding our ground in nearly every quarter.

South of the Lys the enemy attacked from La Bassee, and gained Violaines and another point, but their effort against a third village was repulsed by artillery fire alone, the French and British guns working together very effectively.  On the north of the river it was a day of minor attacks against us, which were all beaten back.

The Germans advanced in the evening against our centre and left, and were again hurled back, though they gained some of our trenches in the latter quarter.  By this time the enemy had succeeded in bringing up several heavy howitzers, and our casualties were considerable.

On Friday, the 23d, all action south of the Lys on our right was confined to that of the artillery, several of the hostile batteries being silenced by our fire?  In the centre their infantry again endeavored to force their way forward, and were only repulsed after determined fighting, leaving many dead on the ground and several prisoners in our hands.  North of the Lys attacks at different points were repulsed.

On our left the 23d was a bad day for the Germans.  Advancing in our turn, we drove them from some of the trenches out of which they had turned us on the previous evening, captured 150 prisoners, and released some of our men whom they had taken.

As the Germans retreated our guns did great execution among them.

They afterwards made five desperate assaults on our trenches, advancing in mass and singing “Die Wacht am Rhein” as they came on.  Each assault was easily beaten back, our troops waiting until the enemy came to very close range before they opened fire with rifles and Maxims, causing terrible havoc in the solid masses.

During the fighting in this quarter on the night of the 22d and on the 23d the German losses were again extremely heavy.  We made over 600 prisoners during that time and picked up 1,500 dead, killed on the latter day alone.

Much of the slaughter was due to the point blank magazine fire of our men against the German assaults, while our field guns and howitzers, working in perfect combination, did their share when the enemy were repulsed.  As they fell back they were subjected to a shower of shrapnel.  When they sought shelter in villages or buildings they were shattered and driven out by high-explosive shells and then again caught by shrapnel as they came into the open.

The troops to suffer so severely were mostly of Twenty-third Corps, one of their new formations.

Certainly the way their advance was conducted showed a lack of training and faults in leading which the almost superhuman bravery of the soldiers could not counterbalance.  It was a holocaust.