outposts, and sent patrols out to his right flank, where the Sherwood Foresters, delayed in Bellenglise, had not yet reached Lehaucourt.  They soon came up, however, and our right flank was secured.  In the centre “C” Company had even more shells and did not have the satisfaction of evicting any Boches.  They reached their objective and put outposts round the Mill and along a sunken road to connect with “A” Company.  The protective barrage was still in front of them, and through it, in the direction of Levergies, could be seen several German batteries limbering up.  One was quite close.  This was too much for C.S.M.  Angrave and Serjeant Tunks, who collected some twenty men and, regardless of the barrage, took advantage of the cover of a sunken road running East, and pushed forward.  They could not cross the open, but, using their rifles, drove off the gunners and killed the horses, so that the battery remained in our hands.  This very enterprising party then went on under Serjeant Tunks and had a look at Levergies, finally returning after it was dark.

Behind “C” Company, the Colonel and Adjutant after lying for some time in a small hole, and wondering whether they would be rolled on by one of our Tanks, or hit by the shells aimed at it, finally planted their flag outside a little dug-out on the N.E. corner of Magny Woods.  However, the Colonel would not rest here, but was off again at once to see how we had fared.  He first met Captain Banwell looking for a “success rocket”; this sounded satisfactory, and, as about the same time, Lieut.  Hawley appeared with “B” Company, and we once more had a “reserve,” all looked well.  On the left—­“D” Company (Corah), after chalking their names on a battery of deserted whizz-bangs, collected a Boche officer and some 50 men from a 4.2 gun battery without any trouble; hurrying on, they found some 20 others trying to blow up a 5.9 Howitzer in Fosse Wood, demonstrated that this could not be allowed and took them all prisoners; then, without further opposition, they dug in round the E. side of the wood and continued the line Northwards to the Divisional boundary.  After visiting these, the Colonel went off to look at the left flank, and here, except for an Australian Machine Gun Section under a Serjeant there was no one.  The Americans were not up to their objective, they had not even taken Etricourt, and for nearly a mile back our left was “in the air.”  Worse still, the Australian Serjeant had just been ordered to withdraw; the Colonel pointed out the situation, and the Serjeant, dying for an excuse to stay where he could see enemy to shoot at, called back his men and said “he’d stay as long as we wanted him.”  It was not very satisfactory, but we could do nothing else except pray hard for the arrival of the 32nd Division.  When the Colonel arrived back at Battalion Headquarters we thought at first that our casualties had been very light indeed, but it was not long before we got some bad news.  On our right flank the Tanks had suffered