The German withdrawal was very slow, and we spent the next day having baths in Souastre.  On the 1st March we moved into the new front line, round the East edge of Gommecourt, while the Boche was still holding Pigeon Wood.  The enemy was very alert, as General H.M.  Campbell, the C.R.A., discovered; he went into the wood, thinking it unoccupied, and was chased out by a fat Boche throwing “potato mashers.”  In the evening the Headquarters moved into a German dug-out, but the enemy still occupied the “Z.”  The front line between there and Gommecourt was filled with deep dug-outs, all connected underground, so the Boche occupied one end, while 2nd Lieuts.  Banwell and Barrett sat in the other, of the same tunnel.  There were many booby traps, such as loose boards exploding a bomb when trodden on; trip wires at the bottom of dug-out steps bringing down the roof, and other such infernal machines.  We were warned of these, and had no casualties.

On the 2nd March we continued to press the enemy, having as our objective a circle 900 yards round Gommecourt Church. 2nd Lieut.  Corah was slightly wounded by a sniper, and one or two men were hit with splinters of bomb, but there were no serious casualties.  Our bombing parties were very vigorous, and in one case consumed the hot coffee and onions left by a party disturbed at breakfast.  In this bombing work, Serjeants A. Passmore, Cave and Meakin, Cpl.  Marshall, and L/Cpls.  Dawes and A. Carr all distinguished themselves.  Gommecourt wood was soon cleared, and by the evening we had gained the whole of the circular objective.  The next morning early the 8th Sherwood Foresters came up to relieve us, but, though the other Companies were relieved, “A” Company (Petch) refused to be.  They were busy chasing the Boche, and were quite annoyed when told that they must come away.  Relieved, we marched back to Souastre.

We stayed at Souastre until the 11th March, and then moved up once more to the line, taking over 2,600 yards of frontage from the la Brayelle Road to the Hannescamps-Monchy Road.  Our time in reserve had been spent almost entirely in lectures on the attack, and on lessons drawn from the enemy’s recent withdrawal from Gommecourt, and we had more than once been congratulated on our patrol work, which was excellent throughout this time.  Between Essarts and Monchy the Boche was still holding his original line, and though expected to retire at any time, he made no movement during the three days we stayed in the line.  On the 13th we were ordered, during the afternoon, to make certain that the enemy were still present, so 2nd Lieut.  T.H.  Ball marched up the Essarts Road with two platoons, until fire was opened on them from more than one direction, and the strength of the enemy was apparent.  That evening we were relieved by the Lothian and Border Horse, and marched on relief to Foncquevillers.  The same night, just before midnight, the Staffordshires made an attack on Bucquoy Graben, a strong Boche trench, and the outskirts of Bucquoy village.  It was very wet and dark, and the operation altogether most difficult, so that the Staffordshires, though they made a very gallant attack, lost heavily and gained little ground.