The front system was held by two companies, one on each side of the railway. A third company was in support round Hillside Farm, a prominent pill-box just below the crest on the west side of the ridge. The other company was in reserve in a number of shelters not far from Tyne Cottage. Battalion H.Q. was near Seine. Fortunately the enemy was not very active on this front. His artillery made good practice on and around the village of Passchendaele, a little further to the north, but comparatively little attention was paid to the Keerselaarhoek Sector. Probably he realised that an attack there was practically impossible for either side. Patrols which pushed out in the direction of Tiber Copse and along the Railway reported the ground impassable; sheets of water covered much of No Man’s Land, and where there was no water the mud was almost bottomless. The only route by which the opposing forces could come in contact was in the direction of Assyria, on the Keiberg Spur, and even there the ground was in an appalling condition. Only in the event of hard frost would an attack be possible anywhere. So, apart from harassing fire, there was little activity. Three days were considered a long enough spell for any troops to hold that line, so, on the night of December 10/11th, the 1/5th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt. came up to relieve, and the Battalion returned to Dragoon Camp. It was not much of a rest. The camp was, on the whole, comfortable, considering that it was to the east of Ypres. But nearly every man was required for working parties daily, and these were often in badly shelled areas. Rather to the surprise of everyone, the Battalion remained at Dragoon Camp for five days. The 1/5th Battalion had asked and been allowed to remain in the line for an extra two days, preferring to do this rather than have the fatigue and discomfort of going out and then coming in again for another tour. But every man was heartily sick of it by the time his five days were over. One point in connection with the relief is worthy of note. The advantages of the Zonnebeke Road, as a route to the line, had been so much praised by one officer of the Battalion that the Commanding Officer determined to try it. All went well until he was nearing Zonnebeke, and then, without any warning, a 5.9 burst in the middle of the road about seventy yards away. It was almost immediately followed by a second, which burst within ten yards of the party, luckily just off the road. That was enough! With one accord everyone made off straight across country as fast as he could go. This was not very fast, for all were heavily laden and often sank up to the knees in mud. But they got away from the road, over country which no one would have dreamed of attempting in ordinary circumstances. And none of them ever tried the Zonnebeke Road again.