Late in the morning, an officer of the 11th Battalion Suffolk Regt. asked for reinforcements to close a gap in the line near the Rue du Moulin. In response, A Company sent up a platoon, which Sec.-Lieut. B. H. Huggard saw into position. This platoon was never seen again, and its fate was a mystery until after the armistice. Then, returned prisoners told how it had been surrounded by the enemy, and, after suffering heavily, the few survivors had been captured. Meanwhile, what was happening to C and D Companies? After crossing the Lys, C Company assembled near the top of the Rue Delpierre, while Capt. A. M. Luty, with Sec.-Lieut. T. T. Gilroy, C.S.M. N. Hobson and two N.C.O’s, went forward to reconnoitre. The ground was swept by machine gun fire, and it was only by crawling that the party was able to reach the point where the road crosses the railway. Capt. Luty at once realised that it was impossible for him to get to his objective, and decided to hold the line of the railway. He returned to his company which, by this time, had suffered several casualties from enemy artillery fire. The company moved down the road by platoons and took up a position along the railway line, with its right turned back to face south-west. The position was a bad one as the straight line of the railway was heavily enfiladed by machine guns near the Rue du Moulin. Losses were heavy from the very first. Sec.-Lieut. M. C. O’Dowd and several men had been hit coming down the road. C.S.M. N. Hobson was wounded soon after the line of the railway had been taken up. After a short time, one platoon was sent across the railway to take up a more advanced position. Here, except for sniping, this platoon was not much worried for some time, but the rest of the company was suffering appalling casualties. The numbers of wounded were soon far greater than the company stretcher-bearers could deal with. It was then that Pte. A. Poulter earned the highest decoration that a soldier can win--the Victoria Cross. Hour after hour he toiled, in the greatest danger, tending the wounded and carrying them into safety.[16]