All the companies had passed long before Battalion H.Q. moved. About 6-0 p.m. the line at Wigan was left in the hands of a very mixed garrison of Royal Scots, Suffolks, Australian tunnellers and others, and the Commanding Officer started for Nieppe. It was only then that the full gravity of the situation was realised. Enemy machine gun bullets were whistling across the road as the party moved along, and, when the level crossing by Nieppe Station was reached, it was found that an enemy machine gun was on the railway line to the north-west, shooting straight down the line. One or two casualties were suffered by H.Q. details in crossing the line. Near the entrance to Nieppe, the whole of D Company was met marching out towards the Station, and Lieut. B. M. Machin stated that he had received orders from the G.O.C. himself to seize and hold that point. Away to the north troops could be seen in extended order attacking towards Le Veau. These troops were A and B Companies, though this was not known at the time. From what he knew of the enemy’s position on the railway, near the station, it was obvious to the Commanding Officer that the left flank of this attack was in danger. To cope with the difficulty H.Q. details, organised in two platoons under Sec.-Lieut. H. A. Loudoun, and one platoon of D Company, were sent down the road to the Station. Two platoons of D Company were directed to prolong the left flank of the attack on Le Veau, and the other platoon was kept in reserve. It is now necessary to return to A and B Companies. On reporting at 147th Infantry Brigade H.Q. in Nieppe they had been told to occupy some old trenches at Les Trois Arbres. They had not been there long before they were ordered to fall in and move along the Nieppe-Bailleul Road towards Pont d’Achelles. Here they were drawn up by Maj. A. L. Mowat[17] and directed to attack and expel the enemy, who was established in the farmhouses and enclosures at Le Veau. A Company was on the extreme left with B Company on its right; beyond B Company were some Royal Engineers and other troops, mainly Northumberland Fusiliers. Neither side had any artillery to support it.