Bancroft, he crawled round and informed the men of his intention. They were told to charge as soon as the Lewis gun ceased fire. The gun opened, but stopped almost at once with a broken return spring; quite coolly the N.C.O. on the gun--his name is now unknown--changed the part, and reported to Lieut. Everitt that he was ready to reopen fire. One magazine was fired, and then A Company charged. Everitt himself was first in the trench, and was followed closely by Haigh. The bay they entered was unoccupied, but the next was full of the enemy. These were bombed, and either fled or dived into their deep dug outs. Parties then moved to right and left along the trench, bombing dugouts and collecting prisoners. The latter were sent back across the open, but none appear to have arrived. Many Germans were killed in the second objective. Of the parties which moved along the support line, that to the right got well beyond point 95, towards the Schwaben Redoubt, without encountering any of the enemy; but it could find no trace of D Company, which should have had a post near that point. The other party cleared and occupied the whole line to beyond point 66, where Sergt. H. Haigh got in touch with a small party of the 5th Battalion. Consolidation of the line, which was very wide and deep, then began. Only about forty of the Battalion had reached the second objective. These were organised in a line of posts from point 86, which was held by Sergt. Bancroft and Cpl. Denham, to beyond point 66. The second objective had been taken a little before 6-0 a.m. Soon after, the Germans began to bombard it heavily with artillery and trench mortars, and the discomfort of A Company was added to by some of the British guns, which had not “lifted” sufficiently and were firing into its back. [Illustration: Lieut.-Col. J. WALKER, D.S.O.]