About 5-0 p.m. troops of the 148th Infantry Brigade relieved the Battalion in the line. The weary men withdrew to Martinsart Wood to reorganise, but a party of C Company was left in for the night, to search No Man’s Land for wounded, and to help in the evacuation of those who had already come in. Only once--October 11th, 1918--has the Battalion had heavier casualties than on September 3rd. It went into action 18 officers and 629 other ranks strong; of these only three companies, each consisting of 3 officers and 127 other ranks, and a few Battalion H.Q. details, went “over the top.” The total casualties that day were 11 officers and 336 other ranks. More than half were either known to be dead, or were missing; and as the number of prisoners taken by the enemy was very small, it may fairly be presumed that the Battalion lost, in killed alone, at least 150 other ranks. Of the nine officers who went over with the assaulting companies, only two, both wounded, returned; in addition, Sec.-Lieut. F. A. Innes was killed at 147th Infantry Brigade H.Q., and Sec.-Lieut. W. Smith was wounded with C Company. September 3rd is the blackest day in the Battalion’s history, for, unlike October 11th, 1918, it had no success to compensate for its casualties. To-day, upon the very line of the first objective, which B Company carried that eventful morning and was later forced to evacuate, there stands a great cemetery. In it have been collected the remains of many men, from scores of solitary graves; and on the crosses the legend “Unknown soldier 1/4th Battalion Duke of Wellington’s Regt.” is one of the most common. There rest many of the gallant men who fell that day. It is not the purpose of this book to criticise as a general rule, but some slight exception must be made in connection with the attack on September 3rd. At the time there was a widespread belief, which was certainly held by most of the higher authorities, that the Battalion never gained its objectives. This was wrong. A and B Companies reached, and cleared the enemy from the whole of the first and second objectives; it is true they did not occupy the whole of them, but that was due simply to lack of men. For more than two hours there were no Germans in either of the lines which the Battalion was ordered to capture. These facts are clearly proved, not only by the evidence of the men who carried out the assault, but also by the German official report on the action. The men of D Company, as has been stated, seem to have got too far to the right; but even they fulfilled their role, for they successfully defended the Battalion’s exposed right flank so long as there were men enough to hold the ground which had been won. During the next few weeks several divisions successively failed to carry the objectives of September 3rd. Even after Thiepval itself had fallen, it was some time before the Schwaben Redoubt and the defences north of it passed into British hands.