The enemy was again working round the flanks, and, in the early hours of March 26, in accordance with orders from the Corps Commander, the withdrawal of the Division began, and was carried out in three successive bounds—first, to the line Achiet-le-Grand—Moyenneville railway; then to the Forest Lodge—Courcelles line, and finally to the Bucquoy—Ablainzevelle line. The troops were in position here at 10 a.m., and on this last line the enemy was successfully held.[15] The withdrawals were accomplished in good order, and, in the case of the 127th Brigade, units slipped away before the enemy was aware of their retirement, rifle fire being maintained on their late positions for some time after they had gone. Some units, however, were followed up hotly, and enemy pressure forced retiring troops to halt from time to time and open covering fire from different parts of the line, inflicting heavy casualties upon the Germans. A withdrawal in daylight, in close touch with the enemy, is a ticklish operation under any conditions, and the retirement of the troops on either flank some hours earlier added greatly to the difficulties. The companies of the M.G. Battalion did good work in covering each retirement, and the support from the artillery was always effective. Enormous losses were suffered by the enemy at each stage. During the day strong enemy attacks were delivered in front of Bucquoy, but were stopped by artillery, machine gun and rifle fire. On the morning of the 27th March the headquarters of all three infantry brigades were established in deep dugouts in the vicinity of Essarts, about 2000 yards north-west of Bucquoy. From 8 a.m. enemy aircraft showed great activity, and at 10.15 a.m. heavy hostile shelling began. During the morning an enemy assembly for attack, in Nissen huts south of Ablainzevelle, and a massing near Ablainzevelle Cemetery, were broken up by our artillery. At 2.40 p.m. shelling of the front line became very heavy, but the enemy massing for attack in Ablainzevelle Wood and Village were dispersed by the Divisional Artillery, assisted by the German guns which, shooting short, did much damage to their own infantry. At 3 p.m. an attack from Logeast Wood was shattered by artillery, machine-gun, and rifle-fire. During the night a patrol of the 6th Manchesters entered Ablainzevelle, killed several Germans, and brought back two machine-guns, the officer in command being severely wounded just before regaining his own lines. The initiative shown in this little affair gained the Divisional Commander’s congratulations for the battalion. [Illustration: BUCQUOY—AYETTE ROAD, USED AS LATERAL COMMUNICATION BY FRONT-LINE TROOPS.] [Illustration: ESSARTS CRUCIFIX, USED AS HQRS. OF 211TH ARTILLERY BRIGADE DURING MARCH-APRIL FIGHTING.] [Illustration: ESSARTS VALLEY, SHOWING POSITIONS OCCUPIED BY DIVISIONAL ARTILLERY.] [Illustration: GOMMECOURT WOOD, SHOWING OLD GERMAN FRONT LINE (1916) AND FONQUEVILLERS.]