“_The Third Army has been ordered to press the enemy back towards Bapaume without delay, and to make every effort to prevent the enemy from destroying road and rail communications._” The Battle Instructions issued to the 42nd Division on August 20th begin with the above words, and the Division rejoiced that the signal was down at last for the Third Army to join in the Great Allied offensive, and that General Byng’s attack was planned to open before dawn on the morrow. The 4th Corps had three Divisions in the front line, the 42nd, the New Zealanders, and the 37th, from right to left. On the right of the 42nd was the 21st Division of the 5th Corps. The Division’s attack was planned on a two-brigade front, with the 127th Brigade on the right, and the 125th on the left. There were three objectives. The first was a line roughly parallel to the present frontage of the Division and about a thousand yards to the east, and the advance was made by fighting patrols, brigades being in echelon with the left brigade leading. The second objective included some high ground on the left flank, and mainly concerned the 125th Brigade; and the third, and most important, objective was, on the left, Beauregard Dovecot, a group of shell-shattered trunks—the remains of trees which formerly surrounded the now obliterated Dovecot—on high ground where five roads meet, and on the right a point within a few hundred yards of the village of Miraumont, and looking down upon it. The organization of the Division was now designed to secure effective co-operation of all arms under the new conditions of open warfare. The Division had done well in the stationary warfare of continuous lines of trenches; it had shaped still better in the offensive-defensive method of Defence in Depth in which it had been so thoroughly trained by its present Commander; now it was to be tested by the novel experience of open warfare. Infantry Brigade Groups were composed as follows— Infantry Brigade. Artillery Brigade. Machine-Gun Company (one or more). 2 Sections Field Company, R.E. Cavalry or Tanks when available. These were all under the command of the Infantry Brigadier, the Artillery Commander using the same headquarters where possible—a system that had distinct advantages over the old system of using an Artillery liaison officer.