delivered small-arm ammunition and drinking water close behind the front line. Before noon Villers-au-Flos had been thoroughly mopped up, and the 127th Brigade was consolidating its new positions beyond the village. Three hundred prisoners, a battery of 77 mm. guns, eighteen machine-guns and much material had been captured, and the enemy’s loss in killed and wounded was very great. In a Special Order of the Day Brigadier-General Henley congratulated the 127th Brigade on “adding a new anniversary to those which your gallantry has already made famous.... Yesterday, after three months of unbroken fighting in trenches and in the open, and in face of stubborn resistance by Huns more than equal in numbers, you stormed and took Villers-au-Flos with the utmost dash and determination—a feat which would have been notable if performed by battalions at full strength and fresh from a period of rest. When Manchester hears of this new proof of your prowess, she may well be as proud of her sons as I am of commanding such soldiers.” The New Zealanders on the left and the 21st Division on the right had also made good progress, but the 42nd Division had again gone farther forward than either, and in consequence the 127th Brigade was in a pronounced salient, exposed to enfilade fire on both flanks. The machine-gun sections which had advanced with the battalions applied themselves with zest to keep down the enemy’s fire, and they dealt with it very effectively. In the early afternoon the New Zealanders on the left made a further attack and came up into line with the 6th Manchesters, thus easing the situation on that flank. In the evening the 5th and 6th Manchesters were relieved by the 7th Manchesters and 8th Lancashire Fusiliers. At night the heavy and field artillery shelled Barastre and Haplincourt Wood in preparation for the morrow’s advance upon those places. In the early hours of September 3, however, patrols of the 8th L.F. and the 7th Manchesters found that the enemy had retired and that Barastre and Haplincourt Wood were empty. The fighting at Villers-au-Flos had evidently hit the enemy hard, and the Division made haste to exploit its success. The 125th Brigade was ordered to “leap-frog” through the 127th, and this was completed at 10 a.m., the 8th L.F. finding the advance-guard. It was a most exhilarating advance, reminding one of a Field Day on Salisbury Plain, and a new thrill was provided when a troop of the Scots Greys passed through and exchanged greetings with the infantry. Warfare had become more and more open recently, but this was the real genuine article. Cavalry going into action on horseback was a pleasant and cheering sight, and its significance was realized. The foot-sloggers grinned and waved their hands, wishing them the best of luck. The battalions in the rear were also witnessing sights, perhaps not so striking in their appeal to the eye, but hardly less significant of the change that had come over the scene.