On Thursday, the 22nd, the defence was just maintained; but late in the evening the line was broken between Langemarck and Bixschoote, where part of the Camerons was cut off and shut up in a wayside inn. There was also a gap between Becelaere and Gheluvelt. The Germans thrust their way in between the Scots Fusiliers and the Yorkshires, and the latter had to fight furiously and continuously on two fronts for the better part of three days in order to keep the enemy from enlarging the gap and getting through. So bitter and ruthless was the fighting that it seemed impossible that the defence could be maintained at this point. When the Bedfords restored the position on the 23rd the Yorkshires were still fighting; they had not budged. On the 30th they and the Scots Fusiliers, who had now been merged into one battalion, again saved the line, and earned the following praise from their general:-- "You have taken part in probably the fiercest combat that the world has ever seen. I have often watched you in the trenches with special interest, and on one occasion, at the crossroads at Gheluvelt--a very precarious position--I asked who was holding that particular line of trenches, which seemed a weak spot. When I was told the 2nd Yorkshires, I knew it would be all right. I knew it was a regiment I could hang my hat on at any time of the day and night. There is not a single regiment in the whole of the division for which I have more respect. I do not say it to butter you up; I say it because I mean it." From Gheluvelt onwards towards Hollebeke there was a long line of trenches which was held by dismounted cavalry. It was one of the weakest parts of the line, and the Germans pressed it hard, but not hard enough. Farther south the Third Corps was also having a bad time. At Le Gheir, two miles south of Messines, some trenches had been lost; but they were recovered by a gallant counter-attack, in which the Essex Regiment and the Lancashire Fusiliers greatly distinguished themselves. On 23rd October, a day of great trial, an attempt was made to win back the trenches which had been lost by the Camerons on the Langemarck-Bixschoote road. The Queen's West Surrey Regiment, the Northamptons, the 1st Loyal North Lancashires, and the King's Royal Rifles were entrusted with the task. Under Major-General Bulfin they advanced in short rushes, with great determination, against a range of buildings strongly held by the Germans. After severe fighting and a dashing bayonet attack the place was captured, the lost trenches were recovered, and the imprisoned Camerons were released. Some 600 prisoners were taken, and the old front was restored. The Loyal North Lancashires and the "Cobblers"--that is, the Northamptons--showed to great advantage in the final bayonet charge. A special order which was issued three days later reads as follows:--