The 4th Brigade, on the left of the 2nd Division, had the worst time this day; they made an attempt to cross at Chavonne itself, but were vigorously opposed, the enemy being in possession of the village, and keeping up a ceaseless machine-gun fire which cost us some good men. The Irish Guards were the chief sufferers, especially in officers, Captain Berners, Lord Guernsey and Lord Arthur Hay being killed. However, late in the afternoon, some of the 2nd Coldstream got themselves ferried across in a small boat which was found--minus oars--higher up the river, whereupon the enemy, who as usual were weak in numbers, but strong in machine-guns, made off. The rest of the brigade then crossed in single file by the remains of the bridge, which--like that at Pont d'Arcy--still offered a shaky foothold from shore to shore. [Illustration: Map showing line occupied by British troops after the battle of the Aisne. Approximate scale 3 miles to an inch.] TROYON The 14th of September probably saw more real fighting in the old-fashioned sense than any other day in which the British troops had been engaged. The whole line covering a frontage of twenty miles was involved, but the fiercest conflict was always on the right with the 1st A.C. This day's fighting is sometimes referred to as the battle of the Aisne, and sometimes as the battle of Troyon. The former is too indefinite, in view of the protracted fighting on the river of that name; the latter is too parochial. In real truth there were four distinct but synchronous battles taking place that day along our front, viz., at Troyon, Verneuil, Soupir and Chivres. The most sanguinary, and undoubtedly the most important as far as results go, was the first of these. It may fairly be said that the British victory at Troyon on September 14th was one of the most brilliant achievements of the War. The generalship displayed was of a high order, and the troops engaged behaved with the greatest steadiness and courage.