_Attached_--Captain G. Petit, R.A.M.C. [Sidenote: Mar. 10.] It was on the 10th of March that the attack began. At 7.30 A.M. all the troops were in position, and a powerful bombardment from our massed batteries was opened on the trenches protecting Neuve Chapelle, but the enemy made no reply. After thirty-five minutes' bombardment the infantry advanced; the Eighth Division and the Garhwal Brigade from the Anglo-Indian Corps attacked, and captured the village and entrenchments. But the success thus gained was more or less thrown away, owing to the delay that occurred in bringing up the Reserve Brigades. All day our men waited for reinforcements to continue the advance, but by the time they arrived it was dark. So there was nothing to do but wait until next morning, and meanwhile the Germans had had time to bring up more troops. [Illustration: Battle of Neuve Chapelle. March 11th, 1915.] [Sidenote: Mar. 11.] Being in the Reserve Brigade, the 1st Battalion Grenadiers did not reach the firing line till the following morning, when the weather was thick and misty. This made artillery observation impossible, and as many of the telephone wires had been cut by the enemy's shells on the previous day, communication between the different Brigades became a matter of great difficulty. The position of affairs now stood thus: the Eighth Division had carried the German trenches north of Neuve Chapelle, but had not succeeded in crossing the River des Layes, and the Garhwal Brigade on their right had also been held up in front of the Bois du Biez. The Seventh Division was on the extreme left, with the 21st and 22nd Brigades in the firing line and the 20th Brigade in support. The 21st Brigade was reported to be holding a position with its right resting on the captured German trenches some two hundred yards east of Moated Grange, and in touch with the Eighth Division, but it was soon discovered that it did not extend so much to its right as it imagined, and the 20th Brigade was therefore sent up to fill the gap. The attack along the whole line was delayed until the leading battalions of the 20th Brigade were ready.