All next day the 1st Battalion Grenadiers remained in this trench, where it was heavily shelled. The Germans of course knew the exact range of this trench, and were able to hit it with monotonous regularity, but the dug-outs were so craftily constructed that little damage was done. The danger lay in entering and coming out of these caves, and a certain number of men were killed in this way. All night digging parties were sent out to work on the lines in front. Marching in the dark through Loos was a hazardous proceeding, as the roads were a mass of shell-holes into which men frequently fell, and since the parties had to work in the open with the German trenches not very far off, their task was a perilous one. Flares were sent up, and if a man moved the Germans started firing at once. Nevertheless the Battalion got through a great deal of work, and barbed wire and sand-bags were taken up to the Scots Guards, who were now holding the line on Hill 70. [Sidenote: Sept. 29.] The 1st Battalion stayed in the same trenches next day, but the front line was by no means straight. This enabled the Germans to bring up a field-gun, with which they enfiladed the whole trench. When the shells first arrived down the trench from no one knew where, there were a great many men outside the dug-outs, and consequently many casualties. Major W. E. Nicol was hit in the head by a fragment of a shell, and died soon afterwards; Second Lieutenant Villiers had his jaw broken in two places, and Lieutenant Sir A. Napier was wounded in the thigh. The total casualties among other ranks were 45. [Sidenote: Sept. 30.] On the 30th the Battalion was relieved by a battalion of the 37th Brigade, and retired into billets at Sailly-la-Bourse. CHAPTER XVI OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 1915 Diary of the War The marshy condition of the ground and the bad weather made operations on any large scale impossible, and, with the exception of raids in various parts of the line, no serious offensive movement was attempted. In December Field-Marshal Sir John French resigned command of the British Army in France, and took over command of the Forces in the United Kingdom. He was succeeded by General Sir Douglas Haig. In October the Bulgarians, under the impression that the Central Powers were winning the war, decided to join them, and declared war on the Allies. In Mesopotamia the British Forces reached Kut-el-Amara with a view to the capture of Bagdad. The campaign in Gallipoli having reached a deadlock, it was decided to withdraw the British Forces and abandon the attempt to reach Constantinople by that route. The whole of the Forces were successfully withdrawn with only three casualties. The 1st Battalion. Roll of Officers.