At Zandvoorde a strong defensive position was taken up, facing east; it had a good field of fire, and there was a fairly wide stream two hundred yards from the trenches. The King's and No. 4 Companies were in the front trench, and No. 2 and No. 3 in reserve. That night the enemy played his old tricks, and kept every one awake, with a few snipers firing at intervals into different parts of the line. The men were then new to such devices, but it was not long before they learned to distinguish between sniping and an organised attack. [Sidenote: Oct. 17-18.] The following day the whole Brigade was ordered to advance and occupy the ridge Kruiseik--America, with its right bending back to Zandvoorde, the Scots Guards having occupied Kruiseik the night before. At night villages could be seen burning in every direction, set on fire by the Germans, and this was taken as an indication that the enemy was preparing to attack. [Sidenote: Oct. 19.] On the 19th orders were received for an advance by the Seventh Division on Menin and Wervicq; it was reported that the enemy was in no great strength, and that his forces consisted principally of Landsturm, with no artillery. The attack was to take place in three phases: First phase: by the 22nd Brigade on the left against an advance position at Kleythoek. Second phase: by the 20th and 21st Brigades against Gheluwe. Third phase: by the whole Division against Menin and Wervicq. Sir John French, in his despatch of that date, said: I considered, however, that the possession of Menin constituted a very important point of passage, and would much facilitate the advance of the rest of the Army, so I directed the General Officer commanding the Fourth Corps to advance the Seventh Division upon Menin and endeavour to seize that crossing on the morning of the 18th. It was no easy task that was allotted to Sir Henry Rawlinson, for he had nothing to fall back upon. The cavalry under Byng was hardly strong enough to do more than feel for the enemy, and there was therefore only the French Territorial Division at Ypres as a reserve. There was nearly twenty miles of front for the Seventh Division to operate on, and no one knew when the First Corps would arrive. The advance of the Seventh Division began in the morning. The 1st Battalion Grenadiers deployed for an attack on Gheluwe and Kruiseik, with No. 2 and No. 3 Companies in the firing-line, and the King's and No. 4 in support. The men were extended to eight paces, and each company had a frontage of half a platoon; the Battalion was thus in sixteen lines, with 200 yards between each line, during the preliminary advance under artillery fire.