On September 2 the Battalion proceeded to the area about Homme Mort, and halted for dinner near Moyenneville. In the afternoon the whole Brigade concentrated in Maida Vale, and Lord Gort rode forward with the Company Commanders towards Longatte, in view of an attack the following day. The orders for the attack were issued that night, and early the next morning the Battalion proceeded to Noreuil, where they went into old German dug-outs. The Germans had retired to the Hindenburg line, and a general advance on Bourlon and Mœuvres was ordered (on the whole Corps front). The 1st Battalion marched to a position west of Lagnicourt, where they remained for the night. A farther advance was made the next day, and on the 5th it reached Louverval Wood, where a week was spent training and practising open warfare. On the 11th the Battalion moved up into the front line, but the relief was only effected by the infiltration of the companies through troops of the 50th Infantry Brigade. This Brigade, having made an attack that evening, had failed to secure its objective, and the relief was consequently not an easy one. Lord Gort and Captain Simpson spent the night reconnoitring the trenches in the outer zone of the Hindenburg line, in constant danger of being caught by the Germans, and the information they gained enabled the Battalion to establish itself by dawn the next morning in the objective, which the 5th Infantry Brigade had intended to secure the night before. At dawn a bombing attack was made up Brown Trench, and the line of Alban Avenue was secured. A barrage, supporting the attack on Havrincourt, was put down on the whole front, and soon brought retaliation from the enemy. Near the sunken trench in Alban Avenue a shell burst, killing Lieutenant E. B. Shelley, and wounding Second Lieutenant Payne severely and Captain Simpson slightly. In addition to the shelling, the enemy's machine-guns were very active, enfilading Alban Avenue. In the afternoon the 225th German Infantry Regiment carried out a bombing attack on Beatty and Babs posts, but was repulsed with several killed and wounded, leaving two machine-guns in our hands. Throughout the day the enemy maintained a heavy harassing fire, and in the evening again attempted a bombing attack on Beatty and Babs posts, but with the same result. The following day the shelling decreased considerably, and inter-company relief was carried out. First Lieutenant W. B. Evans, U.S.A.M.O.R.C., and Captain the Rev. J. O. Venables, in addition to 27 other ranks, were gassed on the 13th, and every day there were a number of men killed, wounded, and gassed. On the 15th the following letter from Brigadier-General W. S. Osborn, 5th Infantry Brigade, was received by Brigadier-General Follett: