After the operations at the end of September the Battalion bivouacked close to the village of Demicourt for ten days' training. Meanwhile Lieut.-Colonel Rasch, having been appointed to command the 1st Provisional Battalion at Aldershot, left for England, and Major C. F. A. Walker, M.C., took over the 2nd Battalion. The following officers took part in the fighting on October 9: Major C. F. A. Walker, M.C. Commanding Officer. Capt. R. G. Briscoe, M.C. Adjutant. Lieut. W. H. S. Dent. Intelligence Officer. Lieut. L. Holbech, M.C. No. 1 Company. Lieut. C. L. F. Boughey " " 2nd Lieut. E. M. Neill " " Capt. G. B. Wilson No. 2 Company. 2nd Lieut. D. L. King " " 2nd Lieut. C. J. N. Adams " " Capt. J. C. Cornforth, M.C. No. 3 Company. 2nd Lieut. K. B. Bibby " " 2nd Lieut. E. G. Harcourt-Vernon " " Lieut. R. H. R. Palmer No. 4 Company. Lieut. C. C. Cubitt " " 2nd Lieut. B. R. Osborne " " Lieut. E. L. Coffin Medical Officer. During the night of the 7th the Battalion moved into some trenches near Marcoing, and next morning it crossed the St. Quentin Canal at Masnières. The canal was being shelled at the time, but the Battalion escaped without any casualties. Orders were now received for the Battalion to take part in an attack, the first objective being the La Targette--Forenville road, and the second the railway running north-east of Wambaix. In view of the possibility of the enemy being forced to retire, the instructions were that the leading companies were to push on in the general direction of Cattenières. [Sidenote: Oct. 9.] Zero was 6 o'clock on the morning of October 9, and the assembly area for the 1st Guards Brigade was on the line of old German trenches, south-west of Seranvillers. Taking up its position on the left of the line, the Battalion had the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards on its right, with the 1st Battalion Irish Guards in reserve. In conjunction with this force, the 2nd Guards Brigade was to advance on the left and the New Zealand Division on the right, and the boundary between the two leading battalions was the main road through Seranvillers and Wambaix.