This bombardment was the climax of our long period in Houplines. We had been instructed to be as offensive as possible, in order to divert the attention of the enemy by our aggressive tactics from the operations scheduled to commence on July 31st, and now known as the Third Battle of Ypres. Little glory attaches to a "feint" attack, whether it be stationary or by movement; but if successful it brings down upon you severe hostile attention, which has to be endured without any compensating chance of sharing in the glory of a great victory. That we succeeded in our allotted task, and that the 171st Infantry Brigade bore the brunt of it, we know not only from what our Army Commander said, but because the Intelligence showed that the Division kept two German Divisions pinned down opposite to it right till the end, and this notwithstanding the fact that the hostile artillery was about ten times as great as our own. The steady increase of destructive shooting on the area immediately north and south of the Lys, the regular "crashing" of all lines of communication, the intense shelling of Armentières, culminating in the great gas bombardment, prove conclusively that the enemy was daily expecting an attack on Frelinghien, for which he imagined a force was concentrating in Armentières. That our casualties were not greater was due to the scattered position of the posts holding such a large sector, and to our constant efforts to provide such protection as could best be constructed under the circumstances. CHAPTER V FROM THE GAS ATTACK TO ST. HILAIRE--PASSCHENDAELE (FIRST TIME)--LOUCHES The disorganization in the Brigade resulting from the gas bombardment was naturally very great. The 2/5th K.L.R. and ourselves were reduced by 50 per cent, not including Battalion Headquarters, and the relief of the battalion for reorganization was therefore imperative. Accordingly, on the evening of July 31st Captain Bowring, the Acting Commanding Officer, was instructed to move out to Bac St. Maur, the 2/5th King's Own Royal Lancaster Regiment taking the place of "A" and "B" Companies in the subsidiary line. The move was made by sections, owing to the continued shelling and the state of the roads, which had not yet been cleared of débris. It was effected without incident beyond a drenching from the heavy rain which came steadily down.