"This despatch is necessarily very incomplete, for the battle is still going on and news comes back slowly. Fresh German divisions are no doubt coming up. The Canadians on Mont Dury at eight o'clock could see masses of grey moving westwards at several places; and although some of the German artillery had begun to drop back, the bombardment was still very heavy. The intermixture of enemy troops is extraordinary. In one narrow Canadian sector prisoners have been taken from seven different divisions. Lancashires on the right have taken them from six divisions. There are Saxons, fresh 1st Guards Reserve, battered 2nd Guards Reserve, bits of the 30th from Bapaume, and the 12th Reserve from Bullecourt; 7th Cavalry Division, fighting dismounted, and badly at that, and apparently other relics of the fighting of the past three weeks served up with fresh dressing, in the shape of a few rested divisions from 'the back of beyond.' It is a most disorderly order of battle. Something appears to have cracked besides the Drocourt Line." * * * * * To return to actual details. At 4.40 a.m. on September 1st the 2/7th and 8th K.L.R. attacked and captured Hendecourt, and advanced to a line running from Terrier Alley (about 1,000 yards due west of Riencourt) up Greyhound Trench to Hendecourt Chateau, about 1,000 yards due north of Riencourt. The 2/6th K.L.R., in conjunction with two companies of 2/7th K.L.R. on our left and the 52nd Division on our right, were now to attack in the evening and capture Riencourt Lez Cagnicourt, and consolidate a line 500 yards east of the village. The formation was two companies in front--"C" Company (Captain Williams) on the right and "B" Company (Captain Robinson) on the left; "D" Company (Lieutenant Noon) was in support, with "A" Company (Lieutenant Sage) in reserve. After spending the night of August 31st-September 1st in an area just west of Fontaine, the battalion moved forward by Crux Trench at 3.15 p.m. in the order "B," "C," "D," "A." The trench at this point was extremely shallow, and there can be little doubt that the movement of the battalion was observed. [Illustration: THE CAPTURE OF RIENCOURT 2/6th The King's (Liverpool Regiment) _To face Page 210._] The forming-up positions were as follows: The front line companies moved on a line running along the lower part of Terrier Alley, and thence in a northerly direction across to Greyhound Avenue, on the southern edge of Hendecourt, which positions had been captured by the 2/7th K.L.R. in the morning. "D" Company were some 300 yards in rear in Morden Trench; "A" Company were some 1,200 yards farther back.