At 10.45 a.m. the Commanding Officer, with the Brigade Major, visited the front line, where they found that the companies had successfully grasped the situation, and were in touch on their flanks. Scouts had been sent forward to ascertain how things were going in front. Nothing could be seen of the Germans, so the line proceeded cautiously forward in the direction of Lille. On went the scouts, and on went the battalion. It was a queer, uncanny sensation, and not a few expected a sudden crash of shells or the rattle of machine guns. Soon, however, the pace became so fast that, from extended order, the leading companies formed into lines of sections in column, while the support and reserve companies assumed ordinary column of fours. Battalion Headquarters kept incessantly moving, and had hardly time to report their new location before they were on the move again. All this while the Commanding Officer was marching ahead, steering the battalion with whistle and arm signals after the most approved form of open order drill, as laid down in "Infantry Training." La Petite Coutre was passed, and on the flanks could be seen Fort Englos and Premesques, once the strongholds of German heavy artillery in the old Houplines days. Le Marais, just short of Lille, was reached without incident, though the huge craters in the roads showed that the enemy were determined to make our advance as difficult as possible. Mines were still going up, and the efforts of some sappers to remove a "booby trap" from a house resulted in an explosion which only missed Battalion Headquarters by a few minutes.