On the 10th the Brigade was in reserve at Reumont and Maurois, where it was continuously shelled, the 1st Regiment sustaining some twenty casualties. That day the divisional advance was conducted by the 198th and 199th Brigades, who pressed forward to the slopes above the Selle. By noon they held the spurs overlooking Le Cateau from the west, and had patrols in the environs of the town itself. But Le Cateau was not to fall at the first summons. The 66th Division found itself much harassed by artillery fire from the high ground towards Forest in the north-east, which overlooked its position. On its right the 25th Division could do little so long as St. Benin was untaken, and St. Benin was in the area of the II. United States Corps, whose left division had been checked. The G.O.C. 25th Division, Major-General Charles, attacked St. Benin in the afternoon, and drove the enemy across the Selle, but was unable to follow him owing to the difficulty of the river crossings and the machine-gun fire from the railway on the eastern bank. In the evening General Bethell, with the 199th Brigade, attempted to carry the high ground east of Le Cateau and north-east of Montay. The 5th Connaught Rangers reached the railway east of the town; the 18th King’s Liverpool Regiment reached Montay, but found the banks of the Selle heavily wired and could not cross. General Bethell accordingly withdrew the Connaught Rangers to the west side of Le Cateau, where they held the line of the Selle as it passed through the town. [Illustration: THE ADVANCE FROM MARETZ TO REUMONT.] That night the II. United States Corps took over St. Benin, and the XIII. Corps lay north from it for the most part along the western shore of the Selle. The German 17th Reserve Division had arrived to reinforce the enemy, and his front along the east bank of the river was very strong. The wreckage of the fallen bridges had dammed the stream and flooded the low-lying meadows. It was clear that the forcing of the Selle line was not a task which could be carried out by the pursuing army “in its stride,” but required a careful and deliberate plan. For the enemy to stand awhile on the Selle was a matter of life or death, for otherwise he could not hope to extricate himself from Foch’s pincers. * * * * *