At 2.40 p.m. Tanner reported to Lukin that he had won the whole wood with the exception of strong points in the north-west abutting on Longueval and the northern orchards. He had succeeded brilliantly in the first part of his task, but the problem of Delville was far less to carry the wood than to hold it. Lukin’s plan had been to thin out the troops in the wood as soon as the perimeter was reached, leaving it to be held by small infantry detachments with machine guns. But now came the enemy’s counter-attack which made this plan impossible, for every available man was needed to resist the German pressure. About three o’clock elements of the 6th Bavarian Regiment of the 10th Bavarian Division attacked in force from the east, but were driven back by rifle-fire. At 4.40 p.m. Tanner reported that the enemy was also massing for an attack at the northern end, and at 6.30 he again reported an enemy concentration to the north and north-east. He informed Lukin that his casualties had been heavy, one company of the 2nd South Africans having virtually been destroyed, and he asked for reinforcements. He had already received a company of the 4th South Africans, and another company of that regiment was sent forward to reinforce the 3rd South Africans. The 1st Regiment had now returned to Lukin’s command, and one of its companies was dispatched to reinforce the 2nd. At 7 p.m. Lukin sent a staff officer to obtain full details of the position in the wood. The officers commanding the 2nd and 3rd Regiments were urged to see that their battalions, in spite of their fatigue, dug themselves in, since heavy shell-fire might be expected on the morrow. This had already been done, for unless the men had been well dug in they could not have lived where they were. The officer commanding the 1st Regiment was ordered to detail special carrying platoons to keep up the supply of ammunition, and to put up a Vickers and a Lewis gun at the south-west corner of the wood to command the southern edge.