The bombers and machine gunners of the brigade worked under the brigade bombing and machine-gun officers, and did very good work. The brigade bombing officer--Lieut. Shaw--blocked one of the enemy’s trenches on the left of our position in the salient. He held this block for nearly two hours, and did not withdraw until he and his sergeant were the only two left and all his bombs, including such German ones as he could find, had been used. Lieut. Hankey of the 12th K.R.R.C. also distinguished himself. For his excellent work in covering the withdrawal, he was awarded the Legion of Honour. Every effort had been made to cut the sap through between our line and the enemy’s salient, but the work went very slowly. All digging in the open was immediately stopped by enfilade machine-gun fire, and even the continuation of the work by sap incurred casualties from shelling. The wounded had to be carried back along the narrow trench and this caused constant interruptions, so that when the retirement began little progress had been made. After all the other troops had got back, a few men were left in occupation of the saphead until between 3 and 4 P.M., when they also were withdrawn. The Divisional Artillery did most valuable work during the day, by keeping under fire the enemy’s trenches on the left of the attack, and so reducing the very heavy casualties that must otherwise have been inflicted by the machine guns on that flank. In the light of later experiences some details of the signal communications are interesting. Advanced Brigade Headquarters was within 300 yards of the original front line, and single trench cables were used up to that line. The shell fire was so local, that on the whole these cables were maintained during the battle without great difficulty. Behind Brigade Headquarters the line was never cut. The retirement of the 12th R.B. and the 6th K.S.L.I. to the original line was over by 2 P.M., and ended the day’s fighting. The operations had been successful in holding the enemy to his ground, and in preventing him from sending reinforcements to the scene of the main attack. The brunt of the fighting fell on the 12th R.B., who held on with great determination when their flanks had become exposed, and who throughout the day fought splendidly, thoroughly earning the congratulations sent them by the Divisional Commander. The casualties were heavy considering the number of men actually engaged--19 officers, and 542 other ranks in all; the 12th R.B. alone lost 7 officers and 332 men; the 6th K.S.L.I. lost 4 officers and 59 men. During the day the enemy shelled the front trenches heavily, and caused a considerable number of casualties among some of the battalions that were not actively engaged. Of these the 12th K.R.R.C. suffered the most; they lost altogether 3 officers and 75 other ranks.