The chief action of the day was fought in defence of Le Quesnoy, where the garrison, one officer and 100 men of the 7th D.C.L.I., with two Lewis guns, was commanded by Captain E. C. Combe, M.C., the brigade major of the 61st Brigade. During the morning Capt. Combe was ordered to hold the village until relieved by troops of the 30th Division, some of whom had already taken over the defence of Bouchoir. At noon the enemy moved out from Parvillers towards Le Quesnoy. The Lewis gunners seized their chance and fired four drums into the advancing lines at 500 yards range with great effect. Both guns were put out of action, however, at 1.30 P.M., when the enemy opened heavy machine-gun and trench mortar fire. By two o’clock, after hand-to-hand fighting, the Germans gained the east edge of the village and had machine guns trained on the exits. At this point Capt. Combe was ordered to withdraw to Beaufort, but considering it impossible to do this in daylight and in close contact with the enemy, he decided to hold on till it was sufficiently dark to give his troops a chance of getting back in safety. At 3 P.M. the enemy again attacked and reached the centre of the village, but the few men of the garrison who remained held on to the west edge until 6.40 P.M., when the enemy closed in on both flanks. Then the only survivors--two officers and nine men--withdrew, still firing with good effect on the Germans as they over-ran the position. Sir Douglas Haig refers in his despatch[15] to this “very gallant feat of arms.” The Division only just completed the march in time, for the troops did not reach Le Quesnel till noon, and at 11.15 A.M. patrols of the enemy had crossed the road south-west of Damery, thus severing all communication with the French in the neighbourhood of Roye. The fact that the French troops were being forced south-west, while the British retired west, left a gap between the two armies of which the enemy took full advantage. To fill this gap the 36th and 30th Divisions, which had been withdrawn to rest the previous day, were put back into the line, and offering a gallant resistance, played no small part in preventing the enemy from breaking through.[16] On arrival at Le Quesnel the Division came again under the command of the XVIIIth Corps and was ordered to consolidate a line just east of the village with the 59th and 60th Brigades, while the 61st concentrated at Beaufort. This placed the 20th Division in support of the 30th, which at this time held the line Bouchoir--Rouvroy-En-Santerre. Touch was gained with the 24th Division at Warvillers. The enemy was reported soon after mid-day to be advancing in large numbers along the Roye--Amiens road. Four motor machine-guns, in action near the cross-roads north-west of Rouvroy, did most useful work, delaying the enemy’s advance and causing great loss to his troops.