The country in this sector was flat and low--an expanse of grass or mud intersected by small ditches. Though at this time of the year the surface was still very hard and dry, the water level was only some three or four feet below the ground, and this made the normal form of trench, in the southern part of the area, out of the question. Instead, breastworks of sandbags were built up and strengthened with loose earth. Dug-outs, as known in later times or even then in some parts of the line, did not exist. Small recesses in the breastwork and some splinter proofs behind were all that could be made. Many breastworks had no parados to give cover from the backward effect of shells bursting behind, and this had to be made. Fortunately the shelling of the front trenches in this area was not severe except on the 25th of September and during a feint attack in October. In consequence very few casualties were due to this lack of cover from the rear. The German front line was much on the same level as our own, and anything from 80 to 250 yards away. Behind that, the ground rose gently to the long low ridge running by Aubers, Fromelles and Radinghem--not more than 50 feet above the rest of the country, but for all that a commanding height completely overlooking our positions. The artillery was to the east and south-east of Laventie, where clumps of trees, orchards and hedges gave good cover for the guns. Excellent observation was obtained from the ruined houses along the Rue Tilleloy. On the whole of the British front the year 1915 was really a time of preparation. The hard fighting of 1914 and the first four months of 1915 had caused a considerable drain on the personnel of the army, and though many reinforcements had come out both as drafts and as units--the latter for the most part Territorial troops--yet the great bulk of the New Army was still in England, and could not be expected to turn the balance decisively in our favour until well on in 1916. Nevertheless there was much fighting, especially in certain parts of the front such as the Ypres salient and about La Bassée and in the battles of Neuve Chapelle and Loos. The sector about Laventie during the autumn and winter of 1915 was one of the quietest on the British front. The first month that the Division spent in the line was uneventful, though there was continued activity in some form or other; mining was always being carried out by both sides, and enemy sniping never ceased. The latter caused a certain number of casualties, so that steps had to be taken to deal with it by training snipers of our own. These worked in pairs, the same pair always working on the same ground, so that they got to know every yard of it.