General Pereira, commanding the 1st Guards Brigade, issued the following order on the 27th September: You have again maintained the high traditions of the 1st Guards Brigade when called upon a second time in the battle of the Somme. For five days previous to the assault the 2nd and 3rd Battalion Coldstream Guards held the trenches under constant heavy shell-fire and dug many hundred yards of assembly and communication-trenches, this work being constantly interrupted by the enemy’s artillery. The 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards and the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, though under shell-fire in their bivouacs, were kept clear of the trenches until the evening of 24th September, and were given the task of carrying by assault all the objectives to be carried by this Brigade. Nothing deterred them in this attack, not even the fact that in places the enemy wire was cut in the face of rifle and machine-gun fire, and in spite of all resistance and heavy losses the entire main enemy defensive line was captured. Every Battalion in the Brigade carried out its task to the full. The German Reserve Division, which includes the 238th, 239th, and 240th Regiments, and which opposed you for many weeks at Ypres, left the Salient on the 18th September. You have now met them in the open, a worthy foe, but you have filled their trenches with their dead and have driven them before you in headlong flight. I cannot say how proud I am to have had the honour of commanding the 1st Guards Brigade in this battle, a Brigade which has proved itself to be the finest in the British Army. The Brigade is now under orders for rest and training, and it must now be our object to keep up the high standard of efficiency, and those who have come to fill our depleted ranks will strive their utmost to fill worthily the place of those gallant officers and men who have laid down their lives for a great cause. (Sd.) C. E. PEREIRA, Brigadier-General, Commanding 1st Guards Brigade. _September 28, 1916._ Lord Cavan had sent the following message to General Pereira: Hearty thanks and sincere congratulation to you all. A very fine achievement splendidly executed. To which the Brigadier had replied: Your old Brigade very proud to be able to present you with Lesbœufs. All ranks most gratified by your kind congratulations.