Our casualties were nine Officers and 110 other ranks. Lieuts. Salisbury, English, Shinner and Lightfoot, with our M.G. Officer (Groom) and Intelligence Officer (Godfrey) were killed, while Pike, Lepingwell and Holland were wounded, and from this date the Battalion ceased to be exclusively officered by Artists. But although Officers and men came to us from many other Regiments the spirit and traditions of the Corps were maintained to the end: one of the most striking features in connection with the arrival of reinforcements from other units was the rapidity with which our new comrades assimilated Artists’ ideas and methods of getting things done. JANUARY-MARCH, 1918. During January and February, 1918, we put in further tours of duty in the front line (during one of which both the Boche and ourselves lived on top behind our respective parados, the trenches having become nothing but ditches of liquid mud several feet deep), while Col. Harrington left us to command the 2/Rifle Brigade (eventually becoming a Brigadier-General), and Major Lathom who had been temporarily in command of the Fusiliers was appointed acting C.O. of the Artists. The Brigade was then withdrawn to Divisional Reserve at Beaulencourt where we were joined by Major F. S. B. Johnson, 1/Royal Lancaster, as our own new C.O. and our strength was brought up to 28 Officers and 766 other ranks by the addition of a complete half Battalion of the 2nd Bn. London Rifle Brigade which had been broken up on the formation of 3-Battalion Brigades. * * * * * In March we returned to the Couillet Wood sector, and on the 21st had our first experience of the anxious times experienced by the Allies during the Spring of 1918. Shortly after daybreak, while in camp in Havrincourt Wood, we were aroused by a violent bombardment. A dense gas and smoke cloud passed through the Wood as we moved to our battle positions. On the way up Lt. Lintott, L.R.B. (formerly an Artist Sergeant), was killed. The next night we were ordered back to Havrincourt Wood as the enemy had gained a considerable amount of ground on our right (the Fifth Army Front). During the withdrawal, Lt. J. I. Royds was killed in Trescault. We started to dig in, but the next morning were retired to a defence line east of Ytres. There we again made ready to fight a rearguard action, but we were again disappointed as we were directed to withdraw on a line Ytres--Bus-le-Transloy. That night the whole Brigade withdrew into Ytres, and as communication with both Brigade and Divisional H.Q. was lost, a meeting of all the C.O.’s in the Brigade was called, and it was arranged that the Brigade should form a defensive flank extending East-West, to conform with the withdrawal of the 2nd Division on our left. The Brigade was then taken over by Lt.-Col. Collings Wells of the 4th Bedfords, who for his good work during the withdrawal was awarded the V.C.[12]