_"Together with other inhabitants of the village who were under arrest for similar futile motives, Mme. Roussel and Mme. Flament were questioned by the officer attached to the Colonel commanding the 110th Infantry Regiment. After having ordered them to confess their guilt, this officer was particularly infuriated against Mme. Flament, and promised the others that their lives should be spared if they would denounce her. He had a personal grievance against the woman. A few days before he had asked her for champagne wine, and she had replied that she had not any, but, on leaving the house, he noticed that some of his men had wine and, believing that she had mocked him, he had indulged in violent reproaches._ [Illustration: BEAUMONT-HAMEL, WHERE THE CHURCH USED TO STAND.] _"In spite of the danger, the brave women replied that they preferred to die rather than accuse an innocent person. Exasperated by their resistance, the German allowed them three minutes for reflection, and then had them placed against the wall of the church. While his soldiers covered the women with their rifles, he counted, 'one, two ----,' then, in the belief that this sham execution had terrorized the defenceless women, he allowed them half an hour's respite and sent them back to the Town Hall. At the expiration of this delay he again pressed them with questions, seized two sums of money (one of 776 francs, the other of 1,345 francs, which Mme. Roussel and Mme. Flament, believing that their last hour had come, had requested a friend to hand over to their families), threatened in a fit of rage to have Mme. Flament buried alive, and ordered all the persons under arrest to swear that they were innocent. At the last moment, the courage to carry out this abomination failed him, and he sent the unfortunate women back to Mme. Roussel's house. Here they were watched until October 28, and were then sent to Cambrai with the other inhabitants who had been held as hostages, because they were unable to pay the whole of the war contribution of 8,000 francs which had been set upon the district."_--_Report of December 8, 1915, page 22, Vol. V._ _One kilometre beyond the station of Beaucourt-Hamel the road crosses the village of =Beaucourt=_, where not a single wall remains standing _(see sketch-map, p. 40)_. It was on November 13, 1910, that the British, after capturing Beaumont-Hamel, carried Hill No. 135, between Beaumont and Beaucourt, and reached the outskirts of Beaucourt. The entire village was occupied the next day. But the approaching winter and continuous bad weather did not allow them to exploit their success. In the operations of the previous two days, they had been greatly hampered by the deep sticky mud through which, in places, the men had had to advance up to their waists. It was therefore decided to make the new positions their winter quarters.