Assisted by the tanks the British infantry made a strong forward push, and hand-to-hand fighting ensued as soon as they had entered the forest. Every foot of the advance was fiercely contested, but the "men of the bulldog breed" were out to win, and by early afternoon had driven their way through half the wood. Later in the day they gained more ground, occupying a line through the center of the wood to the northwest of Fontaine. In hand-to-hand combats the Germans were slowly forced back toward the northern edge of the forest. A determined counterattack from the north was made by the Germans in an effort to oust the British, but they held firm. While this bloody struggle was going on in and around the wood Fontaine village, which the Germans held strongly, was the scene of fierce fighting. The place was heavily fortified, and the Germans with rifles and machine guns fired from the roofs and windows of the houses. Later in the afternoon the British tanks took a hand in the fighting here, but at the close of the day (November 23) the Germans were still in possession of the place, though sorely depleted in numbers. The fighting was continued in the neighborhood of Bourlon during November 24-25, 1917, with varying fortunes to those engaged. The Germans about noon on the 25th succeeded in driving the British from the greater part of the village. In Bourlon Wood, where the British held strong points on the high ground, the Germans, though repeatedly attacking, failed to make any progress. In the five days that had passed since the British began the offensive on November 20, 1917, they had captured 9,774 prisoners, including 182 officers. The Hindenburg support line west of Moeuvres was attacked by British troops, some from London, during the night of November 25, 1917. The fighting that developed was close and sanguinary, the losses on both sides being considerable, but the British believed they had not paid too dearly for the 2,000 yards of support trenches which they won on this bitterly contested field. At Bourlon Wood and Bourlon village the fighting still continued in one of the most bitterly contested and sanguinary struggles that had been fought up to that time on the British front in France. Bourlon Wood, to which the British clung so tenaciously, was of special value to the Germans if they were to hold their positions farther north, and for that reason they were making extraordinary efforts to regain that elevation. The British had established many guns in good working positions and were prepared to defend it. Fighting was continued on the southern edge of Bourlon village in the night of November 26, 1917. The British broke the German line at one point and brought back a body of English troops that had been isolated for some time in the southern part of the hamlet. Having rescued their fellow soldiers they made no attempt to remain in the village, but dashed back through the gap they had made in the German lines.