On May 17, 1915, the Canadian infantry brigades, raised to full strength, were on their way to the firing lines. By this date the British had driven two salients into the German lines, one north of Festubert and the other to the south of it. The operation of connecting the two salients was pressed during the day. On May 18, 1915, the Canadian Third Brigade occupied reserve trenches, two companies of the 14th (Royal Montreal) Battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Meighen, and two companies of the 16th (Canadian Scottish) under Lieutenant Colonel (afterward Brigadier General) Leckie being ordered to advance on La Quinque Rue to the northwest of an Orchard which the Germans had made a strong defensive position. The 16th Canadian Scottish were ordered to make a flanking movement on this position, advancing for this purpose through an old German communicating trench. They were to attack at the same time as the frontal attack developed. This movement was hurriedly carried out, there being no time to reconnoiter the ground. The 16th battalion company which undertook the flanking operation reached its position. The remaining company of that regiment and the 14th advanced under intense shell fire, reaching part of their objective, but were unable at once to carry out the attack on the German position in the Orchard as they lacked a covering fire. They were ordered to dig themselves in and link up with the Wiltshire Battalion on the right and the Coldstream Guards on the left. This was after an advance had been made of about 500 yards. Two companies of the 16th sent up by Lieutenant Colonel Leckie came to their assistance in the work of trench digging and relieved the two original companies at daybreak. Sometime in the night the companies of the 14th Battalion (Royal Montreal) were also withdrawn, the Coldstream Guards on one flank and the 16th Canadian Scottish on the other spreading out so as to hold the trench. The attack on the Orchard was ordered for the night of May 20, 1915. Major Leckie, a brother of the Lieutenant Colonel of that name, made a reconnoissance of the German position. One of the patrols engaged in this work had a narrow escape from being cut off by the enemy and the other suffered a number of casualties, showing that the Germans were alert and that the Canadians had a hard task before them. In the course of the night the Canadian Scottish had worked their way forward and established a garrison of thirty men with two machine guns in a deserted house not far from the German lines. This operation was carried out with such secrecy that the enemy never learned that a garrison was in the building, which remained unharmed while all the British trenches were under heavy bombardment.