Nothing, it would seem, was further from the Germans’ thoughts than that the steaming quiet of the early autumn morning was to be so terribly broken. At a quarter past four his lines were perfectly silent. He was far from being in a truculent mood in this sector, and for a week his attitude had been unobtrusive. Here and there a German sentry, his grey greatcoat silvered like gossamer by the pearls of the mist, would cough, stamping his feet as he peered listlessly through the fog for stray trespassers in No Man’s Land. Suddenly at 4.20 our massed artillery opened an intense fire along the eleven miles of front. The German front line was drenched in a hurricane of shells, and behind, his unprepared batteries were for some time completely smothered by the violence of our fire. Before the Germans had had time to recover their wits, all along the line the Tanks emerged by tens and twenties upon them out of the fog. The forward positions were completely overwhelmed, the Tanks not so much destroying the enemy with their fire as simply running down his machine-gun emplacements and crushing crews and guns beneath them. Our first wave was soon out beyond the enemy’s lightly held front-trench system, and the survivors and the second wave were fighting their way through his scattered machine-gun emplacements towards the first phase objective. With the Australians in the centre, a Company of the 13th Battalion advanced rapidly over undulating country, apparently “swallowing the ground” of both first and second phases at a run. [70]“The method of attack was adapted to suit the ground; leaving the infantry established on a crest, Tanks would go forward across the valley, maintaining fire on isolated machine-gun posts, and gain positions on the forward ridge. In all cases this induced the enemy to give themselves up, and enabled the infantry to advance to the next crest. On the right of this sector ‘B’ Company quickly placed their infantry in their final first phase objective north of the main road. ‘C’ Company on the left had more trouble; a field gun placed on the high ground across the river near Chipilly was in position to enfilade the advance, and knocked out three Tanks. This for some time caused a withdrawal by the infantry. By noon, however, the remaining Tanks had placed their infantry in the required final positions, and all active opposition had ceased. Throughout the operation there was abundant evidence of the hasty retreat of the enemy. In the gully south-east of Morcourt a transport-park, complete with wagons and harness, was left behind, and at the southern end of the same gully a field canteen was found well stocked with light wines and German beer.” With the Canadians also the advance was rapid, but here the mist was so thick that Tank sections got completely mixed up and fought cheerfully all over each other’s areas.