[75]“Difficulty was found in maintaining touch with cavalry owing to the impossibility of keeping up with galloping horsemen on the one hand, and to the impossibility of a mounted advance in the face of heavy machine-gun fire on the other hand. Thus, two sections of ‘C’ Company, 3rd Battalion lost touch with their cavalry in climbing a steep hill out of Ignaucourt Valley.” There were, in fact, innumerable instances of liaison difficulties. “Another Company was ordered to obtain touch with 3rd Cavalry Brigade, but on reporting to the rendezvous, no cavalry was seen. “Zero hour had been postponed three hours, but this was not known till later. “Being unable to obtain touch with the cavalry, assistance was rendered about noon to Canadian infantry attacking Beaufort and Warvillers. This attack was successful and Whippets rendered great assistance.” Far happier was the lot of certain Whippets which played an independent part. The following is a first-hand account of the adventures of one such machine, the ever-to-be-remembered Whippet, “Musical Box.” [Illustration: SMOKE SCREEN AND SEMAPHORE] [Illustration: A TANKADROME] As the story will show, for many months no news was obtained of the fate of the machine or of her crew of one officer, Lieutenant C. B. Arnold, and two men, Gunner Ribbans and Driver Carney, and it was not till January 1919 that the following amazing tale appeared in _Weekly Tank Notes_:-- “On August 8, 1918, I commanded Whippet ‘Musical Box’ in ‘B’ Company, 6th Battalion. We left the lying-up point at zero (4.20 p.m.) and proceeded across country to the south side of the railway at Villers-Bretonneux. We crossed the railway, in column of sections, by the bridge on the eastern outskirts of the town. I reached the British front line and passed through the Australian infantry and some of our heavy Tanks (Mark V.), in company with the remainder of the Whippets of ‘B’ Company. Four sections of ‘B’ Company proceeded parallel with the railway (Amiens-Ham) across country due east. After proceeding about 2000 yards in this direction I found myself to be the leading machine, owing to the others having become ditched, etc. To my immediate front I could see more Mark V. Tanks being followed very closely by Australian infantry. About this time we came under direct shell-fire from a 4-gun field battery, of which I could see the flashes, between Abancourt and Bayonvillers. Two Mark V. Tanks, on my right, were knocked out. I saw clouds of smoke coming out of these machines and the crews evacuate them. The infantry following the heavy machines were suffering casualties from this battery. I turned half-left and ran diagonally across the front of the battery, at a distance of about 600 yards. Both my guns were able to fire on the battery, in spite of which they got off about eight rounds at me without damage, but sufficiently close to be audible inside