On 2nd May telegrams, sent by Sir Douglas Haig to the G.O.C. Second Army, congratulating certain divisions, were published. One of these referred to the 49th Division and was as follows: “I desire to express my appreciation of the very valuable and gallant service performed by troops of the 49th Division since its entry into the battle north of Armentières. The courage and determination shown by this Division have played no small part in checking the enemy’s advance, and I wish you to convey to the General Officer Commanding, and to all officers and men under his command, my thanks for all that they have done.” Sir Douglas Haig several times, in the course of his written despatch, refers to the splendid conduct of the troops engaged in the Lys battle. The enemy employed 42 divisions of which 33 were “fresh,” while 9 had come from the Somme. The British had 25 divisions of which only 8 had not been in the furnace of the Somme. Further it has to be kept in view that, as many divisions were sent from the northern to the southern area during the March retreat, the work of and strain upon those left in the north, such as the 49th, were greatly increased: these were thus not “fresh” in the sense that the enemy’s forces were “fresh.” French assistance was of the utmost value in finally convincing the enemy that his offensive was a failure, but that assistance could not come until after the battle had raged for a full week. In paragraph 70 Sir Douglas Haig remarked: “Both by them (the divisions brought from the Somme) and by the divisions freshly engaged every yard of ground was fiercely disputed, until troops were overwhelmed or ordered to withdraw. Such withdrawals as were deemed necessary in the course of the battle were carried out successfully and in good order. “At no time, either on the Somme or on the Lys, was there anything approaching a breakdown of command or a failure of morale. Under conditions that made rest and sleep impossible for days together, and called incessantly for the greatest physical exertion and quickness of thought, officers and men remained undismayed, realising that for the time being they must play a waiting game, and determined to make the enemy pay the full price for the success which for the moment was his.” When one reads the detailed accounts of the work done by any of the divisions on the Lys one is filled with wonder and amazement at the power of endurance, the unbending and self-sacrificing spirit and technical efficiency of units, many of which had suffered a 50 per cent. loss a fortnight or less before the 9th April, and were to the extent of a full half composed of lads sent to France after 22nd March.