Turning now to the action on the French front, and to the German assault on Kemmel Hill,[120] and observing that St. Eloi and Dranoutre, to the East and West of the position, fell at an early hour into the enemy’s hands, we have to record that by 10 a.m. on April 25th Kemmel Village and Hill had both been lost. It will be recalled from our summary of this fighting that Lt.-Col. Bousfield, Commanding some units of the 49th Division (146th Brigade) had been left in Command on Kemmel Hill on April 11th, and handed over to the French Divisional Commander on the 19th. He and his fellow Yorkshiremen continued the defence till the last moment with conspicuous courage and devotion. On April 26th, at 3 a.m., counter-attacks were made by the French and British in combination, in which Troops from the 49th Division, attached to the 25th, again bore themselves gallantly. But the position then was irretrievable, at least in its main aspects, and the line in the salient was further re-adjusted during the night of April 26th/27th. This brief account of a big event (the darkest hour of the Flemish battle, it has been called) might be extended into the local fighting which marked the course of the next few days. But an extract from one Officer’s diary may suffice as a sample of what was happening: we have trusted his judgment before, and his first and last sentences are decisive. He writes on April 28th: ‘The Germans were not ready to profit by their success at Kemmel. During the next three days there was a good deal of shelling by long-range guns, but no attacks, and the Battalion [it was in the 148th Brigade] was able to improve the line greatly, with Lewis gun posts pushed well forward to command the valley in front. A French cart stranded in No Man’s Land was found to be full of excellent signalling equipment, which improved our communications. ‘_29th April._—On April 29th the Germans made what proved to be their last attempt on the Ypres front. Their plan was to attack on the whole front from Dranoutre to Voormezeele, and so pierce the line to the South of the city. A heavy bombardment with shells of the heaviest calibre opened and continued unceasingly from 3 a.m. to 4 p.m. It was probably the heaviest bombardment the Battalion has had to face, and casualties were many, including some of the finest fighters of the Battalion. At 4, the Germans attacked. On the 7th Battalion front, where there was dead ground, the Germans got into the line, and were only driven out by successive bayonet charges. On the 6th Battalion front, the forward posts could see the Germans descending Kemmel, and with Lewis gun and Rifle fire stopped them dead with great loss. Before dark, the attack had definitely failed along the line: the Germans had played their last card.’