Early on the morning of April 5th the 37th Division carried out an attack on Rossignol Wood and a position running thence westwards, under cover of a barrage from the guns, which was kept up from 5.30 to 7.30 a.m. The enemy answered with a very heavy fire on all the batteries, and especially on the headquarters of the right group at Chateau la Haie. Here the Adjutant of the 235th Brigade was wounded, and there were several casualties among the telephonists. About 130 prisoners were captured, including four officers. It soon appeared, however, that this local operation had merely forestalled another tremendous German attack, which reached its full force at about 10.45 a.m., and was kept up all through this and the following day. The Boche bombardment was extraordinarily intense, and stretched far into the back area. It included a large amount of gas shell, concentrated chiefly on the 312th Brigade, which was in action along a hedge close to and south-west of Les Essarts. The brigade fought with magnificent courage, and though inundated with gas shell the batteries never failed to fire when called upon throughout the day; there was scarcely a man but had his hands badly blistered by the foul mustard gas, while many officers and men were temporarily blinded by it. C/312 had a particularly terrible experience. All the six officers with the guns, including Major M. R. H. Crofton, D.S.O., were wounded or gassed, and the majority of the gunners, while several guns were knocked out. In fact by the evening the battery had ceased to exist as a fighting unit, and it was about a fortnight before it could take an active share again in the fighting. Much sympathy was felt for the gallant Battery Commander, Major Crofton. He had already been three or four times wounded during the war, and on this day orders arrived appointing him to the command of a brigade, a promotion which he was unable to avail himself of owing to this fresh wound. It was particularly bad luck, as he had once before missed promotion in Mesopotamia for the same reason, having been badly wounded on the day on which he was appointed to a command. The enemy suffered a sanguinary defeat, being repulsed by our troops with tremendous loss at all points, except that he gained possession of a small corner of Bucquoy. Major G. A. Swain was awarded the Military Cross for his gallant behaviour on the 5th. His battery, D/312, fired no less than 2600 rounds while under the heavy gas bombardment referred to above. During the two days' fighting the following officers were wounded in addition to Major Crofton: Lieut. H. F. Nowill, M.C. } " F. G. Sharpling } A/310. Capt. A. Senior } Lieut. J. B. Boden, M.C. } " S. A. Rissik } all of C/312. " E. W. Puttock } " A. E. Stuttle }