On the 10th I walked up to Estourmel with Elston, my Staff Captain, to see the 312th Brigade, which was then temporarily under Major Arnold Forster's command, vice Lieut.-Colonel Eden, who had gone home on a course a short time previously. Lieut.-Colonel R. H. Johnson, D.S.O., took over the command a few days later. I remember that we were much struck by the rapid change in the appearance of the country. Masnières, the village from which we started, was a mere heap of ruins; the next village on the road, Seranvillers, had been badly knocked about, and then came Wambaix, which was in not quite so bad a state. After that the country presented an almost normal appearance, and church spires and compact little villages were to be seen dotted about the landscape, practically unharmed by the brutal Boche, who was now retiring in such haste that he had little time to carry out the wanton destruction in which his soul delighted. In Estourmel most of the houses were in pretty good condition, and even contained furniture. The gardens were cultivated, and Elston, as good and thorough a Staff Captain in the lighter as he was in the sterner duties of warfare, was able to collect a useful load of vegetables for the refreshment of our mess. We moved our headquarters into this village on the 11th. The 310th Brigade advanced on this day to St. Hilaire, still in support of the Guards. The enemy was now holding a strong position along the Selle river, and an attack was arranged for the 20th October in which the whole of the 3rd and 4th Armies were to be engaged. The task of the 62nd Division was to force the passage of the river to capture the town of Solesmes and the village of St. Python, and then to establish itself on a line about 3000 yards north-east of them. The 3rd Divisional Artillery was put under my orders for the battle, and these two brigades, together with the 310th and 312th, began to take up their positions on the 16th, south of the Cambrai--Solesmes road, and about 2000 yards to the west of the river. We established headquarters at Bevillers on the 18th. The barrage was rather a complicated one to make out, not only because it had to be accurately co-ordinated with the barrages of the Guards Division and the 42nd Division on each side of us, but also owing to the fact that large numbers of French civilians were known to be still living in both the town and the village, and we were naturally anxious to put them into as little danger as possible. It was finally decided not to direct any artillery on Solesmes itself, but only on its suburbs on our side of the river, and on the village of St. Python. It was assumed that the civilians would take refuge in the cellars, and as no high explosive shell were to be fired at the buildings, but only shrapnel, the risk to them would not be a serious one. These suburbs and St. Python were at the time in "No Man's Land," and for a few nights before the battle our infantry patrols used