By 5 P.M., 9th May, it was clear from reports received from G.O.C. Bareilly Brigade, Artillery observation-officers, and the First British Division that all attacks, both of the First and Meerut Divisions had failed. After a telephonic conversation with the G.O.C. Meerut Division the Garhwal Brigade was ordered to take over the front line from Bareilly, and this was finally effected by 1 A.M. midnight of the 9th-10th May. The failure of the attacks on this day were due to the insufficient effect produced by the Artillery bombardment and to the great volume of extremely accurate machine-gun fire from front and flanks. As regards the insufficient effect of the Artillery bombardment, it must be remembered that, after their experience in front of Neuve Chapelle on 10th to 13th March, the Germans realised that breastworks of exceptional strength were required, and had accordingly devoted their energies to the construction of improved parapets of great thickness, especially on both sides of the Estaires-La Bassée road, as to the safety of which they were anxious. They had also largely increased the number of machine-guns employed in their front line, locating them in dug-outs heavily strutted with timber, which admitted of the machine-guns being fired just above ground level, and ensured the safety of the detachments during the bombardment. The light shell of our field guns appeared to produce but small results on these improved parapets, and even high-explosive shell had only very local effects. A very considerable proportion of our H.E. shell also failed to detonate satisfactorily. The fire of our 18-pounder guns was accurate enough, as proved by the manner in which the enemy’s wire entanglements had been cut, but owing to some defect in the construction of the shell there were, and continued to be, a very unduly large number of prematures. As regards the fire of our howitzers, both those of 4·5-inch and those of 6·0-inch calibre, the extreme accuracy which we had become accustomed to obtain with them had fallen off considerably as the guns became worn by the large number of rounds fired. In the various intensive bombardments, too, it was reported by the Infantry that a large proportion of our shell had fallen short of the enemy’s front line parapets. This was largely accounted for by the error of the gun, which at the ranges fired at hardly ensured more than twenty-five per cent of shell actually hitting the point aimed at.