[52] _The heavy artillery at the disposal of the British Commander-in-Chief amounted at this time to two batteries of 6-inch howitzers, six of 60-pounders, and three of 4·7-inch guns, a total of forty-four guns and howitzers in all (each battery having four guns)._ [53] _At this time the Allied line from the Menin road south was held by the 7th Division, supported by about two infantry brigades of the I Corps, the line being carried on thence to Messines by part of the XVI French Corps and British Cavalry Divisions, and two battalions of the Lahore Division. Nearly all these units had been heavily engaged for a week or more, and were much under strength, but even at full war establishment would have been outnumbered by nearly two to one._ [54] _See footnote 51. The IX French Corps is mentioned for the third time as a new arrival._ [55] See page 62. [56] _It is difficult to see how this assertion can be supported on the statements previously given, even apart from the fact that the German units were fresh and the British troops facing them reduced by previous heavy losses. The British claim to have held out against great odds is no more than the bare truth. The battalions of the 1st Division who had held up the attack of the 46th Reserve Division north-west of Langemarck on 23rd October were still in the line when the Prussian Guard attacked on 11th November--or rather a scanty remnant of them was: in the interval they had fought and held up a succession of attacks._ [57] _The 7th Division had never left the line; a few battalions only had been given a day's rest, but the division as a whole had not been relieved._ [58] _These squadrons belonged to the 1st and 2nd Life Guards, each of which regiments had a squadron cut off when Zandvoorde was stormed. None of the III British Corps were in this area, the extreme left of the Corps being about the river Douve, south of Messines._ [59] _There was no strong counter-attack in the Wambeke area: the very thin line of the 2nd Cavalry Division (perhaps 3000 rifles on a front of two miles) was forced back to a position much nearer Wytschaete and St. Eloi, where it received reinforcements amounting to about a brigade of French infantry._ [60] Messines ridge. [61] _The amount of work it had been possible to do there in preparing the position for defence had been very much restricted by lack of time and want of labour. 'Deep trenches protected by broad wire entanglements' is a much exaggerated statement._ [62] _An attack was made by the Germans on Messines about this time, but was decisively repulsed._ [63] _I and II Cavalry Corps. See Order of Battle._