with cavalry, ambulances and artillery moving
forward that every now and then it would become blocked. In a mill,
which the Germans had used partly as artillery headquarters and partly
as a depot for military stores, our men found a quantity of blankets,
coats and other useful articles. Our doctors established an aid-post
in the out-buildings, and made use of the materials which the enemy
had left behind in his flight. A section of our machine-gunners (p. 280)
was resting there, and it was a great refreshment to stop for a while
and have a good clean-up and a shave with a borrowed razor. We were so
parched with thirst that we drank out of the stream, in spite of the
fact that many shells had fallen into it. Our final objective was
still some miles away, so I started up the road, following after the
1st Brigade.

The Germans, finding the game was up, had left many guns behind them
and blown up a large quantity of ammunition. One great heap of it lay
beside the river. Very pretty hamlets lay along the valley; we passed
one called Ignacourt, where there was a damaged church. We afterwards
established an ambulance there. I was very tired with my long walk,
not having had any sleep the night before, so was glad to get a lift
on an ambulance and go forward in the afternoon to the village of
Caix, which was the final objective of the 2nd Brigade. One of our
ambulances had taken over a building in the Square, but was shelled
out of it that night. The 10th Battalion had gone forward and taken
possession of trenches beyond the village. I went out to them and
there found the men in high spirits over the way the battle had gone.
The old red patch Division had advanced 14,000 yards, and so had
beaten the record of any division, British or enemy, during the War.
It was now late in the afternoon and no further attack that day was
contemplated. Before us on a slight rise in the ground lay the village
of Rosieres, through which the road ran parallel to the trenches which
we held. Between us and the village was a slight dip in the ground,
and with glasses we could see lorries full of fresh German troops,
amid clouds of dust, making their way to a point in the village. There
they would stop and the men would get out and hurry down the fields
into the trenches. It looked as if they were going to make a
counter-attack. The situation was very disquieting. I was told by one
of the sergeants in our front line that we were in need of fresh