he opposing
forces. The struggle seesawed back and forth, here and there the
Germans gaining a little ground, only to lose it a little later when a
vigorous British attack forced them to fall back, and so the tide of
battle ebbed and flowed.

On July 4, 1916, the heat wave was broken by violent thunderstorms and
a heavy rain that transformed the dusty terrain into quagmires,
through which Briton and German fought on with undiminished spirit and
equal valor. On the morning of July 5, 1916, the British, after one of
the bloodiest struggles in this sector, captured La Boiselle and
carried forward their attack toward Bailiff Wood and Contalmaison.

In the five days' fighting since they assumed the offensive the
British had been hard hit at some points, but at others had registered
substantial gains. They had captured a good part of the German first
line and carried by assault strongly fortified villages defended
stubbornly by valiant troops. The total number of prisoners taken by
the British was by this time more than 5,000. These first engagements
had for the British one exceedingly important result: it gave to the
troops an absolute confidence in their fighting powers. They had shown
successfully that they could measure themselves with the best soldiers
of the kaiser and beat them.

During the day of July 5, 1916, the British repulsed several
counterattacks and fortified the ground that they had already won. On
this date Horseshoe Trench, the main defense of Contalmaison from the
west, was attacked, and here a battalion of West Yorks fought with
distinction and succeeded in making a substantial advance.

There was a pause in the fighting during the day of July 6, 1916, as
welcome to the Germans as to the British, for some rest was
imperative.

On Friday, July 7, 1916, the British began an attack on Contalmaison
from Sausage Valley on the southwest, and from the labyrinth of copses
north of Fricourt through which ran the Contalmaison-Fricourt
highroad.

South of Thiepval there was a salient which the Germans had organized
and strongly fortified during twenty months' preparation. After a
violent bombardment the British attacked and captured this formidable
stronghold. More to the south they took German trenches on the
outskirts of Ovillers.

The attack ranged from the Leipzig Redoubt and the environs of
Ovillers to the skirts of Contalmaison. After an intense bombardment
the British infantry advanced on Contalmais