Despite desperate rear-guard actions, and the strenuous efforts made
by the Germans to hinder the advance, the British continued to press
forward. The village of Ligny about a mile and a half west of Bapaume
was occupied, as well as the village of Le Barque. North of the Ancre
the western and northern defenses of Puisieux were wrested from the
Germans.

On February 27, 1917, the British pushed forward all along the
eleven-mile line stretching from south of Gommecourt to west of Le
Transloy. The British objective at this time was a crest overlooking
the high ground running between Achiet-le-Petit and Bapaume. At every
stage of the British advance fresh evidences were found of the German
destructive methods before retiring. The carefully built dugouts which
they had so long occupied had been reduced by explosives to heaps of
rubbish.

The Germans had left certain bodies of men behind with machine guns to
hinder the British pursuit. As they had carefully chosen their
positions they were enabled to work considerable damage. The British
had encounters with some of these outposts on the 27th in the
neighborhood of Box and Rossignol Woods. The Germans, having found
that their machine-gun fire did not restrain the advance, tried a
shrapnel barrage which proved more effective, but only delayed the
pursuers for a short time.

The British troops were so elated over the fact that the Germans were
retreating that they made light of the ingenious obstacles thrown in
their way. The great advance continued, the British occupying
Rossignol Wood, Rossignol Trench, and considerable ground to the
northeast of Puisieux. The latter place was partly occupied by Germans
who fought as if determined that the British should pay a high cost
for possession of the village. The British had worked their way into a
corner of the line, and other parties were engaged in driving out the
defenders, who fought from house to house.

Southeast of the village the British line was being pushed out above
Miraumont and Beauregard Dovecote. The Germans in the Gommecourt
salient shelled Miraumont and bombarded the neighborhood with high
explosives in reckless fashion as if eager to consume their supplies.

During the night of February 27, 1917, the German troops abandoned
Gommecourt and the British took possession. Here on July 1, 1916, the
Londoners had fought with desperate valor in assaulting an almost
impregnable position, and in the storm of massed gunfi