two men,
and had sent them in to try to find out what was happening. A platoon
was at once told off to relieve them, and a few minutes later we were
able to welcome them back.

[Illustration: MOEUVRES, SEPT. 1918.

SCALE, 1: 20,000.]

These men had gamely stuck to their post for 96 hours. They had no food
or water other than what they had taken with them, namely, what is
technically known as "the unexpired portion of the day's ration," and an
iron ration each and a water bottle full of water. They had been
continually surrounded by enemies and had beaten off every attack. They
had yielded not a foot of ground, in spite of the fact that our own
barrage had twice passed over them. They had no information, and no
orders beyond those given when they were mounted, and yet they remained
at their post until they were covered by our own troops in front of
them. For this deed Corpl. Hunter got the V.C. and was promoted
Sergeant: the other six men of his post each got the D.C.M.

Between ten and eleven a full strength battalion of the Canadians
relieved us, and they found that their first job was to dig shelters for
their men, as the three or four dug-outs which had served to protect our
small battalion were quite insufficient for them. By midnight we were on
our way home to Queant.

Our four days at Moeuvres were among the most trying we spent in the
war, and we have the presumption to think we did well. Three companies
received a special message from the Brigadier. The fourth company would
have got it also, but by the luck of the war it was out of all the
scrapping. "B" Company were occupying a most uncomfortable position for
four days in No-Man's Land, but the enemy did not think it worth while
visiting them. Consequently this company, owing to the fact that they
had no opposition, had to hold the front for four days unrelieved, and
were through no fault of their own omitted.

The telephones were never working when they were most required, but that
was no fault of the signallers. The incessant enemy shelling was
continually cutting the wires, and it was as a rule only for odd
intervals of half an hour at a time when things were quiet that
Headquarters was through to companies. In spite, however, of the
heaviest shelling the signallers never allowed a break to go unmended,
and they were continually out under heavy fire repairing the damage. The
state of the telephone service forced us to rely on a sadly depleted
staff o