layed action. We continued our march in the direction of
Douai, reaching Planque on the 21st and stopping there for three days.
The further we went the better the condition of the villages became. At
Planque the houses looked intact, though the interiors were strewn with
rubbish; still after some cleaning up it looked quite well and by a
little selection the billets became quite well furnished. The only place
the enemy had blown up was his bathing establishment and delousing
plant, a fine place built of concrete.

From Flines we marched to Landas, and after one night there we moved to
Lecelles. We were gradually overtaking the Hun, and this village
received unwelcome attentions from his guns and aeroplanes. The
civilians had been sent away, but many of them visited their homes by
day to collect the produce of their gardens and to salve odd pieces of
furniture. Part of the village seemed to disappear daily, and one could
see that a comparatively short time was required to produce such sad
sights as we had seen around Vimy. During our week at Lecelles we did
some useful training. The Corps Commander announced his intention of
inspecting the Battalion at work; and, having made the most minute
preparations for this event, including the engaging at great risk of a
L.T.M. Battery to give a vivid touch to our company schemes, we got
orders to move to St. Amand, being now in Brigade reserve. Once more we
were fortunate in our billets, but at this stage of the war even the
front line was not without its comforts.

On our Divisional front the enemy was holding a line fortified by the
River Escaut, the Jard Canal, and a flooded area. It was not intended
that we should attack him here. The plan was to push him on both flanks
and thus force his withdrawal from a position, a frontal assault upon
which would have involved heavy loss, even granted that his numbers were
few. Very close touch was maintained by means of patrols, which had to
employ somewhat primitive rafts to negotiate the intervening water. The
Hun's withdrawal was clearly a matter of hours, and on the morning of
the 8th November we moved forward to Odomez in readiness for the chase.
The same day we received the code word which set in motion the machinery
of pursuit.

The following morning, with the aid of a very temporary bridge, we
continued our advance. The retreating enemy had made a thorough job of
the cross-roads, and guns and transport had to make wide detours.