think about, and when instances of the
unreasonableness and veritable folly of war are cited from other fronts,
they can always be equalled by experiences at Ypres.

In many respects, however, the 7th were lucky in this sector, for we did
not actually go over the top during our stay. Other units of the
division carried out what would be termed minor operations (which are
anything but minor operations to the people concerned), but the 7th
escaped any such work. So far as we were concerned it was a continuation
of line-holding, but under vastly new conditions. It would be useful,
perhaps, to indicate the nature of these conditions.

As all the world knows the third battle of Ypres commenced on the 31st
July, 1917, preceded by a terrific concentrated bombardment of the Hun
positions lasting about ten days. The effect of this bombardment was to
obliterate all signs of life on that part of the earth, with the
exception of a few horrible, naked, and shattered trees. Nothing green
was visible anywhere. In fact the land looked as though it had been a
very choppy earth-brown sea suddenly frozen to stillness. Everywhere
was shell-holes, shell-holes, shell-holes--large and small. Only by
careful searching could one ascertain where enemy trenches had been.
Dotted about over this terrain were the Hun "pill-boxes," concrete
shelters in which the enemy had made their last machine gun fight.
Whereas at one time they had been skilfully concealed from view, they
were now standing stark above the ground which had been torn away from
them. Some of the pill-boxes, indeed, had been smashed in by direct hits
from the heavies, so deadly had been our gun fire during those ten days.

The opening of the British offensive had brought bad luck with regard to
weather. The men had gone over in a terrific downpour of rain, so that
all the advantage lay with the defences. The tanks had struggled
wonderfully with the appalling conditions, but the ground was against
them, and most of them were "ditched" before they were knocked out. A
few, however, had got well ahead, until they were out of action, and it
hardly required field glasses to be able to distinguish them within the
enemy's lines, now functioning, by the cruelty of fate, as German
pill-boxes and sniper-posts. Such was the salient in the early days of
September when the 42nd went up to take over the "line."

It was ascertained that we were to relieve the 15th division, a most
excellent divis