; and took a defense 300 yards
to the southeast of the hamlet. Two farms west of the road and
south of Richebourg l'Avoue, the farm du Bois and the farm of the
Cour de l'Avoue, in front of which latter the surrendering Saxons
were slain, had been held by the Germans with numerous machine guns.
The British took both farms by nightfall and found, on counting
their prisoners, that they then had a total of 608 as well as several
machine guns.

The Second and Seventh Divisions were withdrawn by Sir Douglas
Haig on the following day, Wednesday, May 19, 1915. The Fifty-first
Division and the Canadians took the places of the men who were sadly
in need of relief from active duty. Lieutenant General Alderson
received the command of both divisions together with the artillery
of both the Second and Seventh Divisions. The cold, wet weather
hampered operations and there was comparatively little activity,
though hostilities by no means altogether ceased. Each side needed
a little rest and time to fill in gaps in their respective lines.
Hence it was not until Sunday, May 23, that any fighting on a large
scale took place. On that day the Seventh Prussian Army Corps made
a desperate effort to break through that part of the British line
held by the Canadians near Festubert. The Prussians used their
old tactics with the result that the British shrapnel, rifle, and
machine-gun fire plowed great holes in their ranks. The Teutons in
this instance were without adequate artillery support, for many
of their batteries had been made useless by the British. From then
on to May 25, 1915, there were several small engagements in which
the British made gains. Then Sir John French concluded to end the
activity of his men on this part of the front. In that connection
he made the following statement: "I had now reasons to consider
that the battle which was commenced by the First Army on May 9 and
renewed on the 16th, having attained for the moment the immediate
object I had in view, should not be further actively proceeded
with.

"In the battle of Festubert the enemy was driven from a position
which was strongly intrenched and fortified, and ground was won
on a front of four miles to an average depth of 600 yards."

* * * * *

CHAPTER X

ATTACKS AT LA BASSEE

The British had discovered the futility of attempting to smash through
the German lines without an adequate supply of high-explosive shells
with which to de