nd Highland Regiments had forced their way a number of times into the
blood-soaked streets of the village, only to be driven out again with
a murderous machine gun and howitzer fire. There was not much of the
place left. Every house had been set on fire and the pavements were a
shambles. Highlanders, Irish Fusiliers, Canadians and Huns had fought
it out in the crooked streets hand to hand. As the shades of evening
fell over the scene the German still held his ground, but our
artillery had come up in increasing numbers and were raining deadly
gusts of shrapnel over the tile and pavements, making it impossible
for any creature to live in the place.

We learned that fragments of the 2nd Canadian Brigade still held their
trenches near Gravenstafel Ridge, that the valiant Suffolks were still
in part of our supporting trenches, and that the Hun had made no
progress along the line of the Poelcapelle Road east of St. Julien.
The Red Watch had not held in vain. The Hun was just as far away from
Ypres and Calais as ever.

We waited until long after midnight for General Turner, V.C., and his
staff, and when they did not appear we decided something must have
happened to them. Silently in Indian file the brigade slipped quietly
through Wieltje, led by one of my signallers, Sergeant Calder, who
knew every hedge, ditch and by-way in the Ypres salient. It had been
the custom, and a good one, with our signallers, as soon as we got
into a new area to bicycle and walk all over it so that they could
readily find their way about in the dark. Sergeant Calder took us as
straight as a gunbarrel across fields and ditches to the stone road
that ran from the unfortunate headquarters of the 3rd Brigade which we
could still see was a lurid mass of flames in the distance. We gave
General Turner and Col. Hughes up for lost.

Along each hedge we passed we were halted by English "Tommies" who,
busy as moles, were digging in. The Germans would find that a tough
crop had grown up during the night in the shell-stricken field of the
Ypres salient.

Every minute or so there would be a burst of rifle fire along the
German lines. They were beginning to show "nerves" and signs of
exhaustion. They had paid a terrific price so far for the few
blood-soaked acres they had won.

As we reached La Bryke we met at the crossroads two British staff
officers on horseback who wanted to know the way to Wieltje and
General Hull's Headquarters there. One of them was Br