h the arrival of the last detachment of the
1st Corps at St. Omer from the Aisne. There to the last they
maintained the fine fighting record which they had earned, for on the
11th--shortly before their departure--they once again gallantly
repulsed a heavy German attack with great loss to the enemy.

On the night of the 11th, the 2nd Division and 16th Brigade had been
withdrawn from the trenches and had begun entraining _en route_ for
St. Omer, being followed shortly by the remainder of the 1st Corps.

The following Order of the Day was issued to the troops on October
16th:--

"Special Order of the Day.

"General Headquarters,
"October 16th, 1914.

"1. Having for 25 days successfully held the line of the River Aisne
between Soissons and Villers against the most desperate endeavours of
the enemy to break through, that memorable battle has now
been brought to a conclusion, so far as the British Forces are
concerned, by the operation which has once more placed us on the left
flank of the Allied Armies.

"2. At the close of this important phase of the campaign, I wish to
express my heartfelt appreciation of the services performed throughout
this trying period by the officers, non-commissioned officers and men
of the British Field Forces in France.

"3. Throughout nearly the whole of those 25 days a most powerful and
continuous fire of artillery, from guns of a calibre never used before
in field operations, covered and supported desperate infantry attacks
made in the greatest strength and directed at all hours of the day and
night on your positions.

"Although you were thus denied adequate rest and suffered great
losses, in no case did the enemy attain the slightest success, but was
invariably thrown back with immense loss.

"4. The powerful endurance of the troops was further greatly taxed by
the cold and wet weather which prevailed during the greater part of
the time.

"5. Paragraph 2 of the Special Order of the Day, August 22nd, ran as
follows:--

"'All the regiments comprising the Expeditionary Force bear on
their colours emblems and names which constantly remind them of
glorious victories achieved by them in the past. I have the most
complete confidence that those regiments, as they stand to-day in
close proximity to the enemy, will not only uphold the
magnificent traditions of former days, but will add fres