midday onwards the rate of progress
decreased, the bad weather making it impossible for our artillery to see
what was going on, and rendering the joining up of the different corps
extremely difficult. From the Buttes de Souain and Tahure the enemy
directed converging fires on our men, who were advancing along very open
ground. Nevertheless they continued their advance as far as the slopes
of Hill 193 and the Butte de Tahure, and there dug themselves in.

[Sidenote: Contact with second German position.]

The night passed without any counter-attack by the enemy. Our artillery,
including several field batteries, which had arrived immediately after
the attack beyond the York trench, also brought forward its heavy
pieces. At dawn the reconstituted regiments made another forward rush
which enabled them to establish themselves in immediate contact with the
second German position from the Butte de Souain to the Butte de Tahure,
and even to seize several advanced posts in that neighbourhood.

But on the lower slopes some of the wire entanglements remained intact;
a successful assault on them would have been possible only after a fresh
preparation. Up to October 6, 1915, the troops remained where they were,
digging trenches and organizing a defensive system which had to be
constructed all over again on ground devastated by the enemy fire.

[Sidenote: Ravin des Cuisines.]

(4) _Sector of Le Mesnil._ It was to the north of Le Mesnil that we
encountered the greatest resistance on the part of the adversary. In the
course of the engagements of the preceding winter we had succeeded in
securing a foothold on top of the hill numbered 196. The Germans
remained a little to the east, in a ravine which we continued to call by
its designation of the "Ravine of the Kitchens" (Ravin des Cuisines).
Our assault rendered us masters of it, but we could make no further
progress.

[Sidenote: Fighting on the Butte du Mesnil.]

The German trenches are constructed on the northern slopes of Hill 196,
and are concealed from field observation so that it is difficult for the
artillery to play upon them. Moreover, they are flanked on one side by
the twin heights of the Mamelles, on the other by the Butte du Mesnil.
To the eastward some of our units contrived on September 25, 1915, to
penetrate into the trenches of the _butte_ (knoll), but failed to
maintain their ground, in consequence of a counter-attack supported by
flank fires. Westward, it was not