his was a very different place from what it had
been during the winter, and being full of troops, the Battalion had only
one-third of its former area in which to accommodate itself. Anti-aircraft
batteries, tunnelling companies, transport lines, field hospitals, and
observation balloons were everywhere.

The training was complete. Everyone knew the orders and it was merely a
case of waiting for "Z" day, the day of the attack. On the 29th July,
which turned out to be "X" day, the fighting personnel left Brandhoek, and
moved to Durham Redoubt, an area just west of Ypres, where the men
bivouacked for the night. The next day illuminating flares, iron rations,
spare water-bottles, bombs, and maps were given to the men.

Though all knew the role of the Battalion and its allotted objectives, no
one in the Battalion knew the extent of the attack, or which divisions
were attacking, or what was to happen if all objectives were captured. It
was believed that if the attack succeeded, there were other divisions in
rear ready to exploit the success. Wild rumours began to filter through.
One of the most prevalent was that eighty mines would be sprung at zero,
and this was inspiring to all, and infused new courage into the men.

Towards evening the companies left the area, and slowly in the darkness
moved via the Plaine d'Amour past the Dixmude Gate and the Dead End to
Oxford Trench, where they took up a position and waited. This waiting was
very unpleasant, as the enemy was obviously expecting an attack and
shelled the whole area almost all night. There was little shelter, as the
trench was shallow and wide, and several were wounded before the fight
commenced.

The objective allotted to the Battalion consisted of a section of the
enemy second line called the "Stutzpunkt" Line, comprising Pommern Redoubt
(called "Gartenhof" by the Germans) to Bank Farm, known to the enemy as
"Blucher." The distance of the objective from the Battalion's zero
position was approximately a mile and a half, which was at that period of
the war a big distance to be called upon to cover in one day.

Two hours before zero it became known that the artillery was firing gas
shells on the enemy batteries, so that at zero the enemy would not be able
to work their guns. The drone of the gas shells passing overhead, and the
knowledge of this device on the part of the British artillery, was very
reassuring to the waiting troops.

For a few minutes before zero all