ion was
paid to bombing posts, and the defence scheme always contained a plan for
a counter attack by the bombers, who were organised as a separate section,
working directly under the orders of the Commanding Officer. They were
given simple schemes and exercises in counter-attack while in the
trenches. For example the non-commissioned officer in command of a squad
would be told that the enemy had entered a particular sector of the
trench. He would then block the trench or deliver an imaginary counter
attack along the trench with the object of dislodging the fictitious
enemy, as the case might require. The companies were trained to take
shelter in the dugouts in the event of a heavy bombardment and immediately
on its cessation to re-man the front line. In the village when the
Battalion was in support it held three centres of resistance known from
right to left as Petit Moulin, Wailly Keep, and Petit Chateau. Wailly Keep
was a fortified farm on the fringe of the village, with loop-holed walls
and the adjacent roads barricaded. It was a relic of the French defence
scheme and was sound.

The strictest precautions were taken against a gas attack. Each man had
two P.H. helmets which he had to keep with him at all times. Moreover,
sentries were instructed how to recognise gas and sound the alarm
immediately they noticed enemy gas. Large cartridge cases from the guns
were used as gas gongs, and Strombos horns were installed so as to spread
the alarm quickly should occasion arise. This was a much better scheme
than the one in which the bugler was to sound the alarm. As the lines were
near there was some danger of a flammenwerfer attack, so the whole
Battalion was taken on the 17th March to a demonstration, and shown what
to do should such an attack take place. One Lewis gun was given to each
company in place of the machine guns which were taken away from the
Battalion, and the Stokes mortar made its appearance in the trenches. This
was an over-rated weapon. Its range was very limited and it was soon
out-distanced by similar German weapons. Its bombs were essentially for
use against personnel at a range when rifles would have been cheaper and
more efficacious. Its bombs were not heavy enough for use against
earthworks, and wrought little damage on trenches. Its use and its
ammunition supply entailed large carrying parties which robbed the
companies of the men and sapped their energy.

In May steel helmets were made part of every