A second phase of the fighting opened when the Battalion moved to Aveluy Wood on the night of the 29th of March.
There had been no time for a proper re-organisation, and the troops had not yet recovered from their exertions during the retreat. The casualties since the morning of the 21st of March numbered no less than 350 (all ranks) and as no reinforcements had joined, it was as well that the second phase opened quietly.
One and a half companies occupied an outpost position in Aveluy Wood, and the remainder of the Battalion was in a ravine 800 yards south of Martinsart. The 22nd Battalion was on the left, with a gap of 400 yards between the two units. For three days this position was held, and except for hostile shelling there was little enemy activity, the casualties for the three days numbering little more than a dozen. The 20th Battalion on the night of the 1st of April, relieved the Civil Service Rifles, who moved into billets in Senlis, and after two days’ rest and a more than welcome bath, the Battalion, now somewhat reorganised, returned to the front line and relieved the 1st Surrey Rifles on the night of the 4th of April. “A” Company held the right, “C” the centre, and a company of the 1st Surrey Rifles, who were attached, held the left. “B” and “D” Companies were in support and Battalion Headquarters was in Bouzincourt. The 9th Royal Fusiliers (12th Division) were on the right of the Civil Service Rifles and the 142nd Brigade on the left.
The few reinforcements who had joined included Major L. L. Pargiter, of the Middlesex Regiment, who came to the Battalion on the 4th of April as second in command.
Such were the dispositions when the battle for Aveluy Wood opened on the morning of the 5th of April.
As usual, the enemy opened with a heavy bombardment on the front line, support trenches, and Bouzincourt, gas shells being freely mixed with the heavier missiles. The bombardment began at 7.0 a.m. and except for three short intervals of about half an hour each, it continued until 4.30 p.m. Throughout the afternoon the bombardment of Bouzincourt was particularly intense. The enemy was excellently supported by his machine guns, which were active all day on the front line and support trenches with both direct and indirect fire.
When the bombardment began the enemy could be seen along the crest opposite the front line in twos and threes (total about 150). These small groups were dispersed by rifle fire, but at about 10.0 a.m. small groups again began to dribble forward over the crest, and these advanced in spite of Lewis gun and rifle fire, by using the cover afforded by huts and sheds, until they reached the trees and broken ground on the outskirts of Aveluy Wood. It is estimated that roughly 300 of the enemy with light machine guns pushed forward in this way. The front line held by the Civil Service Rifles was by this time enfiladed with machine-gun fire and minenwerfers, and under cover of this fire the parties in the broken ground crept forward to within 100 yards of the British front line. These parties showed up several times as if about to rush the position, but whenever they appeared, Lewis gun and rifle fire kept them back, and the intended assault was not delivered.
In the afternoon the enemy was seen to be digging in on the crest from which he had doubled forward earlier in the day, and by 6.0 p.m. this ground was effectually swept by artillery fire, with the result that no further signs of an advance were seen at that point.
By nightfall the enemy appeared to give up the attempt, at all events for that day, and the situation became considerably quieter. “D” Company now relieved the attached Company of the 1st Surrey Rifles in the front line, and this latter Company moved into support. The casualties in the Civil Service Rifles numbered fifty (all ranks), including Colonel Segrave, who was slightly gassed, and who was sent to the transport lines for a well-earned rest, Major Pargiter taking command of the Battalion.