Aeroplane Photo taken 9th September, 1917, from a point near Pond Farm.
Since 31st July, 1917, the ground along the STEENBEEK captured by us on that day had been the scene of bloody fighting, two attempts by other Divisions to advance beyond the Black Line of the previous attack having been made and having failed, so that with small variations the front taken over by us on 15th September was identical with that held when we had come out six weeks before.
The ground over which we had to pass was commanded by two spurs—the GRAFENSTAFEL SPUR half a mile to the north, and the GALLIPOLI SPUR, part of which was within our frontage, to the south; and apart from the concrete blockhouses on our own front, every yard of our advance was raked by machine gun bullets from innumerable others on our flanks, so that until these were put out of action no advance was possible without appalling losses. Add to this the total absence of landmarks in that amorphous wilderness, where no trees, no blade of grass remained, every square yard of ground having been churned up by our shell fire—the extreme difficulty of distinguishing one blockhouse from another—the fact that Companies had been reduced to three Platoons and Platoons to only 20 men owing to lack of sufficient reinforcements—and when you have studied the maps and photographs and tried to visualise the ground, you may form some idea of what the Battalion had to do on the 20th September, 1917. The GRAFENSTAFEL ROAD was our one hope of keeping direction—the road which, as the photographs clearly show, became utterly indistinguishable from the surrounding mire within 200 yards of our starting point; when this failed, general direction was only kept by use of the compass.
The material paragraphs of the Operation Order and the official account of the battle are as follows:—
THE OPERATION ORDER.
1. (a) The 55th Division will attack on Z day. The 9th Division will be on the right, and the 58th Division on the left.
(b) The 165th Infantry Brigade will be on the right, the 164th Infantry Brigade on the left, the 166th Brigade less two Battalions will be in reserve.
(c) The 1/4th Royal Lancaster Regiment and the 1/4th Loyal North Lancashire Regiment will be in the right or KEIR sector.
The 2/5th Lancashire Fusiliers in the centre or COTTS sector.
The 1/8th Liverpool Regiment in the left or SCHULER sector.
The 1/5th Royal Lancaster Regiment will be attached to the 164th Infantry Brigade and be available for the countering of enemy counter-attacks.
2. On the night 13th/14th the (German) 2nd Guards Reserve Division came into the line opposite to the 55th Divisional front and is reported to be holding the line with all three regiments up, one Battalion of each Regiment being in the line, one in support, and one in immediate reserve.
Those in reserve are located west of the PASSCHENDALE RIDGE.
| 3. (a) First pause of the barrage | RED DOTTED LINE. |
| First objective in | YELLOW LINE. |
| Final objective in | GREEN LINE. |