Later in the day the companies went forward over the ground captured by the other units in the Brigade, and one or two patrols were sent out. The following evening the Battalion was withdrawn to a bivouac area outside Croisilles, which vicinity was shelled by a 350 m.m. Krupp gun. The Battalion was reorganised on a four-company basis once more the next day.
On the 7th September the Battalion proceeded, via Hendicourt and Riencourt, to a reserve position by Cagnicourt, and on the 10th the Battalion furnished two companies for manning the Buissy Switch in the rear of Inchy-en-Artois. Battalion headquarters were situated in the Hindenburg Line and the two forward companies were just on the fringe of Inchy, and accommodated in what had lately been the headquarters of the 115th Feldartillerie Regiment. The dugout was cut into the side of the road and consisted of several well-timbered rooms and there were about four entrances. This dugout was so well fitted that it actually contained a pump, to ensure an adequate supply of water for the garrison.
On the 11th September there was an attack by other units in the 57th Division in conjunction with the Guards Division on the east side of Inchy and Moeuvres, so as to secure the line of the
Canal du Nord. The attack was covered by an intense bombardment of the enemy front positions and Bourlon Wood, and the advance of the infantry was covered by smoke. Officers from the Battalion observed the attack from Buissy Switch to note where lay the enemy barrage lines. The attack at Inchy was, unfortunately, a failure.
On the 12th the Battalion took over the defence of Inchy. The right company was located in Grabburg Post, and the left in a shell crater position by the Agache Springs. The other two companies were in support. The conditions were bad, and the men in front had to lie in their shell craters all day. As these generally contained water, the men got very wet. The village was incessantly shelled and periodically drenched with gas. Even night brought no respite and the guns still disgorged their fatal missiles. Some idea of the intensity of the shell fire may be gained from the following incident.
"A" Company headquarters and one platoon were quartered in a long cellar belonging to a factory. The cellar was divided into two compartments, and of these only the one further from the entrance was occupied. While the shelling was taking place the Company Commander was out interviewing the Commanding Officer and, returning to his headquarters, he saw shell after shell burst in the vicinity. When the intensity of the fire was somewhat mitigated, he returned to company headquarters and there saw a shell had entered and burst in the empty compartment. When he asked the men about it they did not know what had happened, and they even had not noticed it amid the several other shells that had burst close by.
While at Inchy the Battalion had the misfortune to lose its most popular officer, who was
killed while doing a daylight patrol in Pavilland Wood. He had fought in the first Battle of Ypres in 1914 and had remained in France until wounded in 1917. Though blind in one eye and deaf in one ear, he insisted on returning to the battlefield after his wounds had healed. His conduct stands out in sharp contrast to the thousands who were evading service at home.
On the 16th September, the Battalion was relieved and marched by companies to a bivouac area by Bullecourt. On arrival a thunderstorm took place. The men were soon wet, the ground sodden, and the bivouac sheets caked with mud. To this was added the fact that fires and lights were not permitted on account of the enemy aeroplanes. The next day, however, was fine and everyone quickly dried. Of the village scarcely a vestige remained. Here and there the foundation of a wall was discernible in the mud. French villages are usually well wooded, but of all the trees in Bullecourt there was only one standing, and that had died from the effects of shell fire. The Battalion marched off next day and entrained by Boyelles, and after a short journey detrained at Beaumetz. Here the men saw once again the village they knew so well in 1916. It seemed strange that trains were running in the station now.
At Beaumetz the Battalion marched past some of its former billets to Bailleulment. Here a few days were spent in resting and training, and on the 25th September the Battalion marched to Beaumetz and by train and route march proceeded to a bivouac area at Lagnicourt.