The German artillery could not, however, be checked by the British heavy artillery. Many of his guns were firing from new positions in the open, which had not been previously located. They were also firing from positions as far in rear of their lines as the range of the guns would allow. They were therefore beyond the reach of the bulk of the British counter-battery guns.
The British field-guns in the most advanced positions received considerable attention from the enemy’s artillery, and were in particular deluged with gas shells. A number of field-guns were also knocked out by direct hits.
Two anecdotes connected with this battle are worth recording. During the early stages of the German attack a runner arrived at the headquarters of the 6th Gordon Highlanders. Colonel Fraser asked him where he came from.
“Aberdeen,” said the runner.
“No, no! Where do you come from now?”
“Yonder,” replied the runner, pointing towards the front line.
“Well,” said the Colonel, “what’s happening there now?”
“Well, a Boche officer comes up to us and he says, ‘Surrender!’”
“Well?”
“We told him, ‘To hell with surrender.’”