At the scheduled time, 8.40 a.m., the New Zealanders passed through the 125th Brigade, and continued the advance beyond the line of the Harpies, two companies of the 42nd M.G. Battalion going with them. This was the second flying start given them by the Division.

Prisoners taken by the 42nd Division during the operations of October 20-23 numbered 927, and the booty included three field-guns, 102 machine-guns, nine trench-mortars, and twenty-two anti-tank rifles. A number of enemy batteries were put out of action by our artillery. Five hundred and fifteen enemy dead were counted on the battlefield—men of the shattered and demoralized 25th German Division, and to a lesser extent of the 18th Division. The 42nd, which had lost 138 killed and 707 wounded, withdrew west of the Selle, and on October 24 concentrated in Beauvois, a pleasant little town, only slightly damaged by the war, where really good billets were enjoyed for the first time since March. The inhabitants of Beauvois and Caudry had been in German hands for four years, and their delight at having Englishmen as guests, instead of Germans as tyrants, was displayed in a manner rather disconcerting to many lads, who found it embarrassing to be kissed and fussed over, and to be called “deliverers” and “saviours.” However, they appreciated the many evidences of kindliness and goodwill, and helped in their own way to cement the friendship and understanding between the nations; and they were truly glad to be once more in an inhabited country. Everything possible was done to make the men happy and comfortable. The canteens were well supplied; massed bands gave enjoyable concerts; and the Divisional Concert Party gave daily performances of Sweet Fanny Adams and April Fools in a factory that had been converted into a theatre. The enemy had been pressed so hard that they had left, almost intact, an excellent bathing establishment where hot baths could be obtained. The Divisional Reception Camp was moved up to Aulicourt Farm, and, while training was by no means neglected, plenty of opportunity was given for recreation. The Divisional Boxing Tournament was won by the 8th L.F., as was also the Band Contest. Most popular of all was the Football Competition, in the final of which the 7th N.F. (Pioneers) beat the R.A.M.C. by two goals to nil. Ten pleasant days were spent at Beauvois, and on the night of November 3 the Division began its move forward to relieve the N.Z. Division in the Forêt de Mormal.

CHAPTER XIV
FORÊT DE MORMAL AND HAUTMONT
(November 3-11, 1918)

An advance along the entire fronts of the Fourth, Third and First Armies, French armies co-operating, had been planned for the 4th November. The attack on the 4th Corps front was to be carried out by the 37th Division on the right and the N.Z. Division on the left; and the 42nd Division was to pass through the New Zealanders, and the 5th Division through the 37th, on the night of November 5-6. As secrecy was essential, movements of troops prior to the opening of the battle had to be made in darkness.

The 126th Brigade marched out of Beauvois soon after darkness fell on November 3, the 127th following, and the 125th bringing up the rear. The roads had been much damaged by heavy traffic and rain, and the going was bad. The 127th Brigade completed its first stage—to Viesley—before midnight, and the 126th Brigade arrived at Solesmes between 2 and 3 a.m. on the 4th, and remained there until the attack of the 4th Corps was launched, at 5.30 a.m. Secrecy being no longer necessary the march was then resumed. By 6 p.m. the New Zealanders reported the capture of Le Quesnoy, with 1000 prisoners, and the 126th and 127th Brigades were now in touch with the situation on the N.Z. Division’s front, the former having reached Beaudignies, about 3000 yards south-west of Le Quesnoy.

The 126th Brigade passed through Le Quesnoy to Herbignies on the morning of the 5th November, keeping about 6000 yards in rear of the New Zealanders, and the rear brigade, the 125th, reached Beaudignies. Here D.H.Q. opened during the morning of the 5th, but on account of the situation moved further forward, to Potelle Château. In the afternoon the leading brigade entered the extensive Forêt de Mormal[24] at a point about half a mile east of Herbignies. Bad as the conditions of the march from Beauvois had been, they now became far worse. Rain had been falling steadily for some days, and the roads and forest tracks—bad at the best of times—were ankle-deep, and in places almost knee-deep in mud and decaying leaves. At the main cross-roads huge craters had been blown, measuring from 60 to 80 feet in diameter, with a depth of 30 feet. One of these was bridged by the sappers, and a corduroy deviation road made round the biggest—just west of Forester’s House—a way being cut through the trees for horses and vehicles. Four men in each platoon had been furnished with hatchets and bill-hooks in anticipation of obstacles in the forest, and wood-warfare had formed part of the training given at Beauvois.

Meanwhile the leading brigade pressed forward, leaving its transport behind. Progress was slow, as machine-guns, Lewis-guns, munitions and supplies had to be man-handled. The enemy continued to shell the forest spasmodically, and though casualties were infrequent, the sound of the shells crashing through and tearing off the branches was not exhilarating. The long and arduous passage through the Mormal Forest will long be remembered by all three brigade groups as a drab and depressing episode, unrelieved by the excitement of fighting, or even seeing the enemy.

The weather, the congestion, and the condition of the roads had become worse, and the 127th Brigade, which entered the forest on the following day, had a more wretched experience even than the others. For two days they had had no shelter from the bitterly cold rain, and as they were badly in need of a rest, the 125th Brigade was ordered up from Herbignies, where shelter and rest had been obtained, to become the support brigade, the 127th being moved to billets in Le Carnoy for a couple of days. The central road past Forester’s House was the widest and best of the routes, but even here there was barely room for one wagon to pass another. Trees had been blown across it; there were bogs on either side, and its eastern part was shelled continually. If, in making way for motor-traffic, a gun- or wagon-wheel got off the track by so much as a foot, it was at once bogged up to the axle. The Divisional Commander therefore issued an order prohibiting the use of motors beyond a certain point, so Generals and Staff Officers had to proceed on horseback or on foot. It was a necessary but not a popular order, particularly with supply officers, but in spite of all adverse conditions—rain and mud, craters and blown culverts, congestion of men, horses, guns, ammunition and ration vehicles—the transport was most efficiently managed; supplies and ammunition got through, and the troops even received a hot meal from the field-kitchens in the middle of the forest. The Engineers and Pioneers worked magnificently, as always.

November 5-6