Lieut. A. S. L. St. J. Mildmay, No. 4 Company.
Attached—Captain G. Petit, R.A.M.C.
Mar. 10.
It was on the 10th of March that the attack began. At 7.30 A.M. all the troops were in position, and a powerful bombardment from our massed batteries was opened on the trenches protecting Neuve Chapelle, but the enemy made no reply. After thirty-five minutes' bombardment the infantry advanced; the Eighth Division and the Garhwal Brigade from the Anglo-Indian Corps attacked, and captured the village and entrenchments. But the success thus gained was more or less thrown away, owing to the delay that occurred in bringing up the Reserve Brigades. All day our men waited for reinforcements to continue the advance, but by the time they arrived it was dark. So there was nothing to do but wait until next morning, and meanwhile the Germans had had time to bring up more troops.
Battle of Neuve Chapelle. March 11th, 1915.
Mar. 11.
Being in the Reserve Brigade, the 1st Battalion Grenadiers did not reach the firing line till the following morning, when the weather was thick and misty. This made artillery observation impossible, and as many of the telephone wires had been cut by the enemy's shells on the previous day, communication between the different Brigades became a matter of great difficulty. The position of affairs now stood thus: the Eighth Division had carried the German trenches north of Neuve Chapelle, but had not succeeded in crossing the River des Layes, and the Garhwal Brigade on their right had also been held up in front of the Bois du Biez. The Seventh Division was on the extreme left, with the 21st and 22nd Brigades in the firing line and the 20th Brigade in support. The 21st Brigade was reported to be holding a position with its right resting on the captured German trenches some two hundred yards east of Moated Grange, and in touch with the Eighth Division, but it was soon discovered that it did not extend so much to its right as it imagined, and the 20th Brigade was therefore sent up to fill the gap. The attack along the whole line was delayed until the leading battalions of the 20th Brigade were ready.
The 1st Battalion Grenadiers was now ordered to move up into the old British line of trenches. It started off at 4 A.M., led by Brigadier-General Heyworth, and after passing down the Rue du Bacquerot struck off across the fields, keeping along a trolly line. Dawn was just breaking, and the flashes of the shells lit up the sinister sky. The trolly line ended on a road where, in the uncertain light, glimpses could be caught of trestles, barbed wire, and ammunition boxes, standing near the remains of a house. Now for the first time bullets could be heard striking the trees, and the men realised that they were nearing the front line. The men in front eager to go forward moved rather too fast, which made it difficult for those in the rear to keep touch with them, and the platoon leaders, afraid of losing touch with the rest of the Battalion, had even to urge the men to double. On reaching the Rue Tilleloy, the Battalion followed it for a few hundred yards south, keeping behind a breastwork until it came to a road which led to the left, and apparently ended in a ruined farm. There it received orders to go into some support trenches, and at 7 A.M. Lieut.-Colonel Fisher-Rowe sent for the Company Commanders, and explained their orders to them. The Battalion was to advance in columns of platoons at fifty yards interval in the following order:
| No. 2 Company | The King's Company |
| Platoon 5, 2nd Lieut. Foster | Platoon 1, Lieut. Ethelston |
| Platoon 6, 2nd Lieut. Burnand | Platoon 2, 2nd Lieut. Guthrie |
| Platoon 7, Lieut. Lord Brabourne | Platoon 3, 2nd Lieut. Goschen |
| Platoon 8, Major Duberly | Platoon 4, Capt. Douglas-Pennant |