As soon as it was dark, No. 2 Company was ordered to establish itself as close to the small house as possible and to dig itself in, at the same time gaining touch with No. 3 Company in the German communication trench. The King's Company was to fill up the gap in the line created by the advance of No. 2. It was hoped that the small house might be rushed, but when No. 2 pushed forward it came under such a heavy machine-gun fire that it had to abandon all idea of seizing the house. It had accordingly to leave one platoon to hold the line, which it had gained, and to return to the main line.
May 17.
Early next morning the 1st Battalion advanced another 400 yards, and the men began to dig themselves in, but as the rain continued in torrents the trenches were knee-deep in mud, and it was difficult to provide adequate shelter from the enemy's artillery.
It was while the 1st Battalion was lying in this position that the 4th Guards Brigade was observed coming up in artillery formation, under a hail of shells and bullets; and—a memorable incident—the 1st and 2nd Battalions Grenadiers suddenly found themselves fighting side by side.
Although the Seventh Division had carried several lines of trenches, the part of the German line opposite the extreme left of the 20th Brigade was still in the hands of the enemy. In certain sections of the line the attack had been most successful, while in others the enemy had offered a stubborn resistance. Thus the advance had not been uniform, and there were consequently several places where the German machine-guns were able to enfilade our men. But, in spite of the constant counter-attacks, the enemy had not been able to retake any considerable portion of the ground they had lost on a front of over two miles.
On the evening of the 17th the 21st Brigade received orders to relieve the 20th Brigade, and the 1st Battalion Grenadiers consequently withdrew to the second line, where it remained throughout the 18th.
May 19.
The attack continued next day with varying results. As the weather was heavy, artillery observation was difficult, and the guns were unable to support the infantry attacks. The 1st Battalion Grenadiers was ordered back to Brigade Headquarters in the Rue du Bois, where it bivouacked in a field, and presently moved back to Hinges.
Thus ended the first phase of the battle of Festubert. The Second and Seventh Divisions had succeeded in cutting two gaps in the German line, but unfortunately between the two gaps there lay an untouched and strongly held line, stretching for nearly three-quarters of a mile, which made any farther advance a matter of great difficulty.
On the 20th of May the attack was renewed by the Canadian Division, and on the 24th the Forty-seventh London Territorial Division joined in, but although considerable progress was made, and a large number of Germans accounted for, our defective ammunition supply did not at that time allow us to compete with the Germans on even terms. The net result of the battle was that we pierced the enemy's lines on a total front of four miles. The whole first-line system of trenches was captured on a front of 3200 yards. The total number of prisoners taken was 8 officers and 777 of other ranks, and a number of machine-guns were captured and destroyed.