Lieutenant Morgan with No. 4 Company was more successful. At zero he advanced along Mory Switch and the southern end of Bank's Trench, eventually establishing a position in Vraucourt Trench. The lie of the land and the cover afforded by the trenches enabled this Company to keep up with the barrage, and to avoid coming under the intense fire that the remainder of the Battalion had experienced. During the advance this Company captured a German Battalion Commander and 180 men—a remarkably fine performance. Lieutenant Morgan led his Company forward with such dash that they succeeded in penetrating the enemy's position to a depth of 2000 yards. However, it was soon clear that they were completely isolated, as they were being fired at from all directions. When it was dark Lieutenant Morgan decided that it would be unwise to remain in such an advanced position, since neither the Sixty-second Division on his right nor our own troops on his left showed any signs of coming into line with him, and he consequently withdrew his Company until he was in touch with troops on his flanks.
Aug. 28.
During the night the enemy retired from our front, and in the morning the remnants of the Battalion were reorganised, and continued the advance over the original frontage for about 1700 yards to a marked-out trench called Bank's Reserve. Here some machine-guns were encountered, but a good and continuous line was established with connection on both flanks.
This line was handed over to the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders on the night of the 28th-29th, and the Battalion marched back to the trenches east of Hamelincourt. The only officers left with the Battalion were Lieut.-Colonel Rasch, Captain Cornforth, Captain Briscoe, and Lieutenant Morgan. The total casualties were 12 officers and 278 other ranks. Amongst the officers the casualties were as follows:
| Lieut. G. F. Lawrence | Killed. |
| Lieut. R. M. Oliver | " |
| Lieut. C. Gwyer | " |
| Lieut. H. White | " |
| 2nd Lieut. F. J. Langley | " |
| 2nd Lieut. H. A. Finch | " |
| Lieut. M. H. Ponsonby | Died of wounds. |
| Capt. O. Martin Smith | Wounded. |
| Lieut. N. McK. Jesper | " |
| Lieut. C. C. T. Giles | " |
| 2nd Lieut. J. A. Paton | " |
| 2nd Lieut. A. P. J. M. P. de Lisle | " |
In a message, which Major-General Feilding afterwards sent to Brigadier-General de Crespigny, he said: "All Battalions of the 1st Guards Brigade discharged their duty splendidly. The attack delivered by the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards and 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards on August 27 not only inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and brought in large numbers of prisoners, but also compelled him next day to relax his hold on the high ground south of Croisilles."
The 3rd Battalion
Roll of Officers
July.