On the morning of October 9 De Crespigny's Brigade on the right, and Sergison-Brooke's Brigade on the left, passed through the Third and Second Divisions, and attacked under a barrage.
It was expected that the Caudry—Cambrai railway, running diagonally across the line of advance, with its steep embankments and deep cuttings, would form a serious obstacle, and special steps were taken to bring enfilade artillery and machine-gun fire to bear on it, till the infantry was within assaulting distance. It was soon found, however, that the enemy had withdrawn during the night, and it was not till late in the afternoon that the German advanced troops were again located, holding a line of trenches west of Boistrancourt and east of Igniel-dit-les-Frisettes. A night operation to capture Boistrancourt revealed the farther withdrawal of the enemy.
On the 10th De Crespigny's and Sergison-Brooke's Brigades followed up the enemy, and after some skirmishing with his rear-guards, took up an outpost line west of Quevy and St. Hilaire, with detached posts east of those villages.
On the morning of the 11th the 3rd Guards Brigade, which was now under the command of Brigadier-General Heywood, passed through the outposts, and was soon engaged with the German rear-guards, which were now fighting stubbornly.
The next few days were spent in clearing the enemy from the west bank of the River Selle, after which there was a pause to allow time for the reconstruction of the railways in rear. The most difficult problem of this period was the evacuation of the civil population from the villages on the banks of the Selle, which were occupied by both our own and the enemy's troops. The evacuation was carried out by night with scarcely a casualty.
On the 20th the Guards Division took part in a general attack, launched with the object of driving the enemy from his new positions, east of the River Selle. The attack, which started at 1 A.M., was carried out by De Crespigny's Brigade on the right, and Heywood's Brigade on the left. The Sixty-second Division was to clear Solesmes of the enemy on the right of the Guards Division, and the Nineteenth Division was to capture Haussy on the left. A great deal of the success of this attack depended on whether the River Selle was held in any strength, but the Germans never attempted to dispute the passage, and both Brigades passed over with little loss. The first objective was secured without difficulty, but when the advance to the second objective commenced, a good deal of opposition was encountered, especially on the left, where the Nineteenth Division had been held up after capturing Haussy. The resistance was so stubborn that at one time artillery preparation was contemplated; but when the Sixty-second Division advanced towards Romeries, the Guards Division was able to secure the second objective, and even push out patrols as far as the River Harpies.
During the afternoon the Germans put down on the new positions an artillery concentration, which many officers present considered to have been the heaviest they had experienced since the battle of the Somme; our troops were, however, so well dug in that hardly any casualties were inflicted. On the night of the 22nd the Division was relieved by the Second Division, which continued the attack the following day.
The remainder of the month was spent in rest, which was, however, much interfered with by the constant change of quarters, necessitated by the withdrawal of the enemy.
The 1st Battalion
1st Batt.