The organisation and allocation of the brigades were therefore but little changed since the previous tour of duty in the line before Christmas, but a great difference showed itself in the attitude of the enemy. Hostile artillery activity had died down in an extraordinary way, and comparative quiet reigned in the battery area after the shell-storms of the earlier period. Roads were only occasionally searched, battery positions were subjected merely to a few sniping rounds or at most to short neutralising bursts of fire, and the long concentrated bombardments which previously had been the order of the day were now exceptional events. "Quiet day," "light shelling of tracks," "intermittent bursts of fire on Zonnebeke Road and Windmill Cabaret" appear frequently in the official diaries of that period, and only on two days—January 13th and 20th—did the hostile artillery show any marked activity. On those two days the Zonnebeke-Windmill Cabaret area and the Crest Farm-Meetcheele line were bombarded respectively, the latter very heavily indeed, but these two outbursts marked isolated exceptions to the quietness which had now set in and were not of long duration.
On January 29th, after a most uneventful period in the line, one section per battery of each brigade was relieved by the 50th Divisional Artillery and marched again to the wagon-lines. Next day the relief was completed and the batteries marched to the Oudezeele area, the gun line parties handing over their guns in action and moving by lorry to the first night's halting place, there to join up with the wagon-line personnel who had marched by road in the ordinary way. The next day saw a continuation of the move to Zudrove and Le Bas, and on February 1st the ultimate rest billets were reached in Thiembronne, Merck St. Lievin and Bout de la Ville. Here the batteries carried out the usual overhauling and training, rejoicing at the quite phenomenal number of "rests" which they had of late been enjoying.
It was, indeed, most unusual for artillery to reach the rest area so often as had the 156th and 162nd Brigades of late. Gunners were usually kept in the line almost continuously, staying on after the infantry of their division had been relieved and covering the incoming troops. A scheme was now in practice by which the whole of the 33rd Division—infantry and gunners alike—held the line together and went into rest together, the 50th Division acting as their "opposite number," and by this scheme the two brigades were benefiting. It could not last for long—it was too good for that; but while it lasted it was wondrously pleasant!
There came an interruption in the ordinary routine of training on February 12th; the 18-pdr. batteries of the 156th Brigade were ordered to march to Tilques, there to have their guns calibrated by the Sound-ranging Section, after which they were attached to the 98th Infantry Brigade for tactical exercises. On the 14th the 18-pdrs. of 162nd Brigade were also calibrated, so that, by the 15th, all guns were ready for the return into action which had been ordered for February 22nd. Before this march took place, however, C/162 (Major Hill) was detached from the Divisional Artillery for special duties. On February 18th it marched to Tilques to join the 2nd Army Artillery School as a training battery, and there it was left when once more the move to the line was made.
On February 19th the 156th Brigade moved to the Elnes area and on the 20th to La Nieppe, the 162nd Brigade reaching Renescure on the same day. On the 21st advance parties from each brigade moved by rail to Vlamertinghe to take over the wagon-lines of the 50th Divisional Artillery, while the batteries continued their march to Zermezeele and Rietveld—D/162, which had gone round by Tilques to calibrate its guns, rejoining the rest of the brigade on this day. February 22nd saw the arrival of the batteries at their wagon-lines east and south-east of Vlamertinghe, the same which they had occupied on the return to action in early January; A/162, however, remained near Goldfish Château, and B/156 went to Ypres Asylum. On the 22nd also lorries took one section per battery direct to the forward area, the 156th Brigade this time relieving No. 2 Group (251st Brigade), the 162nd Brigade No. 1 Group (250th Brigade).
The relief was complete by Saturday, February 23rd, and on the next day 33rd Divisional Artillery Headquarters took over the control, at Menin Gate, of the artillery covering the infantry of the 33rd Division on a two thousand yard front opposite Passchendaele and due west of Moorslede. On this occasion the 162nd Brigade took over the positions previously held by the 156th along the Langemarck-Zonnebeke road, "A" and D/162 (Major Fetherston and Major Lee) at Windmill Cabaret, some six hundred yards north-west of Zonnebeke, B/162 (Major Cory) about two thousand yards also to the north-west of the village, while Brigade headquarters were situate in a pill-box one thousand yards north-east of Frezenburg. The 156th Brigade positions, with the exception of Major Carrell's battery (A/156) which remained at Otto Farm, were those which had previously been held by the 162nd Brigade at Gravenstafel.
The policy adopted by the batteries on their return into action now was to remain quiet, only registration and calibration being carried out. The enemy on the whole were also inactive until the end of the month; one or two attempts were made to rush our advanced posts, and a large raid was executed—unsuccessfully, however—upon the division on the right. Apart from this, and from a certain amount of activity with high-velocity guns upon our back areas, the enemy attitude was very similar to ours.
March saw a change in the general policy of the Germans holding this part of the line. An ever-increasing volume of artillery fire began to be directed upon our battery positions, while high-velocity guns were continually searching the roads and back areas. On the 2nd nearly all our batteries were heavily shelled, while severe bombardments were carried out upon both flanks of the division; on the 3rd enemy aeroplanes were very active and continued so for several days, especially on the 7th when low-flying machines appeared everywhere. On the 6th a big shoot was carried out on the Windmill Cabaret area N.W. of Zonnebeke, and on the 9th the batteries of the 33rd Divisional Artillery were bombarded with gas shell. The front was indeed gradually boiling up to a state of high enemy activity, and, with the fine weather which supervened and the knowledge that an enemy offensive was almost inevitably coming on some part of the front, the plan of action to deal with such an emergency was continually tested. On March 10th in the early morning all batteries fired "counter-preparation," a slow barrage which was to be used in the event of an enemy attack being expected. On this and the succeeding days fire was also directed upon special targets, upon machine guns, dug-outs and likely places for the concentration of hostile troops, while all batteries constantly practised the drill of pulling their guns out of the pits at short notice and of engaging targets on the flanks and at short ranges.
On the 14th a heavy German raid was repulsed, a prisoner who had been taken beforehand having given information concerning it, and on the 17th all batteries again fired in response to an S.O.S. call at 4.40 A.M., but in this case no infantry action took place. All this time the enemy long-range guns were for ever bombarding Ypres, Wieltje, St. Jean, Potijze and every road leading up from the back area, as many as one thousand high-velocity shells being poured into the neighbourhood of Ypres each day. At the same time battery positions, and especially the area between "Seine" and Abraham Heights, were continually shelled, gas at night being the usual practice.
Thursday, March 21st, 1918, was a comparatively quiet day in the Ypres sector. The batteries had not been worried much, and for their own part had not done more than to direct bursts of fire upon enemy dug-outs and machine guns which were annoying the infantry. About 1.0 P.M., just as the detachments were sitting down to their midday meal, came the first message, telephoned up from Divisional Headquarters, of the beginning of the great German offensive in the south. Little news was given beyond the fact that the attack had been launched and that our troops, after giving up the advanced system, "were holding the enemy on the main Army Defence Line." Every few hours further messages came in, admitting certain losses of ground but stating that the enemy was being held in the main, and that the day was going in our favour. Such reports were certainly encouraging to the men, and in no way gave any suggestion of defeat; bit by bit, however, names of villages which had been captured by the enemy began to appear, and reference to a map disclosed the disquieting fact that a deep penetration into our lines had been made, a penetration which must necessarily become deeper still owing to the loss of certain tactical points. Information was very sparse and rumours immediately became rife everywhere, so that a fair idea of the situation could hardly be obtained. It was, indeed, of little use to worry; the batteries had their own share of the front to look after and knew that, sooner or later, they would be plunged into the battle themselves—"sufficient unto the day ..." then, for in France it was not good to worry about troubles before they came.