The whole operation went like clockwork, although at the start progress was somewhat impeded by the darkness and the churned-up soil, now rendered more unstable by the continuous rain. A smoke-barrage[125] was at first unnecessary owing to the very early zero[126] hour, but as dawn broke and a south-west breeze sprang up, its great value became apparent and the tunnelled dug-outs and “Pill-boxes,” which strewed the Bellewarde and Frezenberg Ridges, were isolated and captured with greater ease than might have been expected. By 6.45 A.M. the northern end of the Frezenberg Ridge was taken; by 8 A.M. the whole of it was in our hands, and patrols from the Highland Brigade had pushed on towards the Hanebeek, in conjunction with the Eighth Belgian Division.
The Sappers and Pioneers, who had bridged the stream at Potijze during the night of the 27th/28th, followed immediately behind the infantry, and set to work without delay on the Ypres-Zonnebeke and Hell-fire Corner-Zonnebeke roads. Their rapid improvements rewarded all the forethought and labour which had been expended in the accumulation of suitable material, and enabled the forward movement of the divisional artillery to begin at 8 A.M. By 8.30 A.M. our first howitzer battery came into action in its new position, but the Ypres-Zonnebeke road soon became congested with Belgian artillery and the progress of our remaining batteries was slow.
Advance from the Frezenberg Ridge was resumed at 8.35 A.M. The dispositions of the 28th Brigade remained unaltered, but in the 26th the Camerons passed through the Seaforths and Black Watch. The plan now entailed a partial wheel to the left, in order that the high ground might be secured before the low ground farther north was crossed. This manœuvre was accomplished with the aid of a H.E. barrage, into which the Field Artillery joined, battery by battery, as they reached their new position west of Frezenberg Ridge. The first real opposition encountered by the infantry was near Anzac Ridge, where dense strands of wire and groups of “Pill-boxes” enhanced the natural strength of the position, but nothing could arrest the momentum of our men, and half an hour before noon all the main ridge from the Polygone de Zonnebeke to Broodseinde was in our possession.
Thus our final objective was won with surprising ease and at trifling cost; the only matter now to be settled was the part to be played by the 27th Brigade.
This brigade had moved up from camps west of Ypres early on the 28th, and proceeded steadily over the heavy ground to the Polygone Butt. Brig.-General Croft had been ordered to be prepared for any one of three courses; to assist either of our assaulting brigades during the advance to Broodseinde Ridge, or to advance north from Broodseinde in the event of the Belgians finding the low and boggy ground on their front impassable, or to exploit success by an advance towards Becelaere.
Accordingly General Tudor and Brig.-General Croft went forward to the Broodseinde Ridge, and by 12.30 P.M. had ascertained beyond doubt that it was firmly held by the Belgians as well as by our own men. The resistance of the German infantry was feeble, and their artillery-fire practically negligible. Gheluvelt had already fallen to the Twenty-ninth Division, and the Highland Brigade and the Eighth Belgian Division were in close touch several hundred yards east of Broodseinde Cross Roads.
The Lowland Brigade was therefore instructed to advance against Becelaere. Owing to a breakdown of the visual signalling arrangements there was a delay in the transmission of the orders, and the two assaulting battalions, the 12th and 11th Royal Scots, did not leave their position of deployment near Polygone Butt until 2.30 P.M. Stern opposition was encountered at once, chiefly on the left of the 11th Royal Scots, and increased perceptibly as our men approached Becelaere. Just north of the village three hostile batteries came into action in the open, and it was only after a strenuous combat that the 11th Royal Scots, assisted by a section of “B” Company of the Machine-gun Battalion, took possession of one of these batteries and silenced the others. The enemy’s machine-gunners were still full of fight, but all virtue had gone out of the infantry, who, though present in large numbers, took no part in the operation. The 11th Royal Scots mastered the Molenhoek Ridge, and the high ground north of the village of Becelaere was taken by the 12th Royal Scots about 4 P.M.
The seizure of the village set a limit to our advance that day. At nightfall the situation was as follows: the Twenty-ninth Division was believed to be holding the line Nieuwe Kruiseecke Cross Roads-Poezelhoek, but no connection had yet been secured with it; the 27th Brigade, holding Becelaere, was in touch at Judge Cross Roads with the 26th, which was linked up with the Belgians east of Broodseinde Cross Roads, each brigade having two battalions in line and one in brigade reserve; the 28th Brigade lay in divisional reserve near Polygone Butt with one battalion pushed forward to protect the right rear of the 27th. Our casualties had been slight, and in that one day considerably more ground had been won than during months of furious fighting in 1917. Nothing could have revealed in a stronger light the unmistakable change that had come over the character of the war.
Our greatest trouble was the opening up of decent roads from Ypres to the ridge. The one route of any consequence—the Ypres-Zonnebeke road—was ready for wheeled traffic as far as Zonnebeke by 1 P.M., and by dusk all three[127] artillery brigades were in action behind the Broodseinde Ridge. But it was the one highway fit for use, and during the hours of darkness it was thronged with Belgian and British limbers, some of which remained out on the road all night. These difficulties had been foreseen by Lieut.-Colonel Jeffcoat, who had organised a small column of pack animals for each brigade, and under the personal supervision of the brigade staff captains the rations for the men were brought up on the night of the 28th.
Early in the afternoon of that day General Tudor was informed that the Thirty-sixth Division, in Corps reserve, was to come into line between the Ninth and Twenty-ninth Divisions, and the 153rd A.F.A. Brigade was to be under its command. About midnight orders were received to continue the push next day by daylight. The Thirty-sixth Division, which was to take over Becelaere from the 27th Brigade, was to advance on Terhand while the Twenty-ninth Division was to carry Gheluwe. The Ninth, covering the left flank of the Thirty-sixth Division, was to conform on its left to the Belgian Army, by moving in close touch with it to the vicinity of Keiberg Spur.