From the British front line the ground sloped very gently up to the Aubers Ridge, from which the Germans had good observation. But they made little use of this. Their artillery was very quiet, except on rare occasions. Canadian Orchard and the posts on the right got most attention; Sec.-Lieut. S. P. Stansfield was killed near Shetland Post. But, compared with what the Battalion had experienced elsewhere and was to encounter later, the shelling was almost negligible. Occasional salvoes would be fired on one of the communication trenches or some other part of the line, but these caused very little inconvenience. Rarely was anything of heavier calibre than the 10.5 cm. howitzer used. One noteworthy exception to this was the afternoon of May 12th, when the junction of Cadbury Street with the Rue du Bois was heavily shelled with what appeared to be 21 cm. armour-piercing shells. Though there were no casualties this caused great inconvenience, for the pump, which supplied all water for the companies, was seriously damaged, and it took about two days to get it into working order again. The reason for this bombardment was never understood, but, as it was the only occasion on which shells of such heavy calibre were used, it was probably only a visit from a “travelling circus.” Occasionally the 15 cm. howitzer appeared; one day it heavily shelled the Rue du Bois near Sandbag Corner; on another occasion it wrecked the officers’ mess of the A246 Battery, which lay about 1,000 yards behind Battalion H.Q.
In other ways too the enemy seemed quite willing to “live and let live,” if he were not interfered with. He had both medium and light trench mortars in his lines, but seldom fired more than a few rounds at a time from them. His machine guns did little and sniping was almost unknown. Undoubtedly he held his front line thinly, though movement was observed almost daily in the vicinity of the Boar’s Head, where much work was in progress. One day he gave very clear evidence that he was awake. An energetic platoon commander, who was trying to make things uncomfortable for the “Hun” with rifle grenades, unfortunately had a premature, and the loud cheering that was heard from the opposite side of No Man’s Land showed that the enemy was on the watch and fully appreciated the incident.
The Battalion had two excellent observation posts on the Rue du Bois, which boasted the grandiloquent names of the “Savoy” and the “Trocadero.” From these, and from smaller ones in the front line, excellent observation could be obtained of the whole enemy system and of much of the country in rear. The enemy seemed to make very little effort to conceal himself and so the sector was a regular “promised land” for the Battalion Intelligence Officer. The Sugar Factory at Marquillies, with its prominent chimney, was of particular interest, both for the large amount of enemy transport which moved about near it, and for the careful record which was kept of the times when the chimney smoked. This chimney also exercised a great fascination on the Commanding Officer, and the first thing that had to be done when the Battalion moved to neighbouring sectors was to identify this landmark from the new position. Indeed, it was almost a relief to some when the Battalion went to the coast and was quite out of view of Marquillies.
During the whole time the Battalion was on the Ferme du Bois Sector patrolling was very active. At first this was very uncomfortable, for the greater part of No Man’s Land was badly water-logged. For a long time no brilliant success was gained. No Man’s Land was thoroughly mapped, but practically all attempts to enter the enemy front line were unsuccessful. Until about the middle of April, the Battalion was faced by the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division—the Quinque Rue was one of its inter-regimental boundaries—which did practically no patrolling. With the exception of a patrol encounter on the night of April 18/19th, no enemy patrol was ever seen in No Man’s Land. On the same night C.S.M. W. Medley, M.M., of B Company, entered the enemy front line south of the Quinque Rue, and made some valuable observations, but failed to secure an identification.
Capt. A. E. MANDER.
(Killed).
Capt. J. G. MOWAT, M.C.
(Killed).