General Godley.”
The G.O.C., 49th Division, in a Special Order of the Day, wrote “Nothing could be finer than what the Division accomplished.” The G.O.C., 146th Infantry Brigade, in a personal letter to the Commanding Officer, said “I cannot thank you enough for the cheerful and thorough way in which all my orders were carried out.” While the Battalion’s own Brigadier, referring to the response of his troops when ordered up to support the other Brigades of the Division, said “Officers and men, though thoroughly exhausted, at once forgot their fatigue and advanced through the enemy barrage in the most gallant style worthy of the best traditions of the Army.”
Belle Vue Spur 9.10.17.
(c) Rest and Reorganisation.
Though a welcome change after the hardships of the Belle Vue Spur, X Camp, St. Jean, was far from a paradise. There were very few tents, and most of the men had to be content with small bivouacs or covered holes in the ground. The camp had been pitched hurriedly by a New Zealand battalion only a day or two before, and there had not been time to perfect it. It was not shelled, though the enemy paid attention to some neighbouring areas, and on several occasions his bombing planes were not far off at night. But the camp was made something like a home, and great regret was felt, and expressed, when a neighbouring Corps found that the Battalion was on the wrong side of the road and orders to move were issued. There was no other suitable camping site in the district. The best that could be found was a small field, pitted with shell holes, and covered with very long grass and rank weeds, all absolutely sodden by the rain. Into this field the tents and bivouacs were moved and repitched in the pouring rain, the men freely expressing their opinions, in language more forcible than polite, and the officers thoroughly sympathising.
On October 12th the New Zealand Division made its attack on the Belle Vue Spur, with the result already mentioned. One of the worst features of October 9th had been the difficulty of getting the wounded away; there had been far too few stretcher-bearers, and many of the wounded had suffered greatly by their long exposure. For the New Zealand attack each battalion of the 147th Infantry Brigade was asked to provide 200 men to assist in evacuating the wounded, and volunteers were readily forthcoming from among the men who had themselves learned the awful conditions. For two days these men worked in the battle area, fortunately with practically no casualties, and the gratitude of the New Zealand Division is shown by the following letter, written by its Divisional Commander to the G.O.C., 147th Infantry Brigade:—
“My Dear General,
Please express to the officers and men of your Brigade who came forward to assist in getting in the wounded, the very hearty thanks of myself and Staff, and the whole Division.
I have heard the warmest expressions of praise for the way in which your men volunteered to come forward and undertake what was certainly a very exhausting and maybe dangerous task.