At the beginning of April the 16th and 18th Infantry Brigades took over the front from Broodseinde southwards to Polygon Wood, coming under the XXII Corps (Lt.-Gen. Sir A. Godley).
The general situation now was that the Flanders front was held by tired and decimated Divisions withdrawn from the big battle in the south. These had been brought up to a respectable strength by drafts from all sources--wounded men belonging to other formations, R.A.S.C., Labour Battalions, etc., many of whom had received no training in infantry weapons or methods of fighting. Officers and men were new to each other, and there was no chance to train as the whole of every Division was in trenches.
Against these forces the Germans now opened a determined offensive from Zandvoorde southwards.
On the 13th April, as a result of the German successes on the Lys, the 71st Infantry Brigade, which was in reserve, had to be rushed off to join the 49th Division on the Neuve Eglise front. It returned to the Division on the 26th April after a pretty rough time, during which it suffered considerable casualties (about 750), but earned great praise. A counter-attack delivered by the 9th Norfolk Regiment was a particularly creditable incident in this period.
Otherwise the first fortnight in the Salient was without special incident. On the 16th April, in consequence of the progress made by the enemy farther to the south, the Salient was reduced in accordance with plan, and the line withdrawn to the battle zone, where an advanced force was left out in a line of detached pill-boxes and works. The enemy followed up cautiously in the afternoon, but the garrisons of the line of posts by lying low were able in several cases to catch parties unawares, and a fair number of casualties were inflicted. One party of twenty-five in particular was annihilated.
On the 25th April the enemy attacked and captured Kemmel Village and Hill from the French. This decided the Higher Command to withdraw the advanced force, and this was successfully carried out on the night of the 26/27th to the line West end of Zillebeke Lake-White Château.
Incessant work on the new defences, and heavy shelling, particularly gas shelling of Ypres, were the only incidents for some time on the actual front of the Division, though heavy attacks on the 29th April on the Division on the right, and the enemy's unsuccessful attack on Ridgewood on the 8th May, kept it on the alert. The Division was on the edge of the battle, and stood to on several occasions for an attack on its own front.
On the 11th to the 14th May the Division side-slipped to the south in relief of the 19th Division, thus coming next door to the 14th French Division, and passing to II Corps (Lt.-Gen. Sir C. Jacob). On the 28th May the enemy attacked our neighbours on the right and succeeded in driving them out of Ridgewood and almost in reaching Dickebusch Lake. In view of the importance to us of the lost position, and of the exhausted state of the 14th (French) Division, an offer was made to co-operate with them in a counter-attack to regain the lost ground. This was gladly accepted, and on the early morning of the 29th May the 11th Essex Regiment attacked in conjunction with two battalions of Chasseurs of the 46th (French) Division, which was in process of relieving the 14th Division, the operation taking place under the orders of the G.O.C., 14th French Division (General Philipot, the conqueror of Fez).
Under a barrage formed by the French and English artillery the 11th Essex Regiment attacked with great determination, and by the end of the day had achieved the whole of its share of the task. The two battalions of the Chasseurs were, unfortunately, not so successful, with the result that the right of the 11th Essex Regiment was exposed, and it was unable to hold on to a small part of the ground recovered on its extreme right. For this action the Division received a letter of thanks for its "spontaneous" co-operation from General de Mitry, commanding the French Détachement de l'Armée du Nord.
The Division remained in the line as next-door neighbours to the French till the 7th June, when relieved by 33rd Division. Many will retain pleasant memories of our association with our Allies during the three to four weeks that we were alongside them, and of the admirable liaison that existed between us.