During the period of just under three weeks' rest that it enjoyed on this occasion the Division had one brigade always at Dirty Bucket Camp working on rear lines of defence, one training in the St. Jan ter Biezen area, and one at musketry at Cormette, near Tilques. During this period, too, the 71st Trench-mortar Battery and the 18th Trench-mortar Battery were able to be of service to the French, the former being lent to the 46th Division to assist them in an operation on 8th June, the latter co-operating with the 7th (French) Division in a successful raid on the 19th June.
On the 27th June the Division passed to the XIX Corps (Lt.-Gen. Sir H. E. Watts) and relieved the 46th French Division (Chasseurs) in the Dickebusch sector. This was in a very unpleasant front, where the dominating position of the enemy on Kemmel Hill made movement, even in the rear lines, impossible by day, and practically all work, of which there was plenty, had to be done by night.
The chief incidents of the tour of the Division in this sector were the successful attack on Ridgewood, the 1st The Buffs daylight raid on the Brasserie, the sixteen-prisoner night-raid of the 2nd D.L.I. on the Zillebeke front, and the co-operation of the 18th Infantry Brigade with the operations of the 41st Division on our right.
The situation created by the enemy's attack on Ridgewood on the 28th May had never been satisfactorily restored, in spite of repeated attempts on the part of the 46th (French) Division. The 6th Division took over with the determination to put this right on the first opportunity, profiting by the lessons learnt in the successive attacks made by the French Chasseurs, which their Division had placed most unreservedly at our disposal. After careful reconnaissance the 18th Infantry Brigade, assisted by two companies of the 1st Middlesex Regiment of the 33rd Division, attacked the enemy at 6 a.m. on the 14th July. The attack delivered by the 1st West Yorkshire Regiment and the 2nd D.L.I. and the two above-mentioned companies was a complete success. The enemy, taken entirely by surprise, only offered any resistance in one or two isolated cases, and the dash and prompt initiative of the attacking troops soon dealt with these. All objectives were gained, Ridgewood and Elzenwalle retaken, and 7 officers, 341 other ranks, 25 machine-guns, and 3 trench-mortars captured at small cost to the attackers. Large quantities of trench-mortar ammunition, found dumped close up to the front line, demonstrated the correctness of the view that the enemy had in contemplation a resumption of his offensive on this front. For this the Division received congratulations from the Commander-in-Chief, the G.O.C., Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), and G.O.C., XIX Corps.
The raid of the 1st The Buffs was carried out on the 2nd August. The objective was the Brasserie and neighbouring farms. The raid, which was by day and on a fairly extensive scale, was very successful.
On the 8th August the 41st Division carried out a small operation, in co-operation with which the 18th Infantry Brigade undertook two minor operations. That by a company of the 1st West Yorkshire Regiment on the Vierstraat Road was unsuccessful, through no fault of the attacking infantry, who were held up by machine-guns sited so far forward that they had escaped our barrage. On the right a company of the 2nd D.L.I., operating in direct touch with the left of the 41st Division, was completely successful in carrying out its task. In connection with operations on this front the Division sustained a severe loss in Major R. W. Barnett, K.R.R., G.S.O.2, who was killed by a sniper while reconnoitring on 12th August.
During July and August the Divisional Artillery was exceptionally busy. An immense amount of effort was put into the preparation of forward positions for a large number of batteries to be employed in a contemplated later offensive. Vast quantities of gun ammunition were carted nightly, and dumped therein in readiness.
During the month of August the Division had the pleasure of close association with our American Allies, part of the 27th American, a New York Division, doing their attachment and apprenticeship to trench warfare with us. On the 21st to the 24th August the Americans relieved the Division in the line, and it was withdrawn for rest and training to the Wizernes area.
On leaving the XIX Corps the Corps Commander sent the Division his "warmest thanks for and appreciation of the excellent service rendered" while under his command.