All these constant changes of headquarters meant necessarily very hard work for all the personnel of the Signal Service, made more difficult by the continual rain and appalling mud. In spite of these difficulties, communications were most successfully maintained throughout this period.
The new sector was held for the first week by one brigade—the 61st—which went in on the night of the 29th/30th. The 60th Brigade was in support near Trônes Wood, the 59th remaining at Carnoy in reserve, and Divisional Headquarters returned to Bernafay Wood. Here also the headquarters of the Divisional Artillery was established on the 29th, when Brig.-General Hotham look command of the artillery covering the 20th Division, composed of his own three brigades and certain others which varied for the first few days, but which after the 4th of October consisted of the Guards Divisional Artillery and the 24th Field Artillery Brigade of the 6th Division.
The batteries were in a valley about 800 yards north-east of Delville Wood, known from its map reference as Toc 7 Valley. It was a most unpleasant place. Within a length of a mile all the guns of the whole of the artillery covering the 20th Division were crowded together, being in many places only ten yards apart. The gun-pits were very rough at first, consisting of a sandbag parapet with a tarpaulin or matting over the gun. The men lived in slits in the ground, with a sheet of corrugated iron over the top and a great deal of water at the bottom. The Germans knew well enough that our guns were concentrated in this valley—the only place in the neighbourhood that gave any flash cover—and shelled the positions continually. There was great difficulty at this time in getting up ammunition, all of which had to come by night over the exposed ridge east of Delville Wood. Owing to wet weather and the many shell craters the ground was so bad that it was impossible to get wagons up to the gun positions. After a few days it was arranged that all ammunition should be brought up by pack; and this became the regular way of supplying the guns as long as they remained in this valley.
It will be seen from the map that the line which the Division held ran north-west and south-east. It lay in low ground, facing a ridge beyond which were the villages of Le Transloy and Beaulencourt. The object of the operations which followed—the last fighting to be demanded of the Division for some time—was to gain possession of the crest of this ridge and bring under observation the country on its north-east side.
As a preparatory measure, advantage was taken of operations which were being carried out on the left on the 1st of October to advance the line of the 61st Brigade. It was desired to get a good jumping-off place from which to assault the enemy’s position on the crest of the ridge, and also to observe where his barrages were placed and where they might be expected in the course of the attack. At 3.15 P.M. on the 1st of October the 7th Somerset L.I. on the right and the 7th D.C.L.I. on the left pushed forward small parties at an interval of 150 yards under an intense artillery barrage. They gained ground to an average depth of 400 yards and established strong points within 200 yards of the German trenches. While they were digging in on what was dead ground from the enemy’s trench the Germans made several counter attacks. As soon as they appeared over the top our men downed tools and drove them back with rifle fire, “standing in the open.” After dark, and during the next night, these strong points were connected by the 84th Field Company R.E. and the 11th D.L.I. into a continuous line. The position of the enemy’s barrage was observed, and this was of great assistance in the attack on the 7th of October, when troops were kept away from the dangerous areas and many casualties thereby saved. The whole operation was carried out well and in a very determined manner, but not without considerable loss.
On the night of the 3rd/4th the 60th Brigade came up into the line and took over the right sub-sector from the 61st Brigade; the latter continued to hold the left sub-sector, so that there were then two brigades holding the Divisional front.
The attack was put off for two days—that is, until the 7th—owing to a break in the weather. Between the 3rd and 6th the preparations were completed. Further supplies of bombs and ammunition were brought up, communications were improved, and assembly trenches dug with the help of the R.E. field companies and the 11th D.L.I. Most of the troops detailed to make the assault moved back for two days’ rest, but by the 7th all had taken up their places in readiness for the attack. The 60th Brigade was on the right, with the 6th Oxford and Bucks L.I. and the 12th R.B. in the front line, the 12th K.R.R.C. in support, and the 6th K.S.L.I. in reserve. The 61st Brigade was on the left, with the 7th K.O.Y.L.I. (in touch with the 12th R.B.) and the 12th King’s in front, each supported by two companies of the 7th Somerset L.I. The 7th D.C.L.I. were in reserve. The 59th Brigade was in Divisional reserve west of Trônes Wood. On the right of the 20th Division the 56th Division, also belonging to the XIVth Corps, carried on the line, and on the left the 12th Division of the XVth Corps. The strength of the brigades was as follows:—
| 59th Brigade | 2075 |
| 60th Brigade | 2087 |
| 61st Brigade | 2317 |
| 6479 |
The object of the operation was to establish a position on the top of the ridge overlooking Le Transloy and Beaulencourt, which might serve as a line of departure for a further advance against these places. With this end in view the attack was made along the whole front of the Fourth Army, the objective being a “Brown Line” which was taken to be the crest of the ridge. For the 20th Division the first objective was Rainbow Trench, on the near side of the crest; the second objective, which included Cloudy Trench, was about 1200 yards of the Brown Line facing the original Divisional front. The direction of the advance, therefore, was north-east.
At 11.30 on the morning of the 7th a German aeroplane flew low over the lines. In spite of the men lying quite still the observer probably noticed the concentration of the troops, for the German guns, which had been quiet up till then, opened a heavy fire on and behind the assembly trenches, causing a certain number of casualties in the Oxford and Bucks L.I.