On the 19th Major-General Douglas Smith left the Division for a time and returned to England. He was succeeded by Major-General T. G. Matheson, C.B.
Vandyk, London
Major-General T. G. Matheson, C.B., C.M.G.
The difficulty of getting the guns across the shelled area was great. At first it took as long as five and six hours to move the guns a mile. The roads were as bad as the open country, and had to be repaired before they could be used. On the 20th a section of C/91 Battery was ordered to support the cavalry at Rocquigny; not only was this section unable to get through, but one gun disappeared into a shell-hole full of water, where it was left with only the end of the trail to be seen. Next day the remaining gun did good work in support of the cavalry, firing 120 rounds on Ytres. On the 22nd C/92 went forward to Rocquigny by a track which had been made between Lesbœufs and Le Transloy, and was attached to the Corps cavalry. This battery and the gun of C/91 came into action on the 23rd, C/92 north-east of Rocquigny and at Bus, the gun of C/91 at Le Mesnil. On the 24th these guns were withdrawn to take up the defence of the main line of resistance.
Between the 22nd and the 25th this part of the front was reorganised. XIVth Corps, reduced to two divisions (the Guards and the 1st), was withdrawn into reserve. The 20th Division was transferred to XVth Corps (Lieut.-General Sir John Du Cane), and extended its right as far as the west angle of the Bois St Martin, where it was in touch with the VIIIth; this line was covered by the 91st and 92nd Field Artillery Brigades and a brigade of the 4th Divisional Artillery. The XIVth Corps Cavalry Regiment (two squadrons of King Edward’s Horse and one of the 21st Lancers), came under the orders of Major-General Matheson and was directed to act as liaison between the infantry and the 5th Cavalry Division.
On the 26th the 60th Brigade on the right of the line was relieved by the 59th.
The next phase of the operations consisted in advancing the main line of resistance to Equancourt, Ytres and Bertincourt. Equancourt and Vallulart Wood were occupied by cavalry on the evening of the 26th; the former was then taken over by infantry of the 8th Division and the latter by a company of the 10th K.R.R.C. On the 29th the 59th Brigade obtained a footing in the enemy’s position east of Vallulart Wood and the 61st occupied Ytres and trenches to the east of it. The 59th Brigade entered the north end of Equancourt on the night of the 27th/28th, and on the following day the line Equancourt—Ytres—Bertincourt was occupied as the main line of resistance. The headquarters of the 59th Brigade at this time was south of Le Mesnil and that of the 61st Brigade was at Bus. The 60th Brigade had moved forward to the area east of Le Transloy, with headquarters in the village. The enemy held the line Fins—Neuville-Bourjonval—Ruyaulcourt. Owing to the long distance between Divisional Headquarters at Guillemont and the forward troops, it was found necessary to establish between Division and brigades an advanced headquarters with which all brigades were in direct signal communication. For the first time since the Division came to France units used their cable carts.
Meanwhile on the 24th the 217th Machine Gun Company under Capt. C. G. Stephens arrived from England and joined the Division as Divisional Machine Gun Company.
The enemy’s resistance at this time began to stiffen. On the 28th the following troops under Brig.-General Banbury were detached as advanced guard: One squadron XIVth Corps Cavalry Regiment, the 91st Field Artillery Brigade, the 84th Field Company R.E., and the 61st Infantry Brigade. This advanced guard was ordered to capture Neuville and Ruyaulcourt.