At 5 o'clock in the afternoon this artillery attack was accompanied by
two mine explosions, and in the confusion caused by these and by the
suddenness of the attack the position of St. Eloi was captured and held
for some hours by the enemy.

Well-directed and vigorous counter-attacks, in which the troops of the
Fifth Army Corps showed great bravery and determination, restored the
situation by the evening of the 15th.

_The dispatch describes further operations, saying:_

On Feb. 6 a brilliant action by the troops of the First Corps materially
improved our position in the area south of La Bassée Canal. During the
previous night parties of the Irish Guards and the Third Battalion of
the Coldstream Guards had succeeded in gaining ground from which a
converging fire could be directed on the flanks and rear of certain
brick stacks occupied by the Germans, which had been for some time a
source of considerable annoyance. At 2 P.M. the affair commenced with a
severe bombardment of the brick stacks and the enemy's trenches.

A brisk attack by the Third Battalion of the Coldstream Guards and Irish
Guards from our trenches west of the brick stacks followed and was
supported by the fire from the flanking position which had been seized
the previous night by the same regiments.

The attack succeeded, the brick stacks were occupied without difficulty,
and a line was established north and south through a point about forty
yards east of the brick stacks.

The casualties suffered by the Fifth Corps throughout the period under