The little brown men were dirty but radiant. Kukri in hand they had
very thoroughly gone through some houses at the cross-roads on the
Rue du Bois and silenced a party of Germans who were making
themselves a nuisance there with some machine guns. Riflemen and
Gurkhas cheered themselves hoarse."

Unfortunately for the complete success of the brilliant attack a great
delay was caused by the failure of the artillery that was to have
cleared the barbed wire entanglements for the Twenty-third Brigade, and
because of the unlooked for destruction of the British field telephone
system by shell and rifle fire. The check of the Twenty-third Brigade
banked other commands back of it, and the Twenty-fifth Brigade was
obliged to fight at right angles to the line of battle. The Germans
quickly rallied at these points, and took a terrific toll in British
lives. Particularly was this true at three specially strong German
positions. One called Port Arthur by the British, another at Pietre
Mill and the third was the fortified bridge over Des Layes Creek.

Because of the lack of telephone communication it was impossible to send
reinforcements to the troops that had been held up by barbed wire and
other emplacements and upon which German machine guns were pouring a
steady stream of death.

As the Twenty-third Brigade had been held up by unbroken barbed wire
northwest of Neuve Chapelle, so the Seventh Division of the Fourth Corps
was also checked in its action against the ridge of Aubers on the left
of Neuve Chapelle. Under the plan of Sir Douglas Haig the Seventh
Division was to have waited until the Eighth Division had reached Neuve
Chapelle, when it was to charge through Aubers. With the tragic mistake
that cost the Twenty-third Brigade so dearly, the plan affecting the