for a distance of two hundred yards, blew in several mined dugouts, and
inflicted heavy casualties on "D" Company. In some respects this was the
heaviest and most destructive bombardment that had been endured by the
Battalion up to this time, though it was not so prolonged as that of the
8th October, 1915.

On the 8th July, after five months continuous duty in the forward zone,
the Battalion went into Divisional Reserve at Gouy-en-Artois, where the
Battalion was housed in hutments close by the Divisional School.

The Somme Battle had commenced, and there was every likelihood of the
Division being called upon either to attack on the front it already held
or as reinforcements. In consequence the Battalion, which had had very
little training for the past five months, turned its attention to
practising the attack in some cornfields near the hutments it occupied.

The attack was henceforth to be made by successive waves of men and to
each wave was assigned a particular objective. Following these attacking
waves there came what were called "moppers up," whose task was to deal
with any of the enemy who might have hidden in dugouts and so escaped the
attention of the attackers. Recent lessons of the Somme Battle costing
many lives had brought about the necessity for the institution of moppers
up. The rear waves were also to act as carrying parties. One man had to
carry a coil of wire, another a spade, another a screw picket, and so on.
The reason for this was, that when the enemy trenches had been captured,
the enemy might cut off all supplies by means of an intense barrage on no
man's land, and it was necessary for the attacking troops to have
sufficient material at hand to enable them to put the captured positions
into a state of defence immediately, and thus be able to resist a
counter-attack. Model trenches were marked out and much good work was done