through. They were utterly exhausted, and some of them had to get what
sleep they could, huddled up in these wet trenches, with their feet
several inches deep in water.

Cooking was impossible, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that
any food at all could be supplied to the men in the advanced positions.
Added to this was the fact that the enemy artillery was exceedingly
active, and the shells killed many in the exposed trenches. The British
heavy artillery also fired short, which had a most demoralising effect on
the men in front.

On the 2nd August it became known that the enemy intended definitely to
recapture the Stutzpunkt line. The men were informed of this, and told to
resist to the last. All available men were sent up from the transport
lines to reinforce the men in front. These reinforcements suffered
considerably from shell fire on the way up, but their advent inspired and
cheered the weary men who had been through the whole fight, and whose
rifles were in many cases so choked with mud as to be unserviceable.
Towards midday the enemy developed a heavy barrage. He was about to
attack, and everyone was waiting for the anticipated onslaught without
fear, as all felt that any counter-attack would be repulsed with great
loss. The S.O.S. signal and machine guns were ready, but the artillery
observer saw the enemy first, and the artillery barrage of the British
soon dispersed the attack.

Owing to the insufficiency of the number of surviving stretcher bearers,
the evacuation of the wounded was exceedingly difficult. These were
collected in a dugout at Bank Farm, where they lay for a long time after
having received some slight attention. Two wounded Germans whom the
stretcher bearers had been unable to clear were handed over to the