Railway Engineers had constructed a light railway from Epéhy to Tincourt,
and they expressed their readiness to convey the Battalion there by rail.
Their offer was gladly accepted, and the Battalion duly arrived at the
station and entrained. There was a slight incline to commence and the
numbers that arrived exceeded the haulage capacity of the only serviceable
locomotive at the station, and consequently no progress was made. As there
was no telegraph a message had to be sent on foot for another engine,
which came along after a long wait, and eventually a start was made. The
couplings were bad and the train soon broke into three portions. As the
way was downhill the various sections glided down to the next station
independently. Here there was another train and a loop line, and it also
happened that one train was too long for the loop. Nothing daunted, the
railway engineers indulged in a considerable amount of shunting, and
decided to take a portion of the waiting train back with the troop train.
All went well until the next incline was reached. There was a great strain
on the engine, but eventually after charging the hill three or four times,
accompanied by much racing of engines and skidding of wheels, the top was
reached, and the Battalion got to Tincourt having taken on the journey
twice the time it would have taken to march the distance.

At Tincourt a pleasant week was spent, after which the Battalion returned
to the Birdcage sector, the portion of which immediately in front of Eagle
Quarry was the scene of much minenwerfer activity.


THE BATTLE OF CAMBRAI.

No particularly arduous duty was assigned to the Battalion in connection
with the operations on the 20th November. To divert the attention of the
enemy from other troops who were attacking the Knoll, a few hundred yards