Wednesday 17th March 1915
An easy days work. Orders for a Divisional Parade at 5 p.m. We had early tea and at 5 o’clock the Brigade moved out in line of Battalions in column of route. We picked up the Australian Brigade as we passed their camp and proceeded out about 4 miles. The scheme for the nights work was that we were facing an enemy in trenches on a front of 800 yards for the Division. 400 yards was allotted to the Australian Infty Brigade and 400 yards to ourselves. Our 400 yards was divided up between two Battalions, two being in reserve. Our Battalion front was divided up 100 yards to each of two companies with two companies in support. We arrived in our theoretical trenches just at dark and bivouaced for the night. The enemy’s position about 450 yards in front of ours on some low hills was actually entrenched, provided with entanglements and flares and whatever the engineers could fix up. We were to make a night assault on the trenches and if successful dig ourselves in. At midnight we got word that the Division would advance to the assault at 2 a.m. Prior to the assault patrols had been sent out who thoroughly reconnoitred the enemy’s position and pulled down a number of the obstacles. Most of the evening’s flares were fired before the assault by these patrols. At 2 a.m. the two Brigades advanced to the assault. The first line moved straight on the enemys position closely followed by the successive supporting lines. Despite a hot fire and the obstacles the position was carried and the enemy retired in disorder; the position gained was at once entrenched by the Reserve Battalions, the assaulting Battalions covering the work. Despite darkness and the inevitable confusion of the assault the Company reassembled complete within a few minutes of the assault being over. This showed excellent handling of their men on the part of the officers and N.C.O.s. We remained in our positions until daybreak when the dismiss was sounded and units returned to camp reaching there by about 8 a.m. The men behaved splendidly during the operations and they quickly got into their bivouacs and settled down for the night.
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