344 SUPPLEMENT TO THE LONDON GAZETTE, 7 JANUARY, 1919.

killed and wounded, and had taken from him immense quantities of ammunition still re- over 34,000 prisoners and 270 guns. For the mained untouched. On the 18th August our remarkable success of the battle of Bapaume> patrols, whose activity had been constant, were the greatest credit is due to the excellence of able to make a considerable advance opposite the staff arrangements of all formations, and to Merville. Next day Merville itself was taken, the most able conduct of the operations of the and our line advanced on the whole front from Third Army by its •Commander, General Byng. the Lawe River to the Plate Becque. In the obstinate fighting of the past few days During the following days, various other the enemy had been pressed back to the line of small gains of ground were made by us on the the Somme River and the high ground about southern and western faces of the salient, but Rocquigny and Beugny, where he had shown on the northern face the enemy as yet showed an intention to stand for a time. Thereafter, no signs of withdrawal, the various local opera- his probable plan was to retire slowly, when tions carried out by us meeting with strong forced to do so, from one intermediary position resistance. On the night of the 23th/3Gth to another; until he could shelter his battered August, however, impelled alike by the pres- divisions behind the Hindenburg defences. The sure exerted without remission by our troops on line of the Tortille River and the high Nurlu the spot and by the urgency of events eks where, Plateau offered opportunities for an ordered the enemy commenced an extensive retirement withdrawal of this nature,- which would allow on the whole of the Lys front. him to secure his artillery as well as much of the In the early morning of the 30th August our material in his forward dumps. troops found Bailieul unoccupied, and by the- On the other hand, the disorganisation which evening of that day our advanced detachments had been caused by our attacks on the 8th and had reached the general line Lacouture, 21stAugust had increased under the pressure of Lestrem, Noote Boom, Bast of Bailleul. our .advance, and had been accompanied by a Thereafter, the enemy's withdrawal con- steady deterioration in the moral of his troops. tinued rapidly. At certain points, indeed, his Garrisons left as rearguards to hold up our rearguards offered vigorous resistance, notably advance at important points had surrendered about Neuve Eglise and Hill 63, captured with as soon as they found themselves threatened a number of prisoners by the 36th and 29th with isolation. The urgent needs of the Divisions; but by the evening of the 6*7* Sep- moment, the wide extent of front attacked, and tember the Lys salient had disappeared. Kern- consequent uncertainty as to where the next mel Hill v/as once more in our hands, and our- blow would fall, and the extent of his losses troops had reached the general line Givenchy,. had forced the enemy to throw in his reserve Neuve Chapelle, Nieppe, Ploegsteert, Voorme- piecemeal as they arrived on the battle front. zeele. On many occasions in the course of the fighting elements of the same German division had been THE BATTLE OF THE SCARPE. identified on widely separated parts of the battle front. (26th August—3rd September.) In such circumstances, a sudden and success- (27) The Retaking of Moncllyrle-Pre^lx. ful blow, of weight siifficient to break through By the 25th August our advance had formed' pthe northern hinge of the defences to which it a salient of the German positions opposite - was his design to fall back, might produce re- Arras, and the proper moment had therefore sults of great importance. At this date, as come for the third stage of our operations, in. will be seen from the events described in which the FL'st Army should extend the flank, para. 27, our troops, were already in position to of our attack to the North. By driving East- deliver, such a stroke. wards from Arras, covered on the left by the Rivers Scarpe and Sensee, the First Army (26) The Withdrawal from the Lys Salient. would endeavour to turn the enemy's positions Meanwhile, during the process of the great on the Somme battlefield, and cut his system events briefly recorded above and in immediate of railway communications which ran south- consequence of them, other events of different westwards across their front. but scarcely less importance were taking place At 3 a.m on the 26tJi August, the Canadian on the northern portion of our front. Corps, Lieutenant-General Sir A. W. Currie- The exhaustion of the enemy's reserves re- commanding, on the right of General Home's sulting from the Allied attacks made the short- First Army, attacked the German positions ening of the German line imperative. The astride the Scar.pe River with the 2nd and 3rd obvious sector in which to effect such a shorten- Canadian Divisions (commanded by Major- ing was the Lys front. The enemy had only Generals Sir H. E. Burstall and L. J. Lipsett) maintained himself in the Lys salient under the and the 51st Division. This attack, delivered constant fire of our guns at the expense of on a front of about 5£ miles and closely sup- heavy casualties, not only to his infantry in ported by the left of the Third Army, was com- line, but to his artillery and troops in back pletely successful. By noon we had taken areas. With the abandonment of his pro- Wancourt and Guernappe, and had stormed jected offensive against the Channel Ports all the hill and village of Monchy-le-Preux. This reason had gone for remaining in so costly a latter position was one of great natural salient, while the threat, carefully maintained | strength, well organised for defence, and com- by us, of a British attack provided an manded observation of much- importance. additional reason for withdrawing. Many prisoners were taken, and later in the Accordingly, from about the 26th July the day substantial progress was made to the East enemy had been actively employed in re- of these three villages, a strong counter-attack moving the ammunition and stores accumulated East of Monchy being successfully repulsed. for his offensive, and as early as the 5th August North of the Scarpe the 51st Division pushed he had begun to effect local withdrawals on the forward their line towards Roeux, so as to southern -flank of the salient. secure an easily defensible base of departure The development of our own and the French for this advance, and by a successful attack offensives hastened this movement, although during the evening captured Greenland Hill.