The 61st Division Infantry's Advance in No Man's Land| OKWAVE

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Early on 24 August, Joffre ordered a withdrawal to a line from Verdun to Mézières and Maubeuge and began to transfer troops from the east opposite the German border, to the western flank. The French armies were to destroy railway facilities and inflict as many casualties as possible on the German armies, preparatory to resuming the offensive. Two strategic alternatives were possible, to attack the eastern flank of the 1st Army or to envelop the western flank of all the German armies. On 25 August, Joffre issued General Instruction No. 2, for a withdrawal to a line from Verdun to Reims and Amiens and the assembly of two corps and four reserve divisions near Amiens, to carry out the envelopment operation. Joffre called for much greater integration of the infantry and artillery and for more tactical dispersal of infantry to nullify German fire power.

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German bombardments continued during the night of 4/5 March, before an attack on the British right flank, which captured a trench block and about 100 yards (91 m) of Fritz Trench to the north, before a local counter-attack recovered the recaptured ground. German artillery-fire continued all day and at 7:30 p.m., German infantry seen massing on the right flank, were dispersed by SOS artillery and machine-gun barrages before they could attack; German bombardments continued on 6 March, before slowly diminishing. The operation cost the British 1,137 casualties, 217 German prisoners and seven machine-guns were captured and "exceedingly heavy" German casualties inflicted, according to surveys of the vicinity, after the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line (Siegfriedstellung).

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The main French offensive in the south began on 14 August when the First Army advanced with two corps into the Vosges and two corps north-east towards Sarrebourg and the two right-hand corps of the Second Army of General de Castelnau advanced on the left of the First Army. One corps and the Second Group of Reserve Divisions advanced slowly towards Morhange in echelon, as a flank guard against a German attack from Metz. The First Army had captured several passes further south since 8 August, to protect the southern flank as the army advanced to Donon and Sarrebourg. Despite warnings from Joffre against divergence, the army was required to advance towards the Vosges passes to the south-east, eastwards towards Donon and north-east towards Sarrebourg. German troops withdrew during the day, Donon was captured and on the left flank an advance of 10–12 kilometres (6.2–7.5 mi) was made. At dusk the 26th Division of the XIII Corps attacked Cirey and were engaged by artillery and machine-guns and repulsed with many casualties. On 15 August, the Second Army reported that German long-range artillery had been able to bombard the French artillery and infantry undisturbed and that dug-in German infantry had inflicted many casualties on the French as they attacked.

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The left-hand battalion lost more casualties in no man's land, then found the wire at the Wick salient uncut. German machine-guns caused many casualties and the few infantry who got through the wire, were shot down in front of the front trench, as reinforcements were also caught in no man's land and pinned down. In the centre, the 183rd Brigade was bombarded before the advance and shrapnel-fire stopped the infantry using the sally-ports. After climbing the British parapet both battalions were shot down in no man's land, a few men getting close to the German wire before being killed or wounded. On the left, the attacking battalions of the 184th Brigade had been in the front line since the morning under German artillery-fire.

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The German bombardment caused many casualties as the British infantry assembled but no retaliatory fire was opened, in the hope that the German artillery would not be provoked. The subsidiary attack on the right flank, on Desire Support and Guard trenches south of Pys, by a 6th Brigade battalion of the 2nd Division, disappeared into the dark until 9:00 a.m., when it was reported that the attackers had been repulsed; British casualties and daylight made a resumption of the attack impossible. The effect of the failure on the right affected the operation further west by the 99th Brigade of the 2nd Division and the 54th and 53rd brigades of the 18th Division, which attacked the high ground from the right-hand Courcelette–Miraumont road, to the Albert–Arras railway line in the Ancre valley.

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The 99th Brigade attack on the right, advanced towards the second objective but was much hampered by the fog and mud. The failure to maintain the defensive flank on the right left the Germans free to rake the brigade with machine-gun fire from the right, which caused more casualties. South Miraumont Trench was entered by a small number of troops, who were then forced back to the first objective. Fresh German troops also counter-attacked from Petit Miraumont and the railway bank to the weSt Many of the British troops had weapons clogged with mud and fell back, the troops on the right forming a defensive flank along West Miraumont road, where they were fired on from South Miraumont Trench behind its left flank and withdrew to a line 100 yards (91 m) north of Boom Ravine.

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The 159th Regiment advanced over a hillock, met uncut wire and massed fire from small arms and artillery, out of view of the French front line. The 97th Regiment captured Souchez cemetery with few casualties but the repulse of the 159th Regiment uncovered the flanks of the 97th Regiment and the adjacent DM, which made an attack on Souchez village impossible. An attack by the 159th Regiment at 4:00 p.m. was also stopped immediately by German return fire. In the XXI Corps area, the 70th Division was bombarded by German artillery as the attack began, in response to flares sent up from the German front line. The 42nd BCP took part of Château Carleul against determined German resistance but then stopped to maintain contact with the 77th Division to the right. The 360th and 237th regiments were met by a wall of fire and were not able to advance, except on the far left flank, where the 13th Division had managed to push forward for 160 yd (150 m). The 48th Division on the northern flank of XXI Corps, advanced for about 0.62 mi (1 km) and took its initial objectives in 25 minutes, in a costly attack. At zero hour, the 43rd Division on the left of XXI Corps, blew a mine under the German defences opposite and rushed the crater with few losses, before the Germans could counter-attack. D'Urbal ordered the attack to continue on 17 June, on the fronts of the 77th Division and IX Corps on either flank of XXXIII Corps, where the most advanced positions of the DM had become untenable. The attack was ordered for 4:00 p.m. and then postponed, leading to some units attacking too early, being pinned down in front of uncut wire and then being bombarded by French as well as German artillery. The 70th Division and the XXI Corps divisions on the northern flank, took several German positions in costly attacks but the IX Corps attack on the southern flank was deluged with artillery and machine-gun fire and made no progress. On 18 June d'Urbal concentrated the remaining offensive capacity of the Tenth Army against Vimy Ridge. IX Corps was ordered to ignore the German defences in Neuville but General Balfourier the XX Corps commander, refused to attack with the northern flank unsupported. The attack on 18 June was another failure, in which French infantry were again confronted by German positions on reverse slopes, invisible to ground observation and undamaged, with uncut wire and alert defenders, who inflicted many casualties on the attackers. Foch suspended the offensive but d'Urbal reverted to piecemeal attacks for another week until Joffre intervened and ended the offensive.

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Lukin sent messages urging Tanner and the battalion commanders to dig in regardless of fatigue, as heavy artillery fire was expected during the night or early the next morning. As night fell German high explosive and gas shelling increased in intensity and a German counter-attack began at midnight with orders to recapture the wood at all costs. The attack was made by three battalions from the 8th and 12th Reserve divisions and managed to reach within 50 yards (46 m), before being driven under cover by artillery and machine-gun fire. Later that night, fire into Delville Wood from four German Feldartillerie brigades reached a rate of 400 shells per minute.

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During the night the Germans in a group of houses to the south of the church were mopped up and outside the village a strong point was taken. Early on 29 May the remaining German positions at the church and rectory were captured. French casualties in the final attack were 200, mainly caused by artillery fire. The French attacked into the valley and on 31 May captured Mill Malon, advanced up a communication trench to the sugar refinery and rushed the German garrison, which was overwhelmed as dark fell. At midnight a German counter-attack gradually pushed the French back into the communication trench. A French artillery barrage was arranged and troops on the outskirts of Ablain advanced to the refinery along the stream, as the troops at the communication trench reorganised and attacked again. The Germans were forced back and by the evening of 1 June the position was connected with Ablain by communication trenches (fighting in the area continued sporadically from June–September). From 25 to 28 May French attacks towards Andres failed. D'Urbal continued the limited-objective attacks but transferred the main artillery effort south to Neuville. A three-day preparatory bombardment began on 2 June and on 6 June French infantry captured the main road through the village, as the German garrison replied with massed small-arms fire from cellars and demolished houses. German artillery-fire also caused many French casualties but by 11 June, the French had advanced 500 m (550 yd) on a 330 yd (300 m) front. The British adopted siege warfare tactics of limited attacks prepared by a greater weight of artillery fire, to capture more ground and hold it with fewer casualties. British attacks resumed near Festubert from Port Arthur 850 yd (780 m) north to Rue du Bois, with a night attack by three divisions at 11:30 pm on 15 May, after a three-day bombardment, with 26,000 shells carefully observed on a 5,000 yd (4,600 m) front. The German breastwork was destroyed but many of the machine-gun posts underneath survived, as did infantry dugouts under the second line of breastworks. The attack was limited to an objective about 1,000 yd (910 m) forward along La Quinque Rue road. On the right flank the advance succeeded, a silent advance surprising the surviving Germans in the remains of the breastwork and then capturing the Wohngraben (support trench) before digging in. On the left German return fire stopped the advance in no man's land. An attack at 3:15 a.m. on the right by the 7th Division was successful in parts but with many casualties. Much of the German front line was destroyed and captured but scattered German parties in shell-holes blocked both flanks and prevented a further British advance.

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Much of the X Corps artillery was used to help the Fifth Army by counter-battery fire on the German artillery concentration behind Zandvoorde. The 41st Division attack was hampered by frequent German artillery bombardments, in the days before the attack and the officers laying out markings for the assembly tapes during the night of 30 July, exchanged fire with a German patrol. High explosive and gas shelling never stopped and one battalion lost 100 casualties in the last few days before the attack. At zero hour the attack began and the division advanced down the hill to the first German outposts. At one part of the battlefield German pillboxes had been built in lines from the front-line to the rear, from which machine-gunners kept up a steady fire. The strong points on the left were quickly suppressed but those on the right held out for longer and caused many casualties, before German infantry sallied from shelters, between the front and support lines on the right, to be repulsed by British small arms fire and that of a Vickers machine-gun, fired by the Colonel in command of the battalion. Mopping-up the remaining pillboxes failed, due to the number of casualties and a shortage of ammunition. It began to rain and at 4:00 a.m. many Germans were seen massing for a counter-attack. Reinforcements were called for and rapid fire opened on the German infantry but the attack succeeded in reaching the pillboxes still holding out on the right. The British artillery began firing as reinforcements arrived, the Germans were forced back and the last pillboxes captured. The front line had been advanced about 600–650 yards (550–590 m) on a front of 2,500 yards (2,300 m), from south of Hollebeke north to the area east of Klein Zillebeke. The attack began at 3:50 a.m., which was intended to coincide with dawn but low cloud meant that it was still dark. The main British effort was made by II Corps across the Ghelveult Plateau, on the southern flank of the Fifth Army. II Corps had the most difficult task, advancing against the principal German defensive concentration of artillery, ground-holding and Eingreif divisions.

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Large numbers of machine-guns were organised to fire offensive and defensive barrages and signal detachments were organised to advance with the infantry. An observation balloon was reserved for messages by signal lamp from the front line, as insurance against the failure of telephone lines and message-runners. The divisional trench mortar batteries were to bombard the German front line opposite the 142nd Brigade, where it was too close for the artillery to shell without endangering British troops. Wire-cutting began in mid-May, against considerable local retaliation by German artillery. At the end of May the two attacking brigades began training at Steenvoorde, on practice courses built to resemble the German positions to be attacked, using air reconnaissance photographs to mark the positions of machine-gun posts and hidden barbed wire. Divisional intelligence summaries were used to plan the capture of German company and battalion headquarters. The 140th Brigade with four tanks attached, was to occupy White Château and the adjacent part of Damstrasse, while the 142nd Brigade attacked the spoil heaps and the canal bank to the left. On 1 June, the British artillery began the intense stage of preparatory bombardment for trench-destruction and wire cutting and the two attacking brigades assembled for the attack from 4–6 June. British fighter aircraft tried to prevent German aircraft observing for their artillery, by dominating the air from the British front line to the German balloon line, about 10,000 yards (9,100 m) beyond. Better aircraft like the Bristol Fighter, S.E.5a and the naval Sopwith Triplane had entered service since Arras and matched the performance of the German Albatros D.III and Halberstadt D.II fighters.

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The masked batteries of the three reserve divisions were used to add to the protective barrage in front of the infantry but no Germans could be seen. A pause of five hours was considered necessary to defeat the German Eingreif divisions, before resuming the advance on the Oosttaverne (Sehnen) line. The pause was extended by two hours to 3:10 p.m., after Plumer received reports on the state of the ground. More artillery joined the masked batteries close to the front line and others moved as far into no-man's-land as the terrain allowed. On the nearside of the ridge, 146 machine-guns were prepared to fire an overhead barrage, and each division placed sixteen more guns in the observation line on the eastern slope. The 24 tanks in reserve began to advance at 10:30 a.m. to join II Anzac Corps and IX Corps on the flanks. Surviving tanks of the morning attack in X Corps, were to join in from Damm and Denys woods. The 4th Australian Division continued the attack on the II Anzac Corps front, the right hand brigade reaching the assembly areas by 11:30 a.m., before learning of the postponement. The brigade had to lie on open ground under German artillery and machine-gun fire, which caused considerable loss but the left brigade was informed in time to hold back until 1:40 p.m. The bombardment began to creep down the slope at 3:10 p.m. at a rate of 100 yards (91 m) in three minutes. The right brigade advanced on a 2,000-yard (1,800 m) front towards the Oosttaverne line, from the river Douve north to the Blauwepoortbeek (Blue Gate Brook). German machine-gunners in the pillboxes of the Oosttaverne line caused many casualties but with support from three tanks the Australians reached the pillboxes, except for those north of the Messines–Warneton road.

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By mid-morning the mist had cleared, allowing German machine-gunners and artillery to pin the British down around Grote Molen spur and Frezenburg ridge, forestalling a British attack intended for 10:00 a.m.. Around noon, British aircraft on counter-attack patrols, began to send wireless messages warning of German infantry advancing towards all of the front attacked. Similar reports from the ground began in the early afternoon. In the centre German infantry from the 236th Division, 234th Division and 4th Bavarian Division were advancing north of Becelaere–Broodseinde–Passchendaele Ridge, while the 17th Division advanced south of Polygon wood. British artillery immediately bombarded these areas, disrupting the German deployment and causing the German attacks to be disjointed. A German officer later wrote of severe delays and disorganisation caused to German Eingreif units by British artillery-fire and air attacks. A counter-attack either side of Molenaarelsthoek was stopped dead at 3:25 p.m. At 4:00 p.m. German troops advancing around Reutel to the south were heavily bombarded, as were German artillery positions in Holle Bosch, ending the German advance. A German attack then developed near Polderhoek, whose survivors managed to reach the British infantry and were seen off in bayonet fighting. Observation aircraft found German troops massing against Tower Hamlets, on the Bassevillebeek spur and artillery and machine-gun barrages stopped the attack before it reached the British infantry. At 6:50 p.m. the Germans managed to organise an attack from Tower Hamlets to north of Polygon Wood; such German infantry as got through the barrages were "annihilated" by the British infantry. German counter-attacks were only able to reach the new front line and reinforce the remnants of the front divisions. The 236th Division (Eingreif) attacked south of the Ypres–Roulers railway and 4th Bavarian Division (Eingreif) for 2,000 yd (1,800 m) to the north, with field artillery and twelve aircraft attached to each division and the 234th Division in support.

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Troops pinned down in no man's land withdrew under cover of the bombardment and parties went out to rescue wounded. More discussion between Mackenzie and Haking, led to a decision that the 184th Brigade would attack the Sugarloaf overnight, after a ten-minute hurricane bombardment but German shelling on the British front line then caused a postponement until the morning.The postponement failed to reach the Australian 58th Battalion, which attacked with some of the 59th Battalion and was stopped in no man's land with many casualties, survivors from three battalions finding their way back after dark. Despite reinforcements, the situation of the 14th Brigade troops in the German lines became desperate, as artillery fire and German counter-attacks from the open right flank forced a slow withdrawal in the dark.

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Each brigade attacked with two battalions, the 99th Brigade with two companies to extend the defensive flank formed on the right with the subsidiary attack and 2 1⁄2 companies following-on to leap-frog through to the final objective. In the 18th Division area the 54th Brigade attacked with an extra company, to capture dug-outs up to Boom Ravine and consolidate the first objective, while the 53rd Brigade formed a defensive flank on the left. Artillery support came from the divisional artillery, army field brigades and the neighbouring Australian corps. The creeping and standing barrages began at 5:45 a.m. and the infantry advanced against a sparse German artillery reply. The German infantry proved alert and inflicted many casualties with small-arms fire, which with the darkness, fog and a sea of mud slowed the advance and caused units to become disorganised.

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At 10:00 a.m. the infantry attack began in bright dry weather. Three of the trench lines on the Lorette Spur were captured by Chasseurs and supporting infantry of XXI Corps with many casualties. A fortified post in the centre of the German line was not captured and German artillery near Angres bombarded the lost trenches, as machine-guns in Ablain swept the French infantry. Fighting continued after dark and the French began to dig in. The German front trenches at Carency were captured and against orders, the French tried to continue into the village but fire from a strong point to the east stopped the French advance. XXI Corps had managed to advance 220 yd (200 m) through the maze of fortifications on the Lorette Spur and IX Corps beyond made a little progress. On the northern flank of XXXIII Corps, the 70th Division attacked Ablain, Carency and Souchez and strong points at Bois 125 and the sugar refinery. The division reached the fringes of the villages but the repulse of the right-hand regiment led the most advanced troops to withdraw to a line 660 yd (600 m) forward of the start-line. In the XXXIII Corps area, the Division Marocaine (DM) attacked with two waves of "shock troops", who were lightly-equipped and pushed forward as quickly as possible, leaving isolated German positions to the Nettoyeurs (cleaners) following them. The German wire was found to be well cut and by 11:30 a.m., the advanced troops reached point 140 on Vimy Ridge and dug in, having made an advance of over 4,300 yd (2.4 mi; 3.9 km), supported soon after by the arrival of machine-gun teams. Divisional reserves were ordered forward at 10:15 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m. d'Urbal ordered the 18th Division to move up but it had been stationed 5.0 mi (8 km) back to be out of German artillery range. Reserve units had great difficulty in advancing through German artillery fire, which left the DM in a narrow salient and under fire from all directions. During the afternoon, the DM was counter-attacked and forced off the ridge, managing to take several guns, machine-guns and 1,500 German prisoners with them. The 77th Division reached Givenchy-en-Gohelle, the cemetery at Souchez, Château de Carleul and took c. 500 prisoners and thirty machine-guns but was soon forced back to the Souchez–Neuville road, by German artillery-fire and counter-attacks. The French infantry also suffered many casualties and found that artillery support had diminished, as the field artillery was firing at the limit of its range. German communication trenches between Carency and Souchez were blocked, which cut off Carency except via Ablain.

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As the fog lifted, German artillery caught the French guns in the open and silenced them. A German counter-attack routed a French division and the corps was not rallied until the evening. To the north the IV Corps also advanced in fog and encountered German troops dug in near Virton and was forced back also with a division routed. On the southern flank, the VI Corps was pushed back a short distance. In the Fourth Army area, the II Corps on the right flank managed to keep level with the Third Army to the south but was not able to advance further. The Colonial Corps on the left was defeated at Rossignol, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Neufchâteau and had 11,646 casualties but the 5th Colonial Brigade on the left easily reached Neufchâteau, before being repulsed with many casualties. Further north, XII Corps advanced steadily but the XVII Corps beyond was outflanked and the 33rd Division lost most of its artillery. On the northern flank the XI and IX corps were not seriously engaged.

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Supporting troops from the 33rd Brigade, were caught by fire from the German pillboxes but reached the Cockcroft, passed beyond and dug in despite fire from Bulow Farm. On the left flank, these battalions reached the Langemarck road, passed Rat House and Pheasant Trench and ended their advance just short of the White House, joining with the right side of the brigade on the Lekkerboterbeek. In the XIV Corps area, the 20th Division attacked with two brigades at 4:45 a.m. The battalions of the right brigade leap-frogged forward on a one-battalion front, crossed the Steenbeek and then advancing in single file, worming round shell craters full of water and mud. Alouette Farm, Langemarck and the first two objective lines were reached easily. At 7:20 a.m., the advance to the final objective began and immediately encountered machine-gun fire from the Rat House and White House, which continued until they were captured, the final objective being taken at 7:45 a.m., as German troops withdrew to a small wood behind White House. The left brigade advanced on a two-battalion front and encountered machine-gun fire from Au Bon Gite before it was captured and was then fired on from German blockhouses in front of Langemarck and from the railway station. Once these had been captured, the advance resumed at 7:20 a.m., despite fire from hidden parties of defenders and reached the final objective at 7:47 a.m., under fire from the Rat House. German counter-attacks began around 4:00 p.m. and advanced 200 yd (180 m) around Schreiboom, being driven back some distance later on. The 29th Division to the north, attacked at the same time with two brigades. On the right the first objective was reached quickly and assistance given to the 20th Division further south. The Newfoundland Regiment passed through, being held up slightly by marshy conditions and fire from Cannes Farm. The Newfoundlanders continued, reached the third objective and then took Japan House beyond. The left brigade took the first objective easily, then met machine-gun fire from Champeaubert Farm in the French First Army sector and from Montmirail Farm.

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The Germans spent 23 October bombarding the old British positions and probing forward, as the Lahore Division (Lieutenant-General H. B. B. Watkis) reached Estaires, which had been made the assembly point for the Indian Corps, to be convenient to support II Corps or III Corps as necessary. The Jullundur Brigade relieved the II Cavalry Corps on 23/24 October, from the II Corps left flank at Fauquissart to the 19th Brigade at Rouges Bancs, which created a homogeneous British line from Givenchy northwards to Ypres. Opposite the Anglo-French south of the British III Corps, was part of the German XIV Corps and the VII, XIII, XIX and I Cavalry Corps. At 2:00 a.m., on 24 October, German artillery began a bombardment and just after dawn many German infantry were seen approaching the 3rd Division positions in the north. The German troops were easily visible and repulsed by artillery-fire before they reached the British front line. German attacks were suspended until dusk when an attack began south of Neuve-Chapelle on the right flank of the 3rd Division, until after midnight, eventually being repulsed, with many casualties. In the early hours of 25 October, German infantry were able to overrun some British trenches but were forced out by hand-to-hand fighting and at 11:00 a.m., the trenches were overrun again until reinforcements from the 9th Brigade forced the Germans back. On the left flank of the 3rd Division the 8th and Jullundur brigades were attacked from 9:00 p.m. on 24 October and the left flank battalion of the 8th Brigade was forced back. The flanking units fired into the area and a counter-attack at midnight by the brigade reserve battalion, managed to restore the position in costly fighting. Many German troops of the 14th and 26th divisions were killed in the attacks and several prisoners taken. By morning, the II Corps headquarters staff were relieved, that despite 13 days of battle, exhaustion and the loss of many pre-war regulars and experienced reservists, a determined German attack had been defeated. The corps front was not attacked on 25 October but German guns accurately bombarded the British positions, with assistance from observation aircraft, flying in clear weather. German infantry kept 700–900 yd (640–820 m) back, except for areas in front of the 5th Division. Some positions were evacuated during daylight hours to escape German shelling and engineers collected fence posts and wire from farmland, ready to build obstacles in front of the British positions overnight. Smith-Dorrien forecast a lull in German attacks but requested reinforcements from French who agreed, because a defeat at La Bassée would compromise offensive operations in Belgium.

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Casualties averaged 1,500–2,000 men per division, which was lower than the 4,000 average on the Somme in 1916 but only because divisions were being relieved more frequently. Supplying troops in the front line was extremely difficult, because the British were using more gas, which caught carrying parties by surprise; the 6th Bavarian Reserve Division had suffered 1,200 gas casualties. At 4:45 a.m., a creeping barrage began and the British troops advanced. German flares were seen rising but the German artillery response was slow and missed the attackers. In the 18th Division area, German machine-gun fire from pill-boxes caused many losses to the 53rd Brigade, which was stopped in front of the north-west corner of Inverness Copse. Part of the brigade managed to work forward further north and formed a defensive flank along the southern edge of Glencorse Wood. To the north, the 169th Brigade of the 56th Division advanced quickly at the start but veered to the right around boggy ground, then entered Glencorse Wood. The German main line of resistance was in a sunken road inside the wood, where after a hard-fought and mutually-costly engagement, the German defenders were overrun and the rest of the wood occupied. The leading waves then advanced to Polygon Wood. The 167th Brigade also had a fast start but when it reached the north end of Nonne Bosschen, found mud 4 ft (1.2 m) deep, the brigade veering round it to the left but the gap which this caused between the 167th and 169th brigades was not closed. Another problem emerged, because the quick start had been partly due to the rear waves pushing up to avoid German shelling on the left of the brigade. The follow-up infantry mingled with the foremost troops and failed to mop up the captured ground or German troops who had been overrun, who began sniping from behind at both brigades. Part of a company reached the area north of Polygon Wood, at about the same time as small numbers of troops from the 8th Division. The ground conditions in the 56th Division area, were so bad that none of the tanks in support got into action.