9th/10th Night
Front Line: Officers patrols were sent out to reconnoitre the following points:- I.5.b.5.4; The "Mound"; C.29.d.4.0 and C.29.a.5.4 with a view to a raid the following evening.
10th/11th Night
Four separate raids by parties of 35 NCOs & men and two Officers each were planned. The raid was to be preceeded by a discharge of gas from A.5 & A.6 & by smoke from the adjoining battalion and trenches A7&A8. The Rifle Brgade on our left were to cooperate by a discharge of gas and a raid on White Cottage.
The front line was to be bombarded for 10 minutes when the guns were to lift to the Second line for 20 minutes. On the gas discharge clearing at 11pm the barrage was to lift to the third line and remain there until all the raiding parties were in.
Unfortunately the Bn on our right started the smoke barrage to soon which gave the Germans ample warning that a gas attack was contemplated and also to put a barrage on our front line trenches. Throughout the discharge of gas and our bombardment the enemy was working his machine guns hard and on the barrage lifting from the front line trenches he remove the parapet and fired rapid.
So little effect did the gas appear to have on him that the Officer in Charge of the 2 left raiding parties decided not to send them out. The right party under 2nd Lt G.D.B Roche made for I.5.b.5.4. The found the wire was uncut & accordingly Sgt Eastaway started cutting it in face of fire from 2 machine guns at 30 to 40 yards range. He was wounded and 2/Lt Roche withdrew his party. 2/Lt S.T. Harvey the other officer of this party and Capt W.M. Marriot the officers in charge of the 2 right raiding parties were wounded while collecting their parties in the trenches.
The party for the Mound under 2/Lts E.A. Rudd and A.J. Gilpin effected an entry of the Mound. Their bombing party drove the German bombers who were holding the Communication trench back to their front line and kept them off while the remainder of the party thoroughly searched the Mound. They were unable to get into the front line trenches as the Communication trench was wired each side and the enemy had put down a wire barricade in the trench behind him. No prisoners were taken but 2/Lt Rudd withdrew his party successfully with only one casualty & a large quantity of loot. The party returned soon after midnight.
The German retaliation ceased as soon as our artillery barrage died down. The casualties were heavy [Roland is mentioned by name as being killed] but only 3 occurred in No Mans Land.
