After one night here, the caves had to be evacuated next morning to make
room for more troops coming up. The Germans had now been driven back as
far as Wancourt, which was captured the previous day. On leaving the
caves, cellars in Ronville village were occupied. No sooner were the men
in, however, than orders were received to move further forward. The
Battalion paraded on the road leading to Beaurains, which was crowded
with vehicles and men, and marched off in the afternoon. After their
experiences of trench warfare the sight of open, rolling country, the
scene of yesterday's fighting, was very strange and, to some,
invigorating. Passing through the ruins of Beaurains and Neuville
Vitasse, the route turned across country towards Wancourt, and about dusk
the Battalion reached a sunken road, where it halted. Owing to a delay in
the arrival of the Lewis gun limbers, the Lewis gunners were behind the
rest of the Battalion, and some difficulty was experienced by them in
locating the sunken road. Up to this point there had been no firing or
signs of activity. After a conference of Commanding Officers a relief of
the 14th Division was arranged. W, X and Y Companies moved a little
further up and occupied Niger and Nepal trenches, which were some
distance behind the front line, and Z Company were sent to dig a trench a
little further forward near Wancourt cemetery. Here they remained for the
day. At night detailed orders were received for an attack at dawn, the
Battalion's frontage being near Wancourt Tower.

At 1 a.m. on the 14th April the men moved to the assembly position in the
dry bed of the Cojeul River, with the 8th Battalion in support and 5th
Border Regiment in reserve, the 9th Battalion being already in a line
just south of Guemappe. The original orders had now been considerably
altered, and zero hour arrived before fresh orders had been circulated to
the Companies. The result was that at 4.30 a.m., after moving in file
from the assembly position to a bank, some 200 yards in front, the