extended and eventually it held a front of one and three-quarter miles.
Here the Battalion remained for nearly seven months. The sector had been
held by the New Zealanders, and was one of the quietest on the whole
British front, but orders were now given to liven things up in order to
keep as many enemy troops opposite the sector as possible, and distract
their attention from the impending operations at Messines on the left.
This object was achieved by considerable activity, patrols, and artillery
bombardments. The extent of the front held entailed a good deal of
exertion in the way of working parties, both to prevent the breast-works
from falling into complete decay and to keep the trenches drained; and
though the Battalion was very fortunate and suffered comparatively few
casualties, the numbers steadily dwindled as no drafts were forthcoming.
The enemy had very little artillery opposite this sector, and relied
mainly for his defence on minenwerfers which he used liberally and
skilfully, harassing the Battalion with an exceedingly heavy bombardment
about once a fortnight.

In August, the Commanding Officer left the Regiment and the command was
taken over by Lieutenant-Colonel Manger. The following month the Battalion
was taken out of the line for a rest, and was billeted in the village of
Febvin Palfart. Here it remained for a month reorganising and practising
the attack, special attention being paid to the method of taking "pill
boxes" by encirclement.

In October the "Second Ninth" set out for the Ypres salient, and on
arriving at Proven was accommodated in tents. There it was told that the
Division was about to take part in an attack on Passchendaele, but the
weather conditions were so bad that, after an attack by one of the other
brigades in the Division, the offensive was finally abandoned. The
Battalion then held the shell crater line in front of Langemarck for a few