The casualties suffered by the Fifth Corps throughout the period under
review, and particularly during the month of February, have been
heavier than those on other parts of the line. I regret this, but do not
think, taking all circumstances into consideration, that they were
unduly numerous. The position then occupied by the Fifth Corps had
always been a very vulnerable part of our line. The ground was marshy,
and trenches were most difficult to construct and maintain. The
Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Divisions of the Fifth Corps had no
previous experience in European warfare, and a number of the units
composing the corps had only recently returned from service in tropical
climates. In consequence, the hardships of a rigorous Winter campaign
fell with greater weight upon these divisions than upon any other in the
command.
Chiefly owing to these causes the Fifth Corps, up to the beginning of
March, was constantly engaged in counter-attacks to retake trenches and
ground which had been lost. In their difficult and arduous task,
however, the troops displayed the utmost gallantry and devotion, and it
is most creditable to the skill and energy of their leaders that I am
able to report how well they have surmounted all their difficulties and
that the ground first taken over by them is still intact and held with
little greater loss than is incurred by the troops in all other parts of
the line.
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