The morning was calm, bright, and clear, and opposite our right, as the
sun rose, the scene in front of our line was the most peaceful
imaginable. Away to the right were Guinchy, with its brickfields and the
ruins of Givenchy. To the north of them lay low ground, where, hidden by
trees and hedgerows, ran the opposing lines that were about to become
the scene of the conflict, and beyond, in the distance, rose the long
ridge of Aubers, the villages crowning it standing out clear cut against
the sky.
At 5 o'clock the bombardment began, slowly at first and then growing in
volume until the whole air quivered with the rush of the larger shells
and the earth shook with the concussion of guns. In a few minutes the
whole distant landscape disappeared in smoke and dust, which hung for a
while in the still air and then drifted slowly across the line of
battle.
Shortly before 6 o'clock our infantry advanced along our front between
the Bois Grenier and Festubert. On the left, north of Fromelles, we
stormed the German first line trenches. Hand-to-hand fighting went on
for some time with bayonet, rifle, and hand grenade, but we continued to
hold on to this position throughout the day and caused the enemy very
heavy loss, for not only were many Germans killed in the bombardment,
but their repeated efforts to drive us from the captured positions
proved most costly.
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