the men became casualties. At 13.00, the battalion was ordered to send forward a company to support what was left of the Rangers and 1/4th Bn in the German trenches, but at 13.30 the British hold on the German trenches was broken by counter-attacks and the survivors attempted to retreat over No-man's land. At 14.30, Battalion HQ was hit by a howitzer shell (the commanding officer (CO), Lt-Col L.L. Wheatley, was dug out alive), and at 15.30 the CO was given permission to withdraw the shattered battalion from the jumping-off trench to the reserve line. The battalion had suffered 50 per cent casualties in the action, even though less than half of it had even left the British lines. One wounded Private of the battalion, stuck in the mud in No man's land, was rescued 14 days after the battle. The Gommecourt attack had been a diversion and no further attack was made in the area. The reduced battalions of 56th Division had to hold their line until 20 August. The battalion received a large number of replacement officers and NCOs from the 2/4th, 3/4th and 4/4th Bns. After being relieved, the 56th Division moved to the southern Somme sector, where it trained with the first tanks to arrive in France. Ginchy On 5 September 1916 the 56th Division went back into the line during the Battle of Ginchy. 1/4th Londons were in brigade reserve along the Wedge Wood–Ginchy road, where they suffered casualties from shellfire while digging assembly trenches for the next phase of the offensive. This began on 9 September, when the battalion led the brigade's right hand assault. The crowded trenches were heavily shelled before they went 'over the top', at 16.45, but the battalion successfully pivoted towards its objective and followed the new-style creeping barrage. However, its objective was a trench that had either been obliterated or never existed, so the men overshot into the now-stationary barrage. When the barrage resumed advancing at 17.25, the mixed up companies of the battalion captured their second objective ('Beef' Trench). By now, both flanks were 'in the air' (particularly on the left, where the Rangers had been held up by the 'Quadrilateral'). After dark the main objective was only held by advanced parties while the rest of the battalion cleared an intermediate position ('Bully' Trench) in their rear. These advanced posts were withdrawn the following morning while the flanks