had suffered so many casualties that an officer collected batmen, runners and pioneers to help with the defence, Lewis guns were used to cover a gap on the right and a company from the Middlesex Regiment took over the line north of the Menin road. The 7th Bedford had to cross a waste full of derelict and sunken tanks in front of Glencorse Wood, capture ten pillboxes at the south-west corner and fight their way through the wood to a sunken road parallel to the edge of Nonne Bosschen. The Bedford assembled close to the Menin road, also on a front and advanced unseen through unmanned German night observation outposts. The first wave was held up momentarily by uncut wire at the German front trench but some troops pressed on through gaps as the others fired into the trench. Glencorse Wood was full of smashed trees, with pillboxes on the highest part and other places, which the British fought through with grenades and bayonets, until they reached the British barrage, now standing just beyond the objective. The Bedford were isolated, because the right-hand battalion of the 25th Division to the north had been stopped short of its objective and to the south, the 11th Royal Fusiliers had lost many casualties and not gained touch. The other two battalions of the brigade had been exhausted by holding the front line for the last ten days and at Lee refused a request for the 53rd Brigade to be moved closer, to avoid crowding the area under bombardment and to keep the brigade available to take over after dark. The ground was too boggy to dig a continuous trench but the 7th Bedford troops were able to defend their positions in the wood for about four hours. By the two companies on the right flank had been forced back and by noon all of the battalion had retreated to Jargon Trench on the western fringe of the wood, half-way back to the start line, with three posts on the left in touch with the 25th Division. German infantry moved into Polygon Wood and Nonne Bosschen from and around a hurricane bombardment fell on Glencorse Wood. Reserve Infantry Regiment 238 and Reserve Infantry Regiment 6, the regiment of the 9th Reserve Division from Reutel, advanced behind a smokescreen into the wood and made a flanking attack from Inverness Copse. The 54th Brigade was forced