Division and part was sent to Longueval and the second line further back, along with resting units from the 185th, 17th Reserve, 26th Reserve and 3rd Guard divisions and Brigade Battalion 55 (7th Landwehr Division), the equivalent of fourteen battalions. At Delville Wood, the II Battalion, RIR 107 of the 24th Reserve Division attacked after having been given five minutes' notice and managed to get within of the wood before artillery and machine-gun fire forced the survivors to stop and dig in. The III Battalion, RIR 107 attacked from the road between Ginchy and Flers just after was also stopped, the attackers suffering At I Battalion, IR 72 of the 8th Division attacked the north-east section of the wood, was repulsed and lost all its officers. Another attack during the night by three battalions around the wood also failed, IR 153 reporting that every attack was a costly failure, being defeated by British fire power. A systematic bombardment of the wood began to prepare an attack on 18 July. Air operations Before the attack on 14 July, the RFC watched for German road and rail activity and on 6 July, a 3 Squadron pilot bombed a troop train east of Vélu; later that morning, more trains were seen in Cambrai and Marcoing (later discovered to be the arrival of the 123rd Division from Flanders). Reconnaissance over Le Cateau and Landrecies found routine operations towards Cambrai and St Quentin. Next day, the lines from Cambrai and Bapaume to Roisel showed that troops were being rushed to the front south of the Somme and on 8 July, there was a lull in rail traffic. On 9 July, trains were seen running between Lille and Douai, implying more reinforcements from the north and on 11 July, a column of vehicles on the road to Tournai, was seen by a night reconnaissance aircraft from 20 Squadron, thought to be carrying ammunition for the 123rd Division. Aircraft and balloon observation discovered that German units from Thélus to Lens were moving to the Somme (despite rain on 12 July). RFC bombing sorties were directed against the railway stations receiving German reinforcements and on 9 July, six Morane scouts escorted six aircraft of 21 Squadron to bomb Cambrai station, obtaining three hits. Bapaume station was bombed by 27 Squadron and two British aircraft were shot down. The German artillery south of the Albert–Bapaume road had fallen back