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No Man's Land was wide and ill-defined, amounting sometimes to 1,000 yards, with such debateable features as ruined farms or clumps of trees situated in the midst, which required constant patrolling, but were found regularly unoccupied. The aspect of the country with its tangled growth of grass and weeds revived memories of Hébuterne two summers ago.
They are a professional raiding party, with two successful raids at Loos, one at Ypres and one near Hébuterne to their credit. Wherever the English have just relieved the French they are sent for to perform. They are accompanied by two 8-inch howitzers and several batteries of 5.9s and 4.2s belonging to the 'circus' and by a Minen-Werfer Abteilung.
As we were shelled incessantly all the time we were near the place, the idea of establishing a post here was abandoned. And eventually another post was fixed on, on the north-east side of Hébuterne. Some useful work was done here by the observers; they obtained some valuable information about enemy movement and got the artillery to shell a relief that was taking place.
On September 23rd, at 7.30 a.m., a squadron of 21 aeroplanes, spread loosely over the sky, flew over Hébuterne to attack the station of Valenciennes; throughout this day the roar of the guns to north and south was continuous; as the sun set a fierce thunderstorm came up, and the rival rumblings and flashes of nature and machinery in the dusk made a sufficiently lurid prelude for battle.
The line, which we now saw for the first time, ran from about half a mile North of Hébuterne, just East of Foncquevillers, and northwards towards Monchy-au-bois, held by the enemy. Foncquevillers was the centre of the position, and opposite it lay Gommecourt, a small village and Chateau, with a wood on one flank and the Chateau park on the other a strong position strongly held.
The church of Gommecourt is almost exactly one mile northeast and by north from the church at Hébuterne; both churches being at the hearts of their villages. Seen from our front line at Hébuterne, Gommecourt is little more than a few red-brick buildings, standing in woodland on a rise of ground. Wood hides the village to the north, the west, and the southwest.
From Albert four roads lead to the battlefield of the Somme: 1. In a north-westerly direction to Auchonvillers and Hébuterne. In a northerly direction to Authuille and Hamel. In a north-easterly direction to Pozières. In an easterly direction to Fricourt and Maricourt.
Arriving at the belt of trees and hedge which marked the confines of the orchard, we turned to the right into Cross Street, which cut along behind the belt of trees into Woman Street. Turning to the left up Woman Street, and leaving the belt of trees behind, we wound into the slightly undulating ground between Hébuterne and Gommecourt Wood.
All the country there is gentler and less decided than in the southern parts of the battlefield. Hébuterne stands on a plateau-top; to the east of it there is a gentle dip down to a shallow hollow or valley; to the east of this again there is a gentle rise to higher ground, on which the village of Gommecourt stood.
Again, day after day enormous working parties descended into Hébuterne, some to pursue mining operations under the R.E.'s, others to bury cable between the village and Sailly.
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