Item 04: James I. Marshall diary, 24 November-12 December 1916 - Page 31

[Page 31]

It was then obvious that our Bde would have to push across that ground, first crossing the river to the East, while the 3rd Div advanced to the north of Mt St Quentin, and the 15th Bde would push across the Causeway. Such was the scheme that was announced to the batta company commanders later that night, & from the outset all realised what a difficult task it was. The town was practically surrounded by wide swamps & the rivers Somme & Cologne, with elaborate branch systems & barbed wire entanglements behind them [insertion written vertically in left-hand margin:] and High hills to the rear with artillery positions & direct observation on all crossings.

Well No wonder that it had proved such an effective barrier before the Hun retreat of 1917.