Wednesday 2nd May 1917
Your
correspondent has been speaking on the blower with the adjutant of the 7th Battalion.
It seems they are expecting to go into action early tomorrow morning near the
village of Chérisy (between Fontaine-lès-Croisilles and Vis-en-Artois) as part
of another major attack on what will be the twenty-fifth day of the Battle of
Arras. A Company will be on the right of the attack and D Company on the left,
with B Company in support and C Company in reserve.
In this
attack every man will carry a flare. This is designed to ensure that the Royal
Flying Corps overhead can see how far the attack has progressed. A klaxon horn will
sound from battalion headquarters when flares are to be lit by those soldiers
in the front line. This is a novel idea, though doubt has been expressed to me
by some veterans as to whether it is practical for men engaged in heavy
fighting to listen for a klaxon and light a flare as well as attack the enemy
and defend themselves against attack.
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