On and about Orange Hill and Telegraph Hill British battalions who know
this ground of old fought tenaciously under murderous machine-gun fire,
the enemy's screen of infantry covering machine-gun batteries which were
rushed forward very quickly and took up positions in shell holes and
behind bits of broken wall and any kind of cover, in ditches and sunken
roads.
A footing gained by the enemy on part of Orange Hill and Infantry Hill
rendered it necessary to fall back yesterday toward the old German
support lines before that battle in April, 1917. The British fought like
tigers, and would not retire until the pressure on them made it
impossible to resist the continual thrust of new attacks by fresh
troops. There were heroic actions by small groups of men struggling to
hold up the front line, and some of them stayed so long after the enemy
had broken beyond them that they were cut off.
Frightful fighting was happening not far from Neuville, Vitasse, and
Mercatel and in this neighborhood the British held out with wonderful
determination until exhausted by battle and until only a poor remnant of
men had strength to stand against these massed attacks.
By the end of the day the enemy's assaults weakened, and then died out
because his losses were enormous and the spirit of his attack was broken
by such stubborn resistance.