On this afternoon our infantry again attacked Bourlon village, and
captured the whole of it. Later in the evening a fourth attack upon our
positions in the wood was beaten off after fierce fighting. Further
progress was made on this day in the Hindenburg line west of Moeuvres,
but the enemy's resistance in the whole of this area was very strong. On
the evening of Nov. 25 a fresh attack by the enemy regained Bourlon
village, though our troops offered vigorous resistance, and parties of
the 13th Battalion East Surrey Regiment held out in the southeast corner
of the village until touch was re-established with them two days later.
The continual fighting and the strength of the enemy's attacks, however,
had told heavily on the 40th Division, which had borne the brunt of the
struggle. This division was accordingly withdrawn, and on the following
day our troops were again pressed back slightly in the northern
outskirts of Bourlon Wood.
With the enemy in possession of the shoulder of the ridge above
Fontaine-notre-Dame, as well as of part of the high ground west of
Bourlon Wood, our position in the wood itself was a difficult one, and
much of the ground to the south of it was still exposed to the enemy's
observation. It was decided, therefore, to make another effort on Nov.
27 to capture Fontaine-notre-Dame and Bourlon village and to gain
possession of the whole of the Bourlon Ridge.
In this attack, in which tanks co-operated, British Guards temporarily
regained possession of Fontaine-notre-Dame, taking some hundreds of
prisoners, and troops of the 62d Division once more entered Bourlon
village. Later in the morning, however, heavy counterattacks developed
in both localities, and our troops were unable to maintain the ground
they had gained. During the afternoon the enemy also attacked our
positions at Tadpole Copse, but was repulsed.
As the result of five days of constant fighting, therefore, we held a
strong position on the Bourlon Hill and in the wood, but had not yet
succeeded in gaining all the ground required for the security of this
important feature. The two following days passed comparatively quietly,
while the troops engaged were relieved and steps were undertaken to
prepare for a deliberate attack which might give us the tactical points
we sought.
Meanwhile, on other parts of the front, the organization of our new
positions was proceeding as rapidly as conditions would allow. In
particular, troops of the 12th Division had effected some improvement on
the right flank of our advance opposite Banteux, and the 16th Division
had made further progress in the Hindenburg line northwest of
Bullecourt.
At the end of November the number of prisoners taken in our operations
southwest of Cambrai exceeded 10,500. We had also captured 142 guns,
some 350 machine guns, and 70 trench mortars, with great quantities of
ammunition, material, and stores of all kinds.