72nd Seaforth Highlanders of Canada - Electric Scotland

SEAFORTH HIGHLANDERS OF CANADA
Company had been withdrawn into reserve at 72nd head
quarters, which afterwards proved to be a very wise move.
This left "C",
"D" and "A"
Companies in the front line,
holding from north to south in the given order. As no
satisfactory touch could be established with either flank,
the Battalion formed a complete circle around the village
of Chilly and awaited the counter-attack, which all ranks
knew, this time, to be inevitable.
The situation was rather obscure.
The position occupied
by the 72nd formed the "nose" of a very sharp salient.
On either flank the troops had been unable to carry the
line so far forward. To the north this was particularly
true, as the line dropped back some 1,500 yards. The corps
on the left had been unable to take Lihons, and in conse
quence, the troops immediately to the south of the Villers-
Bretonneux-Chaulnes railway suffered severely from intense
enfilading machine gun and artillery fire from the high
ground near Lihons. The 38th and the 85th Battalions lost
heavily in their gallant endeavor to push on to secure the
flank by reason of this fire.
Immediately after the 72nd reached its objective in front
of Chilly, the 78th Battalion (Winnipeg Grenadiers) passed
through them and attacked and captured the village of
of Hallu. Thus the already dangerous salient was, by virtue
of their spirited attack, deepened by some 1,500 yards.
This was the situation at 3 o clock in the afternoon.
At 3:30 p.m. the first counter-attack developed against
the left company, N.E. of Chilly. The enemy was first seen
about 1,000 yards away, advancing in open order, and as
the distance lessened to effective rifle range, a ripple of
fire broke out along our left flank. It was a deliberate pickyour-man
sort of business, and the Kilties enjoyed it! By
dint of clever rushes under covering fire, and also by the
excellent cover afforded by the maze of old trenches, the
enemy succeeded in reaching, in one spot,
to within fifteen
yards of our position, but was speedily decimated by point-
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