And this brigade was not the Guards Brigade.  There were no picked men in the brigade.  It contained just four ordinary regiments of the line—­the Norfolks, the Bedfords, the Cheshires, and the Dorsets.  What the 15th Brigade did, other brigades have done.

Now little has been heard of this fighting round La Bassee in October, so I wish I could tell you about it in more detail than I can.  To my thinking it was the finest fighting I have seen.

You will understand, then, how difficult it is for me to describe the country round La Bassee.  I might describe it as it appeared to me when first we arrived—­sunny and joyous, with many little farms and thick hedges and rare factories—­or as I saw it last, on a horrible yellowish evening, shattered and black and flooded and full of ghosts.

Now when first we arrived news filtered through to us that La Bassee was held only by a division of Jaegers, plentifully supplied with artillery and machine guns.  I believe this was the fact.  The Jaegers held on stubbornly until reinforcements came up.  Instead of attacking we were hard pressed, and had more than we could do to prevent the Germans in their turn from breaking through.  Indeed we had not a kick left in us when the Division was relieved.

At the beginning it looked so simple.  The British Army was wheeling round on to the German right flank.  We had the shortest distance to go, because we formed the extreme British right.  On our left was the 3rd Division, and beyond the 3rd was the First Corps.  On the left of the First the Third Corps was sweeping on to Armentieres.

Then Antwerp fell suddenly.  The First Corps was rushed up to help the Seventh Division which was trying to guard the right flank of the Belgians in retirement along the coast.  Thus some sort of very weak line was formed from the sea to La Bassee.  The Germans, reinforced by the men, and more particularly by the guns that the fall of Antwerp had let loose, attacked violently at Ypres and La Bassee.  I do not say this is what really happened.  I am trying to tell you what we thought was happening.

Think of us, then, in the heat of early October going into action on the left of the French, confident that we had just a little opposition to brush away in front of us before we concentrated in the square at La Bassee.

At first the 13th Brigade was put into position south of the canal, the 15th Brigade attacked from the canal to the La Bassee-Estaires road, and the 14th from the main road roughly to the Richebourgs.  In the second stage the French extended their line to the Canal, and the 13th became a reserve brigade.  In the third stage we had every man in the line—­the 13th Brigade being split up between the 14th and 15th, and the French sent two battalions to the north bank of the canal.

The work of the despatch riders was of two kinds.  Three-quarters of us rode between the divisional and the brigade headquarters.  The rest were attached to the brigades, and either used for miscellaneous work or held in reserve so that communication might not be broken if the wires were cut or smashed by shells.