Note 91 — THE ATTEMPT TO BREAK THROUGH SOUTH OF YPRES

What other British troops were present in the Ypres salient except the I and IV Corps this narrative does not pause to state, for the simple reason that there were none. The I Corps was not relieved, though some French battalions were put into the line near Veldhoek; but in the course of 5th November the remnant of the infantry of the 7th Division was relieved by the two composite brigades from the II Corps composed of battalions which had had three weeks’ fighting near La Bassée and had then to be thrust in after only two or three days’ rest to hold some of the most difficult parts of the line south-east of Ypres. The 7th Infantry Division when relieved amounted to less than a third of their original strength, without taking into account the drafts that had joined since they landed, which amounted to 2000 or more. Most of the battalions of the 1st Division were in scarcely better case.