On the 25th of September the first Divisional Order for the main attack on the St. Quentin Canal was issued, and from that time forward all energies were devoted to preparations for the assault. The general idea of the operations was the breaking of the Hindenburg Line north of St. Quentin, and to the 46th Division was assigned the task of storming the Canal between the village of Bellenglise and Riqueval Bridge, and capturing the defences behind the Canal, with Bellenglise itself, which contained the entrance to the famous tunnel whose existence was already well known from statements of captured prisoners. The final objective of the Division was a line on the high ground beyond the villages of Lehaucourt and Magny-la-Fosse. The 1st Division on our right were ordered to protect our right flank and to hold themselves in readiness to advance eastwards south of the Canal and conform to the movements of the enemy should he retire, occupying the village of Thorigny and the high ground around that village. In the event, the enemy resistance proved too stubborn on the day of the attack; the 1st Division did not advance; Thorigny was not taken until the following day, and artillery and machine-gun fire from the high ground on our right flank was the cause of much trouble during the later stages of the battle.
On our left the 30th American Division was ordered to storm the Bellicourt defences and cross the Canal where it disappeared underground in the Bellicourt Tunnel. Then, turning south, they were to join our own troops in the neighbourhood of Etricourt. The Americans, however, also experienced considerable resistance and were delayed in reaching their final objectives, thus leaving this flank also in the air for some time.
It was intended, finally, that when the final objective
