with another Regiment & were checked at the garden at the Chateau where we were taken on 3 sides. The German bullets nearly penetrated the wall, [illegible] very slight. Loopholes were at once made & one had to dodge the bullets as well as possible. It was here that Colonel ____ & his adjutant were killed from a brushwood trench not 10 yards from the flanking wall. Lieutenant Bisset suddenly arrived on the south side of the orchard & we joined forces. Lieutenant Anderson also being there & an officer of the Royal Fusiliers. The wounded Zouaves from the front where there were the trenches evacuated by the Zouaves & which were in possession of the Germans. I know nothing of what was happening on our left where there were 3 of our companies Lieutenant Foster was on my left, then Captain Gordon& Captain Craven. We remained in our position, & at night I received a message that I was to assault the trench in front & retake it. I reconnoitred the position but found it impossible to get to it from where I was owing to entanglements & entangled brushwood. Later on during the night I went to Major Yatman, & again he said the trenches must be taken at all costs. The men were dead tired. However I got them into position eventually, & charged, but the enemy were evidently on the alert & the assault failed, they exploded a mine or some kind of grenade on the flanking party. Finding it impossible to take the trenches, I passed the wood along to retire man by man to the right, there was a good deal of barbed wire about & we were also being fired on from the trench in rear. sketch map