whether this will be borne out. I visited one of these trenches about a fortnight ago just before the Brigade was relieved, & it seemed to me that the position was quite strong. I hope the 17th Division will recover the ground they have lost, but it will mean heavy losses as the Germans will lose no time in making it strong. This position has been in our hands since the end of 1914. Our miners seem to be to blame to a certain extent - they knew, as everyone did, that the Germans would try to mine the Bluff, but they contended that our protective mines were deep enough, & that the Germans could not get down deeper owning to the wet & the nature of the ground - but it is evident that the Germans mined deeper than we did.