The attack of the 7th of October differed in many respects from that of the 15th of September. On this occasion there had been no training, no rehearsal over a marked-out course, and in fact some of the troops did not even know there was to be an attack until an hour or so before zero. Even then there were many who were not sure what was the objective. To this day there are some in the Civil Service Rifles who talk of it as the attack on Eaucourt l’Abbé. There was an artillery creeping barrage on this occasion, it is true, but as it moved at the rate of 100 yards per minute and there were 2,800 yards between the jumping-off trenches and the objective, the advancing waves of infantry soon got badly left behind. Tanks were said to be co-operating, but nothing was seen of them.
There were only two officers per Company present on this occasion, and the C.S.M. and one or two senior N.C.O.’s of each Company were kept out of the fight, so the experienced soldier was in a distinct minority. More than half of the Battalion had never been under fire before, and, as these had only joined a few days previously, a good many of them were not known even by name to the older members of their Platoons. Thus it came about that many men were reported missing on this occasion, and, as none of the survivors knew them, it was impossible to say with any certainty where they had last been seen.
The losses on the 7th of October amounted to five officers, 344 other ranks, and although numerically they are not quite so great as at High Wood, it should be remembered that on this occasion the Battalion was not more than 500 strong at the outset.
During the operations around Eaucourt l’Abbé there was one member of the regiment who added to his already brilliant reputation as a soldier. The work of Lieutenant W. E. Ind on this occasion was more than wonderful. Quickly grasping the situation when the attack failed, by his hard work and resourcefulness he succeeded in restoring something like order out of chaos, not only in his own unit but also in several neighbouring units.
The relief by the 7th Seaforth Highlanders on the 9th of October was a welcome contrast to the previous relief in this sector. The troops quickly found their way out and before midnight had reached the transport lines in Bottom Wood.