[Illustration: ONE OF THE ENTRANCES TO THE UNDERGROUND SHELTERS OF LAMOTTE CHÂTEAU.
On the north, the British took the fortified villages of Morval and Lesbœufs, and nearly joined hands with the French.
The Germans had now only one line of communication with their rear, consisting of a hollow road which, winding towards Sailly-Saillisel to the north-east, through La Haie Wood, was under the fire of the Franco-British artillery. The Germans therefore decided to evacuate their positions, but the Allies did not give them time to withdraw in good order. On the morning of September 26 they attacked again, the objective being this time the defences of the village itself. Their junction was to be the centre of the village and "London" the pass-word. The plan of attack was carried out to the letter. The French 110th Infantry Regiment, debouching from the south-east, carried all that part of Combles lying east and south of the railway, including the cemetery and railway-station. The 73rd Infantry Regiment captured and consolidated the western part of the village, in spite of stubborn resistance. The City of London Regiment cleared the north-western portion of the village.
The streets and the road leading to Sailly-Saillisel, along which the Germans retreated, were filled with their dead; 1,200 prisoners and important quantities of material and supplies, both food and ammunition, were captured.
Lying partly at the bottom of the valley and rising partly in tiers on the slopes of the surrounding hills, Combles (1,150 inhabitants, mostly engaged in silk and wool weaving) had suffered less from this fierce fighting than might have been expected. Although damaged (shattered walls, disjointed timber-work and tile-less roofs) many of its houses were still standing at the end of 1916. The village had, however, been thoroughly pillaged by the Germans, and traces of their long occupation were everywhere to be seen, including concrete shelters, strong-points, for machine-guns, underground passages, chambers, etc.
[Illustration: IN THE UNDERGROUND SHELTERS OF LAMOTTE CHÂTEAU.
The tunnels, excavated out of the solid rock under the Lamotte Castle, which already existed before the war, were the most important of these subterranean organisations. The Germans utilised them as posts of commandment, dressing-stations, mustering-places, etc. They were large enough to shelter several companies at a time and sufficiently deep to be proof against the heaviest projectiles. There were separate entrances and exits, ventilating shafts, electric light, etc., and they were comfortably fitted up. Beds were installed in the walls, and there were tables, chairs, armchairs, tapestries, etc.--all stolen from the houses in the village.