A battalion was detached to the 12th Brigade at Le Gheer during the move. Only one battalion was available, because of the need to send battalions to weak points in the line, since the corps was holding a 12 mi (19 km) line, while under attack by two German corps. At 5:15 a.m. under cover of the morning mist, the Germans attacked the 12th Brigade at Le Gheer and overran the defences of a battalion on the left, that retreated for 400 yd (370 m). When established in Le Gheer, the German infantry fired on the British defences to the south, nearly caused a panic and outflanked the Cavalry Corps to the north from St Yves to Messines. A counter-attack was made just after 9:00 a.m. by one battalion and two squadrons of lancers, which drove back the Germans and inflicted many losses, regaining the captured trench, except near the village of Le Touquet. Forty-five British prisoners were liberated and 134 German prisoners taken. More attacks were made to complete the recapture of the rest of the trench during the day and at dusk two companies succeeded, the 12th Brigade losing 468 casualties in the fighting. German infantry made demonstrations on the rest of the 4th Division front into the night but did not attack again. Concern at General Headquarters about the state of the Cavalry Corps to the north, led to III Corps being ordered to provide reinforcements and two infantry companies and part of an engineer company were sent to Messines in the afternoon. The 12th Brigade moved its left boundary from the Lys to the Warnave stream near Ploegsteert Wood and the 11th Brigade took over part of the wood, which shortened the Cavalry Corps line by 1 mi (1.6 km). Despite frequent bombardment, no German attacks were made on the 6th Division front during the day, then at 6:00 p.m. the centre of the division was attacked by Reserve Infantry Regiment 122 of the 25th Reserve Division, which was repulsed. German infantry seen alighting from trains on the La Vallée–Armentières line were engaged with machine-gun fire and German field artillery firing from near Ennetières were driven off.
British officers with French 75 at Bas Maesnil, 21 October
On the southern flank of III Corps around Fromelles, the 19th Brigade and the French cavalry took over, with the British occupying the north end of the gap between II and III corps from Le Maisnil to Fromelles and the French from the south of the village to Aubers and the junction with the 3rd Division. Around 11:00 a.m. German artillery began to bombard Le Maisnil as part of an attack on II Corps to the south. In the afternoon the village was attacked until nightfall, when a gap was forced in the Anglo-French defences and the defenders of Le Maisnil withdrew about 1,200 yd (1,100 m) to a reserve position at Bas Mesnil, leaving behind 300 men who were taken prisoner, including their wounded.
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