James Holland

And so these guys, the 49th Polar Bears and 8th Armoured Brigade, are to the west of them.

So they're on the right-hand flank of the force that's being brought together for Operation Epson.

We're only talking about a matter of a few miles.

Down in the valley below, directly in front of them, below Point 102, which is further over to the east from Point 103.

Right in front of 103, you've got St-Pierre and Tilly.

A bit further on, you've got Fontenay-le-Pesne.

And Point 102 is above that.

And that's where the bulk of the fighting has been.

It's been in this sort of, this block of land to the road from St-Pierre, stroke Tilly, to Fontenay, up the ridge to 102 to 103.

If you think of that as a big rectangle,

That's where most of the fighting has been going on since they've got there on the 8th of June.

And they're still there.

And Martlet, the idea is to get beyond Fontenay to this Roray Ridge, which again is barely a ridge at all.

But that is both to deny that ridge to the enemy and gain it for themselves as an artillery observation point.

So that's the aim of Martlet, as a precursor.

It's like a warm-up act.

The amuse-bouche, the appetiser for Epsom.

And it's split so that...

The 49th Polar Bear Division is split on a two-prong attack, and you've got Sherwood Rangers on the left on the eastern side, and you've got the 4th 7th Dragoon Guards and the 24th Lancers on the right supporting the other brigades of the 49th Polar Bear Division.

And the first day sees B Squadron