orders were received for the Cavalry and Corps Cyclists attached to the Division to be transferred to Major-General Bethell's mobile force. The 138th Brigade received orders to stand fast on the outpost line held by them, and the part played by the 46th Division in the war had come to an end.
The 11th November, Armistice Day, while it was received with quiet thankfulness and pride, was marked by no such rejoicings as at home. The Division rested on its arms, thoroughly exhausted after the strenuous work of the last two months. A consciousness of work well done was in the mind of every man, but the main feeling was one of release from strain. The War was won. Time enough for rejoicings in the future; now was the time for utter relaxation of effort. Rest was needed—physical, mental, and moral—and for two or three days the minimum of effort only was asked from the men. Many a quiet toast was drunk at mess that evening, but there was no "mafficking," and the streets of Sains were quiet as on a normal night.
It was a fitting end to a mighty effort. Here, on Armistice night, the Division lay in the town where Kaiser Wilhelm II had his home during the strenuous months of the German spring and summer offensive. Hard by, and well within our lines, was Avesnes, where the Great General Staff had planned and executed their mightiest blows at the Allied Armies. Just ahead of us was the Belgian frontier, already abandoned by the fleeing German Armies, and the crossing of which would pretty well complete the liberation of France from the yoke of the invader. Considering the Division as an entity, as it is to all who have the honour to belong to it, in what better place could its history end?
In future wars the North Midland Division may play a
