The story of the two Irish divisions⁠—the 36th Ulster and 16th (Nationalist)⁠—in their fighting on August 16th is black in tragedy. They were left in the line for sixteen days before the battle and were shelled and gassed incessantly as they crouched in wet ditches. Every day groups of men were blown to bits, until the ditches were bloody and the living lay by the corpses of their comrades. Every day scores of wounded crawled back through the bogs, if they had the strength to crawl. Before the attack on August 16th the Ulster Division had lost nearly two thousand men. Then they attacked and lost two thousand more, and over one hundred officers. The 16th Division lost as many men before the attack and more officers. The 8th Dublins had been annihilated in holding the line. On the night before the battle hundreds of men were gassed. Then their comrades attacked and lost over two thousand more, and one hundred and sixty-two officers. All the ground below two knolls of earth called Hill 35 and Hill 37, which were defended by German pillboxes called Pond Farm and Gallipoli, Beck House and Borry Farm, became an Irish shambles.