Other than the distant fall of shells on the Albert–Bapaume road, all was quiet along the front line when at 07:00, an intense German artillery bombardment fell on the whole of the area of the 4th Division, including rear areas as far as Congreve's headquarters in Montigny-sur-l'Hallue. Although it initially fell only lightly along most of the front line, in the brigade rear area the shelling was, according to Leane, "the heaviest since Pozières", two years earlier. The artillery were hard hit with both gas and high explosive shells, suffering significant casualties in men and guns. The sudden barrage also caught the tail of the 45th Battalion as they arrived in their new positions near Leane's and Imlay's headquarters, causing 44 casualties before they could dig in.