On 24 October, the 153rd Brigade attacks towards Esch to take the bridges over the Essche stream and create a bridgehead on the other bank. The 5/7th Battalion Gordon Highlanders leave Sint-Michielsgestel early in the morning and soon arrive in Esch. There, the Gordons are bombarded by German mortars and discover that the three bridges in Esch over the Esschestroom river have been blown up by the Germans. A decision is quickly made to build a bridge over the remains of the blown up Gasthuis bridge near Haarenseweg, despite the shelling. This proves very dangerous as the Germans intensively shelled the area around the bridge. Then the commander, Lieutenant Colonel G.D. Renny, devises a stratagem. While building a bridge at its original location, a smaller one is constructed a little to the east. Here, two companies cross at 7.30pm and soon there is a small bridgehead. The engineers, meanwhile have to work throughout the night to get the main bridge ready.

The next day, their comrades from the 1st Battalion set oof from Sint-Michielsgestel. On the way to Esch, they pass the grounds of the Dommel Golf Club. This inspires the battalion's acting commanding officer and passionate golfer, Major Martin Lindsay.  He describes what happens. ‘I wonder when golf has taken place so close to the front line as, all the time we were playing, shells or mortar bombs were crashing down less than half a mile away. There were only four holes, the others being in a minefield, and we had only three clubs between us, as the Germans had stolen all the rest. There was a brigade H.Q. set up a hundred yards from the first tee, and as I teed up my ball I wondered what the penalty was for hitting a brigadier. (…) A full colonel (medical) came out of a tent, looking very pompous and displeased, and proceeded to stand in the middle of the fairway. I suppose he thought we were not taking the war seriously. ‘By Jove, it does me good to see golf again!’ said a young Yeomanry half-colonel (as the Americans say) striding by in his jodhpurs. ‘Very well, then I’ll call you at my court-martial,’ I replied. (…) But just in front of the fourth green the Divisional General was holding a conference of all his commanders, and this was too much for us.’