The operation on 12 October proved to be a failure with limited gains and heavy losses in the attacking divisions. Russell, commander of the New Zealand Division, considered the planning and preparation by Godley and his staff at II ANZAC Corps for the battle to be inadequate. After the battle, Godley downplayed the losses in the New Zealand Division (which amounted to around 2,900 casualties) and overstated the gains made in official correspondence to Allen, and a friend, Clive Wigram, who was the assistant private secretary to King George V.