Don't quite think Jos said they were killed whilst cleaning their buttons Gnome. And as Lighter pointed out whether their buttons were shiny or not would not have made a ha'pence worth of difference to the artillerymen firing at them from thousands of yards away, nor would it have made any difference whether they were on a plateau in a valley or in a wood had the troops been spotted and reported artillery fire would certainly have been called in, to prevent them moving from whatever point A to whatever point B.