the fall of Péronne imminent; while, north of Bapaume, Bullecourt and Hendecourt were finally won.

The early days of September saw new developments on the flanks of the battle-front. On the 2nd the Drocourt-Quéant switch-line' was broken on a front of six miles astride of the Arras-Cambrai road, 10,000 prisoners being taken. Next day the Germans evacuated Lens. Continuing their advance between Quéant and Cambrai, our troops captured Inchy on Sept. 4, entered Mœuvres, and, further north, reached the Canal du Nord at several points less than seven miles from Cambrai. From the canal the front lay north-westwards through Etaing, Gavrelle, and Arleux, to Lens; and southwards along a direct line including Ytres and the River Tortille, the passages of which had been forced on a wide front. On this day the Germans gave way before General Humbert, withdrawing up the Oise to within four miles of Chauny, and abandoning Guiscard. They also began to fall back from the line of the Vesle, pressed by the Americans, who reached the Aisne between Condé and Villers. Two days later the enemy abandoned the line of the Somme above Peronne; and, by the evening, General Rawlinson's troops had proceeded seven miles east to the river on a twelve-mile front astride of the Amiens - St Quentin road. The French advanced beyond Ham, and, on the Oise, passed Chauny. Further south they occupied the Lower Forest of Coucy, and approached Landricourt and Vauxaillon.

Thereafter the retreat between the Oise and the Cambrai front proceeded for some days without any incident needing special notice; though local fighting continued intermittently, which resulted in the enemy being driven back, by Sept. 10, to the general line of defence held by them before the March offensive. Sir Douglas Haig marked the occasion by a special order congratulating the troops on the magnificence of their achievement, and announcing that, during the month's fighting, they had captured 75,000 prisoners and 750 guns. The Allies, however, were not content to rest on their laurels. The French continued their advance north of the Aisne, in the face of determined counter-attacks, capturing Vailly, and making progress east of Allemant towards the western end of the Chemin des Dames ridge.

About St Quentin they won the heights between the Crozat Canal and the Oise, and, in conjunction with Rawlinson's right wing, penetrated by enemy's positions north of the town. Further north, as far as Moeuvres, our troops gained ground in a series of engagements, of which the most important was fought on Sept. 18, when, attacking on a front of sixteen miles south of Gouzeaucourt, they forced their way into the enemy's positions on the line Pontru-Hargicourt-Lempire, advancing nearly to Bellicourt in the centre, and, on the left, reaching the outskirts of Villers Guislain.

While these events were proceeding in the south, the northern part of the front, in the neighbourhood of the Flemish frontier, was not unaffected.* The operations, though of a minor character in comparison with those on the main battle-front, need passing notice, as they resulted in our front being re-established north of the La Bassée Canal, where it had been deeply indented by the German offensive, and thus cleared the right flank of the great advance which developed in the Ypres sector towards the end of September. In the early days of August the official reports referred, on several occasions, to the activity of our patrols in the area between the rivers Clarence and Lawe, south-east of St Venant. These tentative movements soon developed into general pressure on the salient between Bailleul and the La Bassée Canal, under which, about Aug. 8 (the date of General Rawlinson's offensive) the Germans began to give way. Local fighting was also reported about Kemmel and Voormezeele, where the enemy, during the first half of the month, made several demonstrations, probably in the hope of relieving the pressure further south. On Aug. 18 a local operation between Vieux Bercquin and Bailleul, in which 700 prisoners were taken, gave us possession of several defended localities, including a village. This success

was steadily followed up, in the face of counter-attacks; and the front of the advance was extended to the Lys, where our troops captured Merville after sharp fighting. The enemy then gave way on the whole front between Ypres and Givenchy. By the beginning of September

* Vide map published in the Quarterly Review' last July.

Kemmel Hill and Bailleul had been re-occupied ; and our front was defined by the general line VoormezeeleNeuve Eglise-Steenwerck-Estaires-Givenchy. On Sept. 4 we attacked and captured Ploegsteert, and Hill 63, between that place and Messines; and, from Fauquissart to Givenchy, we regained the line held before April 9.

To bring this outline of events down to the commencement of the general attack on the defensive system within which the Germans had taken refuge. it remains to sketch the brilliant and skilful attack delivered by the 1st American Army, in conjunction with French divisions, on the enemy's positions in the region of St Mihiel. Coming, as it did, at the moment when the armies grouped, under Prince Rupprecht and the German Crown Prince were, no doubt, congratulating themselves on having found a secure refuge in the Hindenburg defences, the Germans must have been disagreeably surprised at finding themselves assailed in a fresh quarter, where, for four years, they had remained practically undisturbed. It may be recalled that, in September, 1914, after several fruitless attempts to break through the chain of barrier forts which crown the heights of the Meuse from Verdun to Toul, they ultimately gained a footing at Hattonchatel, whence they pushed forward in the direction of St Mihiel, attacked the forts of Paroches and Camp des Romains, which dominated the town on the north and south respectively, and established a small bridge-head on the left bank of the Meuse, from which they failed to debouch. The sharp salient thus created seemed an inviting objective; but, though the French on several occasions made local attacks in the region of Apremont, and at various points in the Woeuvre, and gained partial successes, they have been too much occupied in other quarters to spare the forces necessary for operations on a scale large enough to secure decisive results.

The recent operation was well-planned, and carried out with precision. The weather, on the whole, favoured our Allies. A light rain, which had been falling for some days, hampered the action of the tanks; and low clouds embarrassed the airmen, who had the superiority; but the sodden state of the roads, in conjunction with the converging fire of the guns, which swept the entire