HAIG STRIKES AGAIN AT YPRES—THE FRENCH BREAK THE GERMAN LINES ON THE AISNE

The greatest gun duel of the war continued to rage in the region around Ypres in the last days of September, 1917. East of the city the Germans launched six attacks during the day and night on October 1, 1917, against the British lines. Every assault was smashed by the British artillery, rifle, and machine-gun fire. Not since fighting began in this area had such hurricanes of shells and explosives been seen. The Germans gambled against great odds and lost heavily. It was only in Polygon Wood that they obtained the slightest success. Here two small posts were won, but otherwise the British line remained intact.

On October 4, 1917, Field Marshal Haig delivered another mighty blow against the German lines east of the Ypres, gaining territory at the most advanced point to a depth of about a mile and a half on a front of more than eight miles.

The ground covered by the British assault was from north of Langemarck on the Ypres-Staden railway to a point south of Tower Hamlets, a height south of the Ypres-Menin highroad. The very important system of defenses along the Passchendaele-Gheluvelt road, which the Germans had held so long, was swept over by the victorious British troops.

On the northern wing they pushed on to within a short distance of Poelcappelle and gained a footing on Gravenstafel Ridge which projects from Passchendaele Ridge on the west, and broke through Zonnebeke-Broodseinde Ridge of bloody memory. The crest of the ridge was held against counterattacks which the Germans launched again and again with desperate daring and at the cost of frightful losses.

The British had begun the attack at 6 o'clock in the morning. The day was cloudy and promised rain. A mist hung over the battle field. The advance made into the enemy country was preceded by a heavy barrage, which, breaking in a fiery flood over the German lines, created such terror that in many places the enemy rushed out in groups with raised hands in sign of surrender.

The drive forward had forestalled a German attack which was in preparation near Zonnebeke on the same morning. Three German divisions here were ordered to take the line the British had captured the previous week. As they were pushing forward they were caught in the British barrage and met with appalling disaster.

The loss of the Passchendaele-Gheluvelt Ridge was a serious one for the Germans, as it constituted a barrier between the British and occupied Belgium. Many important positions had been torn from them during recent thrusts, and on the 4th the British by a dashing advance penetrated German lines to a depth of 2,500 yards, carrying important defenses. South of the Ypres-Roulers railway the British troops could now overlook the slopes of the main ridge, and in some places had pushed their way into the valley below. Along the Strombeek River, on the left, the advance was slow owing to the marshy condition of the ground. The troops were aided in the advance by a number of tanks which performed immense service in reducing strong redoubts and concrete "pill boxes." Poelcappelle, which the British reached by 10.30, though heavily garrisoned, did not offer very strong resistance.

Abraham Heights, near Gravenstafel, was the scene of brief cellar fighting, but a sharp struggle developed near the fort where the Germans had eight strong concrete redoubts. The fighting here was close and heavy, but in the end the German resistance broke down under rifle fire and bomb. In the course of the day's fighting the British took 4,446 prisoners, including 114 officers.

It was estimated by correspondents who visited the battle area after the fight that the Germans had lost more killed than the number of their wounded and prisoners combined. On one section of the Australian front a thousand bodies were counted. A little farther south there was another lot of over seven hundred.

The manner in which the German defense was conducted showed many flaws, and indicated faulty organization. In the attempts made to stem the advance there was a lack of cohesion among the various units that were thrown out promiscuously along the whole battle front. The German artillery work, too, was weak and showed imperfect planning. A great number of Germans were caught in British barrages, and their officers spoke of the terrifying effect of the British fire, which surpassed anything known on that front and so dazed their troops that it was difficult to get them to follow out orders.

The Germans had been punished so severely that no infantry attack was attempted by them on the following day, and the British were free to consolidate their gains and strengthen their new positions.

In the evening of October 7, 1917, a German attack in force was made east of Polygon Wood in the vicinity of Reutel on a front of about 500 yards. For all they had made great preparations and preceded the assault by a heavy barrage, it was quickly beaten off by British artillery and machine-gun fire. During the day a heavy rainfall had turned the battle ground into a morass; every shell hole became filled to the brim, and for the time any military operation of importance must be abandoned. After the hard fighting they had been through the British troops welcomed a rest, though soaked to the skin, but it was a difficult and painful task bringing in the wounded through the deep, clinging mud.

In the early morning of October 9, 1917, British and French forces in the Ypres area launched an attack north and northwest of that city and were successful in gaining all their objectives.

The French troops, driving forward on the left of the British line north of Ypres, cut through the German positions to a depth of a mile and a quarter on a front of more than a mile and a half. The villages of St. Jean de Mangelaer and Veldhoek and a system of blockhouses were captured, and the advance reached the southern edge of Houthulst Wood, seven miles to the north of Ypres. From the south the British pushed northeast from Gravenstafel Ridge to a point about 1,000 yards southwest of the village of Passchendaele to the heights of that name. Between the Ypres-Roulers railway and the village of Broodseinde, which they occupied, the British forced the Germans down the slopes of Broodseinde Ridge on the eastern side. In these notable advances the Allied troops gained possession of most of the observation points that commanded a view of the great plain of Flanders.

A heavy rain on the day preceding the attack had transformed the battle ground into a quagmire, and many formations of the Allied troops having been without shelter during the night were drenched to the skin when the order came to attack. The French advance was fortunately timed. The Germans in the first line were in the act of changing troops. A division newly arrived from the Russian front was about to take possession. Before they could realize the situation the French had dashed in among them, and, killing a great many, dispersed the others in every direction. After a brief pause, to allow the British on the right to advance, the French proceeded to their next objective, the village of Mangelaer, which was quickly won.

The British had gained in the forward movement to the depth of half a mile on a front of about a mile, stretching from Draeibank to Wyndendreeft.

Every point was won which they had fixed on as their objective, and more than a thousand prisoners were captured during the push. The French had gained about 1,200 yards in the two stages of their advance, taking over 300 prisoners and a large number of guns.

On the day following the British were forced to relinquish a few of their advanced posts, but in the main the positions gained in the advance were securely held.

Recent rains had transformed the battle field into a vast swamp, in which men sank to their knees, and even waists. Despite the unfavorable conditions of the terrain, Field Marshal Haig began another offensive early in the morning of October 12, 1917, along the entire front in Flanders. In less than three hours his assaulting troops had gained ground to an average depth of 800 yards, which brought them within 500 yards of the village of Passchendaele. Further operations were brought to a standstill by a heavy fall of rain, and the British command decided to make no further attempts to attain their objectives that day.

The storm did not abate until the following morning, when the appearance of the sun cheered the much-bedraggled troops. But days of fair weather must pass before the boglands that constituted the battle area could dry up and admit of any important infantry operations. The Germans indeed ventured a few counterattacks in the hope of wresting from the British positions won in the last advance, but these were smashed by artillery fire.

The British carried out night raids on enemy trenches in the Flanders front on October 15, 1917, and near Roeux, east of Arras. On the Aisne front the French were successful in repulsing German assaults and carried out daring attacks on enemy trenches in the Champagne and Argonne.

For a week quiet reigned on the western front. "Quiet" meaning in a military sense that no important infantry actions were attempted. But each day, and often through the night, the guns on both sides were seldom silent, and raids, counterattacks, and patrol encounters served to keep warm the fighting spirit of the German, French, and British forces.

October 22, 1917, was a day of intense activity on the Flanders front, when, operating in conjunction with the French troops, British forces in the neighborhood of Poelcappelle carried out a successful advance in the southern part of Houthulst Forest, north of Ypres. Southeast of Poelcappelle the British stormed and occupied valuable positions, and further north, aided by French troops, a series of fortified farms and defenses south of Houthulst Farm were won. The Germans in a spirited counterattack checked the advance in the vicinity of the Ypres-Staden railway, but at other points were unable to prevent the British from pushing forward.

For more than a week the French forces in the Verdun and Champagne areas had been inactive save for sporadic raids and gun duels, but early in the morning of October 23, 1917, operating over a six-mile front, they smashed the German lines north of the Aisne and seven miles northeast of Soissons. This swift and dashing attack, one of the most brilliant of the war, resulted in a gain of ground for the French of more than two miles at one point. Over 8,000 German prisoners, of whom 160 were officers, were captured, and seventy heavy field and eighty machine guns.

The morning of the attack was misty and rainy, and it was barely light when the French sprang out of their trenches, and, with a terrific barrage fire preceding them, swept over the first German positions, driving out or destroying the defenders. The front of the French attack was from the northeast of Laffaux, in the neighborhood of Vauxaillon, to La RoyÈre Farm. Six German infantry divisions tried to bar their way, but these were unable to check the spirited onslaught. The various stages of the French advance, which were carried out with precision and dispatch, were as follows: In the first dash the French captured the line indicated by the quarries of Fruty and BohÉry, and somewhat later Malmaison Fort was stormed and occupied. Montparnasse quarries, which had been previously damaged by big shells, was the scene of intensely hot fighting before the Germans were finally driven out.

The French center in its advance was opposed by fresh German reserves, and the fighting became bitter around the village of Chavignon, which the Germans only yielded after a violent struggle. It was in this area that the greatest advance of the day, two and a fifth miles, was made. On the right the French took the villages of Allemant and Vaudesson, and carried their line to the heights commanding Pargny-Filain.

Squadrons of tanks were active during the advance, while the French aviators distinguished themselves aloft by showering machine-gun bullets upon the German infantry from an altitude of not more than 100 yards.

The capture of the Malmaison plateau by the French was of the first importance, for it was the key of the ridge between the Aisne and Ailette Valleys; an unrivaled observation point commanding the Laon plain. In gaining it the French really "turned" the Chemin-des-Dames Ridge, to the northern slopes of which the Germans had clung so long.

On October 25, 1917, the French forces on the Aisne resumed the offensive, a general push being made beyond the positions reached in the last advance, extending to the Oise-Aisne Canal. The village and forest of Pinon were captured, and the hamlet of Pargny-Filain. South of Filain the fortified farms of St. Martin and La Chapelle Ste. Berthe were occupied. On the front between Mont des Singes (Monkey Mountain) and Chavignon French troops made further progress and reached Rohay Farm. The Germans counterattacked at various points on the fighting front, but were unable to make any progress. The French held securely all the new positions gained during the advance, and the number of German prisoners had now increased to over 12,000, of whom 200 were officers. Among the spoils captured were 120 guns, many of the heaviest description.

On the British fronts in France and Flanders there were no important actions. During the night of October 24, 1917, British aviators made a successful raid on SaarbrÜcken. West of this place naval machines dropped three and one-half tons of explosives on the Burbach works, and other factories as well as railway communications were attacked with good results, many explosions being noted. A train proceeding from SaarbrÜcken received a direct hit from a big bomb and was destroyed.

On October 26, 1917, the British and French armies north, northeast, and east of Ypres renewed the offensive. The attacks began in a cold rain that had been falling for several hours. Haig's troops first advanced from a point near St. Janshoek westward through the southern fringe of Houthulst Forest to the neighborhood of Nieuemolen. The other assault was on both sides of the Ypres-Menin highway along the Gheluvelt Ridge toward the town of that name. Bellevue Spur, west of Passchendaele, was crowded with machine guns, but the British entered it an hour after the attack began. The Germans concentrated a heavy artillery fire on Bellevue, while the British were fighting arduously with rifle, bomb, and bayonet among the concrete fortifications. Through Wolf Copse, near Bellevue, that had been the scene of many sanguinary struggles, the British swept on, gaining Polderhoek ChÂteau, north of Gheluvelt, where there was close, intense fighting before the Germans were forced to yield.

On the same date the French continued their drive against the German positions along the Aisne. On the right of their attacking front they captured the village of Filain and pushed their lines forward north of Chevregny. In the Champagne area French trenches at Maisons de Champagne were heavily bombarded. Two surprise attacks attempted by the Germans were crushed. On the Flanders front, this day, the French captured the village of Draeibank, Papagoed Wood, and a number of fortified farms. Several hundred German prisoners were gathered in during these operations. According to the reports made by French aviators scouting on the front, the Germans were preparing a retreat, for beyond the Ailette Valley fruit trees had been cut down and farms destroyed, just such destructive measures as the Germans had employed when they retired on the Somme in the spring of the year.

The French line now ran along the southern side of the Aisne-Oise Canal without a break, from westward of Vauxaillon to the town of Filain. French guns could now enfilade the German positions in three directions: northwestward of Anizey-le-ChÂteau, along the valley of Laon, and through the Ailette Valley, threatening the German lines on the Chemin-des-Dames Ridge.

German prisoners from the Empress Elizabeth's Guards Regiment captured during the recent French advance had been without food for three days and complained bitterly of their officers, who had slipped away and left them without commanders during the struggle.

The Germans had seven divisions in action during the first day's fighting here, and when it was evident that the tide of battle was running against them, fresh divisions were rushed up which had recently arrived from Galicia. The reenforcements reached the battle field only to fall under the murderous fire of French guns, or were taken prisoner, catastrophes which only added to the general confusion that seems to have reigned among the Teutonic forces.

French troops on the Flanders front began another dashing drive on October 27, 1917, capturing all the German positions on a front of two and a half miles. The advance was made on both sides of the road between Dixmude and Ypres. On the right the French gained the western outskirts of Houthulst Wood, capturing the villages of Verbrandesmis, Aschoop, Merckem, and Kippe, and also a system of strongly fortified farms. Again the French had to wade through morasses into which they sank waist deep, but there was no holding the brave "poilus" back. Soaked with mud and water they had to attack heavily defended hamlets and innumerable concrete blockhouses bristling with machine guns, but every objective was won. West of Passchendaele the Canadians were improving the positions in this sector which they had captured in the first stages of the battle, across the neck of the Bellevue Spur. The Germans had endeavored by repeated counterattacks to force them out of this dominating height, and there were anxious moments for the Canadians, when, as the result of a struggle at close quarters, they were forced to yield ground. But they quickly rallied, and in a fierce onslaught drove out the Germans and recovered the position.

Northwest of Verdun, near Chaume Wood, the German Crown Prince's army made a strong assault on French positions on October 29, 1917. The attack was preceded by a bombardment of intense violence. The German infantry pressed forward impetuously in the face of a blasting fire from rifles and machine guns and penetrated French positions north of CourriÈres Wood. But they were only able to hold the ground for a short time, when the French struck back and forced them out, dispersing the invaders, who fled to their own lines.

On the Flanders front the Canadians continued to forge their way forward toward Passchendaele. In the morning of October 30, 1917, they attacked the outer defenses of that place. At Meetscheede village, a mass of ruins, there stood a number of concrete blockhouses, strongly manned, and the struggle that developed here was fierce and bloody. The place was only won by the individual cunning of the Canadians, who hid among the shell craters, dashing forward separately and in groups whenever there was a slight pause in the enemy's fire. It was slow, hard work, and costly, but they slogged away until the German guns were silent. Beyond Meetscheede stood another row of blockhouses, and more intense fighting ensued, but at length the Germans gave up and started to run, but very few were said to have escaped.

Another Canadian unit on the right, where the Passchendaele Ridge stands, was fighting its way up toward Crest Farm in the face of a heavy machine-gun fire. By dogged persistence they won the position, and quickly turning the captured German guns were enabled to smash up the counterattacks which followed quickly after the positions were occupied.

After these assaults that cost the Germans heavily the Canadians passed a quiet night in their newly won trenches only 400 yards from Passchendaele.

October 31, 1917, was warm and sunny and brought cheer to the Canadians, who had been lying out all night in the chilly air in their wet uniforms. The work of consolidating the newly won positions went forward rapidly. German gunfire, which continued during the day, was especially intense in the territory between Schaopbaillie and Poelcappelle north of the scene of the previous day's fighting. Here the Germans gained a small advantage: the British were shelled from two outposts in fortified farms.

On the French front artillery battles and local engagements were continued during October 30-31, 1917. North of the Aisne the guns thundered on the whole sector between Vauxaillon and Pinon, and along the new French positions in the region of Froidmont. German detachments, which attempted to storm French posts north of the Loivre and to the northwest of Rheims, were driven off with heavy losses. A surprise attack in the Argonne, in the region of Boureuilles, was defeated by the French after a sharp engagement in which the Germans were severely punished.

Since assuming the offensive on October 23, 1917, the French had captured over 12,000 prisoners, of whom 237 were officers. Large quantities of war material were also taken, including 180 cannon.