GERMAN RETREAT FROM CHEMIN-DES-DAMES—THE BRITISH ADVANCE TOWARD CAMBRAI

French victories resulted in the retreat of the Germans from the Chemin-des-Dames. It began during the night of November 1, 1917, and continued the day following. The stupendous efforts made by them to hold this important rampart had cost thousands of lives and had been in vain. They were forced to retire along a fifteen-mile front to the Ailette River, the prelude, perhaps, to the fall of Laon and La FÈre.

The Germans had been in control of the Chemin-des-Dames since September, 1914, when Joffre turned back the Teuton armies in the Battle of the Marne. Since then they had clung desperately to this ridge, which dominates the valley of the Aisne and the Ailette Valley. The German Crown Prince lost the best elements of his armies and the best part of their effectives in the fighting here in October, 1917. Enfiladed day and night by French guns it was impossible for the Germans to keep their front lines supplied with food and ammunition, for the carriers had to pass through a storm of fire in crossing the valley of Ailette, where they were constantly under observation from the French positions. It was in anticipation of a new offensive that the Germans decided to retire from a position that had become untenable.

Possession of the Chemin-des-Dames greatly strengthened the French lines in the Aisne sector, giving them control of the St. Gobain region northwest of the highway. St. Gobain is between Laon and La FÈre and dominates both those points.

On November 2, 1917, the French forces organized the new ground conquered from the Oise Canal to Corbeny. Lively artillery actions were continued in the different sectors of the Chemin-des-Dames. In the course of the night the French made progress between these two points and reached the south bank of the Ailette River, over the entire front. The Germans retired to the north bank of the stream, destroying bridges and footbridges on the way.

The French had received timely warning of the retreat, and an hour after it began swarmed down along the whole front in pursuit. It was evident that the Germans had determined hurriedly to abandon the ridge, for the first French troops to reach the positions found tins containing soup that was still hot. The advance was made slowly and cautiously, for it was well known that the Germans left dangerous traps behind them when forced to retire. In Cerny village a German helmet was found fixed to a pole so arranged that when it was lifted off it would cause the explosion of a mine. The Germans had passed out of sight, but they were still heard from, their guns being constantly active shelling the abandoned positions.

The French discovered trenches and dugouts and two large tunnels almost intact owing perhaps to the fact that the Germans feared to destroy them lest the explosions would give the alarm. The result was that the victors had little work to do in preparing defenses, and began their tenancy under good cover.

No important actions were fought on the British front in France during the first days of November, 1917. There was fierce shelling day and night on both sides across Passchendaele Ridge.

On November 6, 1917, the indomitable Canadians began a daring drive that resulted in the capture of Passchendaele village northeast of Ypres, a key position dominating the plain of Roulers. After taking the place they pushed forward and occupied positions 800 yards farther on. The German defense was far weaker than the men from overseas anticipated, nor did the enemy launch a counterattack immediately after the town was captured. This failure to counterattack was afterward explained by one of the two German battalion commanders, who were made prisoners with their staffs when Passchendaele fell. This officer commanded a reserve battalion brought up for the express purpose of counterattacking. He had gone with his staff to consult with the battalion chief commanding in the village, and when both commanders were captured their troops were left without a responsible head. The reserve battalion waited in a state of indecision for the officer's return and never ventured forward, thus giving the Canadians time to consolidate their gains. From the village it was possible to look far over occupied Belgium, and the possibilities for artillery work from this position were wide. Its loss threatened the retention by the Germans of their defenses for many miles.

In the course of the drive the Canadians took 400 prisoners, of whom twenty-one were officers. The total would have been much higher, but a number of the enemy were killed by the fire of their own guns when they were being brought back after the taking of Passchendaele, whether by accident or design was not learned.

Two days passed, and yet the Germans made no attempt to capture the lost village, thus giving the Canadians ample time to organize their defenses and secure a firm grip on the position. The enemy's heavy gunfire had slackened too, because the Canadians had observation of his old battery positions, so he relied mainly on lighter guns.

For months little activity had been reported on the upper Alsace sector of the western front, but on November 7, 1917, the French made an attack on the German positions at Schoenholz, capturing 121 prisoners including officers, and large quantities of war material and stores.

Haig's troops began a new push early in the morning of November 10, 1917, northward along Passchendaele Ridge, on a front of one and a half miles and piercing the German lines for half a mile. It had been raining most of the night and the storm still continued when the British forces went forward at 6.05 o'clock in the morning. The Germans immediately threw a heavy barrage along the front involved, and the advance was raked by machine-gun fire from numerous strong points. The fighting was especially intense at several fortified farms strongly held by the Germans. North of Goeberg there were several concreted positions whose defenders fought with daring and tenacity. Repeatedly the British stormed and penetrated these strongholds only to be driven out a little later by counterattacks, but "dogged does it!" and by 10 o'clock they had virtually gained all their objectives.

During the morning hours of November 11, 1917, the Germans bombarded heavily the new British positions, but no counterattack was attempted. Along the crest of Passchendaele Ridge, north of the village, the Canadians held their advanced line strongly. On the lower ground, to the west, the scene of bitter fighting on the previous day, the Germans counterattacked, and at a few points the British were forced back, though holding on to some of the newly won positions.

There were many local actions at various points on the French front, November 10-11, 1917. Surprise attacks were attempted by the Germans northwest of Rheims and north of Samogneux, which were shattered by the well-directed French artillery fire. On the front of Chaume Wood, in the Verdun sector, gun duels continued intermittently day and night.

In the Vosges the Germans after heavy artillery preparation made an attack on the French trenches at Hartmannsweilerkopf. A violent engagement developed in which the opponents fought at close quarters and the bayonet was used freely. It was a short, sharp struggle in which neither side was disposed to yield, but ultimately the Germans after gaining a foothold in the French observation line were driven off. On November 10-11, 1917, the Germans bombarded French advanced posts in the region of Ramscappelle and Pervyse as well as their trenches at Dixmude. The French guns replied with so destructive a fire that the enemy batteries were silenced. Then their "heavies" began a bombardment of German works at Woumen and positions on the outskirts of Dixmude.

After several days' intense shelling of British positions around Passchendaele the Germans made a determined effort on November 13, 1917, to recover the lost ground. They massed strong bodies of troops in the neighborhood of Westroosebeke, advancing from the cross roads north of Passchendaele under the protection of a violent barrage. The British were not caught napping and their gunners concentrated a destructive fire on the German assembly places and approaches. The first waves of the German advance were shattered by streams of bullets, and only small bodies struggled through the devastating fire to the British trenches, where after sharp fighting they were driven back.

Another section of the dominating Passchendaele Ridge was wrested by Haig's troops from the Germans during the night of November 16-17, 1917. The credit for this advance was due to the Highland, Berkshire, and Lancashire troops, who in the darkness left their shell holes and pushed forward over ground that was swept by machine-gun fire. The Germans were evidently taken by surprise, or were cowed by the impetuous dash of the British troops, for they did not attempt a strong defense. The struggle developed to the north of the ruins of Passchendaele village, and the British were easy winners. A heavily fortified redoubt known as Vocation Farm gave the attackers some trouble, but it was captured along with other strong points in the neighborhood. The Germans did not attempt an immediate counterattack, but increased their artillery fire on the sector.

On the following day the Germans made a strong raid on British lines in Flanders in the neighborhood of Guillemont Farm. At some points they were successful in piercing defenses, but the British counterattacked across the open, and after a short, sharp struggle, repulsed the invaders and took a number of prisoners. In the night of November 17-18, 1917, Lancashire and Highland troops made a successful raid on enemy trenches in the neighborhood of Monchy-le-Preux, where they killed or captured many Germans and escaped with light casualties before reserves could arrive.

These minor local actions were the prelude to a powerful offensive which Field Marshal Haig was preparing, one of the greatest operations of the war, and which broke the famous Hindenburg line. The attack was launched on November 20, 1917, and was a complete surprise to the Germans as it had not been preceded by any artillery preparations. The operation was carried out by the third army under General Sir Julian Byng, the advance being made along a thirty-two-mile front between St. Quentin and the Scarpe River. German defenses were penetrated for a distance of five miles at the deepest point, extending to the village of Cantaing, which lies less than three miles to the southwest of Cambrai.

As a substitute for the usual artillery preparation the British had secretly assembled a large number of tanks, which were sent forward under a screen of smoke, and broke down the German barbed-wire entanglements, opening the way for the infantry to make their forward rushes. The British troops were in high spirits, shouting and cheering as they pushed forward in the wake of the lumbering machines.

As the tanks rolled on, showering machine-gun bullets before them, the British guns in the rear sent hurricanes of shells screaming over the Hindenburg line. The surprise of the attack seemed to have dazed and bewildered the Germans; many of them hid in their dugouts and tunnels and then surrendered. The braver element got their machine guns in action or used their rifles to snipe the British.

The German artillery fire was feeble, their gun positions being smothered beneath the deluge of British shells. There were comparatively few batteries, and their infantry gained little help from them. It was well known to the British that they had removed many of their guns from this sector in the past few days, as this part of the battle line was considered "quiet."

During the night preceding the attack the British had massed large bodies of cavalry very close to the enemy lines, ready for a sweeping drive when the tanks had broken down the wire defenses. In hollows near the German lines were thousands of cavalry horses with their horse artillery limbered up ready for the dash forward. After the tanks had made clear the way to advance the cavalry sprang forward through the rain and mist. One squadron rode down a battery of German guns, and other bodies swept around machine-gun emplacements and through villages and captured many prisoners.

It was 6.20 in the morning when the tanks first pushed forward to break down the wire entanglements and clear the way for the advance of the British infantry. An hour later the troops were rushing through the gaps made in the German defenses. At 7.47 British troops operating west of Havrincourt had forced their way up and over the elevation known as Mount Vesuvius. It was fortunate that the movement was carried out with dispatch, for a few minutes later the knoll, which had been mined, was blown up by the Germans. Havrincourt was captured in less than an hour, the Germans evacuating the place in such haste that they had not time to inflict any serious damage. The West Riding Territorials, who captured Havrincourt, also occupied enemy trench systems to the north of the village, while Ulster battalions, covering their left flank, pressed on northward up the west bank of the Canal du Nord. La Vacquerie and the strong defenses known as Welsh Ridge were won by English rifle regiments and light infantry. In the course of the advance east, County troops took the hamlet of Bonavis and Laffaux Wood after a bitter struggle that resulted in heavy casualties to the Germans.

Later in the morning the British troops extended the advance at all points. Crossings were effected of the canal at MasniÈres and English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh battalions fought together in the capture of Marcoing and Neuf Wood. East of the Canal du Nord the West Riding troops that took Havrincourt made important progress. They stormed and captured the villages of Graincourt and Anneux. In conjunction with Ulster men operating west of the canal they carried the whole German line northward to the Bapaume-Cambrai road.

Important points of the Hindenburg line were penetrated east of Epihy by the West Lancashire Territorials, while Irish troops won important sections of the line between Bullecourt and Fontaine-les-Croisilles.

In the morning of the second day of the advance the British were within three miles of Cambrai. After breaking through the German's last defense line at Anneux and Cantaing, British tanks, cavalry, and infantry were operating along a line running from west of Cambrai to the south of that town. On the left, in the region of Bullecourt, the German line had been pushed back, widening the salient which the British drove into enemy territory south and southwest of Cambrai. In the attack around Bullecourt the British took 700 prisoners. The Germans had now recovered their fighting spirit, which suffered a decline during the first stages of the British advance, and everywhere opposed a stiff resistance. At Noyelles, Rumilly, and Bullecourt they made desperate counterattacks during the night, but were unable to overcome British resistance.

In the two days' fighting the British had captured more than 9,000 prisoners.

There was heavy fighting during the morning of November 22, 1917, near Bourlon Wood, Fontaine Wood, and the village of Fontaine Notre Dame east of it, less than three miles from Cambrai. When the British captured the last place named, they were able to release more than a hundred civilian prisoners, who hailed their rescuers with cheers and many wept for joy. At MasniÈres the same scene was enacted, where some hundreds of civilians were freed from the odious rule of their German oppressors. They had been kept from starving almost entirely by the American Relief Committee, and after America entered the war by the Spanish-Dutch Committee. The men had been forced by the Germans to work long hours in the fields and workshops, and the women had to sweep the roads, wash the soldiers' dirty linen, and scrub their quarters.

"For three years we lived in a nightmare," said the Mayor of MasniÈres, "and now we seem to be in a dream too good to be true!" One man had been living for three years in the cellar of his own house, where German officers were billeted, being fed by his wife out of the extra ration given to the baby born since the war began. Every week the house was searched and husband and wife would have been punished with death if the man had been found.

In the morning of November 23, 1917, the British drove back the Germans from an elevation known as Tadpole Copse west of Moeuvres, commanding a large section of the Canal du Nord, which runs east of that place and the village itself, still in German hands. At Fontaine Notre Dame, west of Cambrai, where the British had been pushed back, the fighting was renewed. In the eastern part of Crevecoeur village the Germans had concentrated an intense machine-gun fire against the British in the western outskirts. Heavy fighting continued throughout the day of November 23, 1917, at Bourlon Wood, and around Fontaine. The British held a line on the low ground about the southern edge of the wood, and from these positions had to charge up the slopes under the fire of many machine guns.

Assisted by the tanks the British infantry made a strong forward push, and hand-to-hand fighting ensued as soon as they had entered the forest. Every foot of the advance was fiercely contested, but the "men of the bulldog breed" were out to win, and by early afternoon had driven their way through half the wood. Later in the day they gained more ground, occupying a line through the center of the wood to the northwest of Fontaine. In hand-to-hand combats the Germans were slowly forced back toward the northern edge of the forest. A determined counterattack from the north was made by the Germans in an effort to oust the British, but they held firm. While this bloody struggle was going on in and around the wood Fontaine village, which the Germans held strongly, was the scene of fierce fighting. The place was heavily fortified, and the Germans with rifles and machine guns fired from the roofs and windows of the houses. Later in the afternoon the British tanks took a hand in the fighting here, but at the close of the day (November 23) the Germans were still in possession of the place, though sorely depleted in numbers.

The fighting was continued in the neighborhood of Bourlon during November 24-25, 1917, with varying fortunes to those engaged. The Germans about noon on the 25th succeeded in driving the British from the greater part of the village. In Bourlon Wood, where the British held strong points on the high ground, the Germans, though repeatedly attacking, failed to make any progress.

In the five days that had passed since the British began the offensive on November 20, 1917, they had captured 9,774 prisoners, including 182 officers.

The Hindenburg support line west of Moeuvres was attacked by British troops, some from London, during the night of November 25, 1917. The fighting that developed was close and sanguinary, the losses on both sides being considerable, but the British believed they had not paid too dearly for the 2,000 yards of support trenches which they won on this bitterly contested field.

At Bourlon Wood and Bourlon village the fighting still continued in one of the most bitterly contested and sanguinary struggles that had been fought up to that time on the British front in France. Bourlon Wood, to which the British clung so tenaciously, was of special value to the Germans if they were to hold their positions farther north, and for that reason they were making extraordinary efforts to regain that elevation. The British had established many guns in good working positions and were prepared to defend it.

Fighting was continued on the southern edge of Bourlon village in the night of November 26, 1917. The British broke the German line at one point and brought back a body of English troops that had been isolated for some time in the southern part of the hamlet. Having rescued their fellow soldiers they made no attempt to remain in the village, but dashed back through the gap they had made in the German lines.

At about 10 o'clock at night on the same date the Germans in a counterattack struck hard against British positions on the northeast corner of Bourlon Wood, but were driven back so decisively that they made no further attempts to recover the lost ground. The British artillery continued to pound the German lines effectively during the night, but no other infantry action was attempted by either side.

The villages of Fontaine Notre Dame and Bourlon continued to be the storm centers on the battle front. They were constantly deluged with shells by both sides, and attacks were made from time to time in which now the British and now the Germans gained some slight advantage. From their positions in Bourlon Wood the British were shelling Cambrai three and a half miles away.

On November 28, 1917, the British won a section of the ridge between Bourlon Wood and Moeuvres in the face of a heavy barrage and intense machine-gun fire from the direction of Bourlon village. In the morning of the following day, under cover of a furious artillery fire, the Germans delivered an attack in force on the British positions between Bourlon Wood and Moeuvres on the west. In the first dash the Germans swept over the crest of the ridge west of the wood and as far as the vicinity of the Bapaume-Cambrai road north of Graincourt.

After the first shock of the assault the British organized a counterattack and fell upon the advancing Germans with such fury that the advance was checked. Fighting still continued, however, throughout the day in this region with varying fortunes to the combatants.

The Germans had been concentrating their heaviest guns in this area to replace those that had been captured by General Byng, and were using gas shells on a lavish scale.

In the morning of November 30, 1917, the Germans started an important offensive movement with the fixed purpose of driving the British from the territory they had won in the previous week. Two great attacks were made early in the day, one extending from Moeuvres to Bourlon Wood, the other along a 1,200 yard front southwest of Cambrai, between Vendhuile and Crevecoeur.

The Germans employed strong forces, and were efficiently supported by newly concentrated guns that had been brought forward for the purpose.

Over the ridge between Moeuvres and Bourlon Wood the Germans poured in dense masses, coming under fire of the British artillery as they swept down the slope toward the Bapaume-Cambrai road. The Germans advanced in such close formation that they fell by the score under the intense fire from British rifles and machine guns. But where one fell a dozen seemed to rise up and take his place, and the hordes moved resistlessly forward like a tidal wave. British infantrymen were thrown into the battle line for a counterattack and a murderous struggle developed, but the Germans were too strong, nothing could hold them back as they pushed relentlessly on, and the rush was only checked when they reached a point in the vicinity of the Bapaume-Cambrai highway northwest of Graincourt. Regardless of their heavy losses the Germans continued to pour over the ridge all day long in waves of massed formation, offering a splendid target for the British guns. Their ranks were torn and shattered in that storm of fiery hail, but there was hardly a pause in the advance and their numbers never seemed to diminish. Late in the day the British in counterattacks gained ground at some points, but the honors rested with the Germans, who by costly sacrifice of men won important defenses and advanced their lines. Around Bourlon Wood the British held firmly and the Germans, wearied at last of the slaughter that had decimated their ranks, gave up attacking for the day.

In the south the Germans began the attack with a force of ten divisions; six of them were on the front line. It was planned to make two turning movements on either side of the line, which were to converge toward a common point. German infantry supported by cavalry at the northern end of the line delivered an assault across the canal from Crevecoeur toward MasniÈres. They succeeded in forcing their way into the suburbs of the last-named place, but were driven out before they could establish positions.

Farther to the south the Germans won important victories, when they broke through the British front, south of Villers-Guislain, and by an adroit turning movement to the north, surrounded Gauche Wood, Gouzeaucourt, Gonnelieu and La Vacquerie. In this operation the Germans advanced their lines at one point about 4,000 yards. This was at Gouzeaucourt, which they entered about 10 o'clock in the morning, and where fighting of the most violent description continued until the middle of the afternoon. The British had received reenforcements, but they were still heavily outnumbered. The fighting was at close quarters, a merciless hand-to-hand struggle that continued for hours without pause. The British troops, fearing the loss of their dearly bought ground, fought with desperation and about 3 in the afternoon succeeded in pushing the Germans out of the village and reoccupied it.

East of Gouzeaucourt the Germans occupied a ridge with strong forces. During the day the British repeatedly attacked, and finally forced them to withdraw from the height to the lower ground, and occupying the position, and also Gauche Wood, pushed on to the western edge of Gonnelieu.

The German line in the morning of December 1, 1917, was just west of Villers-Guislain, marking an advance of about 3,000 yards at the greatest depth. Other less important advances were won in the north and at Gonnelieu, and while the British regretted the loss of valuable territory, there was nothing in the situation to cause them uneasiness. There had been crucial periods in the fighting of the previous day, when it seemed that the Germans would win an overwhelming victory, and all the territory gained during General Byng's advance would be recovered, but British determination and dogged perseverance and unconquerable spirit prevailed, and the most ambitious plans of the enemy were frustrated.

Heavy losses had been sustained by both sides. The German attacks, made in massed formation, had caused a formidable death roll. They claimed to have taken 400 British prisoners.