GERMANS GAIN IN THE CAMBRAI AREA—COLD WEATHER HALTS IMPORTANT OPERATIONS

All day long the waves of battle rolled around MasniÈres on December 1, 1917. The Germans made nine strong attacks, all of which were repulsed. It was declared by eyewitnesses that the British destroyed more Germans during the fight here between dawn and dark than in any similar period since the beginning of the war. From the first German assault there was no pause in the struggle.

Late in the day south and east of MasniÈres the German guns heavily bombarded the town. The British line formed a sharp salient around the place, which made the position difficult to hold, as it was dominated by the high ground held by the Germans. It was therefore decided by the British command to withdraw to the southeastern outskirts of the town and there establish the line to the great benefit of the entire front.

Gonnelieu, which the British captured during the day, though the Germans still clung to portions of the ruins, was completely "cleaned up" during the night, about 300 prisoners being taken here. After the recapture of Gauche Wood the British continued to push on up to the higher ground southwest of the wood. During the assault on Gauche Wood one British tank captured fifteen machine guns from the enemy.

December 2, 1917, the Germans continued their terrific attacks on the British front south and southwest of Cambrai. With a mighty concentration of artillery, and employing great forces of infantry, they tried to pierce the British defenses in the Gonnelieu sector, but General Byng's army had been strongly reenforced and held fast.

The battle began along a front that extended from La Vacquerie southward to Vendhuile. The Germans attacked British positions at La Vacquerie at 8:45 in the morning, and penetrated the village, but only won temporary foothold, when they were forced out. As the day wore on the fighting spread northward toward MasniÈres, which the British had evacuated on the previous day. During the night the town was an uncomfortable place to hold, as the British continued to deluge it with shells and the Germans were forced to find refuge in tunnels and dugouts. Southwest of Bourlon village General Byng's troops won back a trench system that the Germans had captured during the push of November 30, 1917. Bourlon Wood was again in possession of the British, though a few Germans still clung to some points on the outskirts. South of Marcoing the Germans continued their powerful attacks on the British lines, but were unable to cut through the defenses.

Under cover of the darkness the British withdrew from the salient about Bourlon Wood during the night of December 4-5, 1917, to a prepared line which would be stronger and easier to hold. Not until some hours had passed did the Germans discover the retirement, when they swarmed into the vacant territory and dug themselves in. Bourlon Wood had been generally stripped of troops; only a rear guard being left when the British retired, and they were later withdrawn. The Germans continued, however, to bombard the wood, showing that they were all in the dark concerning British movements.

The devastated area which the British had abandoned, and which included the mined towns of Graincourt, Anneux, Cantaing, Noyelles, Marcoing, and MasniÈres, was gradually occupied by the Germans. They had no easy task before them, for the British guns dominated this desert with tons of explosives, and hundreds of shells were hurled into their advanced ranks as they went forward to prospect for desirable positions for defense. Meanwhile the British army had found exceptional quarters in the captured Hindenburg trenches with their wonderful dugouts and network of front-line and communication trenches, all ready for occupancy.

There was continued fighting during the 6th between advanced patrols of British and Germans. North of La Vacquerie Ulster troops won some important defenses that strengthened the British line.

Artillery duels and sporadic raids were the only military events in this fighting area during the several succeeding days. The British anticipated that this lull would be followed by renewed fighting, for it was known that the Germans had been bringing forward strong reenforcements, probably from the Russian front.

The German offensive began on December 12, 1917, but was far from being as formidable as the British feared. The first attack was made at dawn against an elbow in the bend of the British line between Bullecourt and Queant, about ten miles west of Cambrai. The Germans were in strong force, the troops, principally from Bavaria, advancing in waves and close formation, and by sheer weight of numbers won about 500 yards of front-line trenches before they could be checked. Other attacks were made from the east, and the third south of Riencourt, both of which were shattered by British rifle and machine-gun fire.

The Germans were evidently trying to discover weak spots in the British lines by a process of testing, for on December 14, 1917, they made an assault on the Ypres front in Flanders. The stroke was delivered on a front of about 300 yards southeast of Polygon Wood, against British positions near Polderhoek ChÂteau. They won a section of front-line trench, but were repulsed at all other points of attack.

East of Bullecourt, in the Cambrai area, German gunfire had increased in violence. During the night the British engaged in bomb fighting that was highly successful, and enabled them to improve their lines. North of Bullecourt in the afternoon of December 15, 1917, the British carried out a successful raid in which a number of prisoners were captured and enemy dugouts and defenses were destroyed.

Snow began to fall during the night on this date, and by morning the countryside was deeply covered, and the ugly scars of battle hidden from sight. The snow lay in heavy drifts on the roads and fields. No military operation was possible, and even the sinister-looking guns were silent.

This white truce was appreciated by the British as it must have been by the soldiers of the kaiser, for both armies had been under a severe strain since General Byng's advance on Cambrai, November 20, 1917.

It was estimated by conservative military observers that the German strength on the Franco-British front at this time was 154 divisions, one less than the great force amassed here in the previous July, when the German military effort against France was at its maximum.

During these momentous days on the British battle front the French had been nibbling away at the German positions around Verdun and along the Aisne and Meuse Rivers. The capture of the entire line of lights through which runs the famous Chemin-des-Dames had given them command of the strongest positions in that region. The Germans, forced to retire across the Ailette and to abandon the whole valley to the French, were so situated that it would be taking a gambler's chance to attempt an offensive on a large scale. Nor was a direct attack on Verdun probable, for they had lost all their gains on both sides of the Meuse, while every point of vantage in this sector was in possession of the soldiers of the Republic. The Champagne front between Rheims and Verdun offered the most favorable field for the Germans to deliver a hard blow. By a strong offensive the French positions to the east, in the Argonne Forest, might be turned, compelling the French to draw their lines back; converting into a narrow-necked wedge the Verdun lines, which would be hemmed in on nearly every side.

On the Alsace and Lorraine fronts there was little to fear of any strong action on the part of the Germans, as every movement must be made through narrow passes, conditions that rendered large operations impossible.

Meanwhile the Germans were evidently testing the French fronts for a weak spot where they might strike a shrewd blow. Around Verdun and farther east the German guns thundered unceasingly, and German trench raids were of daily and nightly occurrence throughout the month of December. For "a worn-out army," as the French troops had been called by their enemies, they fought with astonishing spirit. The Germans made slight gains from time to time, but they were unable to retain them.

On the Cambrai front the fighting was confined to raids and minor actions of slight importance. On December 30, 1917, the Germans made strong local attacks on a front of over two miles against the British position on the spur known as Welsh Ridge south of Cambrai. The attackers were forced back in the center, but on the right, toward the north of La Vacquerie, and on the left to the south of Marcoing, they penetrated and occupied two small salients in the British lines. In the morning of the following day, after a short but heavy bombardment, the Germans renewed their attack against Welsh Ridge on a front of about 1,200 yards south of Marcoing. The southern portion was assaulted by strong forces, and assisted by liquid fire they succeeded in gaining a foothold in one of the British trenches. The gain was only temporary, for the British quickly rallied, and in a fierce counterattack drove out the invaders and reoccupied the entire trench system.

German artillery thundered unceasingly throughout the day on January 1, 1918, near La Vacquerie on the Cambrai front, and in the Lens, ArmentiÈres and Ypres sectors. In the evening, under cover of a heavy bombardment, three bodies of German troops attempted to raid British positions in the vicinity of MÉricourt southeast of Lens. The assaulting troops came under the concentrated fire of the British artillery and were hurled back with heavy losses before they could reach their objectives. In no-man's-land these disorganized Germans ran into a British patrol, and again lost heavily, very few escaping from the field.

The British front was now in the icy grip of winter. Snow-drifts made the roads impassable for motor cars. The Germans, however, were not deterred by unfavorable weather conditions from making sporadic raids on British positions. On January 5, 1918, they had some success at Bullecourt, where they captured a British advance post—a dearly bought operation that cost them a heavy toll in casualties. In the afternoon the British came back in force, and, after a tense, close struggle, drove out the Germans and reoccupied the position.

On the French front, where a blizzard had been raging and the heaviest snowstorm in years made military operations on any large scale impossible, the Germans continued to be active, and the French were kept busy defending their costly won positions.

On January 8, 1918, French troops carried out an extensive and successful raid which was intrusted to foreign legionaries and sharpshooters. The attack was delivered along a front of a mile and to a depth of half a mile in front of Flirey and westward toward St. Mihiel. The French completely cleaned out the German defenses, capturing 178 men and officers and numbers of machine guns and trench mortars. The Germans were so completely taken by surprise that their artillery did not get into action until the French had finished the job. The attack was carried out with such dispatch and in so thorough a manner that the French suffered not more than a dozen casualties, while the German dead lay thick about the field and the snow was streaked with ominous stains.

On the same date (January 8) the spell of silence which had brooded for some days on the British front was broken by a hostile attack made by the Germans east of Bullecourt. In the early dawn the British lines were bombarded with high explosives and gas, and about 6.35 three parties of Bavarian troops, who had been lying concealed during the night in no-man's-land, made a quick rush for the British defenses. The front line attacked had been weakened by the recent withdrawal of troops, as an enemy attack was not expected in a sector considered "quiet."

Two of the parties of Bavarians carried flame throwers of the most approved type, which darted a jet of fire thirty feet, and literally wiped out with a touch a man's life. This engine of destruction had a terrifying effect on troops who saw it in operation for the first time, but the British soldiers defending the trenches at Bullecourt were seasoned fighters and well acquainted with every type of German frightfulness.

The Bavarians in this attack succeeded in penetrating the British line and proceeded to make themselves at home in the position and to strengthen the defenses. A swift counterattack delivered by the British killed a number of them, but the others continued to hold on through the early morning hours. Shortly before noon the snow began to fall heavily, making observation difficult. Through the storm swept a body of British troops to assault for a second time. The Bavarians were taken by surprise and driven out of the position, leaving a score of prisoners and a number of wounded in British hands. Such minor operations and small raids made on both sides were the only interruptions of the quiet that prevailed on the entire front where General Winter ruled. The troops, who were enduring every discomfort in their snow-bound trenches, longed eagerly for clearing weather, when they might find release from deadly inaction.

The British were better off than the Germans, since they had won the ridges on the front. They could keep dry, while the kaiser's troops occupied trenches that were often in a fearful condition owing to lack of natural drainage, which in bad weather transformed them into bogs. The British took prisoners in dugouts that were filled with water. The miserable occupants of these holes seemed to be glad enough to fall into the hands of their enemy. In these days there was considerable relaxation in the iron discipline of the German army—on the British front at least. It was learned that their officers were cautious about punishing the troops too severely even for grave offenses against discipline. Deserters were not shot, but sent back to Germany, where it was said the prisons were full of such offenders. To escape service in the front-line trenches the soldiers shammed gas-poisoning and resorted to other devices to avoid duty.

On the French front during these dreary winter days the Germans continued their raiding attacks in Chaume Wood in the Verdun sector, and at other points, in which every weapon of "frightfulness," including lavish use of liquid fire, was employed. But the French troops defeated every effort made by the enemy to oust them from the important positions that had been won by costly sacrifices. These futile assaults served to keep up their fighting spirit, which otherwise might have gone down with the mercury.

During the night of January 13, 1918, Canadian troops attacked the German trenches to the north of Lens. The Germans offered only a feeble resistance, and after damaging the defenses the Canadians withdrew, bringing with them a number of prisoners. The adventure was a success, and almost unique in its way, because the raiders had not lost a man or suffered a single casualty.

On January 13-14, 1918, during the night and the day following, the guns of the French and Germans were active at various points along the Champagne front and on the right bank of the Meuse. In the region north of Louvemont the Germans had concentrated for attack, when they came under fire of the French guns and were dispersed. This discouraged any further attempts of the enemy to launch an infantry action that day.

On the Alsatian front, between the Thur and Doller Rivers, an artillery duel was fought all day on January 15, 1918. In the region of Badonviller the French carried out a successful raid that led to the capture of forty prisoners including some officers.

During these days peace reigned in a military sense on the British front in France and Flanders. There was generally, however, enough going on to keep up interest among the soldiers, even if they were not called on to do any hard fighting.

German batteries in a fitful way continued to rain a deadly fire around the outer edge of the Ypres salient from Passchendaele downward, and scattered shells lavishly among the back areas across the Menin road and the old fighting grounds of Monchy and Fampoux. The British troops holding defenses in the suburbs of Lens, Bullecourt, and Havrincourt were not spared by these destructive visitants.

The British certainly did their part in keeping the Germans at attention, doing counterbattery work with the aid of aeroplanes whenever there was an hour or two of visibility, showering tons of bombs and explosives on German working parties, trenches, and roads.

Notwithstanding the boggy condition of the ground, when it was not deep with snow, a rumor arose, though it was impossible to trace the source, that the Germans contemplated a great offensive. They possessed inventive skill and perhaps they would find means to get their cannon through the swamps of no-man's-land and the roads where heavy guns would sink wheel deep.

During the night of January 21, 1918, British aviators raided towns in the occupied parts of Belgium and German Lorraine. Two tons of bombs were dropped on the steelworks at Thionville, on railway sidings at Bernstorf, thirty miles south of Metz, and on the Arneville railway junction.

There was considerable activity on the French front on this date when German lines west of the Navrain Farm in the Champagne were successfully raided. The French cut through the enemy defense as far as the third parallel, and after destroying a trench brought away a goodly number of dispirited and bedraggled prisoners.

In Belgium during the day there was violent gunfire in the Nieuport sector. To the east of that place the Germans after a heavy bombardment made a dashing attack and succeeded in penetrating the French first-line trenches. They had hardly gained a foothold when the French rushed a counterattack and drove out the intruders, who fled to their own lines after losing a considerable number in wounded and prisoners.

On the right bank of the Meuse the artillery on both sides was active during January 23, 1918, around that much-fought-over sector, Hill 344, and the front of Chaume Wood. Following up an intense bombardment, the Germans tried to penetrate the wood, but were scattered by the French artillery fire.

On the 25th a strong assault was delivered on the French positions west of St. Gobain Forest. The enemy struck in at the western edge, and at one time seemed to be in a fair way to succeed, for the attack lacked neither daring nor persistence, but the French guns, whose fire had been withheld for a time that the Germans might advance near enough to present a better target, now poured out such death-dealing volleys that the attackers were halted and then fled back to their lines in disorder, leaving many dead on the field.

French aviators were busy on this date as long as there was visibility. Four German machines were brought down in aerial combats. Enemy defenses were successfully bombed, and tons of explosives were dropped on German establishments. Much damage was wrought to the railway stations at Thionville, and on Freiburg in Breisgau, the aniline works at Ludwigshafen and the cantonments in the Longuyon region.

Owing to the military collapse of Russia Germany was enabled to transfer thirty-eight or forty divisions from east to west, which meant that the French and British had now facing them at least 3,000,000 enemy troops. A great German offensive was in preparation on a vaster scale than any before attempted, having for its main object the capture of Paris or Calais. The Allied command expected the threatened drive might begin early in February, and had made their plans accordingly. Confident in their strength, they waited eagerly the great battle that might end the war.