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ans in having possession of Lens had a great advantage, as they were thereby enabled to threaten the allied left center, which was stationed to the west of Lens; for, just south from the town, ran a railway which connected with the main line three miles east of Arras, called the Arras-Douai-Lille line. This gave the Germans a perfect system of lateral communications. The German general, Von Buelow, commanding the Prussian Guard Corps led the attack on October 24, 1914, when he pushed his forces, fighting for every inch of the ground, to within gun range of the city of Arras. All day the most desperate fighting continued and had not General Maud'huy received the reenforcements which hurriedly came up just when needed the northern gates of Arras would have been gained by the Germans, who were held back in a position near enough, however, to subject Arras to another bombardment and the shell fire from this position rained upon Arras to the end of the month and some six days into November. From the date of the entry of the French into Alsace on August 7, 1914, the battle front in France extended from the Swiss frontier, north through western Alsace, thence in a northwesterly direction to a point where the line met the front of the German forces advancing on Paris. On October 1, 1914, this battle front extended in an unbroken line from Switzerland to the city of Douai in northeastern France. The Crown Prince of Bavaria commanded in the first section from Alsace to midway between Nancy and Verdun; the Crown Prince of Prussia directed the Verdun section reaching from west of Thiaucourt to Montfaucon; the Duke of Wuerttemberg to Massiges; General von Hausen thence to Bery-au-Bac; General von Buelow to a point directly north of Soissons; General von Kluck in a northwesterly direction to a point west of Noyon and onward to the north and northeast to Douai, which is about fifteen miles northeast of Arras, from which point north the campaign has been described. The French army opposing this German front was under the supreme command of General Joffre. The commanding officers in the various sectors of this front were being continually changed, making it difficult to name the commanders in each sector, except when some more or less noteworthy engagement had taken place along the line. The battle front here described did not materially change throughout the months of October, 1914, to February 1, 1915. Continual engagements too
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