with the policy of frightfulness
instituted by the German militarists. Its use was continued daily.
Meantime the German hordes swept on marching in close formation into the
very mouths of the rapid-fire guns and against the strongly fixed
British lines.

For ten days the hostilities continued, without cessation, with fighting
along a whole front such as had never been known before.

The Germans continued to hurl great forces of infantry into the
conflict, depending largely on weight of numbers to overcome the
increasing opposition offered by the heroically resisting British.

The battle on the historic ground about Longueval was perhaps the most
spectacular of any along the front. It was a battle of machine gunners
and infantry. The Germans were pursuing their tactics of working forward
in massed formation, and the British rapid-firers' squads and riflemen
reaped a horrid harvest from their positions on the high ground.
Notwithstanding their terrible losses, the Germans kept coming on,
filling in the places of those who had fallen and pressing their attack.
The British artillery in the meantime poured in a perfect rain of shells
on the enemy, carrying havoc into their ranks. In this section the
Germans operated without the full support of their guns, because of
their rapid advance.

ENEMY LOSES HEAVILY.

A fierce engagement was also waged about Le Verguier, which the Germans
captured, but not until the British infantry holding the place had
fought to the last man and inflicted extremely heavy losses on the
enemy. The British again fell back, this time to a line through
Hervilly, just east of Roisel and Vermand.

The work of the British airmen during the battle was one of the
brightest pages. Bitter battles in the air were fought by scores of
aviators and the service proved fully its ability to smother the German
airmen at a crucial time.

Within a few days it was stated that at least 130 German airplanes were
brought down. This compilation of losses has reference to only one
section of the battle front, comprising perhaps two-thirds of the line
affected.

An official statement regarding British aerial operations said their
airplanes were employed in bombing the enemy's troops and transport
massed in the areas behind the battlefront, and in attacking them with
machine-gun fire from low heights. Twenty-two tons of bombs were dropped
in this work, and more than 100,000 rounds were fired from the machine
guns.