its captors within the zone of fire
of several others. Moreover there was an elaborate series of
underground works, including mines and wolf pits, the latter being
covered over with a thin layer of turf and thickly studded with
stakes whose points awaited the charging French.

General Foch was ready on Sunday morning, May 9, 1915, and his
artillery began one of the heaviest bombardments in history. The 1,100
French cannon hurled 300,000 shells on the German fortifications that
day. The reverberations were deafening and terrifying. They startled
the British engaged at the Aubers Ridge. The deluge of projectiles
crashed their way through the supposedly impregnable work of
engineering that the Germans had erected, and buried their mangled
defenders in chaotic ruins. The preliminary work of the artillery was
continued for three hours, accompanied by the plaudits of the French
infantrymen. Then the infantry were sent to take the wrecks of what
had been the pride of the German engineers. They took what was still
in existence at La Targette, and the important crossroads there. They
waged a fierce fight in and around the village of Neuville St. Vaast,
which was stoutly defended by German machine guns. Here there was
house-to-house fighting. The French center, farther north, charged
over the remnants of the White Works, and went on beyond the
Arras-Bethune road. This section of the advance took more than two and
a half miles of trenches in an hour and a half. On the left the French
were unable to maintain such speed, because of the many ravines. They
took the outlying sections of Carency, and worked their way eastward,
cutting the road to Souchez. At the end of the first day the French
had to their credit three lines of German trenches on a five-mile
front, 3,000 prisoners, 10 field guns, and 50 machine guns.

The bombardment was continued all night by the French gunners, while
the men who had taken the trenches did their best to make such repairs
as were necessary for the protection of the victors. On the morning of
the following day, May 10, 1915, the soldiers of the republic had
forced their way into the center of the German position. North of the
plateau of Notre Dame de Lorette a feint attack was made to hold the
German reserves. When the first French line was about to dash forward
to complete their work of the day before, they suddenly received an
order to remain where they were and seek all cover possible. One of
the Fr