lley. An assault was made
on the top of Braunkopf and an attack was made on Anlass on June 15
and 16, 1915. The French captured Metzeral on June 19, 1915, the
Germans having set fire to it before being driven out. The soldiers of
the republic then began to bombard Muenster with such success that they
destroyed a German ammunition depot there. The Sondernach ridge was
held by the French about the middle of July, 1915, and they continued
to gain ground so that they were near Muenster by the end of July,
1915. In these actions the French mountaineers were pitting their
skill against the mountaineers from Bavaria.

By midsummer the lines on both sides of the western front were an
elaborate series of field fortifications. The shallow trenches of the
preceding fall were practically things of the past. And these
fortifications extended from the Vosges to the North Sea. They
naturally varied with the nature of the region in which they were
built. The marshy character of the soil along the Yser and about the
Ypres salient made it impossible to go down very deep. Hence it was
necessary to build up parapets which were easy marks for the
artillery. The Germans had the better places on the higher levels from
Ypres to Armentieres; but the British line opposing them showed
remarkable engineering skill. The advances of the Allies had resulted
in making the first line of trenches somewhat temporary in character
in the sections about Festubert, La Bassee, and the Artois; but in
these regions there were strong fortifications in the rear of both
lines. The condition of the ground from Arras to Compiegne was
excellent for fortification purposes. The Teutons had the better
position in the chalky region along the Aisne, though the chalk
formation did not add to the comfort of the men. In the northern part
of Champagne trench life was more bearable. The forests in the
Argonne, the Woevre, and the Vosges made the trenches the best of all
on the western front. The greater part of these so-called trenches,
the like of which had never before been constructed, could not be
taken without a bombardment by heavy artillery. And, in the rear of
each line there was a series of other fortifications quite as
impregnable. This condition was a gradual growth which had developed
as a result of the increasingly new methods of attack. As new means of
taking life were invented, new means of protection came into
existence, until, for the present, the inventive g