ated by our advance, at a
time when we had good grounds for hoping to achieve yet more important
successes.

Verdun had been relieved, the main German forces had been held on the
western front, and the enemy's strength had been very considerably worn
down.

[Sidenote: Ample compensation for sacrifices.]

Any one of these three results is in itself sufficient to justify the
Somme battle. The attainment of all three of them affords ample
compensation for the splendid efforts of our troops and for the
sacrifices made by ourselves and our allies. They have brought us a long
step forward toward the final victory of the allied cause.

[Sidenote: German failure at Verdun.]

The desperate struggle for the possession of Verdun had invested that
place with a moral and political importance out of all proportion to its
military value. Its fall would undoubtedly have been proclaimed as a
great victory for our enemies, and would have shaken the faith of many
in our ultimate success. The failure of the enemy to capture it, despite
great efforts and very heavy losses, was a severe blow to his prestige,
especially in view of the confidence he had openly expressed as to the
results of the struggle.

[Sidenote: Eastward movement of German troops checked.]

Information obtained both during the progress of the Somme battle and
since the suspension of active operations has fully established the
effect of our offensive in keeping the enemy's main forces tied to the
western front. A movement of German troops eastward, which had commenced
in June as a result of the Russian successes, continued for a short time
only after the opening of the allied attack. Thereafter the enemy forces
that moved east consisted, with one exception, of divisions that had
been exhausted in the Somme battle, and these troops were already
replaced on the western front by fresh divisions. In November the
strength of the enemy in the western theatre of war was greater than in
July, notwithstanding the abandonment of his offensive at Verdun.

[Sidenote: Somme offensive relieved Verdun.]

It is possible that if Verdun had fallen large forces might still have
been employed in an endeavor further to exploit that success. It is,
however, far more probable, in view of developments in the eastern
theatre, that a considerable transfer of troops in that direction would
have followed. It is therefore justifiable to conclude that the Somme
offensive not only relieved Ver