command and the wisdom of their
plans and the rapidity with which the attack had been carried out, the
casualties were less than had been anticipated and out of all
proportion to the value of the conquered positions.

While the French were thus forcing the pace and winning successes
north of the Somme, their brothers in arms south of the river were
carrying out some important operations with neatness and dispatch.

In this area the French launched their attack on July 1, 1916, at 9.30
a. m., on a front of almost ten kilometers from the village of Frise
to a point opposite the village of Estrees.

Here it was that a Colonial corps that had especially distinguished
itself during the war delivered an assault that was entirely
successful. The Germans were taken by surprise. The French captured
German officers engaged in the act of shaving or making their toilet
in the dugouts; whole battalions were rounded up, and all this was
done with the minimum of loss. One French regiment had only two
casualties, and the total for one division was 800. The villages of
Dompierre, Becquincourt, and Bussu were in French hands before
nightfall, and about five miles had been gouged out of the German
front. Southward the Bretons of the Thirty-fifth Corps, splendid
fighters all, had captured Fay. Between them the Allies had captured
on this day the enemy's first position without a break, a front of
fourteen miles stretching from Mametz to Fay. They had taken about
6,000 prisoners and a vast quantity of guns and military stores.

On July 2, 1916, the French infantry attacked the village of Frise,
and by noon the Germans were forced to evacuate the place. Here the
French captured a battery of seventy-sevens which the enemy had not
had time to destroy. Pushing rapidly on, the French took the wood of
Mereaucourt. The village of Herbecourt, a little more to the south,
was captured by the French after an hour's fighting. By early dark the
entire group of German defenses was taken, thus linking Herbecourt to
the village of Assevillers.

Between this last place and the river they broke into the German
second position. Fayolle's left now commanded the light railway from
Combles to Peronne, his center held the great loop of the Somme at
Frise village, while his right was only four miles from Peronne
itself.

During the day of July 3, 1916, the French continued their victorious
advance, capturing Assevillers and Flaucourt. During the night their