year
passed unmarked by any striking gains for either side. The Allies had
maintained and strengthened their old positions, made slight advances
at some points, and continued to harass and destroy the enemy in
trench raids, artillery duels, and in battles in the air.

Some record of the principal minor operations in France and Belgium at
this time is necessary, as every offensive movement had a set purpose
and was a part of the Germans' or Allies' plans.

On February 1, 1917, in the neighborhood of Wytschaete, parties of
Germans dressed in white attempted two surprise assaults on British
trenches, but were rolled back with severe losses before they could
get within striking distance. In these encounters the British took
prisoners without losing a man or incurring the slightest casualty.

On the same date the French were engaged in lively artillery actions
at Hartmannsweilerkopf and east of Metzeral. Around Altkirch and to
the east of Rheims they were successful in spirited encounters with
enemy patrols. In Lorraine during the night the Germans attacked
trenches south of Leintrey, but were shattered by French fire. In the
sector of St. Georges in Belgium a surprise attack also failed.

On the British front in the course of the same night a dashing raid
was carried out against German trenches northeast of Guedecourt (Somme
sector) in which two officers and fifty-six men were taken prisoners.

The British carried out another successful operation on February 3,
1917, north of the Ancre, pushing forward their line east of Beaucourt
some 500 yards on a front of about three-quarters of a mile. Over a
hundred prisoners and three machine guns were captured. On the same
night southeast of Souchez German trenches were penetrated and
twenty-one prisoners and some guns were taken. Several dugouts
containing Germans were bombed and an enemy shaft was destroyed.

While the British continued to make slight gains and to harass the
enemy, the French were engaged in minor operations no less successful.
A surprise attack in the region of Moulin-sous-Toutvent resulted in
the capture of a dozen prisoners. A similar operation in the region of
Tracy-le-Val between the Oise and the Aisne was also a victory for
French arms. The Germans fought with determination, but were unable to
make any headway against the indomitable French spirit. The number of
casualties incurred by the Germans was not known, but the French took
twenty-two prisoners.