ns and attacking with grenades throughout the night. The French
continued to hold their own despite these desperate onslaughts and
were even able to increase their gains in this sector.

In the region of St. Mihiel the French by a dashing operation captured
Romainville Farm with its garrison of thirty Germans. At four
different points French detachments penetrated German trenches between
the Meuse and Apremont Forest, pushing as far as the second line of
defenses and bringing back a number of prisoners.

On March 15, 1917, French forces south of the Somme in the
neighborhood of Roye after an intense shelling of the German lines
penetrated east of Canny-sur-Matz to a depth of about half a mile.
British troops between Peronne and Bapaume made important gains about
this date. Pushing forward on a front of two and a half miles they
occupied German trenches running from the south of St. Pierre Vaast
Wood to the north of the village of Saillisel, a stretch of about
3,000 yards.

On March 17, 1917, the Germans were forced to abandon the whole line
of about fifteen miles between the Oise and Andechy, owing to the
pressure of French forces. These lines were strongly fortified and had
been occupied by the Germans for about two years. The French continued
their advance movement on the following day. Their advance guard
entered Roye in pursuit of a German contingent that had blown up
streets in the interior of the town. About 800 of the civil population
which the Germans had not had time to remove received their
liberators with a wild enthusiasm that was pathetic to witness.

North and northeast of Lassigny the French made further gains,
occupying the town and a number of points beyond, and pushing forward
past the road between Roye and Noyon. During the night of March 17,
1917, French air squadrons bombarded German organizations in the
region of Arnaville, and the factories and blast furnaces at
Voelkingen, where a great fire was seen to break out. Stations and
roads in the region of Ham and St. Quentin were also bombarded with
good results, and all the French aeroplanes returned undamaged.

On March 18, 1917, the Germans were in retreat over a front of
approximately eighty-five miles from south of Arras on the north to
Soissons on the Aisne. They evacuated scores of villages, and the
important towns of Peronne, Chaulnes, Nesle, and Noyon. Evidently the
Germans had been forced to leave somewhat hurriedly, for many of the
pla