ing north and south through Douai
and Cambrai. On the northern horn the British captured Lievin, the
southwest suburb of Lens, and Cite St. Pierre, northwest of that
place. On the southern horn they advanced within 400 yards of St.
Quentin. Some idea of the extent of the British advance within a week
may be gained from the fact that the British were now three miles
beyond the famous Vimy Ridge.

It was expected that the Germans would stubbornly defend St. Quentin
and Lens, which were now the British objectives, and on which the
heaviest British gunfire was now concentrated. In the course of the
day advances were made south and east of Fayet to within a few hundred
yards of St. Quentin. On the way the village of Gricourt was carried
at the point of the bayonet and over 400 Germans were captured.

Lens, an important mining center, had been in possession of the
Germans since the autumn of 1914. It stretches for several miles and
the surrounding district is rich in mineral wealth. Throughout the day
of April 14, 1917, the British poured heavy high-explosive shells into
the city, using for the first time guns that had been recently
captured from the Germans. The continued bombardment caused fires and
explosions in the city. It was believed that some of these
conflagrations were the work of the enemy, who were preparing to
abandon the place.

In the course of the day, April 14, 1917, the British pushed their way
through Lieven, a straggling suburb of Lens, meeting with stubborn
defense in every street, where the Germans had posted machine guns at
points of vantage and rear-guard posts that gave the British
considerable trouble. Soon a body of British troops had penetrated
Lens itself and were working their way slowly forward. From the
western side other troops were advancing through Lievin, slowly and
cautiously. The main German forces were in retreat, but the
machine-gun redoubts, skillfully manned, were a constant source of
danger and wrought considerable destruction.

From prisoners captured the British learned of wild scenes that had
taken place in Lens while the Germans were attempting to get away
their stores and guns and begin the retreat. Frantic efforts were made
to blow up roads and to carry out orders to destroy the mine shafts
and flood the galleries, so that property of enormous value should not
be left to France. The occasion for this mad hurry was because the
Germans believed that the British might be upon