hen they swept the Germans from Vimy Ridge, were in fine
fighting trim. By a brilliant assault they captured Arleux-en-Gobelle
and held the village securely against all attempts made by the Germans
to recapture it.

Southeast of Oppy, the British took Greenland Hill, which overlooks
the Scarpe Valley. There was fierce fighting north of the village of
Roeux, at the chemical works on the Arras-Douai railway, which changed
hands several times. The character of the fighting on the 28th did not
result in the taking of many prisoners, for almost everywhere it was a
struggle to the death.

The loss to the Germans of Monchy-le-Preux was regarded by them as a
serious matter, and they were prepared to sacrifice any number of men
to retake it. Late in the night of April 28, 1917, they launched two
violent attacks against the British positions east of the town. Two
new divisions had been brought up and were hurled into the struggle
only to be literally torn to fragments before they could reach even an
outpost. On this date also Gavrelle was violently attacked from the
north. This was the fourteenth or fifteenth counterattack the Germans
had made against the village, which failed as all the previous ones
had done.

On the same date there were violent outbursts in the Champagne and
Aisne regions on the French front, in which the Germans made no
progress. The French gained ground and prisoners near Ostel in the
Chemin-des-Dames area. German lines were invaded in the sector of Hill
304 on the left bank of the Meuse and a considerable number of
prisoners were taken. At Auberive after a violent bombardment the
Germans attacked in force, but were repulsed by the French artillery.

South of the village of Oppy, where the fighting had raged for several
days, the British captured a German trench system on a front of about
a mile. Here the Germans offered the most stubborn resistance, and
after the position was won they launched furious counterattacks in the
hope of smashing the British before they had opportunity to organize
their gains.

The results of the fighting in this region could not be estimated by
the number of prisoners taken or the amount of ground gained. The
British had a difficult task to perform in assaulting positions
protected by natural defenses, and held in strength with quantities of
machine guns. After forcing the enemy out of the positions, and when
their strength was well-nigh spent, the British troops were force