t
at the east end of the Chemin-des-Dames, protecting not only the
plateau north of the Aisne, but the low ground between it and
Neufchatel. The Germans had held the place since the first battle of
the Aisne, and against its cliffs many gallant French troops had
vainly flung themselves, only to be thrown back with heavy losses. The
possession of Craonne gave the French command of an open road through
the valley of Miette where a few weeks before they had captured the
German second line south of Juvincourt. They could now, advancing
through this corridor, outflank the entire German position depending
on Laon as its center.

[Illustration: The French Offensive on the Craonne Plateau,
Champagne.]

Throughout May 4, 1917, the British were occupied in organizing and
strengthening the new positions they had won in and around Fresnoy
and in the sectors of the Hindenburg line near Bullecourt. Repeated
German counterattacks were repulsed at all points, except in the
neighborhood of Cherisy and the Arras-Cambrai road, where the British
were forced to abandon some of their new positions. In the day's
fighting the British captured over 900 prisoners. During the night
General Haig's troops made considerable progress northwest of St.
Quentin and northeast of Hargicourt, where the Malakoff Farm was
captured.

By May 5, 1917, the French army was in sight of Laon, and had begun to
shell the German positions on the steep hill on which the city stands.
The position of the French was decidedly favorable for important
operations against the enemy. If they moved up the Rheims-Laon road,
and pushed north from Cerny with a strong force, it would be possible
to outflank from the south the whole German line, which here turns to
the northwest in a wide sweep from Laon, through La Fere to St.
Quentin and Cambrai. This operation if successful would compel the
Germans to retire to the Belgian frontier.

The Germans were not satisfied with the way things were going, so the
Allied command learned from prisoners. It was estimated that they had
lost thus far in the Anglo-French drive on this front no less than
216,000 men, of whom the British took 30,000 prisoners and the French
23,000; about 47,000 were killed on the field and 160,000 were put out
of action. The British and French casualties had also been very
heavy--the former numbering about 80,000 and the latter 93,000
including killed, wounded, and prisoners.

On the British front the Germa