ptured Lizerne, a village on
the main road from Ypres to Steenstraate.

[Sidenote: The enemy throws bridges across the canal.]

When the morning of the 24th came the situation remained much the same,
but the enemy, who had thrown several bridges across the canal,
continued to gain ground to the west. On our front the Germans, under
cover of their gas, made a further attack between 3 and 4 a.m. to the
east of St. Julien and forced back a portion of our line. Nothing else
in particular occurred until about midday, when large bodies of the
enemy were seen advancing down the Ypres-Poelcapelle road toward St.
Julien. Soon after a very strong attack developed against that village
and the section of the line east of it.

[Sidenote: A French counter-attack.]

Under the pressure of these fresh masses our troops were compelled to
fall back, contesting every inch of ground and making repeated
counter-attacks; but until late at night a gallant handful, some 200 to
300 strong, held out in St. Julien. During the night the line was
re-established north of the hamlet of Fortuin, about 700 yards further
to the rear. All this time the fighting along the canal continued, the
enemy forcing their way across near Boesinghe, and holding Het Sase,
Steenstraate, and Lizerne strongly. The French counter-attacked in the
afternoon, captured fifty prisoners, and made some further progress
toward Pilkem. The Germans, however, were still holding the west bank
firmly, although the Belgian artillery had broken the bridge behind them
at Steenstraate.

[Sidenote: German assaults on Broodseinde.]

On the morning of Sunday, the fourth day of the battle, we made a strong
counter-attack on St. Julien, which gained some ground but was checked
in front of the village. To the west of it we reached a point a few
hundred yards south of the wood which had been the objective on the 23d
and which we had had to relinquish subsequently. In the afternoon the
Germans made repeated assaults in great strength on our line near
Broodseinde. These were backed up by a tremendous artillery bombardment
under the throwing of asphyxiating bombs; but all were beaten off with
great slaughter to the enemy, and forty-five prisoners fell into our
hands. When night came the situation remained unchanged.

This determined offensive on the part of the enemy, although it has
menaced Ypres itself, has not so far the appearance of a great effort to
break the line and capture the Chan