as cylinders.

[Sidenote: German exhaustion.]

The night passed quietly, and was spent by us in reorganizing and
consolidating our positions. The enemy did not interfere. This is not
surprising, in view of the fact that by Tuesday evening they had been
fighting for over five days. Their state of exhaustion is confirmed by
the statements of the prisoners captured by the French, who also
reported that the German losses had been very heavy.

On Wednesday, the 28th, there was a complete lull on this sector of our
line, and the shelling was less severe. Some fighting, however, occurred
along the canal, the French taking over 100 prisoners.

[Sidenote: Air battles.]

Nothing of any importance has occurred on other parts of the front. On
the 27th at the Railway Triangle opposite Guinchy, the south side of the
embankment held by the Germans was blown up by our miners. On the 28th a
hostile aeroplane was forced to descend by our anti-aircraft guns. On
coming down in rear of the German lines, it was at once fired upon and
destroyed by our field artillery. Another hostile machine was brought
down by rifle fire near Zonnebeke.

Splendid work has been done during the past few days by our airmen, who
have kept all the area behind the hostile lines under close
observation. On the 26th they bombed the stations of Staden, Thielt,
Courtrai, Roubaix, and other places, and located an armored train near
Langemarck, which was subsequently shelled and forced to retire. There
have been several successful conflicts in the air, on one occasion a
pilot in a single seater chasing a German machine to Roulers, and
forcing it to land.

[Sidenote: Raid on Courtrai].

The raid on Courtrai unfortunately cost the nation a very gallant life,
but it will live as one of the most heroic episodes of the war. The
airman started on the enterprise alone in a biplane. On arrival at
Courtrai he glided down to a height of 300 feet and dropped a large bomb
on the railway junction. While he did this he was the target of hundreds
of rifles, of machine guns, and of anti-aircraft armament, and was
severely wounded in the thigh. Though he might have saved his life by at
once coming down in the enemy's lines, he decided to save his machine at
all costs, and made for the British lines. Descending to a height of
only 100 feet in order to increase his speed, he continued to fly and
was again wounded, this time mortally. He still flew on, however, and
without coming