ecaptured, and finally evacuated
in consequence of an extremely violent bombardment.

[Sidenote: Heights of Massiges.]

(6) _Sector of Massiges._ The safety of our troops which had advanced as
far as the extended wood and Maisons de Champagne was assured by the
capture of the summits of the heights of Massiges. This sharply
undulating upland, numbered 199 on the north and 191 on the south,
constituted in the hands of the Germans a fortress which they believed
to be impregnable and from the top of which they commanded our positions
in several directions. At 9.15 a.m. the two first attacking parties
marched out in columns. The men went forth gaily and deliberately,
preceded by the firing of the field artillery. By 9.30 a.m. our
infantry, before the enemy had had time to recover themselves, had
reached the summit.

[Sidenote: Enemy machine gun fire.]

[Sidenote: Lines of grenadiers.]

From this moment, subject to machine gun and musketry fire, the men
could only proceed slowly along the summits by the alleys of
communication, with hand grenades, supported by the artillery, with whom
they remained in constant touch by flag-signalling. As the advance of
our grenadiers continued, the Germans surrendered in large numbers. An
uninterrupted chain of grenade-bearers, like the chains of
bucket-holders at a fire in former times, was established in the alleys
of communication from Massiges forward, and each fresh arrival of
grenades was accompanied by a fresh advance.

[Sidenote: Value of possessing the heights.]

From September 25 to October 3, 1915, the fight continued in this way
and was carried on by our soldiers with fierce persistency. The Germans
hurled upon the spot constant reinforcements and offered an obstinate
resistance that has rarely been equalled. They stood up to be shot
down--the machine-gun men at their guns, the grenadiers on their grenade
chests. All attempts at a counter-attack remained equally unproductive.
The possession of the heights of Massiges enabled us to extend our gains
towards Ville-sur-Tourbe, while taking in flank the trenches which we
had failed to secure by a frontal attack.

The loss of the heights of Massiges appears to have particularly upset
the German General Staff, which, after having denied the fact,
represented that the ground which it had lost as a consequence of
grenade fighting had been abandoned owing to artillery fire.

[Sidenote: Attitude of the enemy.]

The attitude of