Happily these schemes have entirely miscarried. The French, with a
courage and tenacity which show that their Generals and their Army are in the highest state of moral as well as physical fitness, refused to be awed by the fury of the German attack either into malting panic dispositions in their CAM line or asking for panic action from us. They held the Verdun attack " locally " and without deflecting their plans or aura Except for the fact that we have taken over a new and important piece of line which has now brought the trenches held by us down to the Somme, the status quo ante has been preserved. This extension of our line, which now measures some eighty miles (i.e., about a quarter of the whole line), would soon have been taken over in any case, and therefore it cannot be regarded as in any way a change of plan in face of the enemy. It is merely the quickening up of developments already agreed upon.
