On the Western front the co-operating British and French Armies
have made more rapid progress than could have been expected in bad conditions of ground and weather. The Germans have been harried all the way, and seem to be at least as doubtful as we are of the position of their much-advertised " Hindenburg Line." We cannot enumerate all the villages captured, but it may be mentioned that practically the whole of the Department of the Somme has been liberated. It has been a week for field artillery, which has put its mobility to splendid uses. The next German stronghold to fall will probably be St. Quentin. The British are threatening to come in on the flank of the town from the north- west, and the French are gradually flanking it from the south. Many fires have been seen, and it is feared that the Germans are destroying this populous and beautiful town. It should not be forgotten that if the bad weather delays us, it also disheartens the enemy. He was promised rest and comfort, and he is getting neither.
