This great victory, won by a cavalry General who had
the pleasure of employing his cavalry to good purpose in the action, is of the highest significance. It illustrates anew the supreme importance of the Western 'Front. It disposes of the theory of the " impenetrable" line. It shows that the enemy cannot trust to the strength of his fortifications in face of a British army, but must continue to mass his men and his guns behind his lines if be wants to bar our progress. It reminds the world of the immense power of our Army, which, while maintaining its relentless pressure on the Flanders ridges, is capable of conducting a major operation sixty miles away in Picardy. The new and unconventional tactics employed have been a credit to the General Staff. If the weather becomes more favourable, and the advance can be continued, General Byng's victory may have the most important coneequenees. The Hindenburg line, cracked in Flanders, broken in Picardy, and wiped out of existence north of the Aisne, is rapidly ceasing to be a barrier. When it falls the Germans will lose Northern France.
