them nearer to the important military
position of Bapaume. The French had by ceaseless activity pushed
forward their lines toward Le Transloy. During four months from July 1
to November 1, 1916, the Franco-British troops in the course of the
fighting on the Somme had captured 71,532 German soldiers and 1,449
officers. The material taken by the Allies during this period included
173 field guns, 130 heavy guns, 215 trench mortars, and 981 machine
guns.

[Illustration: Verdun Front, February 1, 1917.]

After the French victory on October 24, 1916, when Fort Douaumont was
captured from the Germans, it was inevitable that Fort Vaux on the
same front must also fall, and this took place on November 2, 1916.
For some days Fort Vaux had been subjected to intense artillery fire
by the French, and the German commander ordered the evacuation of the
fortress during the night. It was in defending this stronghold against
overwhelming odds that the French Major Raynal and his garrison won
the praise of even their enemies. The German direct attack on the fort
began March 9, 1916, and for ninety days Major Raynal held it against
the ceaseless attacks of Germany's finest troops backed not by
batteries, but by parks of artillery. Only when the fort was in ruins
and the garrison could fight no longer were the German troops able to
occupy the work. The French Government marked its appreciation of
Major Raynal's heroic defense by publishing his name and by conferring
on him the grade of Commander of the Legion of Honor, a distinction
usually reserved only for divisional generals. The German Crown Prince
appreciating Major Raynal's heroic qualities permitted him on his
surrender to retain his sword.

North of the Somme, despite the persistent bad weather, the French
troops on November 1 and 2, 1916, captured German trenches northeast
of Les Boeufs and a strongly organized system of trenches on the
eastern outskirts of St. Pierre Vaast Wood. By these operations the
French took 736 prisoners, of whom twenty were officers, and also
twelve machine guns.

The British forces on the Somme on the night of November 2, 1916, by a
surprise attack captured a German trench east of Gueudecourt and
carried out a successful raid on German trenches near Arras. British
aircraft, which had been actively engaged in bombing German batteries,
in the course of several combats in the air destroyed two hostile
machines. On November 4, 1916, the Germans attempted