fighting of the war, the German officers tried in vain to rally their men and the enemy infantry gradually fell back to the trenches they had left.  The Canadians followed closely and, leaping on the parapets, hurled masses of bombs down among great numbers of troops which had been collected for the attack.  The Germans tried to flee through the communication trenches, but the Canadians leaped among them with bayonets and bombs, killing many and sparing few as prisoners.  Throughout the day the entire line was a seething caldron, but the new Canadian positions were firmly held as night fell.

Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig after the battle sent a message of congratulation to Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Currie, commanding the Canadian forces, and refuted the German claim that the Canadians had attacked with four instead of two divisions when Hill 70 was captured by the gallant fellows from the Dominion.  The commander-in-chief also gave the Canadians credit for having reached all their objectives in the battles of the previous week.

Eight heavy assaults were delivered against the Canadians at Lens by the Germans during the night of the 21st, but in each case the enemy was thrown back at the point of the bayonet and by afternoon of August the Canadians had consolidated all the new positions gained.  During the battle of Lens up to this time (from August 15 to 22) the Canadians took 1,378 prisoners, 34 machine guns and 21 trench mortars.  The number of prisoners taken bore only a small ratio to the losses inflicted on the Germans, who appeared exhausted when the assaults ceased.

On August 22 the British launched another fierce attack on the enemy in the Langemarck sector of the front and forced their way to a considerable depth in the neighborhood of the ridge known as Hill 35, strongly defended by Irish troops against Prince Rupprecht’s Bavarians.  At the same time a new battle at Verdun was in progress, but the French held all their gains against reserves massed by the Germans for desperate counter-attacks.

ITALIANS IN A GREAT OFFENSIVE

On the Isonzo front the Italian commander, General Cadorna, launched a great offensive while the British were active in Flanders and by August 23 had broken through the whole Austrian line, capturing the town of Selo, which was the pivot of the Austrian defense, and considered impregnable, and inflicting upon the enemy, in this eleventh battle of the Isonzo, the greatest losses he had sustained since the capture of Goritz.  More than 13,000 Austro-Hungarian prisoners were captured during the battle, with thirty guns, and all counter-attacks were repulsed with heavy losses.  The whole Selo line fell before the heroic onslaught of the Italians, and the loss of this important position was a serious blow to the Austrians.  On August 22 Italian warships were showering shells on Trieste, the big Austrian port on the Adriatic which was the objective of the Italian campaign.