March 5—­Germans checked at Rheims; report of Sir John French says situation is unchanged in Belgium; Germans are holding reserves in Alsace.

March 9—­Floods hamper campaign in Alsace; it is reported that Germans are shelling factories in France which they cannot capture.

March 10—­Germans declare that the French have failed in the Champagne district and have lost 45,000 men.

March 11—­After several days of severe fighting the British capture Neuve Chapelle, the German loss being estimated by British at 18,000; the British also have lost heavily, particularly in officers; British believe they will now be able to threaten seriously the German position at La Bassee; French War Office says operations in Champagne have aided Russians by preventing Germans from reinforcing eastern armies.

March 12—­British are pressing on toward Lille; they gain near Armentieres, occupy Epinette, and advance toward La Bassee; Germans are intrenched in Aubers; the new drive is expected by Allies to prevent Germans in the west from sending reinforcements to the east.

March 13—­Sir John French reports further gains in Neuve Chapelle region.

March 14—­French occupy Vauquois, the key to a wide area of the Argonne; they capture trenches and occupy Embermenil; Belgians gain on the Yser; British repel German attack on Neuve Chapelle; it is announced that the French recently won a victory at Reichackerkopf in Alsace.

March 15—­French capture trenches north of Arras; Germans drive back British south of Ypres; Germans meet reverse at Neuve Chapelle; it is announced that the French recently won a victory at Combres; French and British are preparing for a general offensive; the first installment is given out from French official sources of a historical review of the war, from the French viewpoint, covering the first six months.

March 16—­Belgians cross the Yser; they drive Germans from trenches south of Nieuport; British retake St. Eloi; barbed wire fence, ten feet high, encompasses entire zone of German military operations in Alsace; British still hold Neuve Chapelle after several spirited attempts to retake it.

March 17—­Westende bombarded; Belgians carry two positions in Yser region.

March 18—­Belgian Army continues to advance on the Yser; French continue to hold the heights near Notre Dame de Lorette despite repeated shelling of their position; Germans are fortifying towns in Alsace.

March 19—­Belgians and Germans are fighting a battle in the underground passages of a monastery in front of Ramscappelle; official British report tells of new German repulse at St. Eloi.

March 21—­Germans take a hill in the Vosges.

March 24—­New battle begins along the Yser.

March 26—­Belgians make progress on road from Dixmude to Ypres.

March 27—­French capture summit of Hartmanns-Weilerkopf Mountain.

March 29—­French are pressing the Germans hard at various points in Champagne; as an offset, the Germans renew activity against Rheims with lively bombardments; sapping and mining operations are stated to be the only means of gaining ground in the Argonne.