Recruiting in England, slow at first, was now beginning to be more satisfactory.  Lord Kitchener had in the neighborhood of a million and a half men being trained and prepared for the rigors of war.  These, also, would be hurled into the thick of the fight when the time was ripe.

It was plainly evident, however, that the Allies were content to hold their present lines.  There was little doubt that it was their plan to let the real fighting be held off till spring, when, by hurling an additional three million men into the field, they believed they could settle German militarism once and for all.

Rumors of other countries joining in the great war grew more rife daily.  Portugal already had given assurances that she would throw her army to the support of Great Britain should she be asked to do so.  A great diplomatic coup—­a great victory for British statesmanship—­had cleared the way for the entrance of Rumania and Greece into the war on the side of the Allies.  This coup had been to gain from Bulgaria assurances that Bulgaria would not go to the support of Germany should Rumania and Greece take up arms.

The Italian populace, also, was clamoring for war.  In Rome demonstrations against Germany had become frequent and violent.  It appeared to be only a question of time until Italy also would hurl her millions of trained fighting men into the field in support of the Allies.

From Ostend the great battle line extended due south to Noyen, where it branched off to the southeast.  South of Noyen French soil had been almost cleared of the Germans.  Alsace had in turn been invaded by the French, who had penetrated to within twelve miles of Strasbourg.  The French troops also had progressed to within eight miles of Metz, in Lorraine.

The forward move by the southern army of France had been sudden, and the Germans had been forced to give way under the desperation and courage of the French troops.

Once before, in the earlier days of the war, the French had reached Metz and Strasbourg, but had been hurled back by overwhelming numbers of the enemy and forced to retreat well into France.  Then the German line in Alsace and Lorraine had been weakened to hurl denser masses of Germans upon the British and Belgians in the north.

The French had not been slow to take advantage of this weakening of the southern army of the Kaiser, and, immediately bringing great pressure to bear, had cleared French territory of the invader in the south.

But the French commander did not stop with this.  Alsace and Lorraine, French soil until after the Franco-Prussian war, when it had been awarded to Prussia as the spoils of war, must be recaptured.  The French pressed on and the Germans gave way before them.

Meantime, in the Soissons region the French also had been making progress; but the Kaiser, evidently becoming alarmed by the great pressure being exercised by the French in Alsace-Lorraine—­in order to relieve the pressure—­immediately made a show of strength near Soissons, seeking thereby to cause the French to withdraw troops from Alsace-Lorraine to reenforce the army of the Soissons to stem the new German advance there.