After the initial advance Pershing held back the divisions nearest the river and con centrated his efforts along the edge of die Ar gonne. By 4 October he had brought up his artillery and was ready for another step for ward, and on that day two miles were wrung out of the enemy's hands by hard fighting. Then followed six days of stern encounter, at the end of which the Argonne was dear of Germans and the Americans stood 12 miles north of the position occupied when the attack began on 26 September. They had broken the old line of defense, known by the Gertnans as the Brunhilde line, and behind it the slighter Freya line. Before them was the Kremhilde line, an intricate system-of trenches, to pene trate which General Pershing summoned all his resources.
Meanwhile the French under General Goe rand had been advancing in the most gallant manner. Before them was the extensive and difficult system of trenches which had defied their best efforts in the two battles of Cham pagne. But their attack of the 26th was so overwhelming that these strong positions were pulverized and taken by the French with about 10,000 prisoners. General Gouraud then at tacked the supporting trenches which yielded slowly. As Pershing worked his way, up the eastern side of the Argonne and through its tangled undergrowth, the French pushed for ward on the ivestern side, the two armies cont.. ing into touch at Grand Pre, at the northern efte. of the Argonne, on 10 October. Along the left flanlc of his attacking column he encoun tered strong resistance but overcame it, going forward three miles. To renew his attacks he needed fresh troops and Pershing loaned bim die 2d American division. Thus strength. ened he assaulted the enemy's line on 4 Octo ber, the day Pershing made his second lunge east of the Argonne. The 2d division carned. Blanc Mont, a strong position conuuanding the region north of Somme Py carryuag the de fenders back three miles. French pressed their advantage and there was a general advance of five miles. The impetus thus gamed was not lost in the succeeding days. In the fighting of Pershing and Gouraud from 26 September to 11 October, a steady progress WAS obtained; but it did not achieve an that Foch expected of it It was his design to breade through quickly to the Sedan-Mezieres Railroad and cut off the troops in the Rheims-Carabrai sector from their supplies while they were so hotly engaged that they could not retreat But the progress of his right was held up by strong fcirtifications. front of Pershing stood the Kreinhilde line, a series of well-placed trenches from three to five miles deep that was to test his courage for many days yet.
Meanwhile the whole .Atlied line west of Gouraud WAS the scene of heavy fighting. Oft
the 27th, the day afttr the attack on the righte Haig was given permission to deliver the etr tacit on the Carobrai-Samt Quentin line. It was a difficult task, for .before him vras the strong Siegfried position. This system of trenches at the critical part of the gzeat line ran for the most part along the banks of the Scheldt Canal. 13etween Bellicourt and Vendhuile the canal ran through a tunnel for a little more than 5,000 yards 'The Germans filled this tunnel with canal-boats and walled up the ends. The boats were converted into sleeping-quarters, and the towpaths made excellent corridors. 'They dies obtained a vast subterranean cham ber, in which more thin 12,000 men were con cealed so far below the surface that they were safe from the largest shells. Lateral shafts led to a village several hundred yards away.enabling the men to come and go without detection from the air. North and south of the tunnel the canal was 60 feet wide and the banks were steep. Against this sector of the well-con. structed Siegfried line General Haig decided to throw his army. If he broke through com pletely he would have a dear wasi to Minion on the railroad that supplied the rear of the battle-line. Thus, while Pershing was battling his way toward Sedan, and Gouraud was strug gling for Mezieres, Haig sent forward a strong portion of his army in the direction crf Hirst" an important points on the vital railroad sys tem. As We shall see, these three main thrusts were supplemented by other blcnvs against other parts of the great line of battle, deny. ered simultaneously to keep the Germans busy.
The main British blow was to be given be tween Vendhnile and Holtman, a sector 10 miles wide. Bat Haig would not make, his first eAt. sl aught there, partly because it eras the 'drone est part of the Siegfried line and partly because he wished to deceive the enemy and induce him to concentrate elsewhere. He accordingly opened a heavy bombardment against a section of 30 miles, including the point to be attacked in main force. Following this he made a strong attack with the 1st (Home) and 3d (Bynk Armies in the section north of Vendhuile. the morning of 27 September, the day after the attack began in the Argonne region, these two armies went forward on a 13-mile front. Their most determined effort was made in the region in front of Cambrai. Four divisions, three of them Canadians, led the attack across the Canal du Nord and opened the way for other divisions to follow. By nightfall the lines were carried forward three miles on an eight-mile front with the capture of 10,000 pnsoners and 200 guns. Next day the fighting was renewed and the British advanced to the bank of the Scheldt Canal, three miles south west of Cambrai.