spring, and took 34,000 prisoners and 270 guns. The enemy's _morale_
was now failing; surrenders became frequent, and there were many signs
of the exhaustion of the German reserves. And again, by the turning of
his line, large tracts of territory were recovered almost without
fighting. By September 6th, five months after we had stood "with our
backs to the wall" in defence of the Channel ports, the Lys salient
had disappeared, and the old Ypres line was almost restored.

In _the Battle of the Scarpe_ (August 26th-September 3rd) General
Horne's First Army, with the Canadian Corps and the Highlanders in its
ranks, drove eastwards, north and south of the Scarpe, till they had
come within striking distance of the Drocourt-Quéant line. In twelve
hours, on the 2nd of September, the Canadian Corps, with forty tanks,
Canadian cavalry and armoured cars, had captured "the whole of the
elaborate system of wire, trenches, and strong points," which runs
north-west from the Hindenburg line proper to the Lens defences at
Drocourt; while the 17th Corps attacked the triangle of fortifications
marking the junction of the Drocourt-Quéant line with the Hindenburg
line proper, and cleared it magnificently, the 52nd (Lowland) Division
especially distinguishing itself. There was "stern fighting" further
south that day, right down to the neighbourhood of Peronne; but during
the night the enemy "struck his tents," and began a hasty retreat to
the line of the Canal du Nord. Sixteen thousand prisoners and 200 guns
had been the spoil of the battle.

_The Battle of Havrincourt_ (September 12th-18th) was a struggle for
the outer defences of the Hindenburg line, which had to be carried
before the line itself could be dealt with. Six days secured the
positions wanted for the final attack, and in those six days fifteen
British divisions had defeated twenty German divisions, and captured