From March 29 until April 8 the enemy consolidated his positions on a front which had been expanded from seventy-five miles, including two large salients, to 125 miles, including innumerable small ones, embracing a terrain of about 800 square miles west of the front as it was on March 20. On April 3 the enemy was strongly counterattacked by the British at Ayette and by the French at Plémont, near Lassigny. Similar counterattacks recovered Hébuterne for the British and Cantigny for the French on April 5; Beaumont Hamel and a strong position west of Albert for the British and a flanking position north of Aubvillers for the French on April 7. [Illustration: FLANDERS SECTOR OF THE GREAT BATTLE OF PICARDY. THE CHAIN LINE SHOWS BATTLEFRONT, MARCH 21, 1918. SHADED SPACE INDICATES GERMAN GAINS UP TO APRIL 17.] Meanwhile, April 4, the Germans had occupied Hamel and two villages near Grivesnes, driving out the French, and had made a furious assault upon the positions of the latter between the Luce rivulet and the Avre River, but without success. On the 5th they had made similar attacks at five points: they were successful against the British at Dernancourt, against the French at Casel; they were driven back with heavy losses by the British at Moyenneville and Villers-Bertonneux and by the French at Cantigny. On the 6th the enemy had made concentrated attacks at six points: south of Albert, beyond the Vaire Wood, between Hailles and Rouvrel, and on the Oise east of Chauny he gained ground, but his attempt to take Mesnil beyond Montdidier and Mount Rénaud beyond Noyon were costly failures. On the 7th he attacked the British strategic position at Eucquoy and the French position east of Chauny. At the former place he was repulsed with heavy loss; at the latter his official chronicler asserted that he gained ground. ON THE LILLE FRONT