Just two months later, the capture of Messines Ridge proved conclusively that the success could be repeated against another of the strongest sectors of the line. But the victory on this occasion was even more remarkable. The position was so advantageous to the Germans that the enemy troops had been urged to fight to the last. The ridge overlooked the whole of the Ypres salient which had been held so staunchly against every handicap. The assault differed greatly from that on the Vimy Ridge. The tactics were different in detail though the outlines were the same; but the attack was equally kept under the control of the command and swept forward to a similar success. These two battles of the 1917 Campaign made it clear that the British had solved the general problem of the German defensive, and at the same time they revealed the intimate dependence of victory upon the control of the commanders. In a war that seemed to be given over to mechanics, engineering and physics, that was frequently regarded as a mathematical problem, they showed that leadership is still the paramount factor in the art of warfare. Such then is the versatility of these leaders. The war has cast upon them the burden of meeting every sort of warfare. They have come triumphantly through the ordeal, winning a grudging praise from the enemy, and the more unmistakeable approval of attempts at imitation. They have shown themselves as resourceful in devising new machines and methods of attack as they are experienced in the orthodox fighting of other days. The war may have new experiences for them, but it cannot daunt or check them. They have seen the worst. They have come through dark places to the approaching light of day. Their record is our best assurance for the future. I FIELD-MARSHAL SIR DOUGLAS HAIG, K.T., G.C.B., G.C.V.O., K.C.I.E., =A.D.C.= SIR DOUGLAS HAIG was born in Fife on June 19th, 1861, of a family which has played a great part in the annals of the Scottish Borders. He was educated at Clifton and Brasenose College, Oxford, of which he is an Honorary Fellow. He is almost the only great soldier of modern times who has passed through the curriculum of an English University. He joined the 7th Hussars in 1885, and, after passing through the Staff College, served in the Soudan Campaign of 1898, being present at the Battles of Atbara and Omdurman.