From the opening of the great offense of March 21, 1918, to the signing of the armistice, November 11, 1918, there were few days when there were not battles raging at several places along the west front extending from near Metz in a prolonged sweep, west to Rheims, thence in an irregular curved line convex toward Paris curving to the North Sea near Dixmude approximately 250 miles in length. There were days and weeks when battles of great intensity raged at certain sections, then died away in that vicinity to break in fury elsewhere. Organized efforts on a large scale in certain directions were called drives. Until July the initiative was with Germany, that is to say the Allies were on the defensive. They were waiting for reinforcements from America. Germany was making desperate efforts to win a decisive victory and force peace on their terms before effective aid could arrive. TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILES OF BATTLE. At this point try to realize what these statements imply. We do not grasp their meaning. A battle front of two hundred and fifty miles! And along that line at least ten million men were facing each other with other millions in reserve. Trench lines were strung along most of the front. Not simply one line of trenches, but several, with connecting trenches, the opposing lines being at places only a few hundred yards apart. As the struggle continued, however, it became more and more a war in the open. This series of struggles are undoubtedly the greatest exertion of military power in the history of the world. Never before had such masses of munitions been used; never before had scientific knowledge been so drawn on in the service of war. Thousands of airplanes were patrolling the air, sometimes scouting, sometimes dropping bombs on hostile troops or on hostile stores, sometimes flying low, firing their machine guns into the faces of marching troops. Thousands upon thousands of great guns were sending enormous projectiles, which made great pits wherever they fell. Swarms of machine guns were pouring their bullets like water from a hose upon charging soldiers. It was an inferno such as Dante never dreamed of. The Fifteen Decisive Battles of history of which we have heard--all put together,--were exceeded day after day in the summer of 1918 when Germany was making her last desperate effort. Thus for weeks the red tide of war ebbed and flowed, while civilization trembled in the balance. UNIFIED COMMAND.