The consequence has been that, in direct contradiction to the former drives, the enemy's initial losses have been enormous and his gains small; and the French losses were greatly decreased. Above all, there has been no penetration of the line of resistance. In places it bulged slightly under pressure, but only at the price of the most dogged fighting and heavy sacrifice, and withal very slowly. One fact marks the difference sufficiently: HOW THEY WERE CHECKED On May 27 the Germans had reached the Aisne--seven kilometers from the starting point, across difficult country--in four and one-half hours after the attack. In the first thirty hours of the present attack they had barely passed thinly held outposts. Along the whole thirty-kilometer front, from the Oise to Assainvillers--somewhat shorter than the area of bombardment--fifteen to twenty assaulting divisions were met by a galling machine-gun barrage and the terrible "75" fire curtain from quick-firers and batteries. Irreplaceable storm troops, whose training had taken months and whose existence was essential to the continuance of Hindenburg's new strategy, melted like snow beneath the August sun. At Plemont--the scene of one of the most gallant actions in the checking of the March drive by the men of the same army--the Germans met a stubborn resistance, though their dead lay there thick as fresh-cut wheat but a few hundred yards beyond the line of outposts. Even in the centre, where the enemy's progress was deepest, an unbroken line of defense was constituted by the same troops that had withstood the attack from the beginning. Their spirit and numbers were still sufficient, though the Germans opposing them had sent forward fresh storm troops in wave after wave. Mr. Perris's Description of the French Counterblow _The French counterblow described above by Mr. Duranty was of great importance in changing the entire aspect of affairs for the Allies. Mr. Perris, in a dispatch dated June 12, gave these further particulars:_ Faces that wore a serious expression yesterday morning are decidedly cheerful today. The battle has, in fact, taken a better turn. It is a very dreadful struggle; no Frenchman can forget that fact, and in the fever of weighing and measuring results more distant observers should not for a moment overlook what they mean in flesh and blood. That being said, we may join in the satisfaction of our allies that on its third day the German onset has suffered a distinct check. Following the front from west to east, the first thing to note is the series of French counterattacks on the left, carried to a considerable measure of success by skill in the direction and high spirit and fortitude in the ranks.