However the one which is situated near the church of Clercken, and still exists in the same state as when abandoned by the Germans (see sketch), shows how easily the enemy could see into our lines, in spite of all the efforts made by the Belgian Army to counteract their observations, such as: diverse dissimulations, plantations of all kinds, artificial masks in linen, sandbags, reeds and straw, etc.... 22.—“Grand-Père” concrete dug-out. 23.—“Castel Britannia”. 24.—Hoekske. The southern part of the Belgian front may be classed as one of the most agitated sectors of the Western front. The short communications of the press which announced in their brief laconic style: “Bombing actions at het Sas and at Steenstraat; duel of artillery in the region of Noordschote”, said nothing of the horror of certain days of guard where the blood marked the ground of trenches, a hundred times turned over and as many times reestablished and always defended by our heroical troops. Drie Grachten, le Passeur, Steenstraat, Merckem, all these names resound, like as many bugle calls proclaiming the heroism of our soldiers and the glory of our arms. It was in July-October 1917 that the Franco-British offensive gave us back, in that region, a corner of Belgian land. A few Belgian units participated on the 27^{th} of October to the last assault which drove the enemy back beyond Luyghem, Kippe, Aschoop and reached, on the right, the outskirts of Houthulst forest. The effort had to be followed up, our troops had to extend to the North of Dixmude, the progression of the Allies; our artillery preparation was ended, the Belgian army only waited for the signal! But a run of unfavourable circumstances: the russian defection, the Caporetto incidents and the continual rain obliged the allies’ chief staff to suspend the offensive. One had to be resigned and wait, but it was a great deception to the Belgian soldier. The 11^{th} of November 1917, the 4^{th} army division relieved a French division at Merckem. The state of the field after the battle, is depicted in the following extract from the order of the division commander dated the 14^{th} of November. “In order to avoid, during the relieves, the sinking of the men in the excavations which are hollowed out all over the track, it is advised to gather the men in groups of five, holding one to one another with a rope and thus lending each other mutual help.” Nineteen hundred and seventeen was, in fact, the year of offensives with long artillery preparations, which transformed the battle fields into masterpieces of devastation. The soil ploughed up by thousands of projectiles formed a vast field of hollows, filled with water by the autumn rains. Nothing else was seen in this desolate landscape but a few cut down trunks of trees and the monstrous concretes of the Germans, which were sometimes demolished and overturned.