Turn back to the map on page 223 and find the village of Souchez. South and east of this village you observe that there is high ground, which is nowhere more than 400 feet above sea-level. This high ground is known as the Vimy Heights, from the name of the village which you see by the side of the railway line running from Arras to Lens. On 26th September the French began to attack these heights, and by the morning of the 29th had fought their way up them foot by foot, and were in a position to command the railway from Lens to Arras. I wish I had space to describe this fine achievement fully. As, however, this book is specially meant for British boys and girls, I must pass over the splendid work done by the French in capturing the Vimy Heights, and turn to the exploits of our own men. By winning the Vimy Heights the French had cut off Lens from Arras; the British were now to try to cut off Lens from La Bassée. Look carefully at the map on page 349 and follow the German first line of trenches from north to south. Less than a mile and a half south of the canal, and about half a mile inside the German line, you see a position marked Fosse 8, and south of it the Hohenzollern Redoubt. Fosse 8 was a great slag heap which commanded the country to the south and had been strongly fortified. The Hohenzollern Redoubt was a pear-shaped stronghold situated on a gentle rise about 500 yards in front of the line. Its broad end pointed northwards and it had a clear field of fire before it, every inch of which could be swept by the machine guns inside. The whole position was criss-crossed by trenches and resembled the famous Labyrinth. It was connected with the main line by two trenches. That which ran to the rear from the south end was called "Big Willie," and the corresponding trench at the north end was known as "Little Willie." South of the Hohenzollern Redoubt the line ran along the western slope of the downs which you see marked on the map. Then the line curved westwards, passing the Loos Redoubt, and after crossing the Béthune-Lens road, curved back eastwards in front of what was known as Double Crassier,[75] another slag heap which had been strongly fortified. Now look at the German reserve line, which was roughly parallel with the front line, and from less than a mile to two miles behind it. Notice the Quarries, which had been turned into a stronghold, and the mining village of Loos, which lies in a shallow hollow. Behind the village rises Hill 70, on which there was a strong redoubt. [Illustration: Battle of Loos.--The Front from La Bassée to Lens.] Now follow the third line. Behind it you will see a string of mining villages--Haisnes,[76] Cité St. Elie, and Hulluch. The line crossed the Lens-La Bassée road at Hulluch and then ran a little east and south behind a chalk pit and Pit No. 14. The villages and the pits which I have mentioned were fortresses, and there were numerous other mounds and hillocks that had been turned into strongholds.