The first objective having been taken, the 199th Brigade, according to plan, took up the attack, leap-frogging the South African and 198th Brigades, and by 11 a.m. had taken Serain and reached the final line. For a little its left flank was exposed, for Villers-Outréaux was still in German hands. By three in the afternoon, however, the V. Corps had succeeded in carrying that village, and the XIII. Corps was able to establish itself securely east of Prémont and Serain. It had been a day of unblemished success. Haig and Débeney had advanced between three and four miles, and the Siegfried zone had disappeared in a cataclysm. The enemy was falling back to the Oise and the Selle, and for the moment was in dire confusion. Every road converging upon Le Cateau was blocked with troops and transport, and our cavalry were galloping eastward to harass the retreat. Next day Cambrai fell, and the Germans retired behind the line of the Selle. The war of positions had ceased, and the combatants were now in open country. [Sidenote: _Oct. 9._] On the 9th Byng and Rawlinson pressed their advantage against the stricken enemy, who had no position on which he could stand, short of the Selle river. The South Africans began the day in reserve, the attack on Maretz being conducted by the 198th and 199th Brigades. By 10 o’clock Maretz, Avelu, and Elincourt had fallen, and half an hour later the South Africans passed through the two brigades and moved against the second objective, a line east of Maurois and Honnechy and Gattignies Wood. There was some hope that before nightfall the crossings of the Selle might be seized and the ridge to the east, which, it was clear, were the immediate objects of the German retreat. But though the enemy was disordered, he was not in rout, and his machine gunners fought stubborn rearguard actions. The 2nd Regiment on the right, now under Major Sprenger, came under heavy fire as soon as it emerged from the eastern skirts of Maretz. As its left approached Gattignies Wood, it was strongly opposed by machine guns and snipers, but by the assistance of two armoured cars the southern part of the wood was cleared. On the right the advance was held up for half an hour by enemy posts along the Le Cateau railway. To add to Sprenger’s difficulties, the 4th Regiment, under MacLeod, on his left was compelled to veer north towards Bertry, since the troops on its left had fallen slightly behind and got out of touch. He was compelled to bring up one of his supporting companies, and presently established his line on the Cambrai railway, where many machine guns and prisoners were taken. Before him lay the villages of Maurois and Honnechy, which appeared to be lightly held, since some of the houses were flying white flags. Sprenger, with three companies in line and one in support, moved through the village with little opposition, and was received with wild enthusiasm by the French inhabitants. It was the first time the South Africans had