Liquid Fire (Flammenwerfer) 153 Conclusion 156 Index 161 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE GÉNÉRAL DE DIVISION--RENÉ RADIGUET _Frontispiece_ Former Commander of the 21st Division (Marne), French Army BATTLEFIELD OF THE FRENCH OFFENSIVE OF THE 22D OCTOBER, 1917 15 AILLES AND ITS WESTERN APPROACH--FEBRUARY 10, 1917--2.30 P.M. 54 SOUTH-EAST OF AILLES--FEBRUARY 10, 1917--2.30 P.M. 58 SOUTH-EAST OF LA BOVELLE FARM--FEBRUARY 10, 1917--2.30 P.M. 62 DIAGRAM OF CAMPAIGN INTRENCHMENTS 66 URTEBIZE--JANUARY 29, 1917--12.30 P.M. 118 LA BOVELLE--DECEMBER 20, 1916--3 P.M. 122 SOUTH OF LA BOVELLE FARM--JANUARY 29, 1917--12.30 P.M. 126 WEST OF AILLES--APRIL 24, 1917--10.00 A.M. 128 LA BOVELLE--MAY 5, 1917--10.30 A.M. 130 NORTH OF LA BOVELLE--APRIL 24, 1917--10 A.M. 132 LA BOVELLE--MAY 5, 1917--10.30 A.M. 134 TRENCH “BATTEMBURG”--MAY 4, 1917--NOON 138 WEST OF AILLES--MAY 4, 1917--NOON 140 VIEW TAKEN ABOUT 10 A.M. DURING THE ATTACK OF MAY 5, 1917 142 VIEW TAKEN ABOUT 10 A.M. DURING THE ATTACK OF MAY 5, 1917 144 VIEW TAKEN ABOUT 10 A.M. DURING THE ATTACK OF MAY 5, 1917 146 The Making of a Modern Army SYNOPSIS OF THE PRINCIPAL MILITARY OPERATIONS OF THE ALLIES ON THE WESTERN FRONT It has often been said that after the battle of the Marne the Germans were virtually beaten. The feats of the German armies since that day on such numerous and varied fields, the strength that they have so often been proven to possess, prevent us from concurring in that opinion. We believe that their defeat will be due to the accumulation of the mistakes they have made. In September, 1914, their superiority in numbers and in armament was considerable. Their armies were holding in France positions that enabled them, after a rapid reorganization, to assume a new and vigorous offensive against the French Army, their sole adversary at that time in the West. The inconceivable pride of the German military party had encouraged it to despise the enemy, and to blindly undertake that formidable rush through Belgium for the capture of Paris. This dream vanished under the blows struck by General Joffre and his marvellously responsive armies. Her hatred for England in the first place, and in the second, her thirst for conquest, were about to lead Germany to commit serious blunders, and to lose the prize by grasping at its shadow.