In concluding the account of the battle of the Artois it may be admitted that the French had won what has been called a brilliant victory, but it had not been a complete success. They had made an end of the German salient; and only the last defense of Lens remained. How much they had reduced the pressure on Russia is problematical; but there is little doubt they had prevented the Germans from continuing the offensive on the Ypres front. They estimated the German loss at 60,000; and, by a peculiar coincidence, the Crown Prince of Bavaria, whose armies they fought, estimated the French loss at the same figure--60,000. It is known they lost many men in the hand-to-hand struggles; but their great forward movement was so well protected by their artillery that the French loss there was comparatively slight. Some idea can be gained from the fact that one French division killed 2,600 of their enemy and captured 3,000 prisoners with a loss of only 250 slain and 1,250 wounded. But the greatest gain to the French was probably the fact that the battle of the Artois had proved to the soldiers of the republic that their artillery was the equal of the German, which had been the arm in which the Teutons excelled. It also proved that the Germans could not intrench themselves in any manner that was impregnable to the French; for they had taken the Labyrinth, a most complicated series of military engineering feats which were supposed to be able to withstand any assault. And lastly, and perhaps of most importance to the French, the belief in the superiority of the German soldier, as a result of 1870 was shattered in the mind of the Frenchman. CHAPTER XX BRITISH FORWARD MOVEMENT--BATTLE OF FESTUBERT