On the 28th, the advance continued on the left, in co-operation with the Belgians. The French took the village of Luyghem, and the Belgians Vyfhuyzen. The British, on their part, advanced in the direction of Passchendaele, as far as the southern slopes of the village, capturing a whole series of positions east of Poelcappelle. On October 30, British and Canadians continued their attacks, and in spite of the enemy's desperate resistance, reached the first houses of Passchendaele. [Illustration: FRENCH TROOPS PASSING IN FRONT OF THE RUINS OF YPRES CLOTH HALL] On the following days they improved their positions. The struggle at this juncture was very bitter, Hindenburg having shortly before issued an order stating: "_Passchendaele must be held at all costs, and retaken if lost._" On the morning of November 6, the British resumed the offensive. The Canadians, after bloody engagements to the north and north-west of Passchendaele, captured the hamlets of Mosselmarkt and Goudberg, and finally carried Passchendaele. On the evening of November 6, Ypres was completely cleared; and from the top of the Passchendaele Hills the valiant British troops could see, stretching away to the horizon, the Plain of Flanders, which had been hidden from the Allies since October, 1914. [Illustration: PREPARATION OF THE GERMAN OFFENSIVE OF APRIL 9, 1918. THE OBJECTIVE] [Illustration: SCHERPENBERG HILL] =The German Offensive of 1918= The front was quiet during the winter of 1917--1918, but 1918 opened darkly for the Allies. The Treaty of Brest-Litowsk had sealed the defection of Russia, while Roumania, reduced to her own resources, was forced to sign the Treaty of Bukarest. Lastly, invaded Italy was only just recovering from the disaster at Caporetto. Already, in spite of the terms of the Brest-Litowsk Treaty, huge masses of troops, guns and stores were being despatched to the Western Front. The blow fell on March 21, 1918. The objectives, three in number, were the smashing of the British right wing at its junction with the French; the separation of the two Allied army groups; the driving back to the Channel coast of the two British armies, after they had been surrounded on the south. The long-coveted road "_Nach Paris_" would then at last be open. But in spite of their colossal efforts the Germans were held. By March 31, the German Imperial forces were exhausted, and General Foch was able to say: "_The wave has spent itself on the beach._" The peril seemed to be averted. But the respite was only a short one. The German attack before Amiens was scarcely stayed (April 6) when the battle suddenly broke out again. From the Arras sector to La Bassée the whole line was ablaze as far as the Lys. While, in the first German offensive the British right had suffered severely, it was against the left wing of the same army that the new blow was struck. The new offensive, although quickly prepared, was even more violent than the first.