The first and
second lines were taken without any trouble, and over we went into the
third. Some opposition was here met, but quickly overcome. The program
was repeated until the entire six lines of German trenches were in
Canadian hands, and late in the afternoon we were masters of the Ridge.
The personal comfort to the men taking a stroll through the streets of
Arras, after the Ridge was in our possession, had to be seen to be
appreciated. Heretofore such a thing as a pleasure walk or shopping tour
was out of the question, as the sniping was continuous, and the only way
now for Fritz to snipe the town was with his heavy naval pieces, six or
seven miles off, and as these visitors are a hundred times scarcer than
the callers from the short range boys, the peace and quiet of our
fellows were correspondingly increased one hundred fold.
No need now was there to hide our work in and around the coal mines, the
precious element being taken out of the bowels of bountiful nature in as
large abundance as was required; our hungry guns can now be supplied
with all the grub they require in any hour of the twenty-four; our wagon
lines moved forward behind the Ridge to a place of perfect security;
several army corps were released for service in other parts of the
lines, and the city of Lens, honeycombed with German soldiers, is
practically bottled up, they not daring to retreat, and it being
impossible for them to advance.
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