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IV 
THE WESTERN FRONT. 
The only news of interest upon the .Western 
front at the moment of writing (Tuesday evening) 
is the capture by the French of Regnieville, a sue- 
Metz 
Jt.Mihiel 
PotitaMou$$on 
V 
cess which they achieved last Saturday, following 
upon their capture of Fey en Haye, two days 
before. 
Slow as are the results of all this siege work, 
the particular advance in question may quite pos- 
sibly prove of importance to the near future, and 
in order to understand why this should be so, one 
has but to grasp the elements in this elementary 
sketch. 
We all know that the Germans have for six 
months occupied a curious wed^e pushing up to the 
Mouse at the Bridge of St. Mihiel. The effort they 
made was a considerable one with large forces, 
and its object has long been clear. If ever they 
had the good luck to be able to take a vigorous 
offensive in the West again, it would greatly in- 
crease their power if they could invest the fortress 
of Verdun, and so make the whole French line fall 
back. In order to effect this, they advanced in 
September in great force up to the point of St. 
Mihiel, on the Meuse, and held it. Meanwhile, 
much further along their front (which is indicated 
on the accompanying diagram with a double line) 
they proposed, by attacking vigorously from the 
Argonne, which lies to the west of Verdun, 
to complete the ring. The wedge at St. 
Mihiel was a sort of buckle to which they 
desired to fit the strap by pushing down 
from the north-west. In this attempt they have 
been quite unsuccessful. They have, if anything, 
gone back in tlie Argonne. They lost Vauquois 
a fortnight ago, and their line through the woods 
is bent where two months ago it was straight, but 
6* 
