The scene of General leMestre'a victory was the western end
of the narrow " Hog's Back " which rises up north of the Aisne and separ- ates that river-valley from the course of the Ailette, beyond which lies the plain surrounding the old hill-fortress of Leon. This steep ridge, some twenty miles long, has always been a vital part of the enemy's southern front in France. When he tell back from Noyon to the Forest of Coucy after the battle of the Somme, it became essential that ho should retain the ridge, traversed by the Chemin des Dames, to prevent his northern front from being enfiladed and lolled up. However, the French in their great offensives of last spring captured the centre and the eastern end of the ridge, as far as Craonne, and have since foiled the enemy's incessant efforts to regain the lost ground. Tuesday's advance completed the work begins last April, and made our Allies masters of virtually the whole ridge westward to Allemant, where the enemy line begins to turn northward.
