And the most gratifying feature of the drive was the insignificant loss to the Allied forces. The resistance at first had been only slight, and even in the second phase of the battle it had been so quickly overcome that few of the attacking troops had fallen. Seldom had so great an advance been made at so small a price.
But modern warfare has its limits in the matter of time and speed. The very swiftness with which they had advanced had in itself an element of danger because it had brought them too far ahead of their supporting guns. These had to be brought up from the rear, and the captured positions had to be reorganized. The troops, too, had to be given a breathing spell, for they had reached the limit of human endurance.
So a halt was called, and the wearied men took turns in resting and refreshing themselves for the hard work that still lay ahead of them.
"A mighty good morning's work," panted Frank, as he threw himself down at the roots of a giant tree which had been utterly stripped of branches and even of bark by the tempest of fire that had raged around it.
"Ask a German and see if he'd agree with you," said Billy with a grin.
"We've got plenty to ask," said Tom, as his eyes roved over the throng of prisoners. "We sure have taken a raft of them this morning. And there's a still bigger bunch that will never answer roll call again."
There was food in plenty, but they did not have to avail themselves of the rations they carried in their kits. There were the camp kitchens of the enemy that in a twinkling were set to work, and soon the savory odors of steaming stews and fragrant coffee filled the smoke-laden air and brought joy to the hearts of the victors.
Frank, Bart, Billy and Tom were lucky enough to stumble on a meal that had already been started for some German officers, and they were surprised to find it so good and abundant.
"The Germans may be starving, but there's no sign of it here," remarked
Frank, as he threw himself down on the ground with a sigh of relief.
"Trust the Huns to look after their soldiers, even if the civilians starve," replied Bart. "The people don't count in Germany. Only the military are taken seriously. They take the middle of the sidewalk and others are crowded to the wall."