Nelson's history of the war. Vol. XI., The struggle for the Dvina, and the great invasion of Serbia

COUNTER-STROKES IN THE WEST. 107

front crumbling before the impact of the hostile wedges. Their counter-attack must be delayed for days till fresh troops were collected, and by that time the chance had gone. The Allies had consolidated their new positions, and the revanche had lost the advantage of surprise. It was now no more than a fresh attack on the familiar plan against a prepared enemy. It was the game which the Allies had already played, but in German hands it lacked vigour and drive, for it was played by tired men who had lost the initiative.

Such was the nature of the counter-strokes in which the great battles of September died away. They were varied by further Allied efforts, but the fury of the first assault had gone from the Western front. The entanglement in the Balkans had distracted the energies of the High Commands, and bade fair to weaken their armies. The second combined blow on the German fortress, which it was hoped would follow before the autumn’s end, must now be postponed to the new year. Yet the series of lesser actions during October was full of interest, for it illuminated the whole German position and the mind of their General Staff. The Allies were enabled to judge with some fairness the offensive capacity left to the laboured German defence.

It is not yet possible to state exactly what reinforcements at the end of September reached the Germans in the West. At least six divisions were brought from the Russian front, and as many more were collected from the German depots. Most of these reserves went to Champagne, where the strategical menace was greatest. But the northern section was also strengthened, and on the after-