Three assault divisions were to have carried the Vimy Ridge, while other divisions were to have captured Arras and the line of the Scarpe.

The attack was carried out with the greatest fierceness, men marching shoulder to shoulder into the furnace of battle.

But this time there was no fog to shield them, or to blind the British guns.

The enemy losses were appalling, and after one day's fighting, in spite of the more northerly attacks on our line still to come, the German hopes of _victory_ were in the dust, and--as we now know--for ever.
That is what Vimy means--what Arras means--in the fighting of last year.

We ponder it as we drive through the wrecked beauty of Arras and out on to the Douai road on our way to Valenciennes.