<– Part 160 – August 12, 1917  | Part 161 – August 19, 1917 |  Part 162 – August 26, 1917 –>

At Mărășești, the Romanians have assumed full control of the joint forces with Russia and have completely halted the German-Austrian advance, while beginning their own. At nearby Oituz, the elite Romanian mountain troops, the “Vânători de munte”, arrived following a 100-mile forced march. After a 20 minute rest, they assaulted the mountain peak and broke through enemy defenses. Elsewhere, however, Romanian reinforcements failed to achieve ground against the defenders. Yet the Allies seem to be halting the Central Powers’ advance, which is losing steam.

On August 15, at Ypres, Canadian forces were sent to capture Hill 70 to draw German soldiers away from the Ypres salient. Attacking at 4:25 A.M., they reached their second line of goals within two hours and began defensive preparations. German counter-attacks were repelled later that morning. Since then, the past few days have seen attacks and counterattacks, with neither side gaining much ground, despite German use of Yellow Cross mustard gas. Both sides have halted the past day, no doubt revising their plans.

At Langemarck, near Ypres, the Allies have launched a large offensive August 16 to drive German forces back and keep the pressure on them at all sectors. The new Allied plans call for sophisticated artillery calculations, allowing infantry to advance much closer to the barrage, be shielded by smoke screens when halting, and to form flanking units when adjacent units are slowed by defenders. The British have made some advance, although the German Fourth Army halted any significant gains. FIghting seems to have ended two days later.