On the Champagne front French troops during the night of August 6, 1917, broke into the lines of the German Crown Prince at three points, inflicting severe losses on the enemy and bringing back prisoners. In the Verdun sector the Germans made futile attacks between Avocourt Wood and Hill 304. In Caurières Wood they gained a foothold for a time in the French first line, but were driven out by a counterattack on the following day (August 7).
The British front in Belgium to the north and east of Ypres was actively bombarded during the night of August 7, 1917. Near Lombaertzyde a British raiding party penetrated the German trenches and brought back prisoners and guns. In the early part of this same night the artillery on both sides was active over the Aisne front. Troops of the German Crown Prince attempted to reach the French lines to the east of Vauxaillon and west of the Californie Plateau but were driven back, their ranks shattered by the well-directed fire of the French guns. Other attempts at surprise attacks made by the Germans north of St. Mihiel and in upper Alsace were equally futile.
It was during the fighting at this time that the Germans introduced a curious device which they employed when withdrawing their batteries, and which would cause the opponents to believe that their guns were still in action. This was a mechanism with capsules filled with explosives which they placed on the site of the battery that had been, or was about to be, withdrawn. These capsules exploded at intervals of about half a minute, and heard at some distance would be mistaken for the reports of a field gun. Even an old campaigner would have been deceived by this device and led to believe that he was really facing artillery. By employing the mechanism the Germans were able to get their guns away unknown by their opponents, and it also prevented untimely attacks.
At an early hour in the morning of August 10, 1917, General Haig's troops by a dashing drive penetrated the German lines to a depth of several hundred yards, carrying completely the village of Westhoek and the remaining positions held by the enemy on Westhoek Ridge. Haig's successful stroke was delivered on a front of nearly two miles south of the Ypres-Roulers railway. Every forward position held by the Germans east of the town of Hooge on the fighting front between Frezenberg and the Ypres-Menin road was won. This section had been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting on the first day of the great Flanders battle. The terrain offered many obstacles in the way of attack. The wooded sections had been strongly fortified by the Germans, and south of Westhoek the ground was broken by marshes that made military operations difficult.