Gonnelieu neighbourhood, with the result that the Germans progressed in the direction of Villers Plouich, capturing the hamlet of La Vacquerie and thus rendering the position of the British troops defending Masnieres and Marcoing extremely precarious. Further fighting continued during the next few days, but the Germans' strength was exhausted and their losses had been severe.
It now became necessary for the British command to decide whether to embark on another offensive battle on a large scale, or to withdraw to a more compact line on the Flesquieres ridge. Although this decision involved giving up important positions won with great gallantry, withdrawal was undoubtedly the correct course under the conditions. Accordingly on the night of Dec. 4-5 the evacuation of the positions N. of the Flesquieres ridge was commenced, and on the morning of the 7th the with- drawal was completed successfully without interference from the enemy. Captured guns and material which could not be removed were destroyed.
The new line taken up corresponded roughly with the old Hindenburg Line from N.E. of La Vacquerie, N. of Ribecourt and Flesquieres to the Canal du Nord i m. N. of Havrincourt, i.e. about 2 to 2½ m. in front of the line held on Nov. 20 at the commencement of the operations.
These operations undoubtedly had a direct influence on the Italian campaign, by diverting reinforcements and suspending operations at a critical moment when the Allies were making their first stand on the line of the river Piave.
In the offensive it had been hoped by a powerful tank attack and surprise to break and turn the enemy's defences where he was least prepared, and thus created a favourable tactical situation which would place him at a great disadvantage. The failure to secure immediately the Bourlon locality was responsible for the inability to create such a situation, and this was due to the accident at Flesquieres, where one German officer handling a field gun put a number of the attacking tanks out of action by direct hits. Success had been very nearly complete.
During the whole of these operations the French were prepared to cooperate with a special force which had been brought forward in readiness, should an opportunity have occurred for exploitation. These troops, with the exception of a few guns which were utilized for defensive purposes subsequent to the German counter-offensive, were not brought into action and were eventually withdrawn.
These operations in the neighbourhood of Cambrai should be regarded as an incident in the great four and a half years' battle a surprise stroke followed by a rapid counterstroke in which although the British did not achieve their tactical object, the balance of advantage remained to a large extent in their hands. The Germans, though successful in their counter- offensive, were apparently not so successful as they had hoped to be.
The main objects of the attack had been attained. The initiative was retained and the enemy's plans deranged. German reinforcements were prevented from being despatched to the Italian front. The enemy had also been prevented from deliver- ing an attack on the French front, which would undoubtedly have produced disastrous results.
ARTS AND CRAFTS (see 2.700). As the "Arts and Crafts" movement grew out of impulses deeper than were, perhaps,
apparent in its first artistic issues, it has continued to react in
other directions. In the domain of general education its en-
livening influence has helped to insure the full recognition of
handwork, an educational medium that was in some quarters
tending to lapse into a mechanical exercise, as a most fruitful
means of artistic expression. This most important develop-
ment was a reflection of the art workers' direct efforts in educa-
tion, which aimed at a complete reorganization of the technical
and artistic training of young artisans on lines that were, in
effect, a revival, so far as was compatible with modern condi-
tions, of the ancient, well tried system of master-craftsman and
apprentice. Although not actually the first to put these prin-
ciples into practice the Technical Education Board of the L.C.C.
(whose functions are now absorbed by the London Education Committee) was the first public body in England to establish a school solely for this purpose. The Central School of Arts and Crafts, opened by the L.C.C. in 1896, at first under the joint direction of Sir George Frampton and Prof. W. R. Lethaby, afterwards under the latter alone, began the combined teaching of designing and making, of craftsmanship in the fullest sense of the word, in workshops specially equipped for the production of finished work of the finest type. The methods originated in the Central School were soon adopted in other places; new schools and classes rapidly sprang up in London and elsewhere, and students from the colonies, from almost every European country, from the United States and Japan, carried its in- fluence abroad. In 1900, when the Board of Education re- organized the training of teachers for State-aided schools of art, the courses for the diplomas in design and handicrafts at the Royal College of Art, South Kensington, had been taken over, in addition to his other responsibilities, by Prof. W. R. Lethaby. The students of the college, now trained in the practice of various crafts, have, as principals or teachers of provincial schools, infused a new spirit into the study of design wherever they have gone. In the field of art education the genius, knowledge and enthusiasm of Prof. W. R. Lethaby, follower of Morris, and one of the most prominent figures in the arts and crafts movement, have been factors of far-reaching influence.
Organization. Although the activities of craftsmen were necessarily restricted, or diverted into unusual channels, during the greater part of the ten years from 1910-20, the period as a whole showed progress in many directions. Local organiza- tions held exhibitions in most of the great cities of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and in many smaller centres. These, together with the steady growth of groups of workers associated together in the practice of some particular craft, or crafts, and the ever-increasing number of skilled individuals, greatly multiplied facilities for the exhibition, sale and purchase of attractive, serviceable goods. Much new work came to the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, the parent body, whose periodic shows fulfil a useful purpose in maintaining a high standard of current effort their main object. The exhibitions of the Home Arts and Industries Association, an amateur fore- runner of the arts and crafts movement, whose voluntary workers organize classes in village crafts; of the Women's Guild of Arts; and those of the more recently established National Federation of Women's Institutes, amongst others, have done useful work within their various, more restricted spheres of action.
The tenth exhibition of the Arts and Crafts Society, held in the New Grosvenor Gallery in 1912, continued in the form made familiar in previous years, gathering together into con- venient focus a varied assortment of the best achievement of the day. This in some measure prepared the way for a new and important departure. In 1913 the then recently established Exhibitions Branch of the Board of Trade included arts and crafts in the British section of a foreign international exhibition for the first time. The section organized by the Board at Ghent may be said to have recognized the value of the movement as a national asset, and to have introduced officially work of the kind usually seen in London to a European public. Here an attempt was made to unite the various exhibits into a concerted scheme, and to place different groups of crafts in definite rela- tionship to each other. A temporary building, of striking design, the work of Henry Wilson, the distinguished architect and metal worker, contained part of the exhibits. These changes showed the way to new methods of arrangement, and a more interesting form of setting, which were developed still further in future exhibitions. So great was the success of this venture that in the following year a great part of the collection, the best and most extensive that had yet been brought together, was, on the invitation of the directors of the Louvre, transferred to Paris. The special exhibition of British arts and crafts opened by the Board of Trade in the spring of 1914, in the Pavilion de Marsan of the Palais de Louvre, the home of the Musee
