St. John's Daily Star, 1918-08-23

              The St. John's Daily Star Newfoundland VOLUME IV. ($3.00 per Annum) * FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1918. (PRICE: One Cent.) No. 185. GERMAN BATTLE LINE CRUMBLING UNDER HEAVY ALLIED ASSAULTS ALLIES CAPTURE 100,000 HUN PRISONERS IN MONTH Paris Aug. 2U-The Allied Taken More Than 100,000 Prisoners Since July 18, Says Marcel Hutin in The Echo De Paris. 'ALBERT, TAKEN BY THE BRITISH German Betrograde Movement Continues All Along the Frbnt with Allies Keeping up Constant, Harassing Assaults—British Cross Ancre River . ~ , ;J AMERICAN SOLDIERS PRAISED FOR THEIR FIGHT ING QUALITIES MEW YORK, Aug. 22 (By the Assodated Press)—The German battle line in.France is stilt Crumbling under the impetus of the. attacks of | the French and British. From the J region of Soissons aronnd the curve in the front to th<i vicinity, of Lassigny the enemy has been ' visited with further heavy defeats, while fazth« nortk .between Somme river at Bray to the soufh of Anas, Field Marshal Haig's men have continued their victorious thrusts On no sector of the front have trie Germans been able to stay their foes, who have captured a large number of additional towns and vantage points which in the further prosecution *i the offensive aTe of the-utmost strategic value. Nowhere is enemy being permitted to pause for breath. The, armies of Generals Rawlinson, Byng, Mangin and Humbert are pressing their advance with a strength that brooks no denial of their efforts. Thousands ef prisoners, numerous guns and machine gunsv and large stores of wax supplies have been added to file stocks already in allied hands as trophies of their valorous work since the tide of battle was turned against the enemy by the commencement of General Foch's offensive on the Marne on. July 18th. More Than 5,090 Prisoners. To the British alone in the last two days have come more than 5,000 prisoners. In a new offensive begun by Haig north of the Somme to Albert, an advance of two miles eastward already has been made over the six-mile front. In this fighting the town of Albert, on the Ancre, the keystone of the German defence protecting the Germane north of the Somme, has been taken. Here the British made 1400 Ge-rman prisoners. The Ancre river to the south of Albert was crossed by the British in their drive this morning, a serious menace to the enemy around Bray, where at last reports Americans were in their battle line. Deesperate resistance has been offered to the further advance of the British in the sector immediately south of Arras, where the important railroad town of Bapaume seems to be the immediate obective. Particularly fierce fighting occurred at Achiet le Grande, but although the, town changed hands many times, the advantage belonged to the British at last accounts. East of Bapaume. Further important penetrations of the enemy lines have occurred, and the British are operating well to the east of the Bapaume-Arras railway. Under the further progress of the French armies from the vicinity of Lassigny to Soissons, a mighty wedge seemingly had been driven in between the armies of General yon Beehm and the German crown prince. Over the entire front the Germans have been further pushed back, at some distances from two to three miles, and in the retrograde movement the enemy wa* forced to abandon large numbers of guns. Noyon is all but enveloped, and the hill and wooded country m this vicinity».*lmost cleared of the enemy. The Divette river bas been crossed •ad both.the Qbe *ad A3ettc rrecr*. hav.e been crossed, and -the onward thrust of die French on the eastern end of the line from Soissons north seems likely to bring about shortly the outflanking of the important town of Laon'and the forced retreat of the Germans "from the Vesle river northward across the Aisne. Viewed in all aspects, the allied offensive seemingly shows that General Foch now has the initiative entirely in his own hands, and that he purposes to press his advantage for the little more than two months of good fighting weather that remain before the winter season sets in. Indeed, it is not improbable that he may elect to keep after his quarry even when the cold descends. The Germans nowhere are standing with their usual zest. ro<-h ha' now a greatly strengthened army. The once narrow ribbon of foam, churned by the propellors of east-bound American troopships, has increased to great proportions, and sailing over this white line Foch is obtaining from across the seas the strengthening splendid manhood that will permit him to work out his strategy in his own time. Even the German newspapers now are accepting a? true, although reluctantly, the statement by the American secretary of war concerning the strength of the American forces in France. Some of them, however, DESPERATE RESISTANCE 1 Teutons Make Strenuous Efforts to Hold On in Bapaume Region, But! Are Overcome By British ENEMY DELIVER COUNTER ATTACKS DARIS, Aug. 22.—General Byng's ' army is encountering desperate I resistance in the region of Bapaume. ! Achiet-le-Grand changed hands sevjeral times late yesterday afternoon i and last night. The British are now !in that position. ■j The hostile artillery has been very j active throughout the night on the I battlefront and this morning fresh ! hostile counter-attacks are reported !to have developed opposite Mirau: mont and Irles. Between two thou:! sand and three thousand prisoners ■ J and a few guns were captured by us : in our operations yesterday. Further progress has been made by us to the east and northeast of Merville. Our troops are on the outskirts of Neuf Bevquin. Last night we attacked and captured a hostile strong point north of Bailleul. Strong local counter-attacks were delivered by the enemy yesterday morning against Locrehof Farm, northwest of Dranoutre. It was repulsed after shaTp fighting. Further fighting took place during the night in this sector. ■ «  TAKEN BY SUDDEN DASH. Fortified Petition Protecting Lassigny Overcome io Few Hoars. On the French Front in France, Aug. 22 (Havas)—The operation which resulted in the fall of Lassigny Wednesday began with a successful thrust from the west by a battalion of chasseurs. Divette wood, a strongly fortified position which had delayed the French advance for two .days was taken in a sudden dash and the battalion reached the outskirts of Lassigny on the west and the north. Meaenwhile other units composed of men from Brittany and Paris took the southern outskirts of Lassignand crossed through the town, chasing the Germans before them. By  a company of engineers had cleare< out the town and captured the la* enemy occupants who were hiding \n cellars. FIRED ON DUTCH RELIEF SHU Gasconier, Operated By Belgiaa R< Kef Commission, Sunk. London, An;* 22,—A despatch " the Exchange lehgraph from Copeu hagen, says the. Dutch steamer Gas comer, operated by the Belgian reliei commission reported as having struck a mine, was fired upon by a German submarine which also bombarded h?r lifeboats, one of which was destroyed. Several 4of the seamen were wounded. The despatch adds that the Dutch sailors made heroic attempts to save their comrades but that the first mate and five seamen who were wounded, were drowned. The steamer sank in twenty minutes. • ♦ »  A GREAT ADVANCE. Gen. Humbert's Army Has New j Reached the Aflette Rim. Paris, Aug. 22.—General Hum| text's army has made a great advance I between the Matz and Oise rivers j and has reached the Ailette river. The French military men say this makes the early fall of the town of Noyon inevitable. -■» ♦ * A Woman can't see how it is possible to lose in a game of chance. ENEMY FORCE WIPED OUT Allies Firmly Establish Themselves Along Nearly the Whole of the Railway Between Moyenville and Beauract. CASUALTIES ARE EXTREMELY LIGHT WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN " FIELD, Aug. 22 (Despatch from Reuters)—The position on Wednesday when the battle subsidedi between Moyenville and Beaeuract was that we had established ourselves along nearly the whole of the railway between these places. Except along the Miraumont sector, which was strongily garrisoned, our line runs aJong the I eastern slope of the Contour, between which and the Ancre the town was situated. We had fallen back in the vicinity of Achiet-le-Grand to the west of the railway skirting it and were maintaining a heavy machine gun barrage I upon the enemy who had concenj trated hereabouts. At Burrgard, bei tween Miraumont and Puissie Ux, after much sharp fighting the place, having changed hands successively, finally came into our possession. Thence the line bent out of Achietle-Petit to the railway which follows northwards. During the night the enemy bombed and bombarded new positions, but their work was child's play compared to the performances of our gunners and airmen. This morning the situation was quiet. Shortly after sunrise a counter-attack develop-; ed toward* the two flanks of our advanced lines, similar to the attack! against the Guards division by a bat- i talion of the 42nd German division, j which was so successfully repelled that the enemy force was wiped out. i None of these counter-attacks was j pushed home with great strength or j determination, nor have they any- i where been the direct cause of our I giving up ground. An operation launched on the high | ground between Albert and Bray was 1 eminently successful. Over 1,000 prisoners were taken, making a total with Genera! Byng's captures of 4,000 in all. There is an unconfirmed report that Albert is now completely in our hands. In Flanders we are advancing. Our casualties have been very light. FOUR VILLAGES TAKEN BY FRENCH French Tr»eps Maintain Their Contact With the Retreating Enemy Paris, Aug. 21.—French troops maintained contact with the retreating enemy between Matz and the Oise and east of the Oise during the night, according to *he official statement issued by the war office today. Four villages—Le Plamont, Thiescourt, Cannectancourt and Ville— were captured by the French, who have reached the Divette riveT. The statement says: The French have reached the Ois* on a six-rmiie front east of Noyon, their line extending from Sempegny to Bretigny. Further east the villages of Bourguignon and St. Paul aux Bois have been taken. Trie French reached the Ailette river at La Quincy Basse. The western outskirts of Pommieres on the Aisne, west of Soissons, have also been tak%n. CAPTURE HUN POSITION. British Make Gain frein Gemus South of Bailleul. London, Aug. 22.—1n the Flanders "battle area the British last night attacked and captured a German position south of Bailleul. according to advices from the front today. It is reported that a strong local counter-attack made yesterday morning against the Locre Hospice was repulsed after heavy fighting and thai sharp combats took place during the night in this sector. AviaUrj Bomb Flabeuville With the American Army in France. Aug. 21 (By the A. P.)— American aviators bombed Flabeuville in the department of Muerthe-et-MoseJle yesterday afternoon and secured many hits, some of them direct ones on the railroad tracks. The airplanes returned safely notwithstanding the heavy anti-aircraft fire directed against them. 'TRIUMPH" DESTROYS GRAND BANKS FLEET Entire Fleet of Maratime Fishing Corporation Wiped out by Hun Raider -7RAWLER ARMED BY CffiRMNAS DOES CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE PANSO. N. S.. Aug. 22.— The crew j of the fishing schooner Pasadena >t Mahone Bay, N. S.. arrived here it nine o'clock this morning and reported that their schooner had been j niuk about midnight last Tuesday on the middle ground fishing banks by the trawler Triumph. Sylvania Sank. Arichat, N. S., Aug. 22.—A power dory containing Captain Jeff Thomas, master of the Gloucester fishing schooner Sylvania, arrived here last evening, reporting that their vessel had been sunk by the armed trawler Tn- i umph at six-thirty o'clock yesterday! morning when on the fishing banks, ninety miles southeast by south ofi Canso. The remainder of the crew of the j schooner, nineteen men and a boy,! have not yet been reported. I>ut Cap- J tain Thomas believes they have landed safely at some small village on the Cape Breton coast. Montreal, Aug. 22.—Practically j the entire fleet of the Maritime Fish- j ! ing Corporation has been destroyed iby the trawler Triumph, which wa« captured by a German submarine and j armed, according to reports to the I company's ojffice here today. The j fleet was operating off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. It was composed of boats of both Canadian and American registry. All the Crew Safe. ' Atlantic Port, Aug. 22.—All the members of the Gloucester fishing I schooner Sylvania are reported safe I according to United States Consul : Freeman, here. The crew stated they j weire given but ten minutes to leave ; the ship and afteT getting away, saw the raider Triumph going eastwards 'toward a Lunenburg trawler. The J Germans said they had sunk a French ! trawler and one other fishing ship. !The Triumph was flying the Janisn flag. The Sylvania's crew was not given any time in which to get food. Meraj ber£ of the crew were seen in barb*r [shops here weiring long beards. ALLIES SMASH 6 HUN ARMIES Germans are Forced to Expend Effectives Out Of all Proportion to Their Resources In Order to Check Smashing blows of the Allies. MAY FORCE TEUTO NS TO RETIRE TO OLD HINDENBURG LINE DARIS, Aug. 22,--The allies havej damaged six German arrfiies since JuJy 15th, and the British are now • eating into the seventh with the' spread of the battle northward and over a front of seventy miles. Whclh-: er the enemy is prepared or unpre-' pared, allied efforts have had the same results and the Germans have been out-generalled and out-fought.l The armies attacked and damagedl in the past six weeks haVe been those ! of Gmerafs yon Einem, yon Mudra, yon Boehm, yon Eben, yon Hutier and yon Dcr Marwit/.. 1 he full designs of Marshal loch are known only to himseii and perhaps one or two others, but it is believed generally that his aim is not,' a? the Germans claim, *.o pierce their line, but to strike a succession of! blows, to cause the enemy irreplac- , able losses in men and materia! ?i ! to force liitr. to make more or less disastrous retreat. If that be themarshal's plan he is pursuing it with skill and unvarying successes. General Ludendorff is being forced ' i to expend his effectives out of alfi > proportion to his resources on a given j in;jor i>l ll'c iront. after which another L>lo\v is struck home on another sector. A; no place have the Germans apparently been strong enough to check the attack entirely. ,0n Wednesday the German resistance was most desperate on the right of General Mangm's army in ihe neighborhood of juvigny, the salteut marked by the villages o! Juvigny, Ozly and Pasty would become untenable for Genera! yon Lbon. who would be obliged to retrectl !» the Soisso«ii-Cou.:y la Chilean ro id. The German situation there is unenviable at present, but would become still worse as the French progressed. The Germans also would have Ip abandon thf Vfsle-Aisne \hve and go bark to the Chemin de* Darrres. Military observers, \v!io arc of an optimistic turn oi' mind, are convinced that the (Germans wiU end their defence by falling Lick to the old Hindenbuig line all along the iront at no'very dislant d;;tr. While thut may be so the enemy shows nc> signs at present of doing so "voluntarily and is fighting stubbornly and skillfully, yielding only when outmanoeuvered and outtought. THE WAR SITUATION  (By J. T. M.) I STEADILY Foch is applying the pressure of his armies to the Teu ton battle Iront. and gradually extending the area of his operations. The uniformity of his success, and the f.rmness with which every mile gained has been held since he ordered the at tack on the crown prince's armies in the Marne salient, shows no indications of haphazard enterprises ,but i bear evidence of the execution of a well-planned programme under the | guiding hand of a military genius. The advances recorded in the ov- , ernight cables indicate not merely a retreat of the enemy from menacrd positions, but a surprising col-1 j lapse of his defence on sectors the « natural defensive strength of which i should make the capture of them an ; undertaking that would test the as- , saulting strength of the allies fdr -, days, or even weeks. | I The towns named in the despatch- ] es, dealing with the advance east of < the Oise, are along the south of the ( Aiiette river between Breligny and the | Soissons-Laon railway, which runs | from Soissons north to the Ailette at, i Anizy, which is ten miles northeast of j i Soissons. thence northeasterly to La- i en. a distance of seven miles. ■, The positions outlined by the ( cables to hand show that the French! have reached the south bank of the ; Ailett,e on a front of approximately \ ten wiles, from Bretigny southearser- I ly. Having crossed the river Ail- < ette on this sector they will prob-;; ably push forward to Folembray.j, Courcy, Brancourt and Aaizy. which j < will give them a firm foothold on the 1 north bank of the Ailette, and place ( the Oise-Laon railway within their j lines. Here, however, they will be;< confronted by an extensive wooded ji tract along high land immediately i i northeast of them, extending over the j t greater part of the ten-mile area be-:; twten Ljhmi and La Fere. Advance ;j effainst the German positions uj that I zone of thr fieLi vruld be oi the most difficult nature. ' *"T The reports to u«ud show that the most probable direction of advance from the Ailette wiH be easterly via Vauxiilon,, Chavignon, and Anizy, a course whkh follows the Ailette valley through the Chemin-des-Dames sector. Their position at the junction of the Oise and Ailette. makes Noyon untenable, and \\* p.vvjfjuatvoTi is one of the probabilities of the neit twer.: four hours, ii it has not already be€B abandoned. Fhe capture of Nbyon by the allies will open the road for an important advance along the Oise in the direction of La. Fere, which is row ten miles northeast of the allies' advanced position on the Oise-Ail' ette sector. Manic amp. Abbeourt. and Autreville will probably fall to the allies soon after the evacuation of Noyon. This will make such a *ali> ont in the German left flank position on the Oise front that their hold on Roye and Chaulnes will become very precarious. Clinging to the northern vicinity of Noyon would not appear to offer them any advantage except to shield Roye and cfceck the French advance along the east side of the O»se from the north of the Ailette. But in holding their lines in that area after the l\; of Noyon they would be risking a turning movement from the Oise which, if carried out concurrently with a break through at Roye, would inevitably result in a debacle, and the probable capture of a large part of their forces between Roye and Abfeecourt on the Oise. As long as, they hold Roye am! Chaulnes a stiff defence of thrir whole line from Chauine: to the o:ce is possible, but with these positions in the hands of the allies .the German ?crvantage wouW apfW-ar to !i» in a speedy retreat to the Sena? froro fC L'Ht 2) (ANOTHER BIG 1 SHIPMENT of the I I FAMOUS HIPRESS I I RUBBER BOOTS. I Its a downright pleasure ■Hf7 own boots like these. Wns They absolutely over- :,: come every weakness of Kj *^c £ty!e black  *T \ rubber boots. %k vJμ a** t a a ' I «, ■*^*i*iiw'< "------":------wwC.in — #\r«ri>- t — .' '~- l+veheti. most ln"fr^£<!*y//*»t ■'■ •"s,, .-"».:.u«iiy . _ vime steck th«t CT>»<ikli ') ires *r-'. 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