St. John's Daily Star, 1918-09-09

              The St. John's Daily Star Newfoundland VOLUME IV.  ($3.00 per Annum)  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1918. (I^ROBS:—Strong Winds; Showery.) ' No. IMP" ALLIES CONTINUE ADVANCE MANY IMPORTANT TOWNS ARE CAPTURED BY THE ALLIES ENEMY MAY TRY TO HOLD ON THE OLD HINDENBURG LINE FRENCH AND BRITISH CAPTURE MANY IMPORTANT VILLAGES , ;♦• Terganier, Haucourt, Sorel- i le-Grand and Metz Have Been Captured By British Forces. PUSH TOWARDS MESSINES RIDGE Sept. 7 (official)— Fighting their way towards the left flank of the German positions along the Canal Dv Nord, from Havrincourt northward, the British penetrated the western part of Havrincourt wood, taking prisoners as they progressed.In Flanders the British are pushing; towards Messines near the south end cf the Messines ridge, and advanced j their lines last night.a, short distance | in the direction of the town. North of Laßassee Canal on the Flanders front their patrols made I.eadway in the enemy positions in the vicinity of Cateleux and Violanes. British troops advancing last night j, en the southeast and northeast of \ > Peronne, captured the towns of Han- j ] court, Sorel-le-Grand, and Metz en I Coulture, says today's official war : announcement. Terganier, three miles west of La Fere, has been captured by French lioops. OfT.cials Called Up. Amsterdam, Sept. B.—A large number of German officials in Belgium have been called up for military service, according to The Nieue Rotterdam Courant. Their places are to be taken by women. At  Hamel, Vaux Fluguires, Dury and Ollezy Are Occupied by French—Overcome Bitter Resistance. GAINED GROUND WEST OF SERVIAS [ pARIS, Sept. 7.—On the front between the Somme and the Oise the French continued to press forward last night, overcoming the resistance of the German rearguard, according to today's war office re, port. Pushing east of Ham, French troops have occupied the towns or Dury and Ollezy, more than three miles beyond Ham. North of the Somme we carried Vaux Fluquires and Hcppencourt. Last of here we captured Hamel. South of the Somme the enemy offered bitter resistance. Avesnes was retaken by the Germane but was again iecaptured by us. We gained ground on both sides of the Oise east of Fargniers and west of Servais. The French troops have captured the village of Mennesk about four miles north of Tergnier and on the St. Quentin canal. Further south they have penetrated to the northern fringe of the St. Cobain forest up to the outskirts of the village of Servais. According to the French communication issued today. The text of the statement reads: North of the Oise the French troops have captured the village of Mennessis, and are along the canal St. Quentin. South of the Oise the French have rrade progress to the outskirts o! Servais in the region of Laffaux as well as north of Celles Sur Aisne we maintained our positions in spite of several German counter attacks. We look prisoners during two surprise attacks we delivered in Champagne. « «—■— JOINS WITH GERMANY  Paris, Sept. 7—A treaty  of alliance has been con-  eluded between Germany  and Finland under which  The entire manpower of  Finland is put at Ger-  many's disposal, accord-  ing to a despatch to The  Matin from Copenhagen.  mmuniiii'iiiili'it ALLIES HOLD INITIATIVE ;General Ludendorff Believes German Retreat Has Ended—Will Endeavor to Make Stand. FRENCH CONTIUE THEIR ADVANCE I ONDON, Sept. B.—A statement in the German communique that we are everywhere in our new positions is interpreted here as implying that General Ludendorff is in the belief that the German retirement is now ended and that it is his intention to try and make a stand on the present line. The artillery is thundering along the whole battlefront, as it has not done for several weeks, and the general indications are that the German counter-attacks and other activity confirm General Ludendorff's supposed intention. No belief is, however, expressed here but that the allies are still holding the initiative and will compel the enemy to continue his retirement. It is pointed out that although the Germans are still holding the Messines Ridge, forming the northern bulwark of their line the French seem to be steadily manoeuvering them from before the Laon-La Fere position and the St. Gobain forest which form the southern buttress of the Hindenburg line, and there are no indications of any cessation of this pressure.i> — - Bolsheviki Beaten Back Amsterdam, Sept. 6.—lnsurgent peasants have captured Nizhui Novrogod, according to a Moscow despatch to an Essen newspaper. The town was partly destroyed and the Soviet troops were forced to retire The Rhine Front FRENCH ADVANCE 4 MILES ON TWENTY MILE FRONT - 51 North of Quincy French- Have Passed Beyond the Villages of Aulers— Conde Sur Aisne is Now in Possession of the French. LONDON, Sept. 7.—The French have advanced on a twenty mile front to an average depth of two miles and at some places to a depth of four miles. They occupied Terneger without opposition. They have pushed east of this village to the railway and canal. North of the Ailette the lower forest of Coucy is entirely in French hands as well as Barisis, which was captured in heavy fighting, notwithstanding the stubborn resistance of the enemy. North of Quincy Bas the French have passed beyond the villages of Aulers and Bassoles Aulers. South of the Nateuil LaFosse, Conde Fort and Conde Sur Aisne are ours. There is no change notth of the Vesle. French In 1917 Line Required Four Days Hard Fighting to Gain Five Hundred Yards. WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES IN " FRANCE, Sept. 8 (By the A. P.) —The troops of General Mangin, between the Aisne and the Oise river, are now virtually behind their own entanglements in their old trench of 1917. All along the edge of the forest of Coucy and through the western horn of the St. Gobain forest the Germans are only two hundred yards away and in some places they are in positions in the old Hindenburg line that aTe plainly visible from thz heights west of Chateau Coucy,, the Oiee, the Aisne and the River Ailette that runs between the heights and the Chateau and which forms a sort of advance post of their main lineysht miles further back at Fresnes. i The divisions that tried to prevent i the crossing of the canal and river, ! the v Associated Pi< " GOtfesfoadeat ; was informed by a French officer, who has participated in most of the campaigns of the war, accomplished the greatest concentration of machine gun fire that has been witnessed in this war. The French troops were , obliged to face that fire at a range , of twenty yards in order to cross the . Oise-Aisne canal and the River ' Ailette. j Pioneers throwing bridges over the canal seventeen yards wide suffered not only from the quick firers but ( were in good range of German gren- j ades. It required two days to advance ( to the Ailette from the village Pont , Saint Mard and four days to gain , five hundred yards of ground. i —•-*  Americans Capture Prisoners i Washington, Sept. B.—The capture by American troops of the vil- \ lage of Muscourt with fifty prisoners j is announced tonight at the war de- \ partment. < ~- I Assassin Executed i Amsterdam, Sept. B.—Dora Kap- 1 ian the alleged assailant of the 80l- I shevik premier, Lenine, was executed on September 4, according to a Moscow despatch to The Lokal An- i z*eger of Berlin. '* NFLD. SCHOONER BELIEVED LOST Wreckage Picked Up Off a Canadian Atlantic Port A Canadian Atlantic port, Sept. y —A schooner, believed to be "The Belle of Burgeo," of Burgeo, Newfoundland, has been sighted floating bottom up in the vicinity of dangerous ledges near here. It is supposed that the vessel which looks to be a craft of about eighty tons, capsized in the gale last night and that hfcr crew were drowned. Fishermen along the shore this morning picked up several pieces ol wood, one with the word "Belle" and another "Burgeo." The surface of the sea in the vicinity is covered with oil. The schooner "Belle of Burgeo" sailed from this port yesterday with a general cargo, including a quantity of oil for Newfoundland. ENEMY MM TRY TO RESIST ALLIES ON HINDENBURG LINE m  If Germans Plan To Resist on Hindenburg line Supreme Test of the War will come-French, Continue To Make Successful Advances ENEMY DEFEAT WOULD MEAN RETIREMENT FROM FRENCH SOIL P ARIS, Sept. 8.—The allied advance continues along •*■ the entire front in the direction of Cambrai, St. Quentin, La Fere, Anizyle Chateau, and the Chemin dcs Dames, according to the latest advices. The French and British troops, nevertheless, are meeting with stubborn resfsTSTTce, in which intense artillery activity is being carried out. This resistance is taken as an indication that the enemy intends to make a stand along this line which roughly follows the old Hindenburg entrenchments. General Humbert army still continues its pressure against Tergnier and La Fere. The operations towards the encirclements of the St. Gobain forest are giving the allies a strong position. If the enemy loses much more ground in this region his defense of the Chemin dcs Dames and the Plateau of Craonne will fail, says Marcel Hutin, editor of The Echo de Paris. General Mangiirs army is still making progress*ar. t-he right t>l army o-f Geitmri-Humbert and advancing on the Soissons Plateau. Military commentators say that if it is Ludendorff's plan to resist on what remains of the Hindenburg line, it will be a supreme test, and will mean the enemy's retirement from the soil of France if Ludendorff is not able to retain his grasp of the line. BRITISH COLONY IN GRAVE DANGER Entente Residents in Petrojrad Are All Under Arrest London, Sept. 7.—News of the grave situation of British residents in Russia reached London Friday and has caused great anxiety. The Daily fcxpress says the entire British colony in Petrograd is under arrest, including consul Woodhouse. Matters at Moscow are still more alarming, according to the newspaper, which says the Bolshevik there have acted in fierce hostility toward the British and French residents. It adds that full details have not been received, but that enough is known to cause the worst fears. The paper lacks news concerning the fate of certain officials. i >  19,000 HUNS CAPTURED Enemy Offers Increased Resistance, But Entente Advance Troops Steadily Push Forward, HOSTILE ATTACKS ARE REPULSED I OiNDON, Sept. B.—On the southern portion of the battlefront our troops have now entered the area of the defence systems constructed by us prior to the German March offensive. The enemy is offering increased resistance among these prepared defences and sharp fighting has taken place today at a number of points. Our advanced troops are pressing forward, and have gained ground in the direction of Vermand, Hesbecourt and Epehy. Local hostile attacks were repulsed south of Ploegsteert and east of Wulverghem. On the remainder of the British front there is nothing of special interest to report. The number of prisoners captured by the British troops in France during the frrst week of September exceeded 19,000. « »  British Take Villeveque German Retreat Continues Under Constant Pressure of the Allies. I ONDON, Sept. B.—The capture by the British by nightfall yesterday of Villeveque, St. Emile and the greater part of Havrincourt wood is reported in today's official despatches from Field Marshal Haig. On the whole front south of Havrincourt the German retreat continues under close and canstant pressure of our troops. We have reached the line of Beauvois Boisel and Havrincourt wood. In frequent encounters with the German rear guards our advanced detachments are taking prisoners and inflicting numerous casualties. North of Havrincourt our troops have captured a strong point known as the spoilheap on the west bank of the Canal Dv Nord opposite Hermies, taking a number of prisoners and machine guns. The stocks of coal and road metal which has fallen into our hands together with large quantities of other, war material prove that it was the enemy's intention to remain in occupation of the Somme battlefield during the winter months and also ths hurried nature of the retreat that has been forced upon him. 1 t  Mrs. F. Crosstnan, who spent the summer with relatives, left for Boston by Saturday's express. THE WAR SITUATION (By J. T. M.) I rIL press despatches which reached us up to midnight last night brought the operations on the western front down to Friday afternoon with occasional mention of isolated actions of little importance on some sections of the line during Saturday. The recent fighting seems to have centred on the section from west of Cambrai to the northward bend of the Ailette between Wauxaillon and Pinon, about eight miles to the northeast of Soissons. From Havrincourt, ten miles southwest of Cambrai, to the vicinity of La Fere, important gains have been made since Thursday. Tincourt, five miles east of Peronne, on the Petonne-Cambrai railway, Tertry, nine miles west, and Voux, eight miles southwest of St. Quentin, show advance eastward by the British over a front of approximately fifteen miles of from two to five miles. At Tincourt they are within one mile of Marquaix, the junction of a branch railway paralleling the rear of the German lines from there to St. Quentin, a distance of twelve miles. At Voux they are within 'our miles of the railway, canal, and main roads which reach the Somme at Ham, and are in a position there to interrupt by artillery railway communication 1 between the German rear and St. ' Quentin over the whole of the ten miles from St. Simon to that town. < Dury is two mile;- east of Ham, St. < Simon two miles eait of Dury, Jussy < three miles east of St. Simon, and • Mennessis only four miles west of La 1 Fere. All these tov/ns are in the * hands of the allies and show very 1 important gains over the Peronne- : La Fere section of thi Sommc !ccp, < and establish the allies firmly on i the north and east of the Somme. Tergnier is two and half irv'es : west of La Fere. Here the al'ied ; line crosses the Oise to Amigny, which i is less than three miles west of St. I Gobain, and brings the French ad- 1 vanced post to the nortfwesc of the < St. Gobain forest. From their po- < sition in that vicinity they will prob- [ ably make rapid progress northeast- t erly between La Fere and Loan, forcing by a flanking movement the evacuattion of both at the same time. I La Fere is being gradually encircled t from norlh and south, and its fall may be announced any hour. St. Qucntin is being encroached en from the northwest and southwest, and the allies progress along the canal and railway from St. Simon, and easterly from Mennessis constitutes an immediate menace to the city. But the ground between, the Oise and St. Quentin will present some difficult problems to solve, as it is one of the strongest sections of thhe Hindenburg line, which runs due south from St. Quentin to La Fere, a distance of nearly fifteen miles. The capture of La Fere will simplify the task in so far as it will break the Hindenburg line in a vital point and open the way for a turning movement from La Fere northeaesterly which would soon make St. Quentin untenable. Meantime the British advance to the northwest yf fhe city is approaching the Hindenburg line to the north, which they apparently aim at penetrating in the vicinity of HaTgicourt and Gricourt. To the north of the Ailette very little progress has been made since Thursday, and the Germans are putting up a very determined resistance to Mangin's attempt to break through their left flank positions which is holding pretty firmly between the north bank of the Aisne and Anizy on the Ailette. But his advance along the south of the Oise in ths direction of St. Gobain threatens the enemy's rear west and south of Laon on which he must rely for his flank supports in that sector of the line. If. Mangin holds his own on the Aisne-Ailette sector of his right while his troops force their way northeast around St. Gobain he will compel the enemy to break from Laon to Berryau-Bac on the Aisne. There is evidence, however, of a stiffening of the German resistance all along the line and we may not be far from a stalemate on some sections for a little while. The enemy will fight very hard to retain Douai, Cambrai, St. Quentin and Laon. The capture of these pivotal points appears to be the immediate object of the allies. Mr. Joseph Minty, aged 80, a welf known resident of Twillingate, di«<? there recently. - -. -  I SHIPMENT of the I 1 FAMOUS HIPRESS ( %ltfe- to own boots like these. They absolutely ever- - ; come every weakness of Retfeer Footwear _S©ofS«j,^^^&^^*fle*—i'ff'e*,ent—maJe of the teughest, denseit. mest in""""— sffr\rfl/fo. vulnerable tire rubber—actually the same stock that ;#' JV^t'****"0*1 Tiree are made of— ma£e by the sane unlt- const ruefcioß process, tee. 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