Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1914-10-16
GERMANS HAVE
CAPTURED LILLE
ALLIES EvAcuATE TOWN AFTER
FIGHTING DESPERATELY FOR
PAST TWO WEEKS.
Frenchmen Claim to Have Reoccupied
Positions Lost Last Week TO Ger
Mans and Are More Strongly
Intrenehed Than Ever.

The Germans have captured Lille,
about which there has been furious
lighting for the past two weeks. This
was admitted in Paris on Tuesday.
Roye also has been occupied by the
Germans, whose counter-hanking
movement against the allies left wing
Is reported to be gaining in strength
until it threatens to sweep swiftly to-
ward the coast
This German advantage is counter
acted by the marked progress record
ed for the allies in the region between
Arras and Albert, to the southwest of
Lille.
Lille was evacuated Tuesday by a
detachment Of French territorials, and
the German force is reported to have
numbered 10000. full corps. They
were the troops that had been active
in the vicinity of Lille, Seclin, Cary
imam and Douai.
The French war office reports APP
preciable progress at several points
along the front. On the left the French
have resumed the offensive in the re-
gion of Hazebrouck and Bethune
against the cavalry and infantry NOV
ing from the German line extending
from Bailleul to La Basse through Els
taires. In the fighting further to-
ward the Franco-Belgian border, the
Fourth German cavalry corps has been
driven back to the north OF the Lys
toward Armentiers and two other
corps of the invaders have been
stopped in their advance between the
Lys and the La. Basse canal.
Unusually severe fighting has
marked the engagements along the
front of the left wing of the allies.
who, after having been forced to give
ground toward the end of last week,
have now reoccupied their lost posi-
tions and are declared to be more
strongly intrenched than ever This
will have important bearing on the
attempt to beat back the German raid
on the seacoast, as it will be upon
this army OF the allied front that rein
forcements will have to be drawn
from in sudden emergencies.
The battle on French soil has now
been in progress for thirty days, the
| lighting being almost incessant
The weather, except for some
chilly nights, is ideal for military
operations. Even the men occupying
exposed trenches have recovered from
the damp spell.
Trench duty ir the siege operations
Is now thoroughly organized. The dig.
ging continues All the time and the
trenches of the opposing armies ap.
proach to within 100 yards of each
other at some places The men in
these bitches, especially along the
line from Reims to the Mouse, have
been inactive often during the past
few days and voices often ring out
from tie shelters, calling upon one
another to come out and fight.
Some of the men have become very
daring, the life in the burrows with the
occasional turn at rife firing being
so monotonous that they go out III
search OF adventure
! There is not an inch of ground over
which the great battle has been rag.
ing which does not show traces of the
awful character of the battle. The
town of Albert is q mass OF ruins. only
a church steeple remaining standing.
Roye has disappeared under constanI
bombardment. It was the center OF
the German effort to break through
the allied lines. The German artillery
had taken advantage of many quarries
in the vicinity where they placed guns
which were beyond the reach of the
French artillery.