The Sentinel=record., 1914-10-03
BRITTANY
TROOPS ON
firing LINE
GEN. FRENCH REPORTS THAT
FIGHTING HAS BEEN CoNTlNU.
Gus DAY AND NIGHT WITH
GERMAN INFANTRY AND AR.
TlLLERY ATTACKS GROWING
WEAKER EVERY DAY.

LOudOni OCt. Z.-Midntght.-The of.
ficial press bureau tonight issued a
statement from the headquarters Of
the British expeditionary force under
date of September 29 concerning
movements of the British force and
the French armies in immediate
touch with it. The statement fol-
lows:
THE general situation as viewed
on the map remains virtually the
same as that described In the last
letter, and the task of the army has
not hanged. 1t is to maintain itself
until there is a general resumption of
the offensive.
NO ground has been lost Some
has been gained and every counter
attack has been repulsed--in certain
instances with severe losses to the
enemy.
Nevertheless the question of posi-
tion is only a part of the battle and
there has been considerable improve
ment in the situation in another re-
spect. Recent offensive efforts of the
enemy have been made without hesi-
tation, his assaults being delivered ),
comparatively small bodies acting
without cooperation with those on
either side. Some of them, indeed.
evnce clear signs of inferior leader
ship. This bears out statements
made by prisoners as to great losses
in officers suffered by the enemy.
Further, the hostile artillery fire
has decreased in volume and deteri-
GRATED both in control and direction.
The first probably is due to the trans
fer of material to other quarters, but
the two latter facts may be the direct
result of the activity of our aircraft
and their interference with the
enemy's air reconnaissance and OBJ
servation of his fire.
"The Germans recently have been
lying to some extent On observa-
tions from captive balloons sent up at
some distance in the rear of their
first line, which method whatever it's
cause. is poor substitute for the
direct overhead reconnaissance OBJ
tainable from aeroplane.
"As a consequence the damage
being done to us is wholly dispropor-
tionate to the amount of ammunition
expended by the enemy.
"A concrete example of what was
on one occasion achieved against our
trenches is given later.
'Of recent events an actual narra-
tive will be carried on from the 25th
to the 29th inclusive. During the
whole of this period, the weather
has remained fine. On Friday, the
25th, the only incident worthy of spe-
cial mention was the passage of
German aeroplane. 1t was flying
high, but drew general fusillade
from below with the result that the
pilot was killed outright and the OBJ
server was wounded. The latter was
able to continue the flight for some
miles but finally was compelled to
descend, his petroi tank having been
struck. He was captured by the
French.
"That night general attack was
made against the greater part of the
allies position and it was renewed in
the early morning of the 26th. The
Germans everywhere were repulsed
with loss.
THE mental attitude of our troops
nay be guaged from the fact that the
official report next morning from one
corps of which one division had
borne the brunt of the fighting, ran
thus laconically:
1.-The night was quiet except for a
certain amount of shelling from the
enemy and ourselves.
"'At a. m. an attack was made
on our right. At there was a gem
eral attack on the right but no really
heavy firing.
"The Germans came on in I for
nation, several lines shoulder to
shoulder, followed almost Immediate