The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-03
GENERAL SITUATION SAYSBR|TA|N REPORT VIRTUALLY THE SAME
Movements of the British Troops in Battle of the Aisne Given in Official
 Statement

London, october 2-(AIidnight.)-rh official press bureau tonight is sued a statement from the head quarters of the British expedi- tionary force under date of September 29, concerning movements of the British forces and the French armies in immed- fate 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 changed. It 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 position is only a part of the battle and there has been considerable improvement in the situation in another respect. Recent of fensive efforts of the enemy have been made without cohesion, his assaults being delivered by comparatively small bodies acting without cooperation with those on either side. Some of them, indeed, evince clear signs of inferior leadership, this bearing out statements made by pris- oners as to great losses in officers suf- fered by the enemy.
 Artillery Fire Decreases
 Further, the hostile artillery fire has decreased in volume and deterorated both in control and direction. The first prob ably is due to the transfer of metal to other quarters but the two latter facts may be the direct result of the activity of our aircraft and their interference with the enen1y's air reconnaissance and observation of his fire.
 The Germans recently have been re- lying to some extent on observations from captive balloons sent up at some distance in the rear of their first line, which mehod, whatever it's cause, is a poor substitute for the direct overhead reconnaissance obtainable from aeroplanes.
 "As consequence the damage being done to us is wholly disproportionate to the amount of ammunition expended by the enemy. For the last few days it has amounted to biting certain areas with large craters and in rendering some vil- lages unhealthy, as the soldiers put it.
 A concrete example of what was on one occasion achieved against our infan- try trenches is given later.
 Weather Fine
 of recent events an actual narrative 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 18th, comparative quiet reigned in our sphere of action. The only incident worthy of special mention was the passage of a German aeroplane over the interior of our lines. It was flying high, but drew a general fusillade from 1..l. .Fstl was killed outright and the observer was wounded. The latter was able to con tinue the flight for some miles, but final ly was compelled to descend, his petrol tank have been struck. He was cap tured 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 ev- anywhere were repulsed with loss. In- deed opposite one portion of our lines, where they were caught in mass by our machine guns and howtzers firing at different ranges, it is estimated they left 1000 killed or wounded.
 "The mental attitude of our troops may be gauged 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:
 " The night was quiet except for q certain amount Of Shelling both from the enemy and ourselves
 At $40 a. m. attack was made on our right. At a. m. there was a gen. eral attack on the right, but no really heavy firing. Further intellectual efforts to drive us back were made Saturday at a. m., and in the afternoon and the artillery fire continued all day.
 'The Germans came on in TT formation several lines shoulder to shoulder, fol- al inn 1adi falx l,,yo support. After few minutes the men had closed up into mob. which afforded an excellent target for our fire.
 On Sunday, the 27th, while the German heavy guns were in action, their brass bands could be heard playing hymn tunes, presumably at divine service
 "The enemy made an advance on part of our line at p. m. and renewed 1t in strength at one point with, however, no better success than on the previous night Sniping continued all day along the whole front.
 On Monday, the 18th, there was noth- lns more severe than a bombardmenr and intermittent, sniping and this inac- tivity continued during Tuesday, the 29th, except for night attack against our extreme right.
 The incident that occurred Sunday. the 27th, serves to illustrate the type of fighting that has for the past two weeks been going on internittently on various parts ot our line It also brings out the extreme difficulty of ascertaining what actually is happening during an action. apart from what seems to be happening. and points to the value of good entrench- ments.
 At certain point in our front our !, advance trenches are on the north of the tAisne not far from a village on a bill- fide and within short distance of Ger n lorna .f Formed by subsidiary valley running north and main valley of the river, it was calm. sunny afternoon, but hazy, and from our vantage point it was difficult exactly to locate on the far bank the well concealed trenches.