New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-10-03

Eurca. issued statement to-hlGh'
,rom the headquarters Of the British
cvpcdi,iorary force under date OF Sep
-,mber 2q. concerning the movements
II the British force and the French
armies in immediate touch with 1t. Inc
statement follows:
The general situation, as viewed on
.be map. remains practically the same
as that described in the last letter, ana
the task Of the army has not changed.
/. is TO maintain itself until there Is d
general resumption Of the offensive,
NO ground has been lost Some mas
been gained, and every counter-attacA
has been repulSed, in certain instances
with very severe losses 10 the enemy.
Nevertheless, the question OF posi-
lion Is only part OF the oatt'e' anu
,Norp has been considerable improve
mont ~ the situation in another I'M
ooriant respect. Recent offensive ell
forts Of the enemy have been made
without cohesion. his assaults oelnB
delivered bv comparatively small BODIES
Yctinc withou. cooperation with those
an either side. Some of them, indeed
,v,pce clear signs Of inferior leader
shin. thus bearing out statements maze
by PRISONERS as to great losses IN OH
GERS suffered by the enemy.
Further. the hostile artillery ire
has decreased i'm volume and dete-
riorated both in control and direction
The first is probably due 10 the trans
fer Of metal TO other quarters, nut tne
TWO latter facts may he the direct re-
suit of the activity Of our aircraft ana
their interference with the enemys ar
reconnaissance and observation OF ms
IRE.
Balloon Reconnaissance Poor.
"Tbc Germans recently have been
reiving to some extent ON observations
from captive balloons sent up at some
distance in the rear of their first line,
which method whatever its cause, IS
"a moor substitute for the direct over
bcad reconnaissance Obtainable from
aeroplaneS. ,
As ii consequence the damage being
dome. 10 us is wholly disproportionate
to the amount Of ammunition expended
b, the enemy. For the last few days
h,. amounted TO hitting certain
areas with large cratcrs and IN rehoer-
.rc some villages unhealthy, as the
-oIdicrs nut IT.. 4 concrete example
of what was on one occasion achieved
against our infantry trenches IS gwen
COZ recent events an actual narrative
will be- carried on from the 20th TO the
10Th. inclusive. During the whole OF
This pCriod the weather has renamed
fine. though il has not been so bright
us +, was. On Friday, the 10Th, com,
narrative quiet rcigned in our sphere OF
action.
"Thc only incident worthy of special
mention was the passage OF German
acroplanc over the interior Of our lines,
:, was Avlnc high. hut drew general
fusiIladc from below. with the reaulS
that the pilot was killed outright ana
the observer was wounded. The latter
however. was able to continue the hlghI
Tor some miles, but was then compeleu
TO descend. his petrol tank having peGh
struck. lie was captured by the r rehch'
That night "a general attack "ao
made against the greater part OF 'nc
Allies position, and 1t was renewed III
the carly morning of the 2oth, J nc Ovi-
mans were everywhere repuiseo WIN
'oss. Indeed, opposite one poIVlVH -
our lines. where they we're caught III
mass by our machine guns anu NV
.nrs firing at different ranges, IL IS esI,
'lmdtcd lndt lI's ~
killed or wounded. ...,.
,Tbc mental attitude of our troops
NAV T.. cauccd from the fact that inc
metal report next morning from one
,orpe. e which one division had Dolhe
10 bruut Of the lighting, ran mus
focoricallv: The night was qul"t, cN'
.ent for a certain amount oil snelilhg
,,tb from the ,ncmy ana ourselves al
$40 q. m. -,
Al 3:4O d. m. an attack was made
81, our RIGHT. At 3 a. m. there was =
..neral attack on the right OF ire u
n;vision hut really 10 heavy Hrlhg
I,,,rtbcr ineffective efforts 70 drive u
I,sck were made On Saturday at a. III
nj in the afternoon, and the artiiefN
ire continued all day.
"The Germans came on IN J. lorna
IONS. several lines shoulder to Shout
Ger. followed almost Immediately by
column i'm support. After a very rev
minutes the men had closed up into
mob. which afforded an excellent large
for our fire.
Hear Hymns in German Lines.
"Oa Sunday, the 9th, while the Gcr
nan heavy guns were .u action, thei
irass bands could be beard playing
nymu tunes, presumably at divine sei
,icc.
The enemy made am important ad
vance on part of our line mt 6 p. m.
and renewed IT IN strength al on,
point, with. however, nc better success
shan on the previous night. SnipIn!
continued an day along the who'll
ROM.
ION Monday. the 2sth, there va.
nothing more severe than q lombard
ment and intermittent snping. and tHi.
inactivity continued during the Doth
except for q riCht attack against ouv
extreme right.
"Thc incident that occurred Sunday
tuC 9th serves TO illustrate Tho
tyne o. lighting that has for the las
two weeks been going Oh IntermIttentl'
"r various parts Of our line. IL ais,
brings out the extreme difficulty OF
asccrtainiuC what is actually happen
ing during an action, apart from what
seems TO be happening, and points &
the value OF good entertainments.
AT "A certain point IN our front our
advance trenches are on the north o.
the Aisne. not far from village, on d
hillside. and also within short dis
tance Of German works, being on a
slope OF q spur formed by a subs ldiary
valley running north, and a main val
ley Of the river. 10 was calm. sunny
afternoon, but hay. and from our
pOiut Of vantage south OF the river I
wax difficult exactly TO locate on the
far. bank the weii-coucealcd trenches.
~ rom far and near he ~uileu boom