Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1915-10-02
ALLIES HAVE BEGUN
DRIVE IN THE WEST
FULL STRENGTH OF ENGLISH,
FRENCH AND BELGIANS Dl.
RECTED AGAINST GERMANS.
Attack Develops Into General Bat.
tie by Land and Sea, the
Losses on Both Sides
Being Appalling.

London.-The long expected drive
by the allies on the western front has
begun on land and sea.
After week of intense preparation,
the details of which have been kept
secret, the full strength of the Eng
lish, French and Belgians was direct,
ed in a tremendous concentrated at,
tack upon the German front on Satur.
day.
The attack has developed into a
general battle by land and sea from
the Belgian coast to the southern limit
of the German army.
In Champagne the French are at
tacking the German second line OF
trenches and are making further
progress, but seemingly the allies
offensive movement is not being car
ried ON with the same impetuosit3
which characterized the first two
days of the operations.
The successes won are recognized
as very important, but the main OBJ
ject which is to break through the
German lines has not yet been ac
complished.
Both the British and French great
ly have improved their positions, ano
by gaining the hills and crests from.
which they can dominate the Germa1-
lines of communication, their next al
tempt to win decisive victory SHOULD
be made easier, in the view OF experts
in London.
Field Marshal Sir John French re.
ports the capture of powerful German
dtfenses around Loos, where the mum
Der of prisoners taken by the British
has reached 5000, forty machine guns
being taken and many destroyed. The
British have captured the first ANA
second lines and are heavily engaged
In an attack on the third.
The French continue to push for
ward east of Souchez, aiming at the
heights of Vimy which command the
plain to the east; while the British to
the north are making secure their
hold on the Lens-La Bassee road and
are beating off the German counter
attacks,
The battle in Champagne is over
sixteen-mile front, where the French
are attacking and now are within the
German positions, and which has been
SO useful to them In moving troops
and supplies to threatened points.
With the French guns within easy
range the railway is rendered USE
less.
AS usual there is a great divergence
between the German and French Of
fetal accounts of the battles. The Ger
mans claim all the French attacks
have been repulsed, and that a num-
ber of prisoners have been captured.
II is the same with regard to the
crown princes offensive In the Ar
gonne. Whereas this is described by
the French as an important action,
the Germans say it is minor one,
designed to. improve the situation,
and that the desired result has been
achieved.
On the entire front the fight has
taken on the aspect of furious attacks
and counter-attacks in which the car
mage has been fearful and which may
continue for weeks before a definite
decision is reached The fighting Is
the bloodiest of the entire war, with
two million strongly intrenched Ger
mans pitted against French and Brit
ish armies estimated to number four
million.
The Germans are reported to be
rushing strong reinforcements to the
front, and an Amsterdam dispatch
says that Emperor William himself is
rushing to Luxemburg to urge on his
armies.