The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1915-10-08
PROGRESS is BEING MADE TO-
WARD IMPORTANT RAILROAD
LINE USED BY GERMAN ARMY.
TURKS IN FULL Retreat
The Turks Are in Full Retreat Along
the Tigris River Toward Bagdad
With the British in Pursuit-At-
titude of Bulgaria, Etc,
Latest War News From the Front.

portant railway lying behind it are
still the detectives of the French
army, and it is fighting tenaCiously
day and night for a successful issue Of
the great offensive begun last week.
With their twelve-mile front running
from Auberive to Vile Sur TOurbe al
ready at distances ranging from two
and One-half to three miles from the
railway, the French are still battling,
and although they are meeting with
fierce resistance, have made further
progress.
Three small sections Of the front in
the western zone are the central
points around which the battles be-
tween the allied French and British
and the Germans continue to rage.
These lie between SoucheZ and Vimy;
in the regions of LoOs and Labassee
canal, and around Mesnil and Mas
siges, on the southern bend of the
line. Farther east, in the forests of
Apremont and La Petite, the big guns
of both sides are booming, and VIC
lent artillery duels are in progress.
1--WE have maintained all the new
positions conquered" says the French
report in dealing with the fighting
between SouChez and Vimy, in the
ArtOis region, where artillery and in
fantry fighting is in progress in the
hills.
The British are driving hard
against the German third line of de-
Tense to the east of Loos, while the
French IN the Champagne district,
where early in the battle they carried
many miles of trenches, are directing
their efforts in the neighborhood of
Massiges toward gaining control of
the railroad constituting the chief line
of communication of the German army
on that front.
1t is expected that the weather will
soon put an end to the operations in
the east, as with the continued rains
the rivers can not be forded, and the
Russians, wherever possible, are get
ting behind them.
The British have inflicted another
serious defeat on the Turks in Meso-
potamia. The Tigris army, after suf-
fering heavy losses, is in flight toward
Bagdad. Thus the three armies which
the Turks sent to Mesopotamia against
the Anglo-Indian invaders have been
scattered. In May the Tigris army
was driven back from Kurna to north
of Amara; the army of Kasun was
driven from Ahwaz and the army of
the Euphrates was last heard of as
fugitive on the river somewhere north
of Marie.
1t is again reported that an Austro-
German army 100000 strong is as
sembling for an offensive against Ser.
bia.
Furious fighting still characterizes
the united efforts of French and Brit
ish to break through the German lines
on the western front. The allied
forces, the French war office an
nounces, continue to make gains of
ground and add to their captures of
men, guns and stores.
Foot by foot, as the official COM
fmunication reads, the French are
making progress east of Souchez, i'm
portant territory from startegical
point of view, and have likewise con
tinued their advance in Champagne,
1t contains the significant statement
that among the Germans taken prison.
er were men who had been brought
back from the Russian front a few
days ago. That would seem to indi-
cate that the AustFo-Germans have
been compelled to weaken to some ex-
tent their eastern battle front in Or
der to reinforce those sections of the
western line which the allies are at
lacking with heavy guns, rapid-firers
and the bayonet.
Field Marshal Sir John French re-.
ports the capture of powerful German
defenses around Loos, where the mum.
Der OF prisoners taken by the British
has now reached three thousand, for
ty machine guns being taken and
many destroyed. The British have
captured the first and second lines and
are heavily engaged in an attack on
the third.
The allied trenches in the Argonne
are being violently bombarded by the
guns of the German crown prince. but
no attack by infantry has been at
tempted Some of the first line
trenches taken from the French by the
Germans on this front Monday have
been retaken by means of hand gre
nades,
Twenty thousand unwounded Ger
nan prisoners, and dead and wounded
IN both SIDE in numbers of which as
ret there is no estimate, is the toll
aiken in the first two days drive of
he Anglo-French forces, which have
begun great offensive movement
-gainst the German intrenchments
long the line in the western war zone
rom the North Sea to the Swiss from
Ter.