The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-09-27
More than 10000 Prisoners Are Also Lost by Germans When Allies Take the Off, fensive
MOST IMPORTANT GAINS ACCREDITED
 TO FRENCH FORCES
Tremendous Artillery Fire Features Engagements. Fierce Battle Waging On
 Eastern Front With Slavs

London, $ pt e m b CT 20. Heavy and continuous attacks by the British and French have cost the Germans more than 10000 unwounded men taken prisoners and 20 miles of trenches in the west.
 Souchez has been stormed and captured and an advance ] is reported north of Arras. The assaults began Saturday morn ing and at last accounts bat ties were raging furiously. A German official statement forwarded from Berlin admits German reverses,
 While the allies were advancing in- to German entrenchments British bat tleships were battering away at Ger man positions between zeebrugge and Newport.
 | For several weeks there had been an almost incessant bombardment with big guns, increasing late last week in intensity. particularly in the sectors where infantry attacks took place. This prepared the way for the general assault.
 The French, who have the most im- portant gain to their credit. made their chief onset around Perthes Beausejour and Suippes. in Champagne, where in | December they made a considerable gain. This attack. backed by tre- mendous artillery fire, gave them pos l session of more territory than they 1 had retaken from the Germans since the latter dug themselves in after the battle of the Marne
 | French Gains
 The French have regained trenches | east of the "Labryinth" in the Arras district, which was the scene of much heavy fighting earlier In the year. There the Germans had built what they considered almost impregnable forti- ications
 This attack was made in co-opera- tion with the British, who attacked on either side of La Bassee canal. Tho
 attack south of the canal was. Field
 Marshal Sir John French reports, a
 complete success.
 Trenches five miles in width and about 1000 yards in depth were taken | at this point.
 possession of the road from Lens to
 La Bassee. which was used by the Il Germans for moving troops and sup-
 plies north and south and threatens
 to outflanlS the German troops which
 hold the town of Lens.
 | Hill No 70, one of the positions
 taken on the road, Is less than a mile
 directly north of Lens while Hulluoh.
 which also fell into the hands of the
 British. is at the end of the road near
 La Bassee. It is only 12 miles from
 Hulluch to Lille. the capital of north-
 ern France.
 | Some Ground Regained N
 North of the canal the British. all
 though they fought all day yesterday.
 were unable to hold the ground gained Il and had to fall back to the trenches
 which had been left in the morning. The attack however. accomplished one purpose. as. according to Field Mar sfal French, German reserves sent to check this most. thus .givinS the Brit ish south of the canal an opportunity
 to consolidate their new positions un-
 molested.
 , A somewhat similar maneuver took place north and south of the men in the road east of Ypres and results were
 the same. North of the road the Brit ish were unable to hold the ground lpained but to the south they gained
 about 500 yards of German trenches land consolidated to the ground won.
 So far as Is reported the British took
 f700 prisoners with eight guns and several machine guns.
 Some of the fiercest fighting of the campaien is in progress on the Rus sian front. The Germans continue : trying to drive the Russians out Of l Dvinsk, while in volhynia and Galicia | the Russians continue to harrass tho 'l Austro Germans who had designs on Niev from which town they are now farther away than they were few weeks ago. .t. } General Ivanoff apparently Is deter '. mined to hold hack the Austro-Ger- mans and his efforts are meeting with a considerable measure of success. The Q fortress triangle. which includes Dub- n no. Rovno and Lutsk. Is almost enc 1. (Contsnued sa Page EixhO