The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-09-18
ALLIES WEDGE
DRIVEN FURTHER
IN SOMME Line
Both British and French Push
Germans Back.
Estimate 10000 TeutOns Cost of
SOmme Campaign.
TANKS Terribly KAISER'S MEN
TANKS Terribly KAISER'S men
New ''Land Battleship" Sheds
Enemy'S Bullets.
Berlin to Announce Retirement
From COmbIes-PerOnne.

London. Sept. 1S.-Forty thousand
Germans have been killed. wounded or
captured since the Anglo-French
armies resumed the offensive on the
Somme with battering blows that bent
back the Teuton lines. The fighting
continued last night north and south
of the river with the greatest fury.
The Germans were still clinging des
perately to the village of Denlcourt,
under heavy French re. and making
counter attacks against Berry and
Nerm andovillers. north of the river
British artillery checkeG one German
counter attack after another with
storms of shrapnel and at the same
time opened a bombardment on
Grandcourt and LIE Sars on the two
highways leading to Bapaume.
The allied successes have had most
profound effect in Berlin. according to
Hague dispatches TO-DAY. The Germans
had been led to believe that the
SOmme drive had been halted by the
inability of the British to capture the
Flers-Courcellette line and to break
thru the German defenses around
Thiepval The German papers are
snow preparing the public for the early
rPvao Iation of both Peronne and
& Combles and pointing out that a re-
4tirement on a wide front may become
+ necessary fer stragetic reasons.
The French shifted their attack
south of the Somme yesterday to warn
the Germans not to withdraw troops
from that sector to reinforce the bat
ztered lines north of the river. The as
@sault was completely successful and
stdeepened the wedge in the German
: line between Peronne and Combles.
= Tanks" Play Important Role.
: Delayed dispatches from press head
Z quarters are full of exploits of the new
: British armored cars or tanks the
! monsters that played such ar import
y ant part in the capture of Flers. Cour-
& cellette and Martinpuich in Fridays
attack. One correspondent reported
Sthat they are not armored cars at ALL
8 but huge land battleships that shed
Eordinary machine gun fire like duck
does water. and can only be damaged
{ by dead hit from a big shell.
y The attack swung up to F1ers
s across wide stretch OF difficult
ground strongly defended wired one
s correspondent. 1.-The first news of sue
cess came from an airmen's wireless
Z which said "A tank is walking up the
high street of Flers with the British
= army cheering behind
1t was an actual fact that one of
Z the motor monsters was there enjoy
ting itself thoroly and keeping down
: the German heads"
Other correspondents described how
the tanks" pushed their way thru
+ and over brick cottages. crushed Ger
9 outs and told how surprised were sew
eral German officers. made prisoners
and hauled aboard the land battle
ships.
Close in on Thiepval.
II London, Sept. 1S.-British troops
: began closing in upon Thiepval last
3 night after capturing Mouquet Farm.
and took several German trenches
: south of the village, General Haig re-
ported this afternoon. West of Mou-
auet Farm, the Germans, resisting
desperately the advance of the Brit
ish pincers. entered British trenches
Inv a heavy counter attack, but were
later driven out.
!. Intern British Flyer in Holland.
- London, Sept. 1S.-A raid by British
naval areoplanes on German aero
y dromes at st. Denis and Westrehm, is
reported in an official statement is
: sued by the war office. The statement
!. says one of the machines was obliged
-to make a forced landing in Holland
and the pilot was interned.
4 French Get 1000 Prisoners.
Paris, Sept. 1s.-The Germans lost
heavily in several counter attacks
north and south of the Somme last
night, the war office announced to-
E dsv. The French maintained the
ground recently won and made fur
Their progress near Cleary and Berry
sand on the eastern edge of Denie-
e court.
land ten machine guns The town of
EDeniecourt is now completely encir-
'cled by the French.
Almost AnnihlIate Two Divisions.
Paris, Sept. 1S.-According to pris-
oners of the Tenth Ersath division, the
4German losses in fighting south of the
Somme yesterday were enormous. Two
divisions of the Thirty-eighth bat
talon were almost annihilated by
French artillery fire that preceded
the capture of Berry and Vermando
villers.