The Mena weekly star., 1916-07-06
TREMENDOUS ALLY
 DRIVE UNDER WAY
After Five Days of Continuous She'll ing Of German DefenSes. English and iIrpnci Make Gain of Five
 Niles-Million Shells Day.

London. July s-The British and French yesterday launched tre- mendons drive on front Of 2 miles. extending from below the Somme to Gommecourt, north of Ancre.
 The entire German first line Of trenches along this front has been captured and eight villages and 5.500 prisoners have been taken. Three other villages. altho still held by she Germans, are in imminent dan- ger of capture.
 Terrific Fighting in Progress
 Terrific lighting is progressing along this entire line, with the Ger mans in some places delivering counter attacks Severe battles are raging around Fric0urt, which is reported as being nearly surrounded 0y the British. On this section the British were forced to give up part of their early gains before a strong fire and eounter-attaeks of the Ger mans
 The allies now hold the villages of Serre. La Boiselle. M0ntauban, Mametz. Dompierre, BocquincouFt, BusSU and Fay. The four latter were captured by the French who then began the fighting in the out skirts of Hardee0urt.
 Follows B0mbardment
 The lone-exnected offensive, the big push. for which the British lasr been preparing for months, and which IS a part Of a general closing m on Germany on all fronts. got un- der headway yesterday morning at 7:3O The tro0ps--English. Scotch, Irish and FFench--Surged from be- hind their trenches after a h0m- bardment of an hour and haIf which was the climax of the steady pounding of last week. Hundreds of Batteries poured tons of iron and explosives into the opposing trench es. wrecklng them and burying the occupants.
 The British attacked over 20- mile front The French stormed forward over about five miles on both sides of the Somme. II is just north of the S0mma that the British and French fronts join, the French extending on to Verdun and the Swiss frontier and the British stretching to the sea.
 In Second Line.
 In the first rush the British over- whelmed the villages of Serre and La Boiselle, which stood just beyond their front. They smashed thru the entire German defense line, and in plaees have already reached the Seeend line Some detachments moving more rapidly than others, advanced farther than their support warranted. and these, it is officially stated, were the ones which were gofveti to fall back when the Ger mans. recovering from the first blow started to fight back.
 Greatest Drive of War.
 The tremendous offensive is the Culmination oI a live-day battle, which in the amount of ammunition expended and in the territory in- vUNaeti, exceeds anything of the kind shat has been previously known in the world war.
 For weeks reports have been cur- rent ln England and France that the big push of the British was Co commence If was stated that Eng iand had 100000 men fully equipt and trained ln preparation for the supreme effort co break tine German lines. More than 100000 shells are declared to have been fired daily Xn the preliminary bombardment which extended over a front 90 miles In length.
 The menace Of the British attack was fully appreciated in Germany. according to newspaper comments From Berlin and the utmost confl- denee was exprest in the ability of tSermans to meet and crush it.
 Ati Allies on Offensive.
 The allies are now on the offensive m practically every field Of war The British assault comes on the heels of the great successes won by 3hf Russians in Galieia and Bukow- ma which have resulted in com plet@lK driving the Austrians from BukoWlna and ara still eontlnuing
 On the Italian front the central powers have also met with severe reNerses and for several days the Italians have been steadily driving Ahe Austfians from Irentiae.
 The defense also of Nerdun by 1he French appears to have stif- lined and the balance of battle in fhat bitterly contested sector. ap- pears recently to have swayed in favor of the defenders.
 New Tactics Used.
 The great offensive undertaken hv 1he British offers. according Co re- ports from the front and the com xnents Of military critics. an abso- tutey new departure in the tactics hitherto pursued by the belliger- ants Contrary to the favorite tac- i1ins F tAe Germans. the British did 8et attempt q partial advance by lmassing their artillery at given pelrt on the line and following an Intense 0ombardment hv an infan- sgy attack in serried columns
 Employing and enormous number fof guns the British maintained q sasntElnous and even bomhardment Af the German lines along the en- tire 90 miles of attack. They sought sn level the German trenches and destroy the concrete Qualifications which sheltered the German ma Nhine gun squads,
 Scientific Warfare.
 Hurricanes of shells also were di-