Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-09-22
FRIDAY is LUCKY
DAY FOR BRITISH
New Style of Motor Cars Used for
First Time I'm Allied Army's
Victorious Attack.

british Front in France-Army
officers universally are speaking of
Friday as the best day for the Brit
ish arms since the offensive began on
the SOmme front. With the exception
OF July /, the attack begun last Friday
morning was the most extensive of
any III the 10 weeks battle.
For bhe first time new armored mot
or cars OF ingenius pattern. suitabI
for crossing trenches and shell
holes. competed with the infantry as
the British swept down from the
ridges To the lower ground toward Ba-
paume.
Al this writing the British are be-
yond the village of FIeres, which they
took early in The morning. and are es-
tablshed in AAa-tiupuiCh and CourCe-
Iette.
The slow. plaiding work of recent
weeks, which included the taking Of
GiuChy and Guillcmont. had for it's OBJ
ject control of all the high ground
from the region of Thiepval 10 the
junction with the French on the
right The Germans fought hard for
every foot of it. DelviHe. or DEVILS
wood, High wood and the rib OF
earth which the windmill crowned be
yond Pozie-es. have been stepped in
blood of men fallen there in their long
stand under the heaviest orgy of she'll
fire in the history of war, as experts
agree. as Germany wrestled with
BrItOn not for a piece of farm land,
but for military and human mastery.
The British push was largely down
hill They put behind them the high
ground whose slopes give them shell
ter for their guns and whose crest
gives them observation for their artil-
o. =
not expect the attack. considering that
the offensive was over and that the
British would settle down for.the win
ter in their new quarters.
Never before probably have more
guns been playing over the same length
Of front than along the six miles where
the British made their advance on July
/ and where they have continued their
offensive with phlegmatic and logged
persistence. The Germans kept on
bringing up guns until now they have
l 600 in this short sector. The AssO-
ciated Press correspondent, moving
over the region. saw on Thursday how
enormously the British had increased
their own artillery. There were lines
and clusters and parks of guns. Rows
Of batteries were firing with some !
thing Of the regularity Of the mechan- !
ical workmanship OF the needles of a !
loom weaving cloth. Alongside each /
other were British and French bat |
teries /
AT midnight the correspondent again |
walked about among the guns which /
were going on with their night shift /
Of gunners, whose figures were illumi- /
mated by flashes. Except for the guns. I
which know no rest, the army seemed /
silent and asleep for the most part. /
Everybody and everything was in place |
and ready. including those strange, +!
grOtesque new armOreq cars which /
were TO have their baptism of fire in /
the morning.
The guns never stopped their ear
racking noise from daylight to dark
ness and darkness TO dawn. Now and
then the keys of that strident piano
were struck in q chord When dawn
came all the keys began to bang att
once.
But before the general attack began
there had been e hellfsh little prelim-
inarv side-show near Thiepval The
Germans had there warren Of deep
dugouts and galleries which they
called their ''Wunder Werk' Before
daylight the British got In there. .uu-
Ger cover of their guufre, bombed their
way through galleries which became