Omaha daily bee., 1916-07-04
SWEEPING FORWARD
ALONG 25-MILE LINE
French and British Forces
Envelope Fifty Miles of
Territory in a Day.
ENGLISH IN MAJOR ROLE

Somme, now in full progress, marks
the opening OF the Franco-British of.
fensive long expected as a critical
stage OF the war,
Early reports today show that the
entente allied forces are sweeping
forward along twenty-five-mile
front. The French already have
taken more than 5000 prisoners, while
the allied lines have enveloped within
the last twenty-four hours nine vii
lagos and fifty square miles of French
territory held until now by the Ger
mans.
Theater of Operations.
The theater of operations for the
British forces runs between CONNIE
court, north of the River Ancre, to
point just north of the Somme,
while the French attacked on both
sides of the Somme and southwark
toward Roye.
Thus the entente allied armies
present front of twenty-five miles,
with the British on the left for fif-
teen miles and the French on the
right for ten miles.
The region Of this supreme contest
is one favorable for military opera
tons. 1t virtually is all within the
department OF the Somme, which 10 q
level plateau OF chalky formation.
Extent Of Fighting Lines.
The fighting lines extend between
great number of small villages
which are usually devoted to textile
industries, while the outlying agricul-
tural sections are level fields chiefly
devoted to beet culture for the ex-
tensive sugar production Of France.
The intense bombardment of the
last four days was the signal for an
advance over these level fields, be-
ginning at 7:30 o'clock yesterday
morning.
The entente allied artillery then
heightened the range so as to shut
oft all communication between the
first German line and the German re-
serve in the rear. This made it i'm
possible for the Teutons to utilize
their perfect organization for the
shifting Of troops and for the bring.
ing up of reinforcements.
1t is thought by French military
observers that the Germans miscai-
culated the intention OF the entente
allies and expected the attacks fur
Their to the north.
The villages which the French cap
tured in the first sweep include
Dompierre, Becquincourt, Bussus and
Fay, and these and the towns taken
by the British-Montauban and
Mametz-were all found to have been
strongly fortified by the Germans.
The entente allies, profiting from
their experience in the work, quickly
threw up strong earthworks around
the villages thus taken, in order to
protect them against counter attacks.
1t was not before night, however,
that the Germans were able to deliver
any counter attack. This was CEN
tered against the French position on
the outskirts of Hardecourt and il
was repulsed with heavy losses, end.
ing in a precipitate retreat.
Curlu IL Taken.
Throughout last night the French
continued their drive, capturing the
village of Curlu, Of which they
already had occupied the outskirts
and progressing south of the Somme
between Harbecourt and Assevillers.
In addition to the military sue
cesses, the terrain overrun BY the
entente allied troops has an excep-
tional stategic importance. Four of
the towns captured by the French
are only seven miles west of Peronne,
the chief rail highway from the Ger.
man center at Cologne to the German
front in the region of Novon and
Scissors.
The German headquarters is at St.
Quentin, twenty-five miles southeast
OF Peronne. Already the French
forces threaten Peronne, with the evil
dent purpose of cutting the trunk rail-
way there, which is an indispensable
artery for German military reinforce
ments.
Speed Of the Advance.
The speed of the advance of the
entente allied troops is taken as show
ing that the perfection of the artillery
preparations exceeded anything yet
done in the destruction Of field works.
lnfantrymen of both allied artillery
leaped in the trenches at the word OF
the command with cries of joy and
cheers and with the singing Of the
Marseillase and Tipperary.
The concrete sheltered guns that
had stopped the French in Artois and
in the Champagne had all been de.
molished here and it was chiefly man
against man with rifles and bayonets,
at which style OF fighting. the officers
say, the French and British both
showed superiority, rushing over the
ground with such rapidity that in an
hour and half from the moment the
first order had been given the British
had got into the first line trenches.
Desperate fighting continues around
Verdun, and although this field Of
action is separated by nearly 100 miles
from the fighting in the north, Verdun
is considered part of the vast military
plan now unfolding.
The French now have taken the
aggressive at Verdun, today's report
showing an attack on Deadman Hill,
with heavy German losses, and the
taking of prisoners by the French. The
French are thus keeping the Germans
fully occupied at Verdun and are pre-
venting them from sending reinforce