Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-08
BRITISH NOW ENGAGED
IN SEvEREST FIGHTING
Of THE GREAT DRIVE
CONTINUED from First Page.)

ond phase of their offensive. In ac-
cordance with the new strategy OF the
allies the second thrust of the French
will not begin until the British have
advanced their line.
Another reason that the Germans
were obliged to hold their hand is that
communications, which We're thrown
out of gear by the rapidity of the
initial French drive. Chaulnes. the
great junction on the Amiens- Rheims
which the Germans depended for con-
centrating troops, Is now no longer
safe. Reinforcements and supplies are
being detrained farther east at Nesie,
being necessarily bombarded by French
aeroplanes The latter two stations
were completely burned yesterday ana
the track damaged.
The fiercest fighting Thursday oc-
Cured at Belloy. which the Germans
attacked six times, the 18th Bavarian
division suffering heavy losses. The
most violent attack was made on
slight salient which the French line
forms between Belloy and Estrees.
The attack was made by two rest-
ments in massed formation. They
struggled heroically through the in
fernal curtain fire of the French ar
tillery, which tore gaps in their ranks
They even made some way forward in
the face of hail of bullets from ma
chine guns, but as soon as they came
within striking distance the French
men sprang from the trenches and
scattered the remnant of the brigade
with the bayonet"
Problems for German Staff.
The head of the German staff must
be faced with difficult and perplexing
problems at the present moment He
must decide how to meet the new, CO.
ordinated strategy of the entente allies
and how best to utilize Germany's
available military resources.
Never before in the history Of the war
has Germany been called upon to meet
a strong double offensive on both the
western and eastern fronts. Gen. Haig s
dawn" coming on top of the opening of
a new offensive against Marshal Hin
denburg by Gen. Evert is a new ex-
perience for the German staff.
The question whether Great Britain will
be able TO maintain an adequate supply
of ammunition at the present rate of
wastage received an answer in part yes
terday from Frederick G. Kellaway, NJ. p,
who next to David Lloyd George, is the
most important official In the ministry
of munitions. Mr.. Kellaway said:
I'VE are not yet at the full food of
Germans cannot be driven home other
wise, our army shall have such a supply
of guns that the limbers shall touch
each other in a continuous line from the
Somme to the sea-
He added that ninety new arsenals
had been provided and that 1000 con-
trolled firms are producing munitions.
The total number of munition workers
in 1914, he said. was under two mill
lions and there now are three and a
half millions. The labor problem, Mr..
Kellaway asserted, has been to large
extent solved by the women. Before
the war 1874 900 women were engaged
in war Industries. There are now $685.
600 SO engaged.
British Press Offensive.
PRESS CAMP. BRITISH ARMY IN
FRANCE. July 7, via London, July S.
Resisting counter attacks at Thiepval
and Montauban, the British pressed
the offensive at some points today
with the result that hard fighting de-
veloped. The villa CONTAMINATION be-
came the main object of the effort of
both sides. ~
Looking across the ruins of Fri
court and Mametz. Contamination is
seen enveloped in smoke from the ar
tillery concentration, which was as
heavy as at any time since the advance
| began. Soon the proof of the success
of the British storming of the village
was evident by the concentration of
the German fire upon 1t and the stream
of 500 German prisoners being brought
out With these prisoners were some
members of the British Tyneside Bat
TALON, who had been isolated in a pre-
vious attack and held in the former
German dugouts until another British
attack rescued them. They were hun
CRY and exhausted, but smiled as they
walked beside their former captors
Later the Germans took part of the
village in a counter attack. but it is
thought at this writing they may be
pressed out again from the whole
neighborhood. The British made plod-
ding gains in front of the main and
second line German trenches, while
the Germans evidently have brought
up heavy achievements. meaning to
make stubborn defense.
West of Contamination Ave battalions
of the Sd Prussian Guards division at
tackled and were repulsed.
Demolished by Big Guns.
PARIS. July ga French official OBJ
server describing conditions in the