Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1916-07-07
BIG GAINS MADE
BY THE FRENCH
Capture German Second Line and
Break Into Third.
WIN ON SEvEN-MILE FRONT
Allies Are Now Within Two Miles of
Peronne-Villaoe of HON Falls
Kaiser Pushes Reinforce
ments to Scene.

Paris, July 6.-The French have car
ried by assault the second German
lines on front of two kilometers
from the Clery- Maricourt road to the
River Somme. They have also cap
tured the village HON in the same dis
trict, according to the official state
ment issued by the French war office.
The French have captured all the
German second positions south of the
SOmme on front of about ten kiIo-
meters, or seven miles. They also have
completed the occupation of the village
of Estrees, where 200 Germans sur
rendered.
French Peril Peronne.
The full force of the French Of
fensive is again being exerted both
north and south of the Somme, but
principally southwark. In this direc-
ton the French are now in the out
skirts of Peronne, the great railway
center, which is their first objective in
their effort TO cut the German com
munications.
Fight Hard to Hold Town.
Sormont farm, taken by the French,
| is only two miles from Peronne and adj
joins its suburban houses. The i'm
| portance which the Germans attach to
this point is shown in their fierce coun-
ter-attack, when they rushed the
| French lines back to the village of
Belloy -En-Santerre, which they mo-
mentarily held. This village lies be-
tween Assevillers and Estrees, both
held by the French, so that the Ger
man rush temporarily made a dent in
| the French advance. This dent was
quickly Strengthened out when fierce
hand-to-hand fighting placed the town
again in French hands.
Have 10000 Prisoners.
The number of German prisoners
taken by the French is now close to
10000, while the extent of the muni-
tons captured is shown in the fact
that 60 guns were taken by a single
army corps. Meantime the movement
north of the Somme is necessarily re-
tarded in order that the French left
wing may act simultaneously with the
British right wing.
The British have been facing an
extremely heavy resistance, and large
German re-enforcements were hurried
forward all day by the Cologne-Cam-
brai railway, which runs to the very
center of the German front attacked
by the British.
! The stubborn resistance all along
this front has prevented the British
from keeping pace with the French
advance to the south.
Fight to Check British.
The tenacity with which the Ger
mans are holding to their positions
in the face of the British attack, par
| ticularly around La Boisselle, while
the French menace of Peronne is COM
paratively neglected. leads to the be-
| lief of the military authorities that
the Germans are chiefly concerned in
breaking the British offensive, even
at the sacrifice of some ground to the
| south.
| The French have now, in some
places, pushed through the third and
| last line of the German defenSes as
| they existed before the attack began.
The Germans are hastily construct
| ing a new line, but are manifestly
unable to make it as strong as the
three lines perfected after 90 months
of labor.
1t is estimated that the German
losses in the battle of the Somme thus
far are approximately 10000.