The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-09-27


 London, Sept. 27-The capture Of Com bles was one of the most picturesque incidents in the whole course Of the gerat Somme offensive. It marked the opening of todays forward surge Of the British and French forces which reached its climax in the capture or Guedecourt and Thiepval.
 All night long bitter fighting had been in progress at various points on the front and with dawn the battle broadened to include the whole British left. Combles fell as the sun rose on a perfect summer day. Sitting in the midst of g. heap of hills, the town was isolated yesterday by the seizing of the high ~-ound on either side by the French and British. In the early hours of the morning the British took an orchard in the northern outskirts and then, after a heavy preliminary smelling, they charged the trenches on the edge of the village. The trenches were empty when they reached them. At the same time, the French, dash ing forward on the other side of the village, pushed victoriously forward into the heart of the village. In the main street the soldiers of the two na- tions met and joyously shook hands. Combles had a labyrinth of dugouts and we'll fortified cellars but at the last practically no defense was made. Those Germans who had not managed to escape when the town was hope lessly surrounded, were taken prisoner. One lot of Germans who were endeav- bring to find a way out through the encircling allied infantry, walked into the British skirmishing line. The eel lars and dugouts of the village were full of wounded. Having cleared Com bles of any stray Germans, the British and French moved on side by side to further attack.
 One of the most striking features of the fighting last night and today was the surprisingly slight resistance of- fered at Merval and Combles by the Germans, according to all reports made by the British officers. The Germans made the usual counter-attacks against the British new positions last night but the reports of the allied off, cers to headquarters agree that they lacked spirit.
 | terday were lightly occupied or not | at all. In other instances the allied | commanders stated that considerable
 
 rifles promptly as soon as the attack CTS approached their trenches but it was known they had orders to stay to | the last. Batches of prisoners have been coming in from all parts of the front throughout the day.
 | In their attack yesterday, the Brit ish found the strongest defense made in front of Guedeccourt. The Ger mans worked their machine guns with the tenacity and unyielding courage which has hitherto characterized them. The British resumed the at- tack today and tonight all the village is in their possession. Both today and yesterday the Germans showed an in clination to withdraw their guns im- mediately they were in any danger, evidently desiring to take no risk of losing any of their artillery. This sometimes leaves their troops in the front line unprotected by cannon fire and may account for the number of surrenders.
 In the meantime, the British con- tinue to pound the whole line with their seemingly inexhaustible supply of shells, leaving the Germans in doubt as to what sector will be the next to be attacked by the infantry.
 The first warning that the Germans have that the British seek to gain certain frontage is a sudden increase of gunfire in that sector to a tornado which it does not seem possible that a mouse could escape alive. Usually, this tornado is brief compared to the old-fashioned artillery preparation, but it lasts long enough to enable the British infantry to rush from their own to the German trenches.
 About midday today the British left had its turn in the region of Thiepval at the other extreme of the battle front from Combles. Here the fight ing line joins the old German front trench line and the Germans, in their dugouts and galleries have fought with the skill and stubbornness which characterizes them in this kind of warfare. 'They stick like glue to these dugouts,'' said one British soldier, because they know that once they are pushed back we do not give them time to dig any more."
 A blackish heap of dirt on the crest of a ridge is all that remains of Thiep- val on the top of that heap there still rise few black sticks, tree trunks slivered. and hewn by shellfire which have escaped being downed by di- rect hit. On July 1, the first day of