Imperial Valley press., 1916-08-24
In Big Offensive.

With the British Army IN France,
Aug. %, via London, Aug. 24.--The
artillery commander drew his patent
curtain of fire, and never in all the
seven weeks of the Somme battle has
the correspondent witnessed anything
to the "show," as the officers call
every action, in the taking of one of
the spurs of Thiepval ridge, yester-
day afternoon.
Ever since July / when the British
failed in their efforts to storm it,
Thiepval ridge has glared at the
British, who had kept hammering it
with gunfire. The Germans seem to
set the same store by it as they did
by the heights of Ginchy and Guile
mont, on their other flank.
In front of the position conquered
yesterday the British infantry had
been deciminated by machine gun
fire on July 1. Prisoners taken early
in the offensive said the British new
er could obtain a foothold On that
ridge. Those taken yesterday, who
lad been at Verdun, said they suf-
fered nothing there at all equivalent
to the deluge of British shells and
that it was impossible for human be-
i,.gs to endure such tornadoes.
On thousand-yard front, both the
first German line and the support
trench was taken. One pair of eyes
could not see more detail than the
correspondent saw yesterday. The
British and Germans engaged were
outlined as clearly as play around
second base could be seen from a
grandstand. ~
One looked across the tiny valley
toward slope. There the bare
grounds was cut with the slash Of a
new British. trench, and beyond that
across an area of dead grass and
wavy maize, was the old first line
German trench.
Across the expanse, screams from
Thousands of shells tore the air and
began bursting over it. Their flashes
hugged it in an internal ecstasy
Isweeping it with myriads of bullets
and fragment-shooting forked tongues
of death into it's burrows. To show :
he ad and escape being hit, and mt
more than once, was as hopeless as to
stand up in thick hailstorm without
being hit by an icy pellet.
Now. out of the British trench, ap
peared the British soldiers, as the
charge went over the parapet. Ever!
nan was in full equipment, with al
Its details visible; every figure was
uniform, with all others, to the las
Iitcm. No ominous, wicked staccato o.
German machine guns coming into
action was heard. No machine gun
; rer could live at his post in tina
trench.
Right into the face of that cur
Itain of death from shells going onl!
a few feet over their heads, they
were moving Then, suddenly, as
was laid, the curtain of shell fire
lifted. Not single shell out of th'
thousands had burst short.
| Now the British were going oVel
the German parapet, their bayonet
glistening in the sun. AS they DE
|scended into the trench the earti
seemed to have swallowed them up
Little clouds of smoke from bursting
lbombs rose from the trench. There
was hot work proceeding out o.
sight in the burrows.
One after another, as though the!
were coming to the top of STAIRS
heads and shoulders appeared out o
the trench. Each German had hl'
hands up and in file the prisoner
moved past Briton standing on the
parapet. These Germans, who hat
:. of waited to be bombed out of thei
Idrg-outs, but had surrendered, came
les ging it at top speed back towar'
the British first line trenches.
What about the Germans who ha'
,, fled back towards the German sup
, port trench? A light machine Gun
the British had put up ratified lnt'
their backs. Ahead of them was The
British curtain of fire, now llfteC
onto the German support trench
They seemed to disappear into th'
earth, some shot down, some
wounded, others seeking security II
shell craters. Few will survive.
New Date for Trials.