Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-03

LONDON, July "A dispatch to the
Daily. Mail from British headquarters in
France. describing the fighting of the last
two days, says that a close. bitter and
intensive struggle was engaged in over
every furlong of the front. which had
been fortified continuously for seventeen
months by every mechanical device known
to modern warfare.
THE highest tribute to the success Of
the onrush,' says this account, was the
undoubted fact that the Germans were in
no degree taken by surprise. According
to prisoners the attack had been ex-
pected for some days.
THE bulk Of the enemy's reserves were
certainly brought up to the support and
reserve trenches and the men in the
trenches were everywhere ordered to hold
out to the death.
Great efforts were made by the Ger
mans to forward a plentiful supply of
ammunition to the trenches on the firing
line. but our continuous. highly organized
and well directed artillery fire, made
this either difficult or impossible.
Food Shortage In Trenches.
prisoners asserted that they had re-
ceived nothing to drink for three days and
that they also had been very short Of
food. The strain was too much for many
of them and some jumped out of their
men left theirs and stood in row, hold
ing up their hands.
I Such incidents might give an in
accurate idea that the enemy surrendered
easily. The truth is that in villages how
ever battered, and in field forts they or
ganized their defense with the highest
skill and obstinacy.
1t out until the end Of the day against all
attacks, SO, too, at Fricourt. The defense
Of Mametz made great battle out Of the
taking of single village The counter
attack at Montauban. though 1t failed,
| was as fine an effort as the more success
full German encounter charge at Serre
Weak in Heavy Artillery.
"One point in the German defense which
was weak was the heavy artillery. The
| enemy was quite outgunned throughout
the attack and our infantry suffered much
less than was expected from shell fire.
In the front trenches nothing like the
bombardment Of vimy. for example, was
experienced.
Perhaps tho strangest part Of the fight
tactically was the common experience that
ground and positions apparently taken
possessed and left behind In the advance
| were not necessarily won In the So
called Danzfg trench, south of Frjcourt
the Germans came out Of immensely deem
dugouts and manned machine guns after
our men had supposedly captured il and
had advanced beyond it,
Our troops went right through one
village and out on the other side r.
md later that the enemy had emerged
from many strange hiding places ana
| had sarrisoned the place against ali
Corners. -
Battle Line Irregular.
The fishting was not in essenc. q
frontal attack on straight trenches.
though necessarily the first rush wal
frontal. The line-very direct on a
small scale map-is composed. es-
pecially in this part, Of salienta and
re-entrant angles, dips and bulges.
| Both tactically and by accidents n,
| lighting the enemy at the end ~ ths
| day were often left in Isolated rronns
on promotories such as Gonmecomrt
| where we advanced on both si6ss ~ q
| wood. and on islands such a. ara fonnd
in the valley where the viilsss M
Frtcouft 10 located. In such niaees
| prisoners are likely to b n,,r, trc,,e
II any case the fighting must be mud.
dled and uneven 'e - ~
] Nowhsrs was hts tight sufAeaentiy