The Hawaiian gazette., 1916-09-15
General Foch In Series Of Night
Assaults Forces Germans From
PositionsNo Of SommelCut-
ting Communication With North
FRENCH SOLDIERS HOLD
FIRM DESPITE ATTACKS
CombIes and Peronne Threaten
ed BY Salient and Crown
Prince Rupprecht Tries In Vain
To Win Back Lost Ground

ASSOCIATED Press by Federal wirslessD
~ ARTS. September l4.-Driving
eastward in the face of terrific
German resistance, the French
yesterday crossed the Peronnc- Bal aumc
road and captured the important cen
ter BOuchavesnes. They held firm in
spite Of repeated desperate counter
attacks launched under the direction of
Prince Rupprecht, the Bavarian
crown prince, now in command Of the
Urrman FORCES on the Gomme rlver
buttlciclds.
The French have tnOw advanced al,
most thirteen miles due east from the
positions they held when the present
Somme offensive began on the first
day of last July. The British, to the
north of Combles. have made slightly
more than nine miles to tie cast of the
positions around Albert, from which
hey launched their offensive last July.
French Salient Sharp Pointed
The new French salient is a sharp
pointed one, and the Germans yesteT-
day made frantic efforts to crush in
the sides of the triangle as well as to
drive back the head, but in vain. Once
their eounter-attacks succeeded in
rrumbhng up the French resistanct
and in clearing the French out of
BOuchavesnes, but the French pOilus
rallied and within a short time had re-
taken the ground they had won, and
34ien night came held it securely.
The French line now runs from its
juncture with the British army slight
" southwest of Combles, almost due
east to q point north and east of lie
BOIs d 'Anderlu, Just south of lie Prick
Farm, where they captured a powerful
sys't of forts yesterday Thence
j. bends in a long curve that runs geu-
"rplly east and south to sharp point
1T the little city of Bouchavesnes,
wi ere II swerves southerly across the
PerOnne- BapaumP road, past Hill 20
and thence, bending sharply to the east
again, it comes down past a point to
the east Of Clrry sur Somme. Here it
dips south TO crrss the river between
OmmiecOurt and Halle. Thence, after
crossing tn" Somme canal the line
bends easterIv once more until it
reaches the town of Biaches, just across
the river from P"ronnr.
Rejoins Former Line
To the south Of Buches is the famous
Chateau La Maisonnette from which
rms road held bv the French to Bar
lruX, after whirh the line swings west
and south again past Bellov en- Santer-
re and Berry en- Santerre, DenicOurt
and NrrmandoNilIierrs to the neigh
horhOOd Of Chuulnrs.where it reioins
tho I,I a l.,
Germans dug themselves after the bat
tie of the Aisur
The B"urhaNrsnrs salient threatens
The continued German possession of
COmblcs. which town is hanked by the
French nov, as we'll as PcrOnnc. Incl
dentaily IA" cutting of the PeTOnne-
Bapaumc road which the Germans had
used largely for transporting heavy
material and men from the northern
lines to the positions around PerOnne
and south rs far as Roy, il serious
blow to the TrutOnic forces here.
That they realized the importance
of the possession of that high way was
shown yesterday by their repeated and
vicious attacks made in an effort to
regain the lost road. Time after time
they were rrpuIsed. At last, however
the concentration of the artillery fire
proved too much for the French in
fantry and they were forced to flee
from the advanced trenches.
French Reinforce Soon
But supports came up and the French
acting under orders from Fuch, rG-at
tackled the positions and retOok them
The fighting east Of BOuchavesnes war
ferociOus, say the official accounts is
sued by French war office last night
On the flank of the salient the Germans
also poured fierce infantry and artil
Icry fire to cover their attacks against
the French positions at J. Able Woo
aud Hill IS, sOuthw west of BOuchaVes
mes. Here also they were at first un
successful, then victorious and at tho
last defeated. The positions rested il
French hands at nightfall.
The French reports of the fighting an
nOupred that the troops of Genera
FOch had taken 300 prisoners, togeth
or with Il number of machine guns
during the two days struggle TO
BouehaVesncs. Much Of the fghtiul
was done in night attacks during Tues
day night, the French sending success
siVe charges against the Germans, af
ter the guns had prepared the way b,
Blasting to bits the German trenches
Gains On Verdun Fields
Not only on the Somme fields di,
the French make gains yesterday, 70
the official communique told of decid
cd advances north of Verdun, wher
the roles of attacker and attacke,