The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-08-05
FRENCH MAKE GAIN
~S%!!2TH ! OF VERDUN
TANl FLEURY
Drove Germans Out Of ThlaumOnt
for a While
RUSSIANS ARE DRIVEN BACK
RUSSIANS ARE DRIVEN BACK
After Fierce Fighting Are Compelled
to Retire From Advance on
kovei.

London, Aug. 5.-Verdun, almost
quiescent during the Anglo-French op-
erations in the Somme region, has
again become the storm center on the
western battle front, The French
forces have taken the offensive on
the right bank of the Meuse and now
hold the Thiaumont work and the
greater part of the village of Fleury ac
cording to Paris.
The Thiaumont work, already
the scene of many desperate combatas
was twice in French hands during II
hours yesterday The forces OF the
German Crown prince fought tenaci-
ously. driving the French from the
work once, but losing it again. Ger
| man counter-attacks were of no avail
says Paris, and the work remained in
the possession Of the French.
Fleury, which changed hands Thurs.
day after the French had succeeded
in taking it, is again. almost entirely
occupied by the French. Fierce fight
ing still continues in and around the
oners taken in the Verdun fighting
number 400
On the Somme front, in northern
Franch, there has been little infantry
activity, both the British and French
official communications failing to re-
port any moves on the part of their ar
mics. London says the Germans bonn
barded the section southeast of Poz-
ieres, and also the southern portion
of the. Mametz wood.
, Desperate counter.attacks by
the Germans in the region OF the Stok.
hod river east of Kovel. have result
ed in the retirement of the Russian
forces which had seized the village Of
| Rudka Mirvanskaia. The fact that
the village is only 10 miles from Ko.
vel, the Russian objective on this part
of the Volhynian front, probably ac-
counts for the intensity of the fighting
there.
The Russian Gen Shakharoff's
| troops continue to advance south of
Brody and toward Lemberg. Petro-
grad reports the capture of 1900 Aus
tro-Germans in "hot attack on the
line of the Sereth and Graberki rivers.
London, Aug. 4.-Russian troops
| which crossed the Stokhod on the line
OF the KoyelSarny Railroad few
days ago advanced yesterday to the
Stayok River, a left tributary of the
Stokhod, where a terrific battle is in
progress for the village OF Rudka-
Mirynskaia, nineteen miles from Ko-
vel After it had changed hands sew
eral times the Germans during the
night forced the Russians to evacuate
IL.
An idea of the desperate character
of tn fighting here is given by two of.
fetal exports. The first one, given
out by the War Office this morning,
said:
On the River Stayok. a LETT tributary
OF the Stokhod, our detachments
fought their way to the river. where
an obstinate engagement took place
for the village of .Mirynskaia
Bayonet fighting took place in the
streets. and, although the village
changed hands several times, II finally
remained in our possession. All enemy
attempts TO dislodgo us ended In fail
ure. The enemy was forced back be
hind the River Stavok, and we tool
GOO German prisoners and captured
| twelve machine guns,
Tonieht's bulletin reads as follows,
On the outskirts OF RudGa.Miryan
skaia which forms salient position
or the River Stavok. there vas les
perate fighting The entire night. III,
enemy having approached the villag,
frcm three sides and launched repeat
CO counterattacks. Having rcpulset
these attacks. we, toward O'Clock /,
thte morning. evacuated tne villag,
and retired from four to six hundre,
yards further to the east.
London. Aug. 3.--Tho Frencl
counter offensive northeast of Verdul
today reached It's climax In powerful
blow which resulted in the complete
recapture of Fleury and the who'll
system of highly organized defense
. from southeast of Thiaumont to tn
Froid Terre ridge.
After series of almost unintcrrupt
ed attacks during the night and for,
|. noon on the four.mile front from tn
}. Meuse to the woods west of Damloul
3 the French this afternoon concei
3 trated all their power in a trement
! ous thrust on the one.mic Thiaumon
: fleury line. They smashed forwar
. about quarter of n mile through tn
!. most powerful field works on tn
western front.
All the gains made by the German
In their attacks of Tuesday have bee