The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1917-08-01
ALLIES HOLD
POINTS WON
IN BELGIAN
< OFTEN S|vE
British and French Repulse
evere Commentaries
and Consolidate Positions
in Driving Rain.
PREPARATION IS LARGE
(By Associated Press)

With wide stretch Of territory and
|, more than $500 prisoners in their
I lands as the result of the first days
ffghting In their new offensive, the
British and French troops in Flanders
spent last night consolidating their
gains and repulsing the inevitable Ger.
man counter attack.
The new line which, along the great
er part OF its stretch is two miles to
two and one half miles in advance Of
the old, and includes ten captured
towns within its limits. has been firm.
ly held along the entire front The
consolidation process is being carried
out under . torrential rain which Is
hampering, further operations.
Too Early to Judge.
The extent of the permanent advan.
tage gained by the smashing of the
German line in this important section
Of the front will have to be judged
by further developments. Definite OBJ
jectives were assigned the various al.
lied units for attainment in the first
days stroke and they appear to have
gained almost in their entirety.
The logical supposition. with the
mastery of the Somme and Arras op-
erations. particularly the former, In
mind, the drive will be renewed as
soon as the heavy guns are moved up
into pursuit, Of the plan of driving a
wedge into the German line by sue.
cessive strokes until point is reach
ed when a falling back Of the enemy
on wide front will be forced.
Theaten Wasp Bases.
The importance to be attached to
a drive in German held territory in
this sector must be guaged not only
by the retaining Of Belgian soil from
the invaders which 1t makes possible,
but the threat It offers to the German
submarine bases along the Belgian
coast. A push much further eastward
along the present line OF advance will
,, ne bound to shake the security OF the
German coast line.
The desperation Of the German re-
sistance now manifesting itself In fur.
ious counter attacks, bears witness to
the Importance the German high conf
mand attaches to the retention Of the
present front. This front has been
shown to be not the rigid one the
Teutonic claims have made 1t out.
Badly bent by yesterdays attacks the
immediate future is likely to show
whether it can be strained to the
breaking point.
Advices from the allied capitals
point to the expectation Of the battle
opened yesterday continuing for
weeks. If not months.
Long Effort Seen
The French troops evidently were
not brought up to the Belgium front
away from their former field Of oper-
alton for any brief effort at arms. and
the Paris comment on the offensive
particularly points to the vast prepar-
alton made for it and the large re-
suits hoped for.
On the French front the Germans
went on this morning with an opera
ton they had been preparing in the
Verdun region, launching an assault
between Avocourt and hill 304 north
west Of the citadel, in an effort to re-
gain the positions they lost on July
II. Only a few advanced elements Of
the French line. however, were reach
ed by the crown princes forces, the
French FIRE stopping them short there.