The sun., 1917-08-01
Greatest Drive of War Oc-
ours From Dixmude to
River Lys.
ATTACK AT DAYBREAk
British Burst Through
Their Own Barrage to
Reach Enemy.
3 TRENCH SYSTEMS FALL
French Cooperation Is Perfect
-Petain Also Strikes on
Aisne.
3 TRENCH SYSTEMS FALL

LONDON, July 31.-In a smashing Of
fensive, ranked by experts as the
greatest of the war, the British and
French to-day tore out the entire Ger
man first line and portions of the sec
ond and third over front of more than
twenty miles in Flanders, from Dix
nude, on the north, only ten miles
from the sea, to the Belgian frontier.
just below Warneton, where it is
crossed by the River Lys. In this tre-
mendous drive the British and French
took ten towns and villages and moro
than $500 prisoners have been brought
in already. The Entente Allies losses
are reported as very small.
La Bassee Vile, Steenstraete, Blk
schoote, Verlorenhoek, FreZenberg.
Saint Julien, Pibakiul, Hooge, West
hoek and Hollebeke, all between
Warneton and Dtxmude, are the towns
and villages captured.
Over considerable section of the
front the Entente troops, after winning
the first line trenches, made a dash into
the second and took them also. At
few points here and there they drove
into the third line OF German trenches.
At one place the British charged through
their own deadly barrage to stop the
fleeing Germans. The latest reports
from the front are that the Germans are
counter attacking at the point OF juno
ton of the French and British armies.
The smashing blow against the Ger
man right wing. which promises to he
the heaviest and most effective the
Allies have yet delivered, began just as
day was breaking. Artillery fire against
the German trenches in Flanders has
been tearing to pieces for three weeks
the powerful works that the Kaiser's
troops have occupied there for nearly
three years. This artillery fire has been
characterized by the Germans as the
most intense ever known in this OF any
other war At $50 o'clock this
morning the thousands. of heavy guns
that had been roaring an inferno through
the night suddenly became silent. This
was the signal and instantly hundreds
of thousands Of khaki clad men ewarmed
over the top" from their own trenches
and dashed in great waves against the
German lines.
Nothing could withstand them. Where
they struck they went through. With
cold steel and hand grenades they cleared
one trench after another. The heavy
artillery of the Allies dropped a curtain
of fire behind the Germans, cutting Off
their escape, and masses Of them were
gathered in and sent to the rear.
A Reuter- despatch from British head
quarters in France says that the User
vas crossed at many places. The bridg-
ing work was prodigious. One division
alone in the course of single day sue
ceeded under fire in throwing seventeen
bridges on its front.
The accomplishment of the French
troops, continues the correspondent,
evoked the greatest admiration. They
threw twenty mine bridges across the
Iser pushed on and repeatedly made
deep advances"
While this tremendous drive was
going on in the north. with the French
taking their part between Dixnude and
| Bossinghe, in Belgium, Gen, Petains
men were busy in their own section, on
| the Aisne They attacked in force on
| 1900 yard front at La Royete and-west
of Epine de Chevregny and took 167
prisoners, including seventeen officers.