Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-06
BRITISH Advance
NEARLA VAcQUER|E
Withdraw Lines Slightly in
General Region of Bourbon
Wood Near Cambria.
FACING NEW ASSAULTS

BY the Associated Press.
LONDON, December 6.-Ths British
have advanced slightly their hns south
west Of La vacquerie, ON the Cambria
front, 1t is announced officially.
On Tuesday night, tho official state
ment says, the British troops withdrew
to the southwest Of Noyelles-sur-pEs'
caut and Bourbon wood The with
drawal, it il added, was accomplished
without the Germans appearing to be
aware Of It until late yesterday.
Germans Meet Repulse.
Tho official report from Field Marshal
Haig's headquarters last night says:
"On the Cambria battle front TWO
minor attacks attempted by the enemy
during the morning In the neighoor-
hood of Gonnelieu were successfully re-
pulsed. Local fighting also took place
this morning to our advantage in the
of La Vacauerie.
early in the afternoon more So
rfous attack was delivered oy tne en-.
envy in this area in consideraoLe Io.ce
1t was repulsed after severe ngnting.
Hostile infantry advancing to attack
in tho neighborhood OF Bourbon wood
and Moeuvres was engaged ana re-
pulsed by our artillery.
"On the Ypres front the nos s.a IN.
fantry has been active this e1teruoon
north Of the Menin road.
ssWe have improved our position
slightly in this area and repuiseo an
enemy reconnoitering party.
Air Raids Into Germany.
Tho following oMcial communication
aviation was issued last
evening:
day. a dense haze over the line greatly
interfered with work in the air. Re-
work was carried out by
our airplanes throughout the day ana
11s bombs were dropped on enemy ar
and German machine emplacements in
the battle area. Several thousand
rounds were fred at the enemy troops
in trenches and in the open
only one or two fights TOOK pIace
in the air and no decisive results were
obtained. None of our machines Is
missing.
"wednesday afternoon raids were
carried out by our airplanes into Ger.
many. These were the first that nao
to incessant bad weather. One raid
was carried out on a large railway
junction and sidings at Sweiprucken
and the other on works at Saarorucken
Many direct hits were observed IN potn
cases and two large fires were started
The hostile aircraft gunfire was heavy
and accurate, but all our machines re-
turned safely. D.. .-.-3
Germans Use New Divisions.
WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN
FRANCE, December 5.-There is no In
dication that Gen. Won Dernerwftx's
s sneai the en presence Of further fresh in
fantry divisions in the Cambria area
shows that tho enemy has not yet lost
hope Of inf1icting a sharp defeat on
the British. The British line is now
any sledge-hammer pressure and the
anxiety-the natural affect of the first
two days onslaught-has been followed
by a feeling of cheerfulness and COM
plete confidence.
been greatly increased and their accu-
rate counter shelling OF the enemy'f
strong artillery groups east Of the
Scheldt has effectively reduced theiI
activity.
The British airmen In clear weather
continue to dominate completely the
Bernan aircraft and bomb marching in.
fantry and towns which have become
new railroads.
Bourbon Position Weak.
The Germans doubtless hope to push
back tho British line and recapture the
Going. The sharp salient which Gen
Byng is holding about Bourbon wood
has given rise to interesting military
problems. The British have held this
against repeated heavy attacks. but
there is no gainsaying the fact that II
is a difficult position to maintain. and
1t is considered the British front would
be considerably stronger without It.
The wood is filled with pools of wa
ter. over which the gas from shells
hours. In addition. the German guns
are able to reach 1t from many direc-
lions, owing to the bend In the line.
There is an interesting, report that a
the town Of Cambria at the beginning
of Gen. Byng's offensive. They were
In small numbers, however. and were
withdrawn Immediately. as they were
far in advance Of the main body. The
enemy has brought in two fresh divi-
sions to the Marcoing area
French Take Prisoners.
PARIS, December Sour patrols
brought back prisoners south of st.
Quentin. north Of ALLIES. and in Alsace. .
says today's official report. ION the
right bank Of the Mouse our batteries
effectively shelled enemy batteries
which were very active on the front
between Louvemont and Bezonvaux
"a raid against our posts north of
Bezonvaux was repulsed. Another
enemy effort. in the region Of Largit-
zen, upper Alsace, met with no better
success
Everywhere else the night was
quiet"
WORKING HARD TO HELP
CAPITAL EXCEED QUOTA