Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-11-02
French Drive the Germans Back
Toward Laon, Taking Many
Prisoners and Guns.
WORK BY AVIATORS
AustrIans, Reinforced by German
! Troops, Open Offensive Against
ltallans-Teuton Retreat In Riga
yRsoion-Llberty Loan q Sue
osss-Burleson Warns h
Traitor Press.
BY EDWARD PlcKARD.


The French army made last week
one Of the most important ADVANCES OF
the fall campaign on the front north
east of scissors. After a furious bar
rage by the artillery, the troops rushed
forward for q gain of more than w
miles, and when they rested, they were
In a position to enflade the German
lines all along the valley of the Ailette.s
lPetain also now directly threatens
Laon, the big railroad center that
forms the southern extremity OF the
Hindenburg line, and can enflade the
crown princes troops that still hold
the northern edge of the plateau that
parallels the Chem1n des Danes. The
German line running north to the for
est of st. Gobain is In danger, and if
this gives way the enemy would have
Ito give up his present front from
lChavignon to st. Quentin.
In this operation the French cap
ltured Fort de la Malmaison and other
strong positions and routed some of
the finest troops In the German army,
taking more than 5000 prisoners and
a great number of guns. The French
iaviators did especially good work dur
ing the battle, flying at a very low al
Ititude and breaking up with their ma
'chine-gun fire several German attempts
to counter-attack.
The first French smash was made
on Tuesday, and again on Thursday
lPetain's forces struck hard, driving
the Germans from Monkey mountain
and other strong positions and adyanc-
Ing to within eight miles of Laon. The
number of prisoners was increased to
$4,000.
Another Advance In Flanders.
The British, in Flanders, with the
French cooperating, pushed forward
about a thousand yards IN a front of
a mile and "a half on Monday, taking
some important positions and getting
astride the Ypres-Staden road. The
Germans made desperate attempts to
recover the ground, but succeeded in
regaining only one farm at the edge
of the Houtholst forest. r
All week the allied aviators made
destructive raids behind the German
lines, dropping many tons of explo-
sives on munition works, lines of COM
munication and other military estab-
Ilishments.
Austro- German Drive on Italians.
Responding to Austria's call for help,
the kaiser sent large bodies of his
troops to the scene of operations north
of Trieste, and the combined forces of
the central powers began a big often
ief-o %1or0 On IHadnncdau Tho Italians
were expecting the and declared
themselves ready. Berlin admitted
that the Teutons on the first day
gained only some advanced positions
of the Italians near Fitch and Tolmino
and on the northern part Of the Balm
sizza plateau, but claimed to have ia
ken 5000 prisoners. In the matter of
terrain General Cadorna has rather the
best of it, though the Austrians hold
some lofty mountain positions. A Brit
ish correspondent at the Italian front
says the object of the enemy in max
ing this drive is as much political as
military, the Germans having the mis-
taken idea that the Italian people are
tired of the war.
Whence came the German forces
that are aiding the Austrians has not
been revealed, though it is likely they
are from the Riga sector of the Rus
sian front. The Germans announced
at the beginning of the week that they
had retired for a considerable distance
there without telling why.
kerensky Attacked In Russ.a.
In other respects the weeks develop
mepts In Russia were unsatisfactory.