Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1917-09-21
BRITISH DRIVE HAS.
PROVEN OUT LONDON
ELATED AT VICTORY
TROOPS FORCE GERMANS TO RE
TREAT-RETAlN ALL PORTIONS
GAINED WHILE PREPARING FOR
ANOTHER push"

London. Sept. II Savage German
counter attacks failed to shake the
British hold ON the gains won in Field
Marshall Haig's brilliant victory on
the West Flanders front on Thursday.
over . font nearly ten miles wide.
east of Ypres, a furious struggle has
ragged since dawn yesterday.
British forces have pressed ahead
more than mile at some points, cap
turing the villages of Veldhoek and
Aeevenkote respectively south and
north of the strategic Roulers road
Not alone were terrific losses in
fiicted upon the Germans. but 1000 or
more prisoners We're captured by the
British.
The first phase of the new British
offensive was fought out under the
greatest obstacles for a heavy rain
had fallen which turned the fields and
roads to deep mudholes ana filled the
battlefield with hundreds of miniature
lakes, where the water had filled M
the shell and mine craters.
The new tanks that were able to 90
into action fioundered thru the
swampy mre, like huge prehistoric
animals, and not few of them sank
so deeply into the morasses that they
were unable to reach advanced line
OF fighting.
Thru the thick fog banks aeroplanes
lowered close to the earth and des-
pite the fierce fire from German high
angle cannon and machine guns. con.
tlnued their work of searching out
batteries and observing the move
ment of Prince Rupprecht's reserves
In no previous battle in Belgium has
the artillery fire been 50 violent nor
has the British high command used
such huge army in a single opera
ton Colonial troops took active part
in the first days fighting, but well
tried regiments from England were
scattered along the firing line, always
in the thickest of the fighting.
English. Scotch, Welsh, Irish Afri
can Australians. Canadians and New
Zealand troops took part in the big
thrust. They had stern task to per-
form, tor the Germans fought stub
bornly, bnt they carried out with
glory to themselves and the empire.
After sweeping over the first and
second lines of German trenches the
British began to encounter the hidden
blockhouses of pill boxes" hidden
away In depressions of the ground
These works are miniature forts built
of steel and concrete with the roofs
almost flush with the ground Each
houses several machine guns and they
poured a CALLING fire into the attack
ing ranks.
Despite the terceness Of the resist.
ance, dispatches from the British
Headquarters today stated that the
British losses were small in compar-
ison with the extent of their gains.
Ten square miles of new Belgian
territory are in the hands of the Brit
ish today as result of their victory.
Included in this stretch of battle
SCARED ground are numerous patches
of wood land. all Of which the Ger
mans had fortified and protected with
numberess strings of barbed wire
Among these pieces of forest are In
verness Copse. on the Manin road;
Glen Copse and Nuns woods, around
which heavy fighting has conferred
since the contending armies first came
to grips along the West Flanders
front.
The advance in this sector has car
ried the British into Polygon forest,
four miles east of Ypres and now
battle is in progress for possession of
all this fortified park
England rang with jubilation today
over the latest exploit of British arms.
The press contained long articles
from their military experts pointing
out that Field Marshal IIaig is carry
ing out his campaign in Belgium in
even steps. Instead Of trying to break
the German hold on the Belgium coast
by single stroke, he is fighting his
way forward mile by mile, and as he
does so, the German center gets weak
err and weaker. There are still big
obstacles ahead. it was pointed out,
but today England Is nearer her goal
the smashing of the German grip on
the submarine base of Zeebrugge and
Antwerp-than at any other time in
the past year.