New Britain herald., 1917-06-30
.S0UChEz DEFEVSES
 TAKEN BY BRITISH
German Works Before Lens Cap-
 tursd in Today's SYesp
FRENCH ANNlHlLATE ENEMY

Picked German Troops Charge Near
 verdun Bm wisher Under scosch-
 ing Fire Canadians Occupy Ter
 ratnxy Nearer Goal ,
 London. Juno so.-A series of strongly organized .defansive systams on both banks Of the souchex. cover. ing Lens. has been captured by the British. it h announced oficially.
 Tn their recent operations the Brit ish have advanced more than . milo on front of four miles about Lens.
 Picked GeGm1nn Troops.
 Paris, June 3o.-The Germans re- stunned their violent attack on the verdun front west of Dead Man HUI last night. the war omce announces. Picked German troops advanced on . sector of one and three-f -fohrths miles and were almost at1nthilated by the French.
 The Germans penetrated the nrst French line over tho entire front at- tackled. but were driven out excepta ing on the western slope pf Dead Man Hill Fssi5*f
 The French made a counter attack west of Hill s04 and took back rnos1 of the trenches 1ost on Thursday. On the Aisne front the GeTmal1s at- tacked northeast of Cerny, employ ing burnink uqufd. They occupied . saiicnt aftsr the defenSes had bee1 leyellod by shell firo but were TO- pulsed elsewhere. Easo of Conquest Surprises Oanadians.
 Canadian Headquarters in France. June 20, via London-By Canadian Press Success. unexpectedly great and complete at . cost in cas- ualties far less than In some recent unimportant engagements has attend ed tho drive Of tho Canadians alon1 the valley of the. Souchex toward Lens during the past week. The gain of ground is. greater than In. any ac- tions since the capture of vlmy ridge, and tho land restored to France in cludes some of her most productive coal mines CQulotte. Leavitte and almost alf of Avion arc firMly held and that part of the plain east of vimy where, week ego. no ono could show himself above the top of a trench without drawing the fire of snipers and machine guns, may now be traversed I'm tho open
 living out in the water soaked ground along the souchez river this afternoon, still under fire. arc the troops who attacked the. enemy at 3:3O o'clock on Thursday morning in the outskirts of Avion. The Germans put up a resistance so strong tnaI some of the advanced parties were forced, to retire. At o'clock in the morning they attacked again and af- fer hard hand to hand lighting, the result was seen in the number or German dead remaining on the held. they pressed forward toward the western part of the village. The same men took part in . third attack with in 24 hours. This was launched at seven o'clock last night, and after they had once again reached the goal set for them they surrendered to sleep the sleep of utter exhaustion, in a downpoar 1of torrential rain.
 The situation on Friday afternoon is regarded as most satisfactory. The enemy by damming the Souchex r7ver, by blowing up the highway and raal- way bridges crossing the canal anu by obstructing the connecting chan nel through the marches in the reeion southwest of Lens has placed a belt ol inundated land between himself ana the Canadian corps along front or more than a rnile The inundations ara : cover to a weakness the enemy would not have betrayed even q few months ago. because they reveal his intention to wage a purely defensive warfare along this part of the line.
 There are daily increasing, sisns that the German man-power Is no longer what 1t was. The number Of enemy troops in .the field appears little less than before the opening of spring operations, but the spirit of the men is no longer that of an assured victory. A prisoner taken yesterday spoke of the process of disillusion-1 ment that German people are now go- ing through. If the war does not end soon he said. there will be q revolu- ton in Germany. This changed spirit is all the more significant be- cause it Is not due to underfeedins, for most of the German prisoners are we'll nourished.
 Rush Reinforcements to Italy.
 Washington, Juno 3O.--aeavy Aus trian endorsements from the Rus sian front have been thrown against the Italians in the Trentino, accord ing to Italian embassy despatches. They deny that the Italians have been driven from their new position on Mount Oritcara.
 Some of the means by which Italy reduced the submarine sinkings Of
 (Conttnued on Ninth Page)
 WEATHER.