The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1917-06-08
CRUMPLE
GERMAN
DEFENSE

Continued from Page IL
ploughed as by some Brobdigan-
gian farmer. tons of loan turned
and churned into blacXened dust
this was the mark across Bel
CLANS fields today where yester-
day the British turned loose every
-contriyed engine of destruc-
ton to sweep forward in victory.
Dante would have found new
hell pictures in the cataclysm
which rent the earth along the IL
mile front from Ypres to Armen-
there's. A vast upheaval of 600
tons of explosive was the begin
ming.
Scattered over miles of front
and touched off simultaneously,
this vast force tore up the earth
like a volcano. The country
trembled as IL in an earthquake
shock.
Signal For Help.
Great Jagged forks of flame
of lightning. Then began the ar
tillery roar, roar such as never
before heard on this or any other
front.
The barrage battered ahead of
the British troops like a hail of
great steel stones. A storm of
red rockets arose from the darh-
ness ahead as the Germans madly
signalled for help. A moment
later white rockets told that the
British had swept over the
trenches and were going on.
At the time this is cabled the
British are attacking locally "Oxy-
gen trench where pockets of
Bavarian troops are holding out
in strength.
Puts En- i'm Hole.
Successes of yesterday and to-
day make the Germans position
to the east of the Messines-
Wytschaete ridge critical. The
river Lys and the Commines canal
converge there, at Commines.
III the Germans succeed in
crossing these waterways they will
have to undertake the operation
under shell fire and must neces-
sarily lose heavily.
The full advance registered by
the British is over three miles
deep, marking the complete
breakage of the famous ring
around Ypres.
This was the "Ppres salient" of
1914, where thousands of Brit
aims best died In the successful
stoppage of the German encroach-
|, ing wave, or else in unavailing
attempts to advance.
1t was the recollection of these
other days when conditions were
different that inspired the Tom
mics to their task and led them
to unbounded rejoicing today.
Irish United.
/ saw Obstetrics and Irish ma
tionalists go into battle side by
side and storm the ridge positions
shoulder to shoulder. The ami
mosities of ireland we're sub
merged in the animosities against
Fritz" and today when we came
upon a group of two fighting
Irish units each was eager to
praise the other as deserving of
the credit.
The other side of the story
came from the hordes of German
prisoners today as they were be-
ing assorted and herded for trans
portation to the rear,
II In, In.
their amazement and terror at the
tremendous series of mine explo-
sions following which Haig sent
his men forward. Many declared
the whole German army in the
fighting sector thought the Judg-
ment Day had arrived, so terrific
was the shock and SO strong the
shuddering of the ground. That
terror was plainly manifest, Brit
ish Tommies said, when the time
for the German counter attacks
arrived.
so Tons at Once.
The Prussians' attempts were
feeble-more like dying kicks
from a PROSTATE enemy than
blows struck back in earnest. All
were easily repulsed by the Aus
tralians.
Near Messines village the Brit
ish mines under the strong Ger
man positions on hill 60 were
crammed with more than SO tons
of explosives.
This was the record volcano of
all the countless scores that spout
ed their rain of earth, stones,
steel and debris along the front.
In the midst of this falling mass,
shrapnel from British guns ex-
ploded with deadly accuracy.
The German prisoners declared
they had never seen anything like
| it.
Airmen Magnificent.
No small part in the British
success was due to the perfection
of the British air service. Moth
ing daunted, the M. r. f. G. men.
They swung low over the Ger
man lines, ferreting out position
after position and locating gun
tar Tho kasI