The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-11-26
BRITISH ARMIES ENC|RCLE BOURBON
AND DOMINATE CITY OF CAMBRIA

A large amount Of traffic In the last
few days has been pouring out OF
Cambria toward the southeast, indicat.
ing the probability that the Germans
have evacuated the civilian population
and are preparing for eventualities.
That the Germans attached greatest
Importance to Bourbon wood and the
village was fully evidenced by their
strenuous resistance in the intense
counter attacks hurled against the
British lines: Several counter thrusts
were delivered by the enemy Saturday.
Some of them. succeeded temporarily,
but the British Immediately pushed for.
ward again and regained the lost
ground.
Spectacular Fighting.
The fighting over the wooded slopes
of this elevation has been the most
spectacular of the war, for the occu-
patton OF the forest was due to the
work of tanks and airmen who paved
the way for the on-rushing infantry.
A number of iron monitors led the ad-
vance to Bourbon wood Friday, with
British planes circling over the enemy
at height of from thirty to fifty feet
and carrying on a vigorous warfare
with their machine guns and bombs.
J 1t was hard fighting. but the advance
was continued successfully until the
northeast corner Of the wood was
reached, where the tanks were held up
by strong force of the enemy.
British aipnen. who hasi been fight
ing close to the ground, deliberately
charged down on the enemy infantry
with machine guns pumping a steady
stream Of bullets into the German
ranks.
The battle was short and decisive.
The airplanes wheeled and re.
wheeled over the heads Of the Germans
and maintained such an intensive fire
that the defenders were forced to re-
tire from the position after suffering
considerable losses.
The tanks then pushed on, the con-
quest of the wood being completed and
an entering wedge had been driven in.
to the village.
British Forced Out Again.
Almost Immediately the Germans de.
iivered a heavy counter attack on the
troops who had penetrated the ham.
let, and after a stiff engagement forced
them to withdraw again to the edge
of the wood. Saturday morning, the
British renewed the attack on the vii
lage.
II was Il Ddttle III which the British
troops gloried, for it took them back to
the days of other wars when men strug.
gled in the open.
Little by little, the Germans were
forced to give ground at the northwest
edge of the wood about Bourbon village
until the British infantry reached the
bloodstained streets of the hamlet once
more. Dusk settled down about the
contending forces, but still they con-
tinued to shoot and thrust at one
another in the gathering darkness.
Was Grim Tragedy.
No more grim tragedy has been en-
acted since the war began than was
staged among the ruins of Bourbon vii
lage last night. Its finish found the
shattered German forces outside the
village boundary but still full of de.
termination. Several times through
the night they reformed and swept for
ward against the village bue each time
were hurled back with heavy lolsses.
The village of Fontaine Notre Dame.
between Bourbon wood and Cambrai
still was in German hands today. This
shattered hamlet, however, was Civ
ing the British no cause for worry. and
at the latest reports they were ignor-
ing it and continuing to push ahead on
the northwest side