The weekly soliphone., 1917-08-02

and well-chosen positions, fought like tigers.
 I All through August the British Tommies kept doggedly at the enc driving him back inch by inch up the slopes towards Thiepval, from Mouquet Farm to Penieres. Devils Wood, as the South Africans called Delville Wood, was taken literally foot at time and held despite internal shell fire. The British would not let go.
 In September they got their re- ward. They had gained to the crest of the deadly ridge and then, with one sweep almost, they captured village after viliage-GuilemOn Ginchy, Fleis, Martinpuich, Cource- lette, Guedecourt, Lesboeufs, Nor val and Thiepval.
 On the 18th of this month the tanks went into action for the first time On that day the famous off cial message of an airman read: "A tank is walking up the High street of Flers with the British army cheering behind it.
 And it was fact. A complete surprise to the Germans, they crawled over trenches and trees. shell craters and the walls of ru- ined villages startling hundreds of the enemy into surrender all by themselves | Combles was abandoned by the Germans during September, the from the north, the French from the south, the two allies meeting in the center of the town and shaking hands. This was the first town of the war to be given up without a fight, owing to Franco British pres sure. During October, in the drizzle, the British took Eaucort lAzzaye and Le Sars November was wet and soggy and during the short lull which came in the fighting about this time the Germans boasted that the British army had spent itself and was no longer dangerous. The reply was one of the most brilliant victories of the war. the capture of Beaumont Hamel. one of the solid est of Hindenburg's strong points, along with Beaucourt. St. Pierre pivion and 1000 prisoners.
 Besides these and other towns and villages taken by the British, had fallen an incredible number of positions the capture of any one of which in previous wars would have made a generals reputation Somme fighting fell the Windmill beyond Pozieres, Mouquet Farm, Stuff and Schwaben Redoubts, the | Ouadrilateral north of Flers, the other one near High Wood, High Wood itself. Memtz Wood and Fri court, Delville, Angle, Wedge, Acid Drop, Arrow Head and other woods and strong points. all interlocking and making their capture the hard CT because each was supported by the rest All of Britain's children did well, the Canadians at Cource- lette, Australians at Posieres, New Zealanders around Flers, Newfound- landers near Thiepval. South Afri- cans at Delville Wood Irish at Gulilemont, Welsh at Mametz, Scots at Longueval ad Beaumont Hamel where the soldiers fought to the pipes playing "Stop Your Tickling Jock
 The Germans threw into the Som me battles 90 divisions, all differ ent. but as some of these went in twice or three times the equivalent of no divisions were used against averaged about 45 per cent, killed wounded and prisoners, or about | 75O,00O. French and British togeth- CT took over SO,OOO prisoners, the l bTlIlSH snare Ol tHC DOOIy DclIS 20 heavy guns and howitzers, 96 field guns, 136 trench mortars and 154 machine guns, plus stores of all kinds.
 As 1917 advanced the British kept pounding away at the Prus- sians. In February and March, un- able to stick it out under the ever lasting hammering, the Kaiser's men fell back, abandoning Ba- paume, Peronne. and surrounding country. The German high com mand had previously prepared what is known as the Hindenburg line, Arras to Craonne, via St. Quentin, and counted upon that to hold. But on April 9th, by marvel ously rapid maneouver. Sir Doug las, now Field Marshal Haig, struck l at the Arras pivot and broke it, driving in the German line to the switch" position between Lens and l Queant So was the spring offensive l