New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-08-01
Tresches Seized to Depth
at Some Points of ga
Miles
Roar of Big Guns
Heard in London
'reutons Bewildered by In
tensity of Attack, but
Fight Desperately
By ARTHUR S. DRAPEp

", 'e'y "A' aver weeks OF exc
pectancy, Haig loosed his great 1917
offensive just before dawn this morn.
ing. Along front of twenty-five miles
in Flanders, from just north o. Ar
mentieres to Dixmude. on the User,
the British infantry. powerfully sup
ported by French troops, swarmed
over the enemy's first lines of de-
fence to depth of from 1000 yards
TO two miles and a half.
Ten German defensive systems fell
before the onrush. Eleven villages and
towns were wrested from the enemy,
and more than $500 prisoners have
been counted so far. All the objec-
tives Of the first days assault were
attained, General Haig reports, and at
several points both the British and
the French infantry crashed forward
after reaching the lines under attack.
The losses of both the French and
British are declared to have been
slight.
Offensive Only Begun
In spite of the fact that for three
weeks the opposing batteries in Flan-
ders had been carrying on what was
acknowledged by both sides to be the
mightiest artillery duel of the entire
war, the Allied stroke came as a dra-
matte surprise TO all military observ-
ers. Its ultimate Importance cannot
yet be estimated, as it is still in its
first stages. But, coming at momcnt
when Russia and her armies at the
front are confronted with collapse. it
is bound to have a moral effect second
to that of no other military movement
this year.
Whether Haig's new attack aims at
the ultimate turning OF the enemy's
right flank and the destruction of the
submarine bases on the Belgian coast
by means Of joint land and sea often
sive is not clear as yet, but that is the
hope ii has inspired in England Either
directly on the Belgian coast front or
just north of Lens were the favorable
spots selected for the attack by all
amateur strategists who have been fol-
lowing events in the West during the
last few weeks. Instead, the British
and French plunged across a country
every name in which had been made
famous in earlier battles Of the war.
Not Attacking One Point
The peculiarity Of the offensive lies
in the fact that there is 10 great cen
trsl town or immediate difficult objec-
tive facing the attackers. There is TO
Vimy Ridge or Messines Ridge block
ing the path Of the assaulting troops
on this front from Dixmude south TO
Warneton. But any push from the
River Lys must menace the great Ger
man railroad centre Of Menin. the fail
ure to capture which in October, 1914.
has placed a heavy handicap on the
Allied forces ever since.
But whatever the ultimate objective
of the new drive, it is evident that the
fate of Lille. Roubaix and Turcoing, tho
three greatest industrial towns OF
Northern France, depends upon the Ger
man success in holding their lines
against the onslaught begun to-day.
Il is an important fact that the ad-
vancing troops on this occasion are con.
fronted with almost no great physical
obstacles. The country before them
lies almost fat, and for the most part
is scantily wooded. What woods there
were have been wiped out entirely by
the terrific gunfre Of the last three
weeks, the famous Ploegstrsete Wood
furnishing an example Of this.
Rain Favored Defenders
Only between Zonnebeke and Chel-
uelt does the lay Of the lard favor the
defenders, although the rain Of the last
few days may be counted upon as a
factor assisting the Germans, having
converted most of the countryside into
a desert Of thick, heavy, clinging mud
the Flanders mud, made famous in
stories of the early war.
Many dramatic events featured tho
initial assault Of the grand offensive.
At one point on the line Of attack the
British troops charged through their
own barrage fire, to prevent the fleeing
Gremans from escaping. In other see
tors the task Of the infantry was made
easy By the deadly work cf the giant
numbering tanks, which raaed the enc
my's trenches and dugouts with an en-
filading fire while straddled, in many
cases, across the big bitches.
Never in history, all reports from the
front agree, has battle been preceded
by such destructive and sustained gun
FIRE. The roar Of the cannon during
last night and this morning was dis.
tinctly heard in London and through.
out Southern England. Under this
deluge Of steel six Bavsrian division,
were forced TO retire and give way "a
fresh troops. The first and second Ger.
man lines were laid In ruins, and even
beyond the ground was torn up as By
an earthquake.
When the Tommies and polus went
over the top with the first faint sigf
of day they found the enemy daZed
and bewildered by the artillery attack
Along the entire line the first thoi'
sand yards OF trenches fell into thci,
hands almost without struggle. apf
it was not until they approached ,A'
second and third lines that they me-
with desperate resistance
Between Dixmude and Aaesinghe the
British were forced TO advance EVIL