Bisbee daily review., 1917-12-07
d Retreat Is Brilliant Achievement-Leave Noth- ing BehindLGermans Did Not Know Foe Had Vanish ed and Continued to Shell Abandoned Positions.
Operation Completed During Night-Germans Take Up Position In Wood-British Position Allows Good Place to Shell Eneny-Hun At tack Smashed.
(By Review Leased Wire.)

BRITISH HEADQUARTERS IN FRANCE. Dec. 6.-The British have withdrawn from the salient about Bourbon wood to a prepared line which should make their position much stronger and more desirable in many ways. The retirement was carried out successfully. mainy between lhe hours of F and Wednesday morning and under cover of darkness. Not un- til many hours later did the enemy discover he was facing evacuated ter ritory.
 The Germans today had swarmed over much of the vacated zone and were digging themselves in along the advanced line, but as late as 1,50 o'clock yesterday afternoon they were still smelling Bourbon wood. and between noon and 1 o'clock they launched a heavy attack against the empty trenches near Moeuvres, show ing they were uncertain of the situa- tiOn even then.
 Remarkable Military Achievement
 The successful manner Of the with drawal places it in the category Of remarkable military achievement. for had the Germans become aware tha. it was impending grave losses might have resulted to the retreating troops. The question of abandoning the salient must have been under careful cCnsid- eratiOn for some time.
 Wednesdays retirement cannot be designated as a retreat. for there is no reason 10 believe that the British could not have maintained themselves there. However. the position was not desirable and it would have cost the lives of too many men to have held on to the sharp salien-. which could be swept by enemy gunfire from several directions.
 Nothing Left Behind
 The ground abandoned was cleared thoroughly and not a gun or any other material appeared to have been left behind. Moreover. the vacated DO sitions were rendered temporarily un- tenable so that the enemy would be forced to cons .ruct new defenses and dugOuts. The British prepared the new line while they still held BOur- lon wood.
 sort of temporary rear guard was established until the main body reacn- ed the new quarters. About midnight Tuesday the British silently began to pull back from the northern edge Of the Bourbon wood. The British rifles and machine guns continued to spit fire along te line and the artillery maintained its customary hammering of the German position.
 Germans Completely Fooled
 Tbeunsuspecting Germans clung tc their trenches and fired methOdically a. that which they supposed was the British front line
 By o'clock in the morning. the main British body passed into the new positions. and the Bourbon wood was virtually stripped of soldier. with the exception of a few rear guards.
 A little later even the rear guards had followed. and the great flores. was left silent save for the bursting Of away at the wood. and a little after noon they launched a heavy attack westward of the wood. in the direc ion of MOuevres. This move was made under a heavy barrase, which broke harmlessly on the vacated territory.
 British Much Pleased
 The British troop from their distant positions watched the German maneu- vers with delight. These eliminated in fine charge in mass formation agains. the former British line. AS the Germans reached the trenches, they paused in evident surprise. and
 (Continued on Page TwOl