Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1917-06-08
Despite Ample Time to Take
Necessary Measures, Ger
mans Are Defeated.
RAIN OF SHELLS
IS OVERWHELMING
More Than 5000 Prisoners Taken BY
Sir Douglas Haig'S Men In Brilliant
and Carefully Planned Attack
on Long Line.

From a staff correspondent In
France of the Associated Press, with
the British army in France. June T.
The British armies struck today on a
new front, and won a victory which
supplements the success at Arras dur
ing the last months.
The Germans, though apparently
aware that the blow was coming had
valiantly prepared to meet It, but were
driven from their three-year hold on
the Messines ridge and important
towns.
Ypres. in a sense, was avenged to-
day, for Messines ridge has been the
vantage point from which the Ger
mans have poured torrents OF shells
into the stricken city. The British also
wiped off an old score against the
Germans, for they held the ridge In
October, 1914. and, with very thin
forces and virtually no artillery,
fought boodily but vainly to hold 1t
when the Prussian troops massed In
preponderance and overpowered them.
Today's attack matched many OF the
elements which accompanied the
battle OF Arras and the successful
storming of Vimy rilge. There has
been no doubt for three weeks past as
to the intentions of the British. The
Germans knew that fresh push was
to be made against Messlnes ridge and
they had plenty Of time to prepare for
the defense of the place.
Prisoners taken today declared that
the bombardment of Vimy was child's
play, compared with the gun fire
poured upon Messines ridge. This fire
| reached It's climax Just AZ dawn was
greying the eastern skies and while
the full moon was still high in the
heavens.
TOday's successes, won all along
about a 10-mile front, from an OBJ
servatory ridge southeast OF Ypres to
just north Of Armentierres, proved
another triumph for British artillery.
AS the fighting was wholly on Belgian
SOIL however, the Belgian artillery,
stationed some distance north of the
! line of attack, lent aid with violent
bombardment of the positions within
range of It's varied calibred weapons.
Ridge Of Great Value.
Messnes ridge is low lying pro-
montory that stretches along the
greater part of today's fighting front.
1t is an insignificant bit of ground to
look at from below. At its greatest
height, 1t rises barely 20 meters above
sea level. All around, the country ia
so low and flat that Massines had an
observation value virtually incalcu-
liable 1t was barrier to British ac-
tivities in the northwest and no opera
tons Of large character could be
planned without its possession.
Seventy meters 10 not great
height, but when You have been hit
ting at 20 or 30 meters. with the
enemy looking down at you and pour
ing tons of shells about you, the pos
session of the high ground means q
victory Of supreme Importance.
Today's attack was accompanied by
all the arts and deviltries OF latter day
war. The enemy guns and gun crews
had for days received shells sent by
long British guns. High explosive and
shrapnel fire were carried out with
such destructiveness that they wither-
ed lives under the force Of the attack.
Huge mines that had taken two years
TO dig, and to fill with an overwhelm-
ing explosion, broke into flaming de-
struction.
Hill so, of evil renown, always the
greatest menace to Ypres, went up
with other strong points, under the
impulse of hundreds and hundreds Of
tons of high explosive compound.
Both geographically and strategically,
the assault was victorious.