Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-11-24

court. Tho main objective here was
the famous tunnel trench, an under
ground fertilization Of great strength
about 1000 yards long. The entire
trench was mined. ~ tho British well
knew. and behind It tho Germans had
Many concrete pill boxes also REIN
forced the trench defenses.
For a month the British had been
keeping the Germans nervous by put
ting down smoke barrages and en-
ployfng gas. The enemy has become SO
accustomed to this that when the Brit
lsh started furry of gunflre at dawn
Tuesday the Germans thought it was
more of the same thing and they were
caught unawares. The greatest danger
which the attackers faced was the pos
sibtlity Of the mines being blown up
and they knew this must be avoided.
Accordingly they took along a body of
expert tunnel men. By good fortune
and cut the lead wires. This enabled
the British infantry. which swarmed
Into the trenches. to prevent the enemy
from setting OF the explosives.
Battle to the Death.
A hot fight took place in tho tunnel.
Many Germans battled with bayonets
counted after the conflict In addition,
more than 700 prisoners were taken.
Further evidence Of the German I'M
preparedness for an offensive in the
the capture Of an order drawn up by
q German battalion commander the
day before the attack. 1t was his sum-
mary OF events for week and he drew
THE attitude OF the enemy clearly is
one Of defensive
This commander was stationed in the
forward area, and 1t is quite apparent
ne did not know what was going on. 1t
is also evident that the higher COM
mand had no information or it would
have Informed him.
Germans Reinforced,
The Germans called upon every pos
sible source to get troops to withstand
the British attack. BY raking many
places in their line they apparently
were able in the first forty-eight hours
Of fighting to bring in only two new
divisions and some fve-odd battalions.
Today another division was brought up
from the Aisne front and the 18th Dr.
vision from Flanders.
Owing to the British artillery work
there is little doubt that the Germans
will be forced to abandon Cambria as
rail head for bringing up troops
A later report from Bourbon wood
that the British attack there was pro-
crossing well.
Tanks Demonstrate Power.
The tanks have demonstrated fully
their power in saving the lives of men
and IN conserving ammunition. The
caaualues among the infantry which
ceedingly light. The correspondent has
heard that two battalions. for instance,
had only one casualty each and that an
other suffered the loss of only three
n IN 10 So IRr.N
an attack OF such magnitude.
The casualties among the crews of
the tanks also were very light on the
opening day. which is the only one for
ceived. It is impossible to state how
many tanks were in action, but there
were several hundred, and out Of all
the men who went forward in them 1t
appears that fewer than twenty were
killed and fewer than 100 wounded
Many of these casualties were due to
the fact that men left the tanks to per-
form some work in the open. where
they came under the fire Of snipers'
guns. One tank deliberately charged
with Its machine guns.
Tanks Fight Methodically.
Cantaing fell before one tank. which
never had seen action until that time. II
charged into the village, making it un
tenaoie by the vigorous action Of its
guns. Twelve tanks led the way into
Marcoing. Their crews previously had
studied maps and been assigned posts,
and the tanks went about the business
methodically. each one taking up the
position designated. These twelve nova
BILE forts completely organized the place
At Ribecourt the tanks arrived just as
the Germans were sitting down to break
last The crews of the tanks got their
morning meal from the food prepared for
the enemy. These are not the only places
which tanks assisted in taking. They
have been swarming over the whole great
when the full story of their exploits is
told it will make remarkable history.