The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-11-24
|H|NDE:NBURG'S
line CRUSHED
Surprise Blow Dealt BY British
Ripped Famous Line On
Thirty-Two Mile Front
FAMOUS TANKS DID WORK
Victory is Greatest Since Beginning OF
War-Dozen Towns, Maze OF
Trenches and More Than 5000 Men
Are Seized.

Western Newspaper Union News Service.
London.-With the biggest "bing!'
of surprise that this war has seen,
the British ripped 32-mile gap into
the Teuton spinal column in Northern
France
Under the eyes of General Pershing,
they leaped "over the top" at dawn,
smashed steadily ahead until dusk,
rested up a bit during the night, surg
ed forward again at dawn and were
still going strong when darkness fell.
A dozen towns, villages and hamlets,
three formidably fortified woods, a
ridge fortress, and a maze of trenches
and dugouts have been captured and
more than 5000 prisoners seized. The
Hindenburg line, that had become a
taunt and challenge, is no more. With
in few days, when it has been con
solidated and reconstructed by it's cap
tors, it will be known as the "Byng
line" for the big smash was executed
by the Third Army under General the
Honorable Sir Julian Byng, English
Scottish, Irish and Welsh troops com
pose it.
The tanks won this two days bat
tie, the tanks tore the Hindenburg line
to tatters; the tanks led the way OF
the British to within three miles OF
Cambria, whose fall, now believed
near, will mean the ultimate fall oil
: Lille and St. Quentin and the subse
quent clearing of Northern France OF
the invaders. Not cannon shot was
fired preparatory to Byng's big push
That was the biggest surprise factor
in the battle. In severe hand-to-hanC
| fighting at Flesquieres British troops
preceded by tanks, stormed the town
The Germans fired on the tanks will
| seven big guns at short range. Tht
British infantry charged the guns
captured them, and killed the crews
Three other big guns were captured II
similar manner at Frenzy Chappelle
British cavalry captured battery a
Rumffiy, sabsfing the crew.
Masniers, Marcoing, Ribecourt, Hav
rincourt, Graincourt, Flesquieres, An
neux, La Vaquierie, Bananle, Neu
! Wood, Couilla Wood, Lateau Wood an(
! the formidable Welsh Ridge were cap
tured by the British. ~The French
opened a strong attack on the Ger
mans on a six mile front north OF thu
Aisne, according to the official repor
| from German general headquarters
The Paris report says: "The Frencl
forces attacked in the region to tn
north of Craome and Berry-au-Bac, OF
front of about two-thirds of a mile
and penetrated the German position
to an average depth of about 400 yards
capturing strong defenses and takin
| ITS German prisoners.
! The British were still using power
| full forces against the Hindenburg lin
in the Cambria sector, the statemen
added. The Berlin War Office wa
forced to make some grave admission
i though it minimized the British SUI
cess on the center, on the six mil
front between the high roads fro1
Jerome and Bapaume to Cambria
! But the news from the front show
that there, as everywhere else on tn
30 mile line of attack, the British az
forging ahead relentlessly and thu
the fate of Cambria itself hangs in tn
balance. Andrew Bonar Law al
nounced this evening in the House
Commons that 5000 prisoners, inclu'
ing 1870 officers, have been taken b
the British in their present operation