Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-10-10
GERMAN DEFENSE
BATTERED DOWN
IN UNITED THRUST
British Hammer Way For
ward Two Miles in
Flanders.
POELCAPELLE Is CAPTURED
AND MANY PRISONERS TAKEN
French Advance More Than Mile
and Gain Every
Objective. ~ NJ
RACE NOW ON WITH WINTER
Germans Must Retreat Soon, Unless
Cold Weather Hurries to-
Their Relief.
RACE NOW ON WITH WINTER
Germans Must Retreat Soon, Unless
Cold Weather Hurries to-
Their Relief.
tBy Associated Press,


The big fight is on again in Flanders
and the Germans are being hammered I
hard. Field Marshal Haig is battering 4
away on the sector east and northeast
Of Ypres, while French troops have y
joined with the British left wing TO
the south of DiSmude in an endeayoE q
to bring that section of the line even
with the sharp wedge that has been
driven into the German front by HaiE IS
east of Broodselnde.
Launching their attacks simultane.
ously on Tuesday morning, both armies
had made considerable gains before s,
nightfall, in addition to inf1icting heavy
casualties on the Germans and taking
many prisoners. Prior to the an
nouncement of the commencement OF :
the attack there had been no intitna-
tion that the Frenchmen were ready 3
for an advance. In fact, 1t had been
rather expected that even tho British
chief would delay taking n
the aggressive again for several days,
owing to the terrible condition Of the
ground he Is in quest ola verit8ble
marsh, owing to the heavy rainsHo Of
Sunday and Monday. ;3Ss
PROGRESS OF FRENCH 4yys<
COMPARATIVELY EASY 4
with apparent ease the Frenchmen
crossed the flooded Broenbeek and
Jansbeek Rivers and captured the vii IS
lagos of st. Jean de Mangelare and
Veldhoek, together with numerous
blockhouses, and took prisoner several
hundred Germans The advance of sthe'
French was over front of more than
mile and half, and they penetrated
a. of Nt,a ov,Aa
quarter miles.
Haigs principal offensive centered
on the portions Of the Passchendaele-
Gheluvelt Ridge, still held by the Ger-
mans, being directed eastward from
Poelcapelle. which was captured, and 4
northeastward from Broodseinde to-
ward Passchendaele, the ultimate OBJ
jective still being the Ostend-Lille B
road. Taken as whole. the joint op
Grafton makes more apparent the
crowning desire of the allies in this
region-the forcing back OF the Ger
mans to points where their evacuation
of ostend and zeebrugge. naval and
subma rine bases on the North Sea. will
become necessary. .ss.s.sF
At several points Haig's advance was
sharply contested by the Germans. par-
ticularly north of Broodseinde, tha
nearest approach to the railroad line
and near the Polderhoek chateau. Mo-
where. however. were the Germans
able to stay the advance, except near
the Polderhoek chateau. whore the ter
rife fire of their machine guns mo
mentarily forced the British to give.
ground. Later, the attacking troops
realignedy themselves and the success-b
full push. went on again.
OTHER OPERATIONS
Of MINOR CHARACTER
Aside from Flanders the operations s
in all the various theaters OF the war
are OF a minor character. Along the
Aisne and Champagne front and on the
left bank of the Aleuse in the yerdun
sector Intensive artillery duels are
still in progress between the French
and the Germans. In Champa gne the
French have carried out successful
raid near tho Butte of Tahure and
taken prisoners.
There is still considerable infantry
and artillery activity between the Rus
SLAMS and Germans II, the Riga sector
of the Russian front, but neither side
has made any attempt at an advance.
Reciprocal bombardments are In iprogs
ress between the Italians and AUS
trians on the Austro- Italian front, and
between tho entente forces and the
Teutonic allies In Macedonia.
Another Austro German peace OFFER,
which is to be based on the principles
of no territorial aggrandizement the
surrender of Belgian and French ter-
ritory, the remuneration of territorial
acquisitions for money payments and
no indemnity by their side. is soon to
be put forward. according to promt-
ncnt Berlin newspaper.
WARS MOST DRAMATIC ~
RACE GETS UNDER WAY
LONDON, October 9.-The wars most Z
dramatic race began to-day: A race
with winter In the west. The allies,
France and Eng: and. driving hard.
harder than ever before. over the
ground whore tho war began-Belgiun,iS
ARE riding to victory. They took the
first hurdles by storm to-day to- the
tune of a one mile advance on q ten.
mile front, and thousands or prisoners
Scarcely taree weeks are lefts stS
complete the job, which 4 Is Sto az 81 I
4 tt7ii