Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1917-11-22

battle front, and it seemed impossible
that within short time the line would
be a seething caldron. AT SD O'Clock
long line OF tanks. distributed over
wide front started forward. At the
same time the British infantry on either
side Of the land monitors made threats
at the German line. Within few sec
onds the entire enemy front for dis
tance OF many miles was flaming with
vargated signals which called frantical-
Is for help from the German gunners
i'm the rear. Red, green. white and blue
lights shot up in every direction and
the rockets showered myriad OF starr
down through the gloom, like a nam
moth display Of fireworks.
The dismay OF the Germans was hlazed
across the sky as clearly In this untor-
getable whirlwind Of .pyrotechuics as
though their higher command had an
nounced ii officially. Their guns came
into action. first one. then half dozen
then scores but their fire was weak
They were not prepared for such an even
tuality or they would have shown II in
their artillery work
Bin Guns Break Silence
The British big guns soon began 70
break the silence. For weeks the process
% concentrating men and guns for this
great attack had been going on. and
so carefully had it been done that COM
parauvely few officers Of the British
army knew what was transpiring Il was
Marshal Hag TO open battle so quickly
from the cockpit Of Europe around
Ypres
For many months there had been noth-
ing more than occasional raids. with
now and then a furry Of arjillcr. ire
in the Cambria sector. This morning
before daybreak things were moving
along 4 much the same pace. The Ger
mans had evinced some nervousness dur
ing the night. and for a few minutes.
about 80 O'Clock I'M the morning. dropped
a barrage along a section where It prob
ably appeared as If the British might
he planning a raid. The enemy presum-
ably had been looking for something in
this nature, but that they did not ex-
pect a battle was clearly evident.
The cores ondent reached a point near
the British line a little after o clock.
At that hour there was very little ar
;iilery work on either side. Machine guns
occa sionaNy broke out with their s-s--
.ato bark as sentries on one side or I'll"
other thought they ga q head over a
trench top.
Then came a period Of absolute still-
ness Suddenly the long line OF Brit,.,,
tanks moved forward, I'D in 4 moment
the vargated signal lights Of the Ger
mans shot high in the air. The British
! troops came out Of their shelters ana
with fixed bayonets and grenades follow
ed the tanks swiftly toward The enemy
barriers.
The ground was firm and covered with
long grass There were few big shell
holes, such as are to be seen in Flan-
ders for comparatively little artillery
work had been done against this sec
tor It was ideal going for the big lana
monitors and they made the most Of II.
As they started forward. the British put
a heavy screen of smoke up all about
them. so that Il was impossible for the
enemy to see them many Yards away.
Tanks Surge Through
The tanks reached the German out
post line in front of the main line ana
! without stopping surged through it to-
wards the barbed wire entanglemcnts,
their guns working steadily dR tn"
while. Here was Il point where it had
been feared they might encounter diff
fculties, but they did not. They crashed
through the barbed wire. and bY 40
! the British infantry were going
through the gaps thus made.
At IA the infantry. operating inst
vest of Ia :riicOurt. had swarmed UP
the elevation known as Mount NesuVi-
us \ few minutes lat" this knoll was
blown up, having been mined by the
Germans It S.34 seven tanks and in
! fantry were seen in the HayrnCourt