Evening star., 1917-11-23
Three Years In Captivity.

For three years they had been in cap
tivity and some of them IN slavery
of the American relief committee. which
furnished them virtually the only food
they obtained.
Hard lighting has taken place today
at Crevecoeur. southeast Of Masnieres
The British were holding a high ridge
in front Of this place and some troops
had forced an entrance into the west
.srn part of the town. The Germans
A German battery here. which had been
giving trouble, was charged and cap
stured by dismounted cavalrymen- The
battery was surrounded by heavy barb
ted-wire entanglements, precluding the
use Of horses. so the soldiers stormed
the position on foot and annihilatsd the
gun crews.
: In the region Of Ruriliy heavy ma
chine gun and rife fighting was pro-
ceeding last night and this morning.
Coffee for Tank Crews.
West of Cambria tanks. cavalry and
infantry were pressing the attack Wig
'orously about Fontaine Notre Dame
and the strong position in Bourbon
wood Fontaine Notre Dame has not
been officially reported captured. but
the story goes that tank crews were
in this place this morning. (Field
Marshal Haig's Official report Thurs
day night said the Germans had re-
taken Fontaine Notre Dame).
Further north near Bulloourt the
British were in possession Of the en-
tire underground fertilization known
~ the tunnel trench. which had been
xamed for its supposed impregnability.
At least i've determined counter at
tAcks have been smashed in this re-
fighting, occurred at Moeuyres last
night and strong counter attack was
The last line Of trench defensss in
the region Of Cantaing have been
broken and the British today were
the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS line south of
CAmbrai
Lateau Wood Cleared.
It 10 now possible to give more de-
tails Of Tuesdays battle. In the ad-
vance south Of Cambrai the first hard
Mheh lies on to. ss
south Of Masnieres. This wood finally
was cleared of Germans and the ad-
vance continued toward Masnieres
Some opposition was encountered In q
suburh, but by / O'Clock this had been
RvtasNme and the British had crossed
khEHEscaut canal at a lock. The
tnAzGerman garrison fought bitterly
to hin Masnieres. The whole place
thE hemy was hidden with machine
but the Germans were forced tc
ep this place after q sanguinary
e4Eie, although some Of them were
F eldfng out in the cellars today.
eoing was taken with small re-
tiSce on the part of the enemy and
Nhkave the British a second cross.
R4Xe the canal The advancing troop,
toA&.A passage here at the same hour
IS uieres was entered. The Masni.
eurois trench line north oil
iefes apparently had been rein
Eoree4by Germans from Cambrai an6
fart1y with rife and machine gun fire
put the British alternately forced tn.
Germans from the trenches In hand-to.
ansnFh'ins.
sssr.s German Lines StiReu.
German resi;tanes on the first da,
tndsshey surrendered freely in man,
laees Yesterday their lines stiffenel
Ind. bard fighting followed German
elIEicements from Lens and the tive
foneax were thrown into the line.
The.hrst counter attack came owe,
AnesEuge from the northeast Of Mas
ieraltThe enemy advanced in masset
FORMATION as In the early days of tn,
var sgThe British had concentrated /
largo number of machine guns at thtl
point and were hoping for a counter
fttack. They permitted the enemy t,
4dvAncs TO within thousand yards O
fhe fine before they opened fire. Thel
ghAS machine guns and artillery wer,
3nrped- on the Germans and they wer,
smashed In withering storm
was attempted by the enemy, but as ii
the former case they were caught ii
n heavy artillery and machine gun fir,
and they turned back after suferint
severely.
Fierce Two-Hour Battle.
An hour later another body of Ger.
s mans advanced on Noyelles, which wa,
held by one company Of British troops
Here some of the stiffest fighting o.
the battle took place at close quarters
Both sides rushed up reinforcement.
and for two hours the battle surgee
back and forth through the streets ant
among the buildings. It was melee il
which the bayonet played the principa
part The Germans fought well. bu
they were not good enough to with
and gradually they were forced bacl
across the canal to the east
Among the prisoners taken by tn
British. were several officers who wer,
esught In the regimental headquarters
The regimental commander was cap
tured and 1t is reported that his ad
vent into the British lines was q par
tTeularly humorous spectacle. He cam
tramping back. clad in an elaborat
fur coat, followed by two servants VIII,
carried more Of his finery. He wa
swearing mad at the turn of event,
The sight of company of Britisj
cavalry threw him almost into a frenz
and the lurtd language which he All
rected at the British drew smile from
even the hardened Tommy, who has
somewhat picturesque vocabulary o
his own.
People Rejoice at Freedom.