Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-09-27
HA|G'S new DRIVE /
WINS VALUABLE
VANTAGE POINTS
Force of Blow Meets With
Good Results on Six
Mile Front.
TERRIFIC OPPOSITION
OFFERED BY GERMANS
Veritable Inferno of Artillery
Loosed Before Attack
Is Launched.
BEST GAIN NEAR ZONNEBEKE
Places British About Six Miles From
Railway Running From
Ostend to Lille.
BEST GAIN NEAR ZoNNEBEKE

Field Marshal Haig's men again are
striking in Flanders. and the force OF
their blow. like that OF those that have
preceded 1t. is meeting with good re-
suits on a front of nearly six miles.
Notwithstanding the necessity of
carrying the battle to Crown Prince
Rupprecht across uninviting ground
virtually a morass, owing to recent
rains-and against the Inevitable con-
crete and steel redoubts and woods
and shell craters teeming with rapid
fire guns. the English, Scotch and Aus
traltan troops have snatched valuable
vantage points from the Germans, but
not without terrific opposition. g
The battle at last accounts was still
raging. with tho greatly re-enforced
Germans. who had anticipated the new
thrust. fighting with unusual bitter
ness to hold back further British ad-
vances or to recapture terrain already
wrcsted from them.
Haig's new thrust was delivered
from the base of front-line positions
captured and consolidated last week.
before which the Germans held numer-
Gus vantage points Of strategic value,
barring the way to further inroads by
the British or for harassing the Brit
ish line by machine-gun and rife
bullets. ts
AS on previous occasions, Hair
loosed a veritable inferno of artillery
fire against the Germans before
launching his attack In the early hours
of Wednesday morning, and when
night fell many important positions
had been ridded OF the enemy, but
with the Germans at numef6tis !; other
points savaGely contesting the right
Of way. ,>st
WITHIN FEW HUNDRED YARDS
OF ZoNNEBEKE VILLAGE
Probably the most significant gain
Of the British. which, the Germans
assert. was to depth of two -thirdu
or mile at certain points. was near
Honnebeke. to within a few hundred
yards OF the western outskirts Of which
village they penetrated, placing them
about six miles from the railway run.
ming from Ostend through Roulers and
Roubain to Lille. The cutting Of this
line. which seems to be tho objective
OF Field Marshal Haig. would seri.
ously affect the transport of the Ger.
mans from their naval bases at Ostend
and ZebruEGe to the south NJ
Prior to the land attack British
naval forces heavily shelled ostend.
and again Wednesday afternoon they
repeated the bombardment, meanwhile
naval airplanes dropped bombs on
towns IN Northern Belgium with vtsi.
bly, effective results.
On the other fronts, except IN tha
champagne and Verdun sectors, of tho
i'ne In France. no hostilities of eroat
Importance arc In progress. Before
Verdun the big guns again arc roaring
IN mighty duel. evidently tho fore.
runner or further big infantry opera.
tions In the near future. In chan.
pasne, the French are heavily shell.
ing the positions of the German Crown
Prince. with the German artiller,.t,
answering them energeticauy.
In the Austro-Italian theater. ths
Italians continue to carry out sue.
cessful patrol engagements against ~.
Austrians and to drop large ouanti.
ties of explosives from airplanes IN
military establishments behind the lin.