The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1918-08-16
BRITISH STRIKE
A MIGHTY BLOW.
GENERAL HAIe PENETRATEs PIC.
ARDY SALIENT TO DEPTH
OF 10 MILES
1900 PRISONERS CAPTURED
Tremendous Amount Of War Materials
and Guns Taken.-Tanks, Armor-
ed Cars and Cavalry Doing
Good Work on Enemy
1900 PRISONERS CAPTURED

(War Review for August 10)
Over a curving front of more than
20 miles the British and French troops
are continuing to sweep back the Ger
mans eastward across the plains of
Picardy from the region north of the
Somme and east of Morlancourt to the
eastern bank of the Avre northwest of
Montdidier.
AS on the first day of the offensive,
material progress was made Friday
over the entire battle front. Many adj
ditional villages were captured; the
bag of prisoners was largely increas-
ed; numerous guns and great quanti-
ties of war stores We're taken, and
heavy casualties were inflicted on the
enemy by tanks, armored motor cars,
the cavalrymen and infantry. The
losses sustained by the AnglO-French
forces are declared to be relatively
small.
To the allied forces there have
fallen 1900 German prisoners and
between 200 and 300 guns, many of
them of heavy caliber, and innumer-
able guns and trench mortars and kim
bred small weapons.
To the north of the Picardy theater
the Germans have given ground on
two important sectors-the famous
Lys salient, northwest of La Bassee,
and in the region southwest of Yypres
on the equally famous battle ground
north of KENNEL. On the Lys sector
territory over a front of more than
seven miles was evacuated by the enc
my. while to the north of KENNEL the
British advanced their lines over a
front exceeding 1000 yards
These maneuvers on the part of the |
Germans seemingly indicate that they |
either considered their ground inse- |
cure in the face of the heavy forces |
General Haig is known TO have in both |
regions to ward off any attempt to
reach the channel ports or that |
Crown Prince Rupprecht's army has
been materially decreased in strength |
TO rush reinforcements to the battle
zones where the German armies in the
south are being sorely harassed.
Already having penetrated the Pic
ardy salient to a depth of nearly 10
miles in the center toward the vicin-
ity of important railroad functions of
Chaulnes and at other points along
the arc pushed forward between five
and seven miles, the northern and
southern flanks of the battle front,
where, the Germans had been resist
ing desperately, gave way before the
pressure of the British and French.
On the north the British captured
and pressed eastward, |
while on the south, northwest of
Pirrepont. Contoire and
Arvillers were taken by the French,
who drove in their wedge to a dis
ance of more than eight and half
niles.
The tanks. armored cars and cav /,
TRY are still working throughout the $
'ntire region, while airpIanes are ,
soaring far behind the lines, bombing
transport and troop movements and I
he bridges over the Somme by which /
he enemy is endeavoring TO escape i
rom his advancing foes Ali behind 1;
he line the Germans are destroying !
depots as they quit their
'ositions. &
Montdidier is an uncomfortable DO :
ition, while the allies are hammering
way cross fire at the Germans hold f
ng ii, and with the only railroad @
aading into the town also under their q
uns. A forced evacuation of the +
owns seems not improbable and with Y
urther pressure eastward by the al O
es between the Somme and the Avre h
nd the possibility of pressure north q
Tard against the Germans from the 8
ne running northwestward from Il
oissons it is not impossible that the Y
ntire Montdidier salient will have to n
e abandoned. !,
'attle Has Tremendous Importance. Il
London, Aug. 10.-The general feel a
lg here is that the Importance of, the is
uccessful new battle cannot be over !,
1t is regarded as the turn f.
* point of the campaign and perhaps N
ven the turning point Of. the whole +,
arr 1t is not TOO much to say that i,
ne American army has been the chief
actor in this result. The experienced n
hillary critic of the Westminster q