The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-09-19
FRESH FORCE
IN PICARDY
MAKES GAINS
AGAINST FOE
Allied Troops Drive Deeper
Wedge Into Enemy Lines in
St. Gobain Region Fight
ing Severe.
TROOPS ARE MASTERY
tBy Associated Press,


WITH THE FRENCH ARMY IN
PICARDY, Wednesday. Sept. 1s-
The troops Of the French army under
General Debeney. who pursued the
Germans from the region of Mont
didier have. after few days of com
parative inactivity. successfully re
sumed their attacks in the region O,
! st. Quentin in conjunction with the
| British
In spite of the long pursuit from the
Avre to the Somme with almost con
slant fighting since August, Genera,
Debeney's men are pressing the en-
| emy with the same vigor with which
| they began the offensive in Picardy
| The French have advanced close tc
Dallon, less than two miles from the
western outskirts of ST. Quentin
Here they are fighting the Germans
on the Hindenburg line and every inch
of the ground is being disputed stout
~ by the enemy. Apparently the
Germans are determined to hold the
plateau which lies just west of ST
Quentin, south of Francilly, east OF
Savy, and north of Dallon.
Advance by Bounds.
General Debeney's troops have beer
obliged to attack it piece-meal and tc
advance by little bounds, slipping be
, tween machine gun emplacements
here and there and sometimes maxine
frontal attacks. Everywhere the
French have been obliged to fight
their way around or through obstacles
that before this war would have beer
regarded as impregnable. The Ger
man Infantry here is supported by
artillery which puts down heavy bar
RACES in front of the advancing waves
and maintains harassing fire against
the rear and the lines of comfnunica
ton.
Progress under these conditions ne
cessarily is slow, but the allied lines
are none the less surely advancing to-
ward the outskirts of St Quentin
from the south and west as well as
the north.
TAKE COLONIES FARM.
WITH THE FRENCH ARMY IN
FRANCE, We'd, Sept. 1s.-GeneraI
Mangins army attacked along the
front northeast of Scissors today and
captured the Colombes farm on the
south OF the point where the Chemin
Des Danes branches of from the road
leading from scissors to Laon.
A strong counter attack. led by
grenadiers of the Prussian guard. was
repulsed by the French, who drove the
enemy back of the road, leading from
the plateau Of Ange Gardiene to the
Colombes farm. This road is less
than half mile from the Chemin Des
Danes
This success puts the French in DO
session OF part of the important plat
eau of Ange Gardiene, which com
mands the ridge along which runs the
famous Ladies Way" for a consider.
able distance. 1t also drives deeper
the wedge south of the Hindenburg
positions in the st. Gobain regions and
facilitates operations near Pinon.
which was held by the French. until
the German offensive late in May.
Battle Of individuals.
The fighting in this region has been
most severe during the last few days,
glimpse of the action around the Co
iomoes farm, obtained from a point
giving view of the Chemin Des
Danes and fort Malmaison. as well as
the plateau to the south on which the
farm is situated, gave on idea of ire
mendous task General Mangin's men
have undertaken. The soldiers could
be seen bounding from shell hole to
shell hole and from trench to trench.
From the great distance between
them and the observer the only means
OF distinguishing the fighting forces
was that the French were advancing
eastward and northward upon the
mass of ruins that marks the location
of the Colombes farm
The splendid quality of indivicua!
initiative of the French soldiers founa
ample opportunity in this advance and
the French again demonstrated their
mastery over the enemy. For the dis
tant observer it looked like a battle
between individuals. Rarely were
there more than two men seen above
ground at the same time What was
most in evidence was the line OF artfl.
lery curtain fire which was plainly
Continued on Page Twelve.)