Arizona republican., 1918-08-26
FRENCH ADVANCE GERMANSPUSHED
 BACK |NTO HILLS
Republican A. p. Leased Wire1


 WITH THE FRENCH ARMY IN FRANCE, Augs 25.-The first phase of the battle of the Aisne and Disc has put the French in possession of the entire south bank of the Disc west of the Ailette and of the Ailette River from the Disc to Pont St. Mard.
 The Germans are thrown back upon the hilly forest region of Coucy for communication between their troops operating on the Disc above the Ailette and their troops on the Aisne east of Soissons.
 Both sides command the Disc with their artillery. French scouts have found it so formidably defended by ma chine gun nests and artillery from Noyon to Chauny that it will require considerable work by the heavy artil- lery before a crossing in force is at tempted.
 On the right bank of the Ailette, the Germans are resisting stoutly from a strong position along the edge of the forest of Coucy. Small parties of French have effected a crossing.
 General Mangin has won a substan- tial victory. of which there is plenty of material evidence besides 13,000 pris- oners and three hundred captured can mons. He set out first to drive the Germans from the plateaux of Andig- nicourt, Nampcel and Carlepont by a violent thrust northward, then by a quick facing about toward the east to drive them off the heights west of the Ailette, thus clearing the south bank of the Aisne and lending support to the third army's action in the hills of Thiescourt.
 The program succeeded so rapidly | that, though the enemy may say that he retired unhindered, some of his staff officers were obliged to flee in scanty attire. A German general was seen running from one of the exits of a cavern at the top of Mount Choisy without boots or suspenders. just as French soldiers appeared at the other | entrance.
 The correspondent who later visited ! that cavern found in it other evidences l of the nasty departure of the German | divisional staff that had occupied it 1 Along with the generals boots and sus- penders there were several pairs o1 costly field glasses and a complete telephone system.
 In the piles of arms and ammunition that nave been collected on and around l lHb HtlSHI tiltIt are d Dlt number of bayonets with the saw tootf | blade.
 If the Germans did not intend tC remain south of the Disc they evidently thought they could hold this position The slopes are covered with brush tha hides the gulleys and cavern entrances where machine-gun nests in ambush held up the division that was engaged in the attack from 8 o'clock in tn morning to s o'clock in the evening The Germans were even preparing t. spend the night in their elaborately fit ted quarters in the quarry at the tor
 But after a short artillery prepara tion the place was stormed and tn German staff had only just time to ge away. One officer who was taken pris oner said:
 "The French are making war in al entirely new fashion. It is a great at tack
 Rank and file prisoners without ex ception agree that Germany is doome to defeat. Most of these men were i the machine gun sections that the ne, , German tactics sacrifice to protect tn retreat, and they expressed their re , sentiment freely.