The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-08-24
ALLIES STEADILY GAIN.
HUNS FORCED TO GIVE GROUND
IN THREE IMPORTANT SEC
TORS.
Germans Retreat Over Front of Nearly
Six Miles in Lys, West of Armen-
tieres-Frcnch Fight Way Forward
Between Matz and Disc Rivers.
By Associated Press.

The Germans on three important
sectors of the western battle front
have been compelled to give up po-
sitions of great strategic value u"der
the onslarghts of the British 1no
French troops.
In the LSs sector west OF Armen-
there's the enemy has retreated over
front OF nearly six miles, leaving the
town of Merville in British hands. BE-
tween the Matz and Disc Rivers the
French have fought their way to the
western outskirts Of the dominating
position of Lassigny and farther
south in this hill and wooded region
have debouched from the Thiescourt
Wood and also captured the town Oh
Pimprez situated in the Disc valley Oh
the Noyon- -Compiegne Road.
Around the curve in the battle line
northwest of scissors the French from
near Carlepont to Fontenoy on the
Aisne. q, distance Of approximately
nine miles. have driven back the enc
my to an average depth OF more thah
mile and captured several villages
and 1900 prisoners.
ture by the British Of the railway sta
ton on the western outskirts Oh the
important town Of Roye, one OF the
pivotal points on the battle front be-
tween the Somme and Disc but there
is no official confirmation OF this.
Viewed on the war maps, the gains
in new operations are most import
ant ones for the allies for, aside from
wide areas over which the enemy has
been compelled to acknowledge de-
feat. the weakening in the German
defense is becoming daily more no
ticeable and apparently within snort
time they probably will be forced 10
commence a retrograde movement on
a scale that will mean the entire
! blotting out of old lines and the tax
ing up of new ones to the east ana
southeast possibly from the region OF
Rheims to Ypres.
The Lys salient is fast fading away
under the attacks Of the British and
the voluntary retirement Of the Ger
mans to new defense positions east
ward and seemingly the big westerly
bulge into the Allied line between
Ypres and La Basse soon must dlsap-
pear.
Under the new gains of the British
around Rove and particularly those
made by the French from Lassigny to
the Disc valley and northwest oE
scissors the Germans now are in
bad predicament. Here their po-
sitions are dominated by the Allied
guns from the west, southwest and
south for many miles and apparently
a retreat eastward across the plans
O. Picardy and over the Somme and
even from the western Aisne will be
necessitated.
| The latest German official commu.
nication asserts that French attacks
beween the Disc and the Aisne delly-
cred over a. wide front, failed, but the
| French war Office statement is speclhc
in announcing the penetration Of the
environs of Lassigny, the cutting OF
passage way through the Thiescourt
Wood and the capture of Pimprez.
That there has been hard fighting
however, is indicated by the British
official statement, which says that
northwest of Chaulnes the Germans
succeeded in penetrating the British
lines at several points but later were
driven out.
On the other battle fronts there is
/ little activity except in the nature OF
artillery duels and patrol encounters.