The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-08-14
ALLIES MOVE AT DAWN INSIDE
ENEMY LINES.
Prussians and Bayarians Flee Before
Advancing British and French,
Leaving Many Guns Behind Them
Tanks Again Cover Themselves
With Glory-Attack Proves Sur
prise.

before the advancing infantry and
tanks leaving many Of their guns be-
hind them.
Large numbers Of prisoners have
been taken both by the British ana
French and heavy casualties undoubs-
edly have been inflicted on the enemy.
Thus far everything has been &C
.cornplished with excessively small
losses to the Allies.
OF one entire British corps, for in
: stance, two hours after the attack De-
5 gan, only two officers and Is men OF
the ranks were reported as casualties.
The artillery has followed up the
storm troops closely and now is hurl-
ing shells down upon the enemy
(which taken by surprise and fercely
attacked, must be in more or less
crippled condition. It is. believed re-
inforcements are on the way to help
them.
:. What tomorrow holds for the enemy
.,can not be forecast, but the outlook
isf not a promising one under present
/, condition.
Moreuil and the front adjoining VIII
.lers-Aux- -Erables have been taken by
the French, while the British have
captured the Dodo and Same1 woods
and Marcelcave after hard fighting
ana pushed considerable distance
beyond.
- Especially hard fighting was expe-
rienced, and still is in progress on the
left flank of the fighting front near
Morlaucourt. The weather helped in
the advance.
North of the attacked zone the bar
rage began at o'clock this morning
and lasted 40 minutes, tanks then
rolled forward and with them the in
fantry swarmed towards the enemy
lines. These lines were reached and
passed as a mist started to roll in.
All along the line, except possibly
northward on the left flank, very lit
tile enemy shelling was experienced
after the attack got well under way.
Nearly al the country already
fought over and that in front OF the
Allied forces is low and rolling, and
especially adapted to open warfare.
One new division which had just
arrived in the line before the attack
was launched was told to expect local
attacks. Prisoners taken from this
division said they had heard nothing
of a general attack being contem-
plated.
here the tanks and the arnored
sscar bal ttezSess ,resseds forward there
vas mach agitation among the enc
my. a report came back that a Brit
ish tank, probably one OF the fast
little 5Whippets, had been seen chas-
fng,a frightened German general up
the road But the enemy general was
not alone in the. direction in which ne
was. going. Observers reported con-
siderable columns Of the enemy
transport going eastward in hurry
during the middle Of the day.
Farther south the tanks likewise
did excellent work. They also have
been taken across the river Luce,
under the cover of night and they did
valuable work in assisting at the cap
ture Of Dodo wood and Hamel wood
and the nearby high ground.
Slightly north of here the British
batteries moved so rapidly that they
were up and firing in their new po-
.itions 80 minutes after midnight.
At O'Clock the weather was so
thick that objects two yards away
hardly we're visible, and the British
were not slow to take the opportunity
to plunge through under its protec-
ton. About 645 the irst prisoners
began coming back. They were un-
wounded and looked clean, as If they
had just come off parade, showing
how complete had been the surprise.
The British pounced on them before
they had the slightest chance to give
battle.
The prisoners that arrived later
were not so clean and they came rear
ward carrying wounded on stretchers.
The British army, which had start
ed off with thunderous roar, by
osclock had quieted down to virtual
silence. This was because the artil-
lery had ceased firing while 1t was be-
ing advanced to keep up with the in
fantry and the tanks. It was the
tanks which by O'clock had rolled
into Cerisy, driving out the enemy.
and few hours later in a difficult
maneuver, took the woods opposite.
The tanks crossed the Avre and
did excellent work here, too. with the
infantry. On the peninsula between
the Ancre and the Somme, the British
captured many guns.
Reports from the south say that
things are going in splendid fashion
there and that the French have been
as successful as the British. Hastily
organized counteratacks have devel-
oped here and there along the line
especially north Of the Somme, but so
far all are reported to have broken
down under the fire of the Allies.
It may be taken for granted that
further enemy counter attacks will
develop, either organized from the
forces now in front of the Allied
troops or from fresh forces which
Crown Prince Rupprecht undoubted-
ly will try to hurry up from other
sectors Additional reports of heavy
fighting. may, therefore, be expected.