The Sentinel=record., 1918-09-04


 Sept, 3.-The British victory in the battle of the Drocourt-Queant line seems complete Without having ds liyered a single counter attack and staggering from the blows admins tered to them yesterday the Germans during the night and early this morn ing were in full flight for the eastern side of the Canal-du-Nord The enc my is trying to save what men and material he can from the wreck in and behind one of the most powerful de tense systems ever devised.
 The much boasted Drocourt- Queant line, or as the Germans call it.. the Wotan line, is totally shattercI The British are driving far through it| and the Germans are hurrying east ward, leaving behind only pockets of machine gunners.
 Strong British forces are now fight ing their way down the HindenDurs line itself and are clearing it up as they go Meanwhile a little south from. fere, another force is driving on the Hmdenburg line frontaly
 The Hun has tasted disaster in the nrocourt line battle and now his dis organized and badly depleted forces are working fast to prevent an even. greater catastrophe overriding him.
 The British are rapidly approach ing and are close to the Canal-du- Nord, the territory behind which IS even now under heavy fire from many British cannon.
 The foe knows well that this nov ment contains a grave menace to some Of his forces. The Canal -du-Nor1| where the Germans are retiring, isI simply a canal under construction and contains no water There may be as| hard fighting neer as last year
 1t was early in the morning, after a night in which a most stubborn ba' tie was fought, that the Germans bel gan to show real signs of generally be ing beaten The Village of Etaing wasI reported cleared up. Hamblain leg Prez, on the extreme flank was takenI and the troops moved eastward ButI they did not go far as the Germans rnI desperation had damned the riverI Scarpe at Vitry ry-en-Artois and floodedI the lowlands in this locality.
 Patrols entered BiacheSt VaastI which soon was reported entirely cap-I tured From this general locality onI the north the British pushed sharplyI forward
 The first indication that the Ger mans admitted defeat was when tasl British troops entered Recount. They had been in the town only a few min ntes when the enemy artillery begauI shelling it heavily from a distance.
 The British drove down the Arras- Cambrai road with ease today. OncI force according to word received. oc- cuped and cleaned up the entire Buis- sy switch.
 While this was going on a squadron of aeropanes discovering large group of the enemy some distance to the east, managed to break through tho protecting planes and raiued bombs down upon the masses ano this probably upset any idea the Ger" mans had of making determined stand west of the canal
 During the forenoon the British in- fantry moveds forward so rapidly at many places that they completely out- ran their own artillery and pressed on with only machine guns preceding them. Since then. however, the guns have been brought up and are pump ing shells at the far side of the canal. especially at the point where if is crossed by the Arras-Cambrai road, for here is a bridge and the cOncen tration of fire undoubtedly is serious ly hindering the enemy efforts to get his troops and his guns on the east side.
 Some idea of the German disorgani- zatlon may be had from the fact that a number of crews Of German HOW itzers captured were standing around their guns which they had blown mp. Others complained that they had han nothing to eat for four days because of the great disorganizaion at their rear. The lack of German shell fire