El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-10-09

Echo de Paris. today. The Germans
I he adds, are hurriedIy evacuating tn,
Argonne forest The battle is contin
uing-
Hun Defenees Captured.
French troops. attacking last night
south and east of St Quentin. cap.
tured the German defences between
Harley and Neuville-St. Amand anC
drove past the latter town on tn,
north. today's official statement by
the war office announces
Attempts by the Germans to recap
ture the positions gained yesterday
by the French, north OF the Arnes.
were repulsed with heavy losses to the
enemy.
French Take BnzaneOurt.
With the French Army Northwest
Of Reims, oct g-(By Associated
ess-)-Attacks upon the line Of the
Suieppe were resumed Tuesday and
valuable progress is reported. The
French crossed the SuieDpe and took
Bazancourt.
German artillery is violently bonn
harding the new French positions
north OF the Aisne at Berry au Bac.
Foe Measure is Desperate.
Germans holding the line Of the
suleppe river have been making their
stand there look like q desperate
measure TO reestablish a situation,
rendered most difficult by blows
against the front in other sectors. The
entire north bank Of the Suieppe is
lined with machine guns. behind
which are massed several divisions of
infantry along a secondary linden
burg line 4 strong force Of artillery
supports them by heavy and Wen
sustained fire.
Each Gain ProvoIzes Counter.
Every advance by the French across
the river provOkes immediate counter
attacks Entire divisions are thrown
against the small detachments OF the
French who force the passes Of the
stream The Germans are reinforcing
their line on the TANKS Of the front
along the Suieppe.
French troops which crossed the
Suieppe near its junction with. the
Aisue have been heavily attacked, but
have made their hold good
Establishment By the French OF an
important bridgehead on the north
bank Of the Aisne at Berry au Bac in
creased the danger to the German pO-
sitiOns on the SuiepDe line
Throw Fear Into Enemy.
The blows which Foch has dealt IN
the Champagne sector have not only
wrested from the Germans most i'm
portant positions, which they have
held since 1914 at an inestimable sac
rifice Of men and material, but ap-
pear 10 have thrown gravest appre-
hension into the ranks OF the enemy.
A German soldier found in a ruined
house surrendered, trembling with
fear.
what are you afraid of" his cap
tor inquired. We are not going to
harm you"
with the acrid smell OF blackened
masonry in his nostrils. with smoke
still rising from q village fired by his
companions in plain sight. and with
puffs Of blue smoke from German
poisonous shells marking tbs line or
the Suieppe 2 little farther back, the
captor reiOined;
Fears Invasion Of Hun Land
But what viii the French soldiers
do when they get into Germany
With the crumbling line across the
Afsne canal at Reims. and the line
along the Vesle 10 the east, the Ger
mans abandoned Nogent Ia Abbesse.
to the east Of Reims. and Brimont, 10
the north These points have been
the iaflors Of Reims for four years
Nogent La Abbesse has been an OBJ
servation point from which the Ger
mans watched the city and country
over a wide area and directed artil-
lery fire, which wrecked villages that
nestle among the mountains Of Reims
and took aim at the wine growers
cultivatiug vineyards on the slopes
and the peasant girls gathering the
grapes that grew in spite Of the war
1t was from in front Of these 1ormid-
able positions that the American boys
of the foreign legion fired their first
shots for France in the fall OF 1915
The trenches where they were sta
toned are still visible in the chalky
clay.
Traces Of Former Battles.
Traces Of four years Of fighting are
found all over the ground east or
Reims. from PomDelle fort around the
mountains
All the villages on the main road
from. Reims eastward are more or less
intact. for the fighting there was ar
too close quarters to enable either size
TO use heavy guns. They all showed
traces Of repeated struggles from
street TO street and from house 70
house. Every wall OF every house or
Enclosure is pitted by machine gun
bullets and by shrapneL
Wire stretches Intact
Long stretches Of wire between the
trenches are almost intact, running
through streets or cutting between
houses 10 mark the line where the
Germans were still at close grips with
the French a few days ago streets
and roads are lacerated by eartn-
works and are in some places up
beaved by mines and are impossible
The work of destruction done by the
enemy in his hurried flight was IN
comnarahlv less than that elsewhere
for il had long ago been almost COM