The sun., 1918-09-05
BRITISHLINES
RUSHED AHEAD;
FLIGHT HURRIED
Advance South of Scarpe Is
Almost Without Op-
position.
GERMANS FLOOD GROUND
Indications That Enemy Plans
to Stand at the Vitry
Defences.
GERMANS FLOOD GROUND
BY PERRY ROBINSON.

ny fEnHn hObINSON
Special Cab'e Dcspotch to the suS from the
London Times Serrice.
Copyright. 1915: oil rights reserved.
WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE,
Sept. 4.-The Germans to-day are not
standing to fight. Almost without op-
position our line south Of the Scarpe
has been pushed forward two to four
miles further east than it was yester-
day morning. There are now no Ger
mans. except prisoners. from the SEN
see River east OF Ecourt-St. Quentin,
to the neighborhood Of Hermies, a
front of ten miles.
We have left the old battlefields Of
Arras behind us. While in the north
we are breaking so far into new terri
tory that once more we are recovering
civilians from captured villages in the
southern part Of our advance we are
still fighting on the grounds of the
Cambria offensive of last year, except
that in places. as between Inchy and
Moevres. we have penetrated further
than then.
Canal Line Covers Cambrai.
Whether the enemy intends TO attempt
stand on the line OF the canal Is yet
to be seen. He can hardly give UP the
line on the rfght behind the canal with
out sarrenderinE CambrAl also, On the
left. to fall back much beyond the wired
defences behind Vitry would be equally
dangerous to his hold on Douai. The
fact that the Germans have damned the
Scarpc and the Sensee somewhere about
Ecluse to flood the ground would seem to
indicate that they plan to stand on these
lines.
The Germans have fallen back behind
the canal with dramatic suddenness. and
although the final flight was so rapid
that we had difficulty in catching up our
first blow was so shattering and our
pressure since has been so continuous
that in three days we have taken on this
narrow front $4,000 prisoners, making a
total taken by the British armies alone
since the beginning OF August OF more
than 10000
The German official declarations are
with a profound strategic plan 1t
would be interesting to know II the plan
contemplated the loss of 10000 mem
the fighting strength of ten enemy di-
visions-without considering the enor-
nous losses in killed and -Rounded.
Canal strongly Defended.
The Canal du Nord on this front is
only a great dry ditch. sometimes maxi
ing a huge chasm where it runs through
the hills. devoid OF water, but it's depth
and steep sides make 1t a formidable
obstacle to an advance Nearly every
where the Germans appear to have de-
stroyed the crossings. In general
wherever we touched the canal we found
II strongly held by machine guns on
the further side.
Our advance has been an uninter-
rupted progress except for occasional
small pockets OF the enemy left for
rear guard defence. who instead OF de-
laying us only furnished new punches
OF prisoners. These are chiefly from
two new divisions brought up recently
to try TO stop the advance. One came
from KENNEL. These two divisions ap-
parently are now entrusted with the
main job OF holding the line OF the
canal.
Among the prisoners We continue to
find many cavalrymen who were fighting
as infantry. Tales are told OF n regi-
ment which In a recent battle retired
without orders, but whether that is any
worse than the conduct OF those who
stayed only to surrender as soon as
our tanks and infantry came Is n mat
ter for argument,
A few more guns have fallen to us, the
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