Arizona republican., 1918-10-28
FIRST MAJOR MOVE
 OF TANKS PROVES
 FIGHTING PR0WESS
Gain 165 Square Miles Take More Than 10000 Prisoners - All Against Herculean Obstacles-Op- pose 33 Divisions

WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY NORTHWEST OF NERDUN. Sunday, oct 26.--ln its first major operation against the Germans. considering the .learinE out of the st. Mihiel salient as a local affair the American army in a tow days less than d month. has liber- .ted more than 45 villages and ad- Nauccd to an average depth of ten miles. freeing 165 square miles of ter r.tory. In the offensive the Americans have captured more than 10000 pris- oners.
 The Americans attacked on a front ri % miles from the Argonne to the Mouse. and the advance has been made In The face of almost insurmountable difficulties. due particularly to the ma lure of the ground which is covered wifh hills deep ravines and woods In addition the Americans had fronting fhcm four organized systems of frcnchcs-the Hindenburg line. the Hagen position, the Nolker position and the Eriemhilde position. They have forced their way through all these lines Ahead of them lies the Freya position which has been reached at one point fin the region of the Bantheville wood.
 Advance Very Difficult
 The advance has been particularly difficult because the Germans have sfuhhornly resisted every foot of the way and have used more than 33 divi- s.ous on the 20-mile front
 Tn addition Co the prisoners, General Iorshng's men have taken more than le7 guns Of large calibre, numerous machine guns and anti-tank guns. a great store of ammunition and much war material including locomotives and railway ears.
 Since September 26. the Americans have fired more than 2.500.000 shells. fhc number at times reaching as high as i50000 daily The guns used n- c.udcd a great number of heavy ones and also some captured from the enemy.
 American aviators and anti-aircraft -aus in fhc period since September 27. have brought down 230 enemy ma Hniucs and -3 enemy balloons despite adverse living conditions and bad weather Bombing airplanes dropped wore than 10000 kilograms of explo- -.ros on railroad ceuters. troop concen- frtIons and other points behind the enemy lines.
 Road Repairing Enormous Job
 From the view of the engineer. the most difficult task faced has been the repairing Of roads and the moving of supplies. ammunition and men to the front More than 10000 engineer troops arc employed day and night in rebuilding shell hammered roads us- ing crushed rock from villages de- strovcd by German shells.
 Tn tho Argonne hundreds of yards ot German harbed wire entanglements had Co bc hridged as it was impossible Co cut them.
 The crossing of Forges brook wa. accomplished in the first day of the advance under heavy fire. The brooI runs through marshy lands and in or. der Co bridge it, the engineers had tC lay bundles of faggots on both sides O the stream. The crossing was made il record time and then begun the battl, of the Argonne which lasted for nor, than two weeks.
 Have Taken 165 Square Miles
 Compilations made by army officer show that of the more than 165 squar miles taken from the enemy since Sep temher 26. almost one-half were heav iiy wooded and machine gun infested The Americans had to take by storr l5S hills and high crests, most O which were heavily wooded and de tended by strong machine gun detach meuts
 of the hills 141 were west of tn Mouse and IS east of the river. Tn Germans also had to be driven fror flo ravines. an defended by machin guns and nearly as hard to take as tn hills
 General Pershings men have had t advance against the pick of the Ger man army fighting desperately to hol this front