The sun., 1918-11-03
CIVILIANS GASSED
BY GERMAN SHELLS
Hundreds Admitted to Mill
tary Hospitals After Foe
Strafes Flemish Villages.
GERMANS FIGHT WELL
Streams and Marshes Hamper
Triple Attack by British,
French and Americans.
~ PERRY ROBINSON.
Special csb'e Despsteh to THE Sen from the
London Tfnts Serpice.

cItcJ0f Ceote Deepdtch 70 IHk SCh yfo" t"e
London Times Seruice.
copyreht. 1918; all rights reserved.
4 WITH THE BaITIsH ARMY IN FRANCE,
Nov. 2.-British. French and American
troops acted together in the attack on n
front Of fourteen miles from the Scheldt
near Avelghem to Deynze. The attack
rrospered everywhere.
have described the course OF the for
tiled line the Germans are holding on
the Dutch frontier canal past Client by
Deynze TO Waereghem and southwark,
II 10 aga INST the southern portion Of this
line that the present attack is directed
ana 1t is evident that breach in the
front here so as to turn the positions on
tho canal from Deynze to the north
would imperil seriously the German line
above and the hold on Client itself.
Marshes Hamper Advance.
The sector Of the front which the Brit
ish troops attacked Is comparatively
small one three miles from the Scheldt
to near Anseghem. the main attack being
delivered by the French and Americans
north. 1t is an unpleasant area for an
advance. chiefly by reason Of the num-
Der OF streams which flow northward
into the Lys, OF which the Biestbeek on
the British front. the Gaverbeek below
waereghem and the Handbook above are
the most important
Each Of these has numerous tributary
srivulets and each In Flanders at this
tirne OF the year means formidable
barrier of marsh and stream. The coun-
try is thickly dotted with patches OF
woodland. making an almost continuous
belt of wooded area which lends itself
readily to defence.
y The British front made an initial ad-
vance of 1000 yards This is only a
minor part of an operation intended to
Cover the flank OF the moro important
French advance above.
~ The Germans in general seem tn be
Fighting well. Prisoners say they have
10 because their getting an armistice
depends on their not giving way. This
a In accordance with the preaching OF
me higher command, for we recently
Rave captured orders. which say all the
troops must stand. as the aRmistice de-
bends on the battle coming to a stand
stiil
: hear reports that the Germans are
guessing villages known to contain civil
3ans when no British troops are there.
it Is certain that numbers of poor folk
are being admitted to military hospitals
xu6ering from gas
~ Tanks DO Good Work.
y I hear that the French and Ameri-
ran advance was very fine. Above
Anseghem. through the network of
streams and spinneys the whole
l~-ench- American line moved east
ard. having broken through the la
! byiously prepared enemy defepces. in
b region OF Waereghem. The British,
| french and Americans have taken a
transferable number of prisoners, but
,I.robably not many guns, for the last
,i6 the German artillery is already back
1eross the Scheldt. a large quantity
,xeing concentrated in the woods of Re-
,esaix and others at Audenarde.
a In the former area the enemy artil-
Sery fire was heavy against the British
Jarea and the right flank Of the French
Long range guns also were at work
from Audenarde. French tanks are CO.
operating IN the attack on both the
british and French fronts and are doing
great work. At Anseghem. where
there is a strong position, a trench NOR
fae battery and numbers of machine
guns were attacked by nine tanks and
completely routed.