The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1918-08-30
BRITISH CHASE
FLEEING BOCHES
HUNS IN DISTRESS EVERYWHERE
WITH LINE cRUMeLiNG FROM
ARRAs TO soissoNs.
Pocket GRIPS NOYoN
VIOLENT COUNTERS FAIL TO
STOP ONRusH, AND ALLIES
GAIN SCORES OF TOWNS.

Western Newspaper Union News Service
With the British Army In France.
Aug. 29.-On both sides of the Scarpe
river hard fighting continued Wednes-
day. the British launching fresh at
tacks and wrestling from the desper-
ately resisting enemy additional valu-
able stretches of ground, many more
advantageous positions and numerous
towns. including Croisilles. In the
center of the wide battlefield on which
three British armies. the First. Third
and Fourth, are operating. there seems
to be slight pause. South of the
Somme. Fay and Ablaincourt were
taken by the British without much diff
pressed south of these points by the
French, were ready to go with slight
persuasion.
The Germans facing the allied forces
from Arras to Scissors everywhere
are in dire peril. On almost every
sector of the battle front the enemy
line continues to crumble before the
allied attack, notwithstanding the vio
lence. born OF desperation. OF the coun-
ter offensive tactics
Near Arras the old Hindenburg line
now is well outflanked: from the
Scarpe to the Somme the hostile line
gradually Is falling back while from
south Of the Somme to Scissors the
enemy front has literally been
smashed and the German posts appar-
escape from which without heavy
losses in men made prisoner and guns
and material captured seems almost
impossible Of achievement.
Scores Of additional towns have been
captured by the British, French and
American troops, the Americans hav-
ing entered the fray with the French
northwest Of Scissors, while all the
old German salients in the allied lines
now have been flattened out and the
allies themselves have dug deeply into
the enemy's terrain.
The first trap in which the enemy
finds himself is the triangle formed
by the sharp curve of the Somme river
with Peronne its apex and with Curlu
on the Somme and Fresnes. respec-
lively, its northern and southern
bases
This triangle is a little more than
three miles deep and six miles wide.
and in it the Germans are fighting
with their backs toward the Somme
on both the north and the east
1t was the French troops who
sprang the trap With the fall of
Chaulnes the French forces routed the
enemy over a front of about nineteen
miles and penetrated the region to a
depth at some points of nearly seven
miles.
From the north of Chaulnes to Nesle
the penetration of the French reached
the heights on the left bank of the
Somme: southwark the advance left
the French along the Canal du Nord
at various points between Nesle and
the outskirts of Noyon.
South and southeast of Noyon gaina
also were made and Noyon and the
entire region between Nesle and Sois
sons now are in a great pocket ant
Will tHt IelCu plHSeIS WOIhIHS udiS
to close upon 1t.
The Americans are fighting with the
French northwest of SoiSsons in the
operation which has in view the blot
ting out of the Noyon sector and th>
outflanking of the Aisne and the olt
Chemin des Danes positions Officia
reports have the Americans ant
French fighting violently with the en-
emy around Juvigny and Chavigny
where they have gained some ground
The Americans have successfully sus
tanned several heavy enemy counter
attacks in this region.
The Americans and the German
also are engaged in bitter battlea
around Bazoches and Fismette on the
Vesle
The Germans endeavored to ford
the Vesle south of Bazoches but were
held by the Americans Likewise an
enemy assault against Fismette was
stopped The German official com.
munication asserts that the Americans
have suffered severe losses and lost
more than $50 prisoners in the battle
along the Vesle.