Le MeschaceÌbeÌ. [volume] ([Lucy] La.) 1853-1942, 1918-08-31
ALLIED ARMIES keep
HUNS RETREATIEG
GERMANS ARE BEING STEADILY
FORCED BACK BY THE BRITISH
AND FRENCH ARMIES.
GERMANS ARE UNEASY
Captured German Officers Admit That
Germany Is in Practically Hope
less Condition - Many
Prisoners Taken.

FFBSOHCES aNCH"
Notwithstanding the fact that the
Germans have brought up strong rein
forcements on both wings of the bat
tie front, the British and French forces
everywhere have beaten off the enemy
and continued their victorious prog
ress.
Many additional towns have been
captured by Field Marshal Haigs men
in the north, while the French have
successfully overcome obstacles placed
in their way and reached territory
north of Scissors, which adds further
to the danger of the Germans in the
Noyon sector and to the line running
eastward from Scissors to Rheims.
~All along the front from Arras to
the Somme the Germans gradually are
being driven back to the old linden
burg line by the British. Along the
Somme the enemy is being harassed
we'll to the east of Bray, while farther
north strong counter attacks have
been repulsed and the town of Ma,
metz, the Mametz woods, Martinquich,
Lesars, and Lebarque have been cap
tured
1t is around Baspaume that the Ger
mans are keeping up their strongest
efforts to hold hack the tide that ID
surging against them, but the British
are continuing to make slight gains
daily in the process of surrounding
the town, which seemingly soon must
be evacuated The taking of LIE Sara
and Lebarque appears to be fore
runner of this eventuality. Lebarque
is only two and half miles south OF
Bapaume.
Everywhere except directly south OF
Bapaume the British are well across
the Bapaume-Albert road and north
of the town they are fast pressing for
ward to the Hindenburg line. Unof-
ficial reports have placed the British
in the outskirts OF Bullecourt. which is
Just west of the old line.
Since last Wednesday the British
have taken more than II, 900 prisoners
and large numbers of guns and great
quantities of supplies also have fallen
into their hands Some of the prison
ers taken have been identified as COM
ing from Austro- Hungarian units.
The Germans are launching strong
counter attacks against the French be
tween the Disc and Ailette rivers, in
an endeavor to hold back General Man
gins army, which is threatening the
entire German front in this region.
Here also the Germans have been re-
lnforced by troops from the dual mon
archy.. North of scissors in the re
gion of Bagneux, the French have
made further progress eastward and
now are abreast the railroad line run
ming from Scissors to Laon. A con-
siderable number of additional prison
ers have fallen into French hands.
As yet there has been no movement
by the Germans along the Vesle river
to indicate that retirement toward
the Aisne is in immediate prospect
The Americans and French in this re-
gion continue to heavily shell the
snemy's back areas.
Further east in the Vosges. region
the Americans are keeping up their
patrol activity against the enemy.
The demeanor of hundreds Of Ger
man officers taken prisoner recently
is in striking contrast with the atti
trde of officers captured during the
British retreat last spring. Then Ger
man officer prisoners were arrogant
and meant to crush the British to
earth, but now they are depressed and
very anxious. They appear very viii
ing to talk, and the tenor Of their con-
may be summed up a. fol-
lows:
They say Germany entered the war
with enthusiasm, but this has long
since disappeared, and the struggle
has now become an economic one with
Great Britain.
They admit that Germany Is b prac-
.ically hopeless condition. both ecO
louically and from the man power
point | view, ard ask whether Great
BE- Tot now consider Germans
q, rduced to be no longer
rade rival or Whether
0S5 to crush her aisogeth-
VIpCaer case they say Gers
arr forced 70 flght q he
aey make no effort ID con-
Impression 81 What this
" satherIand.