The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-08-01

French and Americans have con-
tinued their rapid advance TO the
northeast. and the forest OF Fere was
cleared of the enemy Saturday after
noon. The allied forces are losing
contact with the Germans.
treated along the whole front north
of the Marne, the war office an
nounced French and allied troops.
pressing hard on the enemy rear
guards, have reached the line Of Bruy-
es-Villenueve Sur Fere, Courmont.
Passy Grigny, Cuisles. La Neuville
and Chaumuzy. This means that the
German crown prince and his generals
are extricatins their troops from dan
gerous positions as best they may.
The Franco-American troops, con-
tinuing their pressure on the Germans
in retreat from the Marne. have
reached and crossed the Ourcq river
and penetrated the town Of Fere-en-
Tardenois. one of the great German
supply bases for the enemy troops in
side the Soissons- Rheims salient.
Meantime, on the center of the Al
lied right wing southwest OF Rheims.
violent attacks by the French have
forced the enemy TO give further
ground and enabled the French to cop
ture several towns OF strategic value
and to draw their front appreciably
nearer the high road which runs
northestward from Dormans to
Rheims.
On the extreme wings Of the grad
ually decreasing pocket-near Sois-
sons and Rheims-the enemy, heavily
reinforced, is holding tenaciously, real
lzing that successes there would re-
suit in a general crumbling Of his
plans OF defense against the locking
up Of his entire armies inside the big
bag.
In addition to the large number of
troops for reinforcement that have
been thrown on these two sectors, the
German long-range guns from the re-
gion north of Scissors and north and
northeast Of Rheims are keeping both
wings Of the salient under a heavy en-
filading fire.
Under the battering tactics Of the
Americans and Frenchmen the Ger
man line on the south has now been
driven back more than twelve miles
from the point south of Chateau Thier-
ry, where the allied troops locked the
door to Paris against the enemy July
1S and themselves became the agxres-
sors in what has turned out one of the
greatest battles Of the war.
The crossing Of the Ourcq. even II
ID, al - oR hA al.
lied forces. presages general cross
ing later on. The French official COM
munications thus far during the battle
have been remarkably conservative in
their estimates of the gains that daily
have been made.
1t is indicated in unofficial dis
patches that allied troops are consid-
erably in advance of the line rs an
nounced officially. Where the Ger
brought into the fighting Tanks and
machine guns are marrying the enemy
whose losses are heavy. Airplanes are
flying over the retreating hordes.
dropping bombs, while the big allied
guns from the sides of the salient are
keeping up their intensive firing from
all angles into the densely congested
area. -
London, July 27.-The Germans to-
day retain virtually nothing of the
ground they conquered in their great
attack OF July Is along the Marne.
says Reuters correspondent at French
headquarters. East of Rheims. the
correspondent adds, General Gouraud's
army, by a series of brilliant local op-
erations, has expelled the enemy al
most everywhere from the narrow belt
he occupied in GourAud's advanced
zone.
villemontoire, 4 little moro than five
miles south of Soissons. has been tax
en- by the French and Americans.
while further south they have cap
tured Oulchy-le- Chateau and swept on
east of the town.
Every line of communication within
the German salient is under lombard
ment either from the allied artillery or
airplanes. Enemy troops are suffer
ing terrible privations, owing to the
uncertainty of obtaining supplies.
Since the allies control virtually ev-
cry road and every path, the fatigued
German units cannot be relieved.
Americans, French, British and Ital-
ian troops are steadily pressing for
ward at nearly all points on the battle
line to Rheims, while east of the ca
thedral city a Polish contingent-the
first of the Poles to enter the combat,
is declared TO have carried out sue
cessfuliy an enterprise against the en-
emy in which more than 200 Germans
were made prisoner.
Czecho-Slovak troops have captured