Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1918-10-17
German Forces Are Expelled
From st. Gobain Forest
and La Fere.
ITALIAN TROOPS ACTIVE
Americans Engage in Intense ArtIl.
lcry Duel Between Aire and Mouse
Rivers, Blasting Machine Gun
Nests to Bits.

Paris, Oct. 15.-The whole Laon
front is crumbIing. The French
have captured a dozen additional
villages. The railways leading
from these are intact and great
masses of shells and other war
material have been seized.
The German retreat is being
carried out with difficulty, owing
to the bombardment of railroads
by airplanes.
British troops are reported to
have o~utfianked Bouchain and to
be advancing or Densin, from
which town they are only three
miles distant.
American forces are advancing
in the direction of Dun sur Meuse,
In the Argonne sector, according
to the I~ntransiseant.
London, Oct. 15.-German forces
have abandoned Laon, La Fere, and
the whole St. Gobain region. The
French, after reoccupying Laon, have
pressed on until their line now runs
from the Disc river above La Fere to
the eastern end of the Chemin des
Danes.
Italian troops participated in the ad-
vance and are now engaged on the
hills north of the Ailette river. At this
particular point the German lines have
been pressed back or have been with
drawn so that a sharp angle has been
created.
Allies Reach Hunding Line.
French and British forces have viz.
tually reached the Hunding line east
of Cambria and St. Quentin. British
units are reported at Solesmes, while
the French further south are within
four miles Of Guise.
The Hunding line runs from Ant.
werp to Client and thence to Journal,
Condo, Valenciennes, Solesmes, Guise,
Rethel, Vouzieres, Dun sur Meuse and
then down the base of the st. Mihiel
salient to the Moselle, where it joins
the old front running through Lor.
raine and the Vosges to the Swiss
frontier.
On the Champagne front General
Berthelot is less than five miles from
Rethel. while further east General
Gouraud has taken Vouzieres, but has
not penetrated much further north OF
that place. Americans fighting in the
Argonne region are through the Kriem.
hide line, but their progress there is
slow.
British Threaten Vatenciennes.
Douai is virtually reached by the
British, while to the north the line
turns off sharply to the east. Should
DoAai fall, the British will be able to
advance on Valenciennes.
The Disc river has been crossed by
the French to the east of La Fere at
Origny.
In Albania the Italians have cap.
tured Kavaya, a town II miles south.
east of Durazzo.
Allied forces have occupied Nish.
the Serbian stronghold, the German
official statement admitting that the
Teutonic armies had retired to the
heights back of the city in face Of
the terrific Allied thrusts.
Americans Wreck Machine Guns.
With the American First Army, Oct.
15.-An intense artillery battle Is rag
ing between the Aire and the Meuse.
1t continued throughout the night and
was growing in violence. The Ameri-
can guns apparently dominated the
situation. The solid mass of machine
gun nests which oppose our advance
between the two rivers was rapidly
being blasted to bits.
Heavy German attacks east of the
Argonne were broken up by Ameri
can cOunterattacks.
The Yanks met the Boobies midway
between the two lines, welding the
bayonet and tearing the enemy waves
to shreds.