Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-16
Enemy Clinging Desperately 10
Roye. But II is Doubtful If
He Can Hold.
BRITISH GAIN IN
AERIAL COMBATS
Put 20 German Machines Out of
Commission, With 2 Loss
Of IS.
ALLIES GAINING IN RUSSIA

Associa'ed Press summary Jssued A. p n
Allird pressure has boon efcc'ivrit
renewed against he Gerrnan ine u The
region ~ Rove on the Picsrdv bafflc
front The enemy g clinging dr'c mined
lv 70 ms toNn as q bulwarl 0f he I0si
iIons be- took ~ after icing driven bocl
from tho imicus region Both the lrrfct
and the British arc pushng rlosr'
however and making h'- prolonged eu
ancy of thr place doubtful
London Ia-' night reported fhe Bu'i-h
lines advanced nprthwest of the own
~ fhc ncighlorhood of Damor, ana
PorWllere whIir odav Paris report
forward movement Dn hc part of nc
French wost and soufhWcgt ~ R0vs Dp
front pf ahou' twn and Dnc-hslf miios
Rove II fast becoming hc virtual ape,
~ 4 salient whirh will soon invite or'i-f
ing allied stroke If he rHnrr,- Brffi-f
pressure ran bc ofFprfivclv maintained
- i has been recently
Fighting activity q PIcardv = confined
10 local actions There arc no -igns that
the heavier cnnbats 81 earlier ln thf
week are about 10 ~ resumed although
the artillery IN both -ides continue.
active
On he line tetvren Chaulnes and
Rove. whprp he Germans are said tp
have large number of men. Canadian
troops have pushed farther eastward hv
completing the occupation If the villages
of Parvlilers and Damerv These points
are about tw0 miles west ~ me highway
and railroad running north and south
through Chaulnes and Roye
Apparently the enemy has completed
his withdrawal movement IN the Hebu-
terne sector. north ~ Albert Berlin
announces officially hat German troops
were withdrawn from small saiients
However, IL is not vet clear how far the
Germans have retired The enemy
still holds Albert but the British sire n
the western outskirts.
FRENCH PREss on AND GAIN
Between the Oise and the Matz the
French continue their steady pressure
and have gained additional high ground
west of The Disc and northwest Of Ribe-
court The Germans fought hard 20
/ hold Monoithe and AttIche farms, hut
were finally driven out by General Hum
bert's men The farms are east Of Thies-
court wood and are on he nigh ground
dominating the river Divette, a smnil
tributary Of The Oise.
GERMANS on DEFENSIVE
Appointment OF Cen Won Boehn, VINO
led the retirement from the Afarne. 10
the command OF the German group IN
Picardy Is confirmed officially from Berlin.
II is believed in London that because Of
the scarcity of reserves the Germans viii
fight on he defensive on their present
tine Fifteen reserve divisions already
have been thrown IN between the Ancre
and the OIse and me enemy is SAID 70
have only sixteen fresh divisions On nc
entire front from the North sea to >Eltzer-
land
Unofficial estimates in London place
the allied captures since August ) al .,4OuO
men and go guns. L Is declared he
proportion OF German 70 allied .Osses
has been greater N the recent hchting
than at anv time since 1914 The total
allied casualties may not be as iargc as
the number Of German prisoners cap
tured
+ GERMAN AIR MACHINES DESTROYED.
All other sectors Of the western front
appear to be affected by a lighting iull
The German artillery IRE and aerai
activity have decreased along the esle.
where French and Americans maintain
their pressure. Aerial operations stall
are intense On the British front, =
German machines were put our Of action.
wednesday,, WlLc 'Ht AptltlHA to>t t''
Bombs have been iropped on rallpat
functions within the German ines and
British ayiators have 9owu uto tiermany
70 attack Thieonville and GfenbuIg
American aviators have brought down
two more enemy rnacN ines and have
bombed railway functions N the Metz
Nerdun area with good effect
Paris was visited Thursday night
by raiders, who dropped several bombs
4 small number of persons we're killed
and ther. was some material damage
On the Italian front he situation
normal The ltuhaus have seized an
islet in he southern reaches IF ne PlaFr
4LLlEs GAlNiNo rs RUSSIA
HI the east. from Noscos 10 Nladisu--
tok and from the White Sea % he as-
plan. the situation daily becomes more
interesting and more menaeing fo ''er-
many
From Archangei allied roopo nave
made good progress southwark toward
Nologda and apparently are operating "a
three columns againSt the BOlShevikl,
whose opposition is reported TO have been
fairly determined The occupation Of
Baku by British troops who came north
through Persia from Bagdad, IS blow 70
German and Turkish pretenslonS IN the
! Caucasus. To the north the CZecho-
! Slovaks are in force along the Nolga
under the command Of experlenccd Rus
sian generals. In eastern Siberia, the
position OF the Allies apparently 5
improving, as more troops are landed at