The sun., 1918-10-28
CRUSH
LA0N SALIENT;
GAIN 5 MILES
In Champagne Also Ger
mans Are Driven From Sec
tiOn of Hunding Line.
BRITISH IN HARD FIGHT
Repulse 3 Determined Counter
Attacks Against Positions
Near Valenciennes.

LONDON. Oct. 27.-Important gains
were made by the French to-day in
the operation. which now has devel-
oped into a first class battle, Of driv-
ing in the point Of the great Laon
salient. the elbow in the battle front
'There, coming down from the north,
1t turns sharply to the east. Here the
French First Army advanced on a
fifteen mile front 10 n maximum
depth Of five miles, freeing many viii
lagos and increasing the number of
prisoners for this operation to 3.7OO.
besides twenty cannon and hundreds
Of machine guns
In their advance they reached the
outskirts of Gulse and crossed the
road between that place and Marie.
The Tenth French army, in close CO.
operation on the right, pressed to the
north, advancing beyond Crecy-sur-
Serre. In the fighting between this
point and Chateau Porcien the Ger
mans were compelled to abandon a
part of the Hunding line, TO which
they have chung tenaciously between
between Herpy and Recouvrance. The
French are keeping in close touch with
the Germans here and are harassIng
the retreating foe.
British Repel Counter Attacks.
In the Valenciennes sector the Ger
mans launched a series Of very heavy
counter attacks against the British and
have succeeded for the moment in
checking the advance there. A deter
mined attack was made by the Ger
mans last night against the British
positions Immediately northwest Of Ls
ouesnoy, preceded by a heavy bonn
bardment, but It failed. Two similar
attacks were delivered to-day with nc
more success. The German casual
ties were unusually heavy.
The British got through Artres last
night and gained q bridgehead east OF
that place. The enemy retired hastily
upon Maresches. To the north the
British took Famars. On the front OF
the Fifth Army Rougeport has been
reached and the line OF the railway
thence to the east of Maulde.
The Reuter- correspondent at British
| Army Headquarters, wiring yesterday
says that in the weeks operations or
| the British front, although the Brit.
ish covered less territory and took
fewer prisoners than the previous
week. from all the evidence Of prison.
ers and from what has been seen dur.
ing the advance, II is known that the
enemy suffered very heavy losses.
Manifestly tho advance Of the north
ern armies could not be maintained a
the rate they went forward the weel
before, for the need to restore com.
munications and bring up war materia
checked progress, apart from any ques
ton OF having 70 overcome opposition
Fighting Since Wednesday.
The British southern armies have beer
fighting hard and with very little inter,
Wednesday morning. They have made 1
heavy impression upon the enemy.
power of resistance along the Who'll,
centre OF his line, Since clearing IN,
dificult valley OF the Selle progress ha,
been across rolling country intersectec
by streams and dotted with copses ant
here and there great patches OF thicl
set woods admirably adapted to the pur
pose of defensive warfare. Yet n thr.,
days the British covered as many mile.
In depth as In the same number o
months last year.
4 Tho Second Army. in conjunction
with the French. made good progress
Friday and reached Moen and HNstert
which are southwest OF '7ourtra, an,
upon the railway from the Lille tri
angle to Ghent. The Fifth Army con
| Continued on Second Page.