Middletown transcript., 1918-08-17
ALLIES SWEEP ON
HUNS IN FLIGHT
Americans Win Village OF Fis-
mette Across vesle
OVER 1900 PRISONERS
Main Paris-Amiens Railway Again
Free For The Use Of The Allies
In Their Tremendous
Drive.

more than 20 miles the British and
French troops are continuing to SWEEP
back the Germans eastward across
the plains of Picardy from the region
north of the Somme, east of Morlan
court. to the eastern bank Of the Avre
northwest Of Montdidier.
As on the first day of the offensive,
material progress was made over the
entire battlefront. Many additional
villages were captured; the bag of
prisoners was largely increased, nu.
merous guns and great quantities OF
war stores were taken, and heavy
casualties were inflicted on the enemy
by tanks, armored motor cars, the
cavalry and the infantry.
The losses sustained by the Anglo
French forces are declared to be rela.
lively small.
To the Allied forces there have
fallen 1900 German prisoners and be.
tween 200 and 800 guns, many of them
OF heavy caliber, and innumerable ma
chine guns, trench mortars and kin
dred small weapons.
To the north of the Picardy theatre
the Germans also have given ground
on two important sectors-on the fam
GUS Lys salient, northwest Of La
Bassee, and in the region southwest
Of Ypres. on the equally famous bat
tleground north of KENNEL.
On the Lys sector territory over a
front Of more than seven miles was
evacuated by the enemy, while to the
north of KENNEL the British advanced
their line over a front exceeding 1000
yards.
These maneuvers on the part of the
Germans seemingly indicate that they
either considered their ground inse-
cure in the face Of the heavy forces
General Haig is known to have in both
regions to ward off any attempt to
reach the Channel ports, or that
Crown Prince Rupprecht's army has
been materially decreased in strength
to rush reinforcements to the battle
zone where the German armies in the
south are being sorely harassed.
Already having penetrated the
Picardy salient to depth of nearly
l3 miles in the center toward the vi
entity of the important railroad juno
ton of Chaulnes, and at other points
along the Arch pushed forward be-
tween five and seven miles. the north
ern and southern TANKS of the battle
front, where the Germans had been
resisting desperately, gave way before
the pressure respectively of the Brit
lsh and French.
On the north the British captured
Morlancourt and pressed on eastward,
while on the south, northwest of Mont.
didier, Pierrepont, Contoire and Ar
villers were taken by the French, who
drove in their wedge to a distance of
more than eight and one-half miles.
The tanks. armored cars and cavalry
are still working throughout the en-
tire region, while airplanes are soaring
far behind the lines, bombing trans
ports and troops movements and also
paying particular attention to the
bridges over the Somme by which the
enemy is endeavoring to escape from
their advancing foes. All behind the
line the Germans are destroying am
munition depots as they quit their
positions.
With the new turn of events MOntdi-
der is in an uncomfortable position,
with the Allies hammering away cross
fire at the Germans holding it, and
with the only railroad leading into the
town also under their guns. A forced
evacuation of the town seems not i'm
probable. In fact, with further pres
sure eastward by the Allies between
the Somme and the Avre and with the
possibility of pressure n0rthward
against the Germans from the line
running northeastward from Scissors,
It is not outside the realm of posi-
bility that the entire Montdidier
salient will have to be abandoned.
There has been little fighting of
great moment in Vesle River, except
In the nature of reciprocal artillery
duels. The Americans, however, have
made another crossing of the Vesle
and caDtured the village of Fismette.