Jasper County Democrat, Volume 20, Number 54, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 October 1917 — BRITISH WIN ON 8-MILE FRONT [ARTICLE]

BRITISH WIN ON 8-MILE FRONT

Thousands of Germans Taken Prisoner in Big Battle. ATTACK COMPLETE SUCCESS Official Report Says Positions of the Greatest Imjiortance Have Been Gaptured-—>Lille in Peril. London, Oct. s.—The Reuter corre-4 epondent at British headquarters ird France saye: “Today Is one of the great days Inf army annals. The victory Is belngf proclaimed as one of the greatest ■incat the Marne.” London, Oct. 5. —Thousands of prist oners have been taken by the British} in the new drive against the Ger-; mans, which was begun at six o’clock! in the morning east of Ypres In Flans decs. All the objectives of the Brits ish were won, Including positional characterized by Field Marshal Haig's* report from headquarters as of “great! Importance.”

The British gained all their object tlves on o front of 10,000 yards and to* a depth of 2,500 yards, Gen. Frederick B. Maurice, chief director of nillitaryi operations at the war office, announced. Both the first and second objectives. Including the village of Broodselnde, have been captured, he said. British Official Report. The text of the report from Brltlshi headquarters in France reads: “Our attack was launched on a front of over eight miles, from south of Tower Hamlets to the Ypres-Staden railway, north of Langemarck, and has been completely successful. All our objectives have been gained; positions of great Importance have been won, and over 3,(KM) German prisoners hava already reached the collecting stations. "We' are now in possession of thp main ridge up to a point 1,000 yards north of Broodselnde.” Great Drive Perils Lille. With the renewal of the British drive, the battle of Flanders Is growing more and more to resemble last year’s battle of the Somme, which was followed by the memorable Hindenburg “strategic retreat.” This time the ground which would have to be abandoned would be far more Valuable to the entente and its loss a correspondingly heavy blow to the Germans, for the German-held Belgian coast line, with its submarine and aerial bases, is at stake, together with the, great French manufacturing city of Lille and wide stretches of territory in northern France and Flanders. British Front In France and Belgium, Oct. 5. —Field f Marshal Haig’s forces in the offensive begun to the eafit of Ypres in some places have penetrated the German lines to a depth of one mile and have overrun the crest of the I’asschendaele-Gheluvelt ridge.

At an. early hour the Germans were surrendering by hundreds. The British already have penetrated well beyond the hamlet of Broadselnde, in which lie the crossroads formed l>y the highways between Zonnebeke and Moorshed and Passchendaele and Beclaire. Farther to the south Cam* eron Covert, where there had been much hard fighting, was left well in the rear. Foe Loses Vital Defenses. The battle was along strongholds which comprised the crucially important system of German defenses along the PaSschendaele-Gheluvelt ridge. Everywhere the British have done splendidly in one of the most pretentious offense's attempted on this front. The attack was launched under heavy clouds and with a mist following a night drizzle. An tinsual feature of the battle was that near Zonnebeke three German divisions which had been .ordered to retake positioris captured by the British hist week were caught in the British barrage as they were oreparing to advance. The British casualties have beet exceedingly light. Berlin Admits British Gain. Berlin, Oct. 5. —The German version of the battle in Flanders, as reported in tbe supplementary statement, issued from German headquarters, is as follows : “On the battlefield in Flanders the British during the great attack penetrated about one kilometer deep into our defensive zone between Poelcapelle and Gheluvelt. Especially bitter fighting is still proceeding to the east of Zonnebeke and west of Becelaere.”