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Show BRITISH SMASH WA Y TO THIRD LINE OF THE GERMAN DEFENSES Latins Battle Way Foot by Foot Toward Ridges East of Souchez; Meet Troops Just Back From Russia. SCORE BIG NEW ADVANCE IN CHAMPAGNE COUNTRY (Special Cable by Arrangement with London Daily Telegraph and International News Service.) LONDON, Sept. 28. Field Marshal Sir John French reports tonight that he has captured the second line of German defenses to the west of Loos and that he is now engaging the third line. In Champagne and around Souchez the allies also are continuing con-tinuing their desperate attacks, and have made some progress, according to official dispatches tonight. The French afternoon report described this progress as "step by step," and the night report as "foot by foot." According to Field Marshal French's report the British now hold ail the ground north of hill No. 70, which was retaken by the Germans, and have also advanced north and south of Loos. The total number of prisoners taken by the British has reached .3000, together with twenty-one guns and forty machine guns. BRITISH TAKE 3000 PRISONERS. Field Marshal French's report follows: There was severe fighting today at Loos and north of that place. We now hold all the land north of hill No. 70, which the enemy retook on the 26th, and have progressed further. South of Loos we have progressed favorably. The total number of guns captured by us now is twenty-one. and there are several more between us and the enemy which have been abandoned by him. The number of our prisoners exceeds 3000. The number of machine guns actually taken is forty, while many more were destroyed by our bombardment. The enemy's lines taken by us were exceptionally strong, consisting of a double front line, which includes two large works named Hohenzollern and Kaiser Wilhelm redoubts. These consist of a network of trenches and bombproof shelters shel-ters several hundred yards in extent. The German second line ran to the west of Loos. NOW ATTACKING THIRD LINE. We are now closely engaged with the enemy's third line Our aeroplanes today bombed a railway line near JJau-paume, JJau-paume, wrecking a train and also damaging the railway near Achiet-Legrand. In Champagne the French report new progress, especially to the north of Vassiges. 800 prisoners having been taken Berlin, however, states that every French attack in this region was repulsed "without a break." Around Souchez strong German reinforcements from the Russian front have made their appearance, some of these men being taken prisoners by the French today. ATTACKS REPULSED, BERLIN AVERS. The Berlin statement says that not onlv have all the French and British attacks been repulsed, but that the Ger mans, by counter-attacks, have made appreciable gains in territory. ter-ritory. Dispatches from correspondents at the front state that the fighting of the last few days has been the most sanguinary of thejvar and that the losses on both sides will startle the world when they are made known. FRENCH IN A NEW ADVANCE PARIS. Sept. 28. 10:30 p. m.-The French troops hghting on the western front have made further gains of ground east of Souchez and north of Massiges the prisoners taken including Germans recently brought back fromjhtussianfront. according to the official communication (Continued on Page Two.) BRITISH SMASH WAY TO FOE'S THIRD LINE (Continued from Page One.) issued by the French war office tonight. A heavy artillery action ac-tion is in progress in the Argonne. The text of the statement follows: During the day of September 28 our troops continued to grain ground foot by foot in the direction of the ridges to the east of Souchez. We took about a hundred prisoners, among whom were men of the guard corps, brought back a few days ago from the Russian frontier. In Champagne, likewise, new progress has been realized, particularly to the north of Massiges, where we have taken an additional 800 prisoners. The enemy has directed against our trenches in the Argonne Ar-gonne a violent bombardment, to which we have efficaciously replied, but he has attempted no infantry action. Engagements with grenades have enabled us to regain some parts of our first line, where the enemy had maintained himself since yesterday. There has been intermittent cannonading in the forest of La Pretre and in the region of the Ban de Sapt. ITALIAN BATTLESHIP BLOWS UP PABIS, Sept. 28, 10:15 p. m. A dispatch dis-patch to the Havas agency from Brin-disi, Brin-disi, Italy, says: "A fire, which was followed by au explosion, has occurred on board the Italian battleship Benedetto Brin. Eight or'ficors and 37B marines have been saved thus far. "Bear Admiral Buliindavcrvin is among the dead. "The fire was purely accidental." The battleship Benedetto Brin was a vessel of 13,427 fons'and in peace times carried a complement of 720 men. She was completed in 1904, at a cost of $5J50jO0O. The battleship, which was of the pre-dreadnought pre-dreadnought class, carried four 12-inch, four 8-inch and twelve B-inch guns, twenty 12-pounders, two one-pounders and two maxims. She also was armed with four torpedo tubes. The veBsel had a speed of about 21 Vi knots. Bear Admiral Baron Ernesto Rubin de Cerviu was in command of the vessel. |