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Show SOLDIERS BELIEVE WAR IS BIG El French and English Expect Victory in 1917; Advent of New Year at Front. WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE, via London, Jan. 1, 5:45 a. m. ! The arrival of 1917 was welcomed on the western front by the British and French soldiers as a beginning of the end of the great world war. There may be varying views and theories as to how the end is to be brought about, but there is no question ques-tion that throughout the British army there is a conviction that the next twelve months will bring a victorious peace to the allies. Opinion among the British and French fighters as to how the war will end is divided into two schools. One believes that Germany will be willing to grant extreme concessions and the other that only military pressure will bring them the fruits of victory. Both schools are. however, agreed that this is the decisive year. On most sectors of the British front the new year made its bow with little ceremony. So many flares and rockets are sent up from the trenches on these long, dark winter nights that it is impossible impos-sible to say how many of these tonight were in honor of 1017. There is one sector, sec-tor, however, where the British artillery artil-lery followed the practice adopted last year of welcoming January 1 with salvos against their enemy from guns of all caliber1; along this front everything from machine guns to the biggest of the heavlog joining in the firing, first one round, then nine, then one and finally six. "Ve do not know whether the Germans Ger-mans recognized it or not. but we will try them again tonight." said an artillery artil-lery captain, as he started for a distant part of the line to give the necessary instructions. In sending this fiery greeting to the Germans- there was a further complication complica-tion of difference of time, the Germans observing continental time, which is one hour ahead of the British and French clocks. To avoid all doubt, the British artillery ar-tillery fired signal salvos at both 11 o'clock and midnight. Ivow, black clouds scudded over the battle area this last night of the old year, and its successor was borne on a howl ing wind, which caught up and carried away the thunder of the guns. The grim booming was swept far beyond the battle lines until it mingled with the church bells summoning the people to prayer in j the war-bound villages of France. |