Show FRENCH OFFENSIVE I MAKES STEADY PROGRESS Allies' Allies Losses Comparatively Insignificant Is Paris Contention PARIS July 6 The The French offensive has lIas made steady progress progress progress ress in the tile last twenty-four twenty hours All Att counter attacks have been repulsed a large area of new ne eW territory has been occupied and extensive extensive ex captures of guns and and muni have been heen made I In the first five days of their baltie bat bal tie against the Germans the ilie French Frenc have advanced with remarkable uni The ground gained varied each day in depth at different points but the gains have averaged about abou the same along the ilie entire front an anthe and the French are now firmly installed between the German second an and third lines of defense over a front in excess of seven miles mUes That the French losses have been bee comparatively Insignificant is Ind indi by the maintenance on the front fron frontline frontline line of attack at their own request of the same army corpS that made mad the first assault on German positions position last Saturday morning Congratulate Generals One of these corps distinguished Itself before Verdun in February after having won laurels in the bat tle lie of the tile Marne and at all parts o othe of the front where there has been heavy fighting The other corps comprises comprise chiefly colonial troops The generals general commanding each corps were again congratulated yesterday by General Genera Foch Not all the divisions of or these tw two corps have been actually in Ia action but basing the calculations upon men made prisoners by these thes troops the French clearly appear t to have suffered only slightly in comparison corn con parison with the ilie forces with which they were engaged This result is attributed by German Ger Ocr man prisoners to the efficiency o othe of the French heavy artillery French at Per Peronne The officers unanimously decided decide to surrender to avoid useless sacr flee fice of life said an officer taken prisoner yesterday What we have hav to do now is to save men for th the coming victorious war which Germany Ger Ocr many will wage four years hence bence The new French trenches at th the most advanced point are now no in front fron of Peronne and the village of Mount Moun St. St Quentin situated on an elevation elevation eleva eleva- tion feet from the point from which in 1870 the Germans bombarded bom born barded Peronne Tho The German second position had hat been so demolished by artillery that tha they were unable to make a strong resistance except at the village o of Hem which had been strongly forti fort fortified fled fied Here the attacking troops me met desperate opposition By dint o of hard fighting the tile village was won a awell as aswell aswell well as farm to the south south- west The Germans are arc beginning to react more vigorously as reserves arrive particularly south of the Somme ant and the J French rench advance there is hotly contested French critics expect that tha the Germans will concentrate all their thel energies in defense of the villages of Barleux and which bar the way to Peronne |