Show FRENCH BEGIN OFFENSIVE ALLIES TEAR THROUGH THE GERMAN aerman I 1 LINES IN FRANCE FRANC E AFTER TERRIFIC IC GUNFIRE anglo french army cuts cuta gash awen en ty five miles wide in gerrian german front in drive which had been planned for months london the british have launched their long expected offensive on oil july 1 the british and french forces began a furious attack against tile the german forces along a front of awen ty five miles extending from below tile the somme to Comine court north of the ancee in tile tho first thirty six hours of their furious drive the french and british have captured moro more than german or prisoners cleared fifty square miles of french territory of tile the invaders and have carried eleven villages and a complicated series of f entrenchments trench ments and re doubts that dint the germans have been more than twenty months constructing the long expected offensive ill tie big push for which the british leave been preparing for months and which Is a part of a gen crill closing in on oil germany on all fronts got under way it at saturday rooming morning the trompa english scotch irish and french surged front from their trenches after a bombardment of an hour and a halt half which was tile the climax of the steady pounding of the previous four days hundreds of batteries poured tona ton of iron and explosives into the opposing trenches tren dies wrecking them and burying the occupants the attacking front of the british was waa approximately twenty miles extending from Gom mccourt to a point north of tile the somme tho the french stormed forward over about five miles on both sides eldes of tile tho somme it Is just north of the blomme that the british and french fronts join the french exten extending din on to verdun and the swiss frontier and the british stretching down to the sea aea the british french offensive in ill france with its preceding five day bombardment is described by tile the military experts in that theater of op orations erat lons ions as tho the last word in scientific warfare fare here are some of the things tile tho british and french lid did as a pr preliminary ellmin to their drive through tho the german front near somme built miles of railroads to facilitate cili tate moving munitions and troops troop and handling the wounded put a metal surface on all the turnpikes rebuilt or strengthened every bridge and railroad concentrated fighting men backed by auxiliary workmen bridge and railroad builders filled the whole with hidden guns of the largest caliber many of them fifteen inch mortars and manned these guns gung with french artil lory lery experts installed all over tile the region ft a new phone tenil with concrete con creta poles augmented by a network of 0 telegraph wires and stations and field hospitals burled ammunition everywhere to gether with medicines aid arid food sup plies piles 80 that no mattir where the troops moved in an emergency they the would have shells and food without the trouble and delay of ordinary I 1 moiles modes of transportation arranged the big guns in such a 11 way as to provide concentric fire from many guns guna aa small areas of the german trenches |