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Show DRIVE IN THE WEST FULL STRENGTH OF ENGLISH, FRENCH AND BELGIANS DIRECTED DI-RECTED AGAINST GERMANS. Attack Develops Into General Battle Bat-tle by Land and Sea, the Losses on Both Sides Being Appalling. London The long expected "drive" by the alles on the western front -has begun on land and sea. After a week of intense preparation, ithe details of which have been kept secret, the full strength of the English, Eng-lish, French and Belgians was directed direct-ed in a tremendous concentrated attack at-tack upon the German front on Satur-day. The attack has developed mto a general battle by land and sea from the Belgian -coast to the southern limit of the German army. The British and French armies have taken several darge "nibbles" out of the German lines between Verdun and the Belgian coast, capturing trenches along a front of about twenty miles and thousands of prisoners, eight guns and a number of machine guns. At the saime time British warships and French, and Belgian batteries bombarded the German positions on the coast between Zeebrugge and Nieuport. A repulse of a German division near Loos, northwest of Lens, with con Biderable casualties and the loss of materials, is admitted in the German official communication made public in Berlin on Sunday. The evacuation of an advanced German Ger-man position north of Perthes, between be-tween Reims and the Argonne forest, ds also admitted by the war office at Berlin. The offensive, which resulted in the French and British victories, began Saturday morning. For several weeks there has been an almost incessant bombardment which late last week increased in-creased in intensity, particularly in the sectors where the infantry attacks took place. The French, who are credited with the most important gain, made their chief onset against the German lines around Perthes, Beausejour and Suip-pes Suip-pes in Champagne, where in December they made a considerable gain o( ground. Saturday's attack, however gave them possession of more terri tory than they had retaken from the Germans since the latter dug themselves them-selves in after the battle of the Marne. According to the French account, the Germans were driven out of their trenches over a front of fifteen miles varying in depth from two-thirds of a mile to two and a half miles. The losses on both sides were appalling, ap-palling, but the assult ended with the French occupying the German first line positions on nearly the entire front of the attack. |