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Show FRfflAY A GREAT DAY FOR BRITISH I "Tanks" Played" a Most Important Im-portant Part in the Victory Vic-tory Won. At the British Front. Sept. 16. via London, Sept. 17. There seems no question that Friday was the most dramatic dra-matic day In the history of the British army In France. The Germans themselves them-selves wore massing at many points, it appears, with a view to attacking to recover somo of the high ground they had lost. The British anticipated the German attack with their own onslaught, on-slaught, assisted by their new hell machines, whose secret they had been keeping up their sleeves for just such an occasion as this. Accounts of both wounded British soldiers and prisoners taken from all parts of the line agree that the German Ger-man losses were immense As a rule, the forces in the front line trenches support patrols in the shell craters in the Somme battle area in small numbers with a plentiful supply of machine guns. Smaller Force Exposed. This means a smaller force exposed to artillery concentration in case of an attack. If machine guns are silenced si-lenced and the front trench Liken, then the reserves are expected, under cover of artillery 'fire, from their side, to retake it by a counter-attack. Thus, as the Germans intended to attack, at-tack, they had massed large numbprs of men in their front trenches. These were not only caught by the surprise of (he sudden blast of early morning morn-ing concprt of the British guns preceding preced-ing the charges of the British infantry, infan-try, but were raked by machino gun firp from the "tanks." As the Germans were in now pnehes, which they had built as best Mjpy could under a continual shell 'ire. and had no dugouts, they could 'Ind no shelter from the murderous ! -nfitpdo fro"i (he "tanks." Desnlte h' German diseinlinc and the bravery ind racial hate that the Germans Dut into their fiirhts acalnsl the British, it many points moh confusion prevailed pre-vailed among those in the front lines, onip Mtomnted n surrender, though -nn-endor eemed imnossible against hr-s" walking forts. Others fired des--ipratev and hopelessly before they were mowed down, and others were naralyzed by the apparition which had io precedent in warfare. The trenches were filled with Ger-dead Ger-dead and these In flight fell like rain before the reaper wherever the "tanks" could direct their sprays of 'ead in their path. TIip British plan, ns a staff officer explained to the "orrespondent before the attack, was not to take either Martinpuich or Cour--pletto yesterday, but so successful vr.s the early morning advance that Mie command was given to push on and by nightfall both places were In possession of the British. These two villages are on the left or hinge of the movement which has its right on thp bmks of the cana' opposite Peronne The German force.3 were congested here. In narrow areo ;n order to hold the salient and nrp-ent nrp-ent the British from widening thel-hattlo thel-hattlo line by breaking throuch mor." 'rontage on thp old first line fortification fortifica-tion from Thienval northward. "But the larger the German num bprs, the more casualties it meant.' !iid the officer. "With demoralization :n their front line the Germans threw "orward all the reserves they had and 'ummoned a division from Lille by i rain, while, according to reports -from ; oriponers and observat'on aeroplanes. I -"very motor vehicle they had was bringing up men and machine guns, 'nd horse artillery was summoned 'rom right and left to reinforce the already enormous concentration of guns." "Alarm." according to all information the British have, best describes the situation of the Germans after the sudden and unexpected assault by the British, which was the heaviest they , had made. Today the Germans were gathering their forces and attemptod a counter attack to break the new British line, while the British resisted at these points and attacked at others. Undei the pounding of the most terrible shell fire modern artillery can produce, the stupendous wrestle for position continues con-tinues with the British in possession of more ground tonight than thev had planned to take. The only difficulty in many instances has been to restrain eager battalions and "tanks" attempting attempt-ing to go too far. Refused to Return. The commander of one famous regiment, regi-ment, finding his men rushing beyond the objective set for them, leaped upon a hillock and, standing up 'face to face with the enemy's fire, sounded sound-ed the bugle call to halt, but In vain. They went on and took their second objective an hour ahead of schedule time. "Wc wanted to have the Job over with once we were started," said one of them. In one case where no "tank" assisted assist-ed the artillery to silence the machine guns, the duty of a certain battalion was to keep up those on its right and left. Seventy men wont forward; all were mowed down. Then another platoon of seventy rushed ahead; all u'p.rn itinwpfl rinwn Tliif v.twi section, charging over the dead, took that German strong point and thus prevented any break in the line of advance. ad-vance. As for the "tanks," stories of their progress continue to be told. One which took on board a German colonel who surrendered to it kept him along through the fight. Another took command com-mand of the situation in a shell-wrecked shell-wrecked beet sugar factory, spraying fire right and left Into the doors of the dugouts. Another ambled in on a German battery of field guns, and with its machine guns' killed the gunners, who were not able to flee from the grotesque caller. One which went through the main street at Fleurs had a placard upon which stood the words "Extra. Full Account of Great Hun Victory." oo VISITED TROOPS ON BORDER New York. Sopt 18. Francis B. Sayre, President Wilson'a son-in-law, who has visited the American troops along the Mexican border in the interest in-terest of the Young Men's Christian Association in MassachueettB, arrived here today on the steamship Antl'les from Now Orleans. |