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Show M ' . . JM BRITISH FORCES CAPTURE I OVER NINE THOUSAND MEN I WITH BIG GUNS 1 FIGHT I Heavy Fighting Continues Along .Entire Battle- I front Germans Driven From High "Ground I and Viiage of Fampoux and Neighboring ' Defenses Taken m Fierce Battles. M LONDON, April 1 0, 6 : 1 0 p. m. The British have made H a further advance north of Bagdad, the war office announces. They have captured the Balad station on the Bagdad-Samarah railway and the town of Herbe. M LONDON, April 10, 1:30 p. m. The jB British offensive between Lens and H St. Quentin, with which the spring op- M eratlons have been opened and which H Is still in progress! has proved even H more successful than the earlier ac- H counts indicated. H General Sir Douglas Halg today re- ,H ports that yesterday's captures exceed- 'H ed 9000 men, while forty guns fell into H the hands of his troops. H Canadians Occupy Ridge. ! The Canadians, who had one of the yH hardest bits of the front to contend BH with, are now in complete occupation lH of the famous Vimy ridge, even its SH eastern slopes having been cleared of H Germans. The Canadians also havo H repulsed German counter attacks. jj H These reactions by the Germans in- J M dlcate the importance they attach to " this position, whence the conquerors H look down over the plain of Louai. :H With Vimy ridge gone, the whole Ger- H man line covering the French towns H and Industrial districts to the north H becomes a wavering one and any leis- M urely retreat the Germans may have TM planned is made uncertain and pre- H carious. With the capture of the fa- H mous ridge the British made a con- H siderable stride along the road to H Douai, while the capture of the high ! H ground north of St. Quentin tightens I M the chain which the Anglo-French H forces are drawing around that town. H A German diversion southeast of H Ypres, according to General Haig's re- 'H port, met with no success. H Correspondents at the front report H the fighting continuing keenly through- IH out last night with the British offen- H sive gradually extending northward, H there being fighting this morning In fl the direction of La Bassee. ( jM Some 150 officers are among the H prisoners already taken, these includ jM ing five battalion commanders. Al- H though forty guns captured is the of- H ficial count thus far, the number is ex- H pected to reach three figures, while jH quantities of trench mortars, bomb iH throwers, machine guns and amniuni- H tion also have been captured. H The Germans destroyed great quan- H titles of supplies at the last minute to H preYent their capture. H Tho weather continues bitterly cold, H with snow flurries, but the British H forces arc clad in sheepskins and are H kept well fed. 'H LONDON, April 10, 1 p. in. It is of- H ficially reported that the British forces captured over 9000 prisoners and more H than forty guns in yesterday's opera- JH tions. Heavy fighting took place last 'B night on the northern end of the Vimy M ridge, from which the Germans were : drivon. The eastern slope was also M cleared. H Near St. Quentin the Germans have ,H been driven from tho high ground be- H tween Lc Verguler and HarglcourU H Fighting continues along the entire H battle front.1- H German Defenses Seized. H The British have seized the village H of Fampoux and the neighboring de- M fenscs north and south of the Scarpe 'H river. The Germans made a strong M attack on a narrow front southeast of 1 Ypres and reached the British support H lines. They were driven from the Brit- ' H Ish trenches by a' counter attack. The announcement, which Is timed H 11:50 a. m is as follows: H "During the night there was severe itB fighting at the northern end of Vimy ijH ridge, where the enemy had retained 'H a footing. JH "He was ejected and an attempted jH Counter attack failed to materialize. M The eastern slope of the ridge has M been cleared of the enemy and counter H attacks ropulsod. H Capture Nine Thousand Men. H "The number of prisoners taken yes- lH terday exceeds 9000 and over forty M guns havo been captured.' rH "In the neighborhood of St Quentin M tho enemy has been driven from the M high ground between Le Verguler and M Harglcourt. Fighting continues B throughout the whole battle front. M "After an intense bombardment, the ,H enemy inado a strong attack last night M on a narrow front southeast of Ypres M and succeeded in reaching our support M lines. He was immediately ejected M ( Continued on Page G ) H OO BRITISH FORCES PsrsTiiriF o ooo uiriLiiiL jjUyy (Continued From Page 1) from our trenches, leaving several dead." LONDON, April 10, 2:15 p. m. The news of the successful opening of the new British offensive, has stirred high hope among the peopie throughout the country. Whatever the enemy has claimed as to the retreat In the Somme sector having been prearranged and strategical, it is contended that their recoil before the blow delivered in the Arras-Lens region cannot be explained away in any such manner. It Is urged that there is no possible voluntary element ele-ment in this retirement and that "there can be no dispute as to who took the initiative. A new chapter in tho conflict on the westorn front has begun and whether or not it Is to provo the beginning of a decisive battle it Is bound, according to the prevalent opinion here, to lead to results of the highest importance. The main feature of the battle thus far, on which attention has been focused, fo-cused, Is the capture of Vlmy ridge. The Immense value of this series of heights which dominate the plain from an elevation of 400 to 500 feet has been recognized throughout the war and great sacrifices have been regarded re-garded as justifiable if thev resulted in its possession. Bloody Battles Fought for Heights. Tho French and Germans fought fiercely for control of the ridge in the summer o 1915, both sides suffering heavy losses, but in the end tho Germans Ger-mans held the main portion of the position. po-sition. Later the British took over tho French lino and wero ousted by the Germans from the part of the ridge which had been won by their predecessors. predeces-sors. One military critic, commenting on the. present battle, thus describes the importance of the Vimy heights: Germans' Western Bastion. "They are admittedly the bastion of tho enemy's western line. Whatever else has been allowed to go. he held Vimy ridge with grim resolve and lavished lav-ished upon it all the arts in fortifications fortifica-tions and defensive skill that the war has taught him. Upon it hinges the whole strategy of tho enemy's retreat in the west. With Vimy firmly held, he can swing his line farther south slowly back, until each part of it reaches tho position where ho has a mind to stand and he can cover the French industrial districts upon which ho depends much for supplies. But with Vimy gone, tho defense of these districts can hardly be maintained. Tho pivot of tho whole retreat shifts and gives backward and is in instant risk of fracture." Immense Issue Depends. The Issues depending upon British ability to hold the ridge are therefore immense. At tho moment there is nothing to suggest a doubt that the ridge will be held, but the battlo is still fiercely continuing and there Is little disposition here to indulge in confident predictions. Nevertheless, the opinion is expressed that if the Germans aro definitely driven from the ridgp, without hope of reattacking, thoy are likely enough to be compelled to acknowledge defeat and retire to what is called the Meuse lino, running from Verdun through Mezieres, Mau-beuge Mau-beuge and Lille. Fighting on Fifty-Mile Front In the meantime the fighting goes on over a front of about fifty miles, roughly, rough-ly, from Lens to St Quentin, the core of attack being around tho north of Arras. As far as information goes everything Is going well for the British Brit-ish and Justifies their sanguine hopes, but tho comments today generally include in-clude a warning not to allow these hopes to run too high. The enemy is known to havo great reserves at hand and an iron compulsion binds him to make every effort to avoid defeat The papers warn the country that it should await the event in a spirit of sober expectation and that it is not the time for exuberant boasting. |