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Show i i ' i I WITH THE BRITISH FORCES IN FRANCE, Aug. 3 1 , ,l by The Associated Press, (noon). British successes on the 1 Lys sector of the battle front have caused the Germans to , 1 start a retreat from the neighborhood of Kemmel to opposite Bethune. The withdrawal is progressing rapidly. WITH THE BRITISH FORCES IN FRANCE, Aug. 3 1 , (npon). Field Marshal Haig's men today are attacking nearj IMarriencs wood between Bapaume and the river Somme ! which position is strongly held by the enemy. J LONDON, Aug. 31, 1 0 p. m. Mount Kemmel, the i famous stronghold southwest of Ypres, which was the scene of terrific fighting during the German offensive in Flanders 1 late in April, has been captured by the British, according tol Tadvices rrom the front. i Mont St. Quentin, a mile and a half ndrtn of Peronne, I ) has been taken by Field Marshal Haig's forces. j L French troops made a small advance on the Ailette river and in that neighborhood occupying the southern outskirts of I I the wood 500 yards southwest of Coucy-le-Chateau. ! ! In the Lys salient the British hold La Couture and) i I Lestrem and are west of Doulieu at Nooteboom. ; Field Marshal Haig's forces also have progressed a mile and a half east of Bailleul. British troops have taken Mont de Lille and Kemmel hill. The British forces which captured Mont St. Quentin I now are moving in the direction of Busu, about two miles 1 northeast of Peronne. i 4 t ; (By the" Associated Press) ', Mont Kemmel, the height dominat-) dominat-) ' ing virtually qll the northern side of the Lys salient in Flanders, is again in the hands of the British. Dispatches Dispatch-es to London state that ths famous ) hill for which the Germans paid a terrible price 1n April and which was defended, to the death by the Allies i ', has been cEjpturcd. I There have been no reports, however, how-ever, of an attack being made on this ; hill and it seems probable that the ; Germans retired from it. .There are 'r, evidences the enemy's retreat from the Lys salient is being accelerated, the " Britfsh having taken the station of i: Bailleul, as well as Mont Lilleto the i. east and being in possession of the l bank of the Lawe river from Vielle J. t Chapclle to Lestrem on the southern s; side of the salient !: In certain vital sectors of this bat-. bat-. : tie area the British have gained from ; ' one to two miles during the last day. J While there is every evidence that ; Allied pressure against the German lines from Soissons to Arras contin-; contin-; i ucs, the desperate attempt of the cne-; cne-; b my to cover his retreat seem to have .' ; brought about a pause for the moment. r At only two points southeast of Arras Ar-ras and northvest and north of Peronne Pe-ronne have the Allied forces moved I-1 ahead. In the former sector, north of the ft Arras-Cambrai road, the British have occupied the St. Servins farm close I to the highway and have moved into the village of Eterpigny to the north-cast. north-cast. ThiG village is on the north bank of the Sensee river and its cap- '.r "ture marks the passage of that small II but Important waterway at a vital point. K: The British official statement says ; that the town of Cleary which is lo-;i lo-;i cated on the Somme to the northwest of Peronne has been taken from the" f. Germans. Advices reaching London today, however, state that Mont St. j Quentin a mile and a half north of : Paronne, has been captured by the British. This report would seem to indicate that Peronne is being sur-, sur-, e rounded bythe British, Field Marshal ,; Haig's men having forced their way across the Somme to the south of J Peronne yesterday. ! There Is hard fighting going on 1 north of Soissons, American and i French troops striving to capture the high plateau that dominates the Aisne ' and Ailette valleys and also endeavoring endeavor-ing to force their way further toward I:; Coucy-le-Chateau, an important con-; con-; centration point between the Olse and the Ailette. The Germans are fighting hard in this sector, however, and appear to vhave checked the Allies for the time GERMANS LOSE POSITIONS. LONDON, Aug. 31. German troops have been driven from their positions east of Cleary on the Somme. northwest north-west of Peronne, and the British advance ad-vance in this locality is continuing, according ac-cording to the official statement issued at the war oflice today. British forces have entered the village vil-lage of Dranoutre, south of Loore, on the north side of the Lys salient, according ac-cording to the official statement Issued at the war ofilce today. On the south side of the Lys salien the British have occupied the village of La Couture, northeast of Bethune. The British have captured a strong point known as the St. Servins farm I and the villago of Elerigny, north of the Arras-Cambrai road and south -cast of Arras. The text of the statement reads: "During the night Australian troops drove the enemy from positions eas'. of Cleary-sur-Somme, capturing many j prisoners and a number of machine guns. The advance in tills locality is continuing. I "Yesterday afternoon English tr'ofcs carried out a successful operation "north of the Arras-Cambrai rond capturing cap-turing a strong point known as the FU. j Servins farm and the village of Etcr-' pigny on the east bank of the Sensee river. "On the Lys front our troops hold La Couture and the line of the Lawo river from VIclle Chapclle to Lestrem, both of which villages are in our hands. "We havo gained Bailleul station and are approaching Bailleul and the hill to the west of it. known as LUIo mountain. "Our troops have entered Drnnoutre and have gained ground north of Mount Kemmel." PARIS, August 81 Heavy artillery fire north of Noyon and between the Ailette and Aisne rivers is reported in tho official statement issued at the war office today The Statement reads; "During the night there wns heavy artillery fire in the region of the Ca-nnl Ca-nnl du Nord, north of Noyon and "between "be-tween the Ailette and the Aisne rivers. "German raids in the Champagne I were unsuccessful." PARIS, Aug. 31. Another Spanish ship, the Alexandrine, has been torpedoed torpe-doed according to a dispatch to the Madrid Journal. AMSTERDAM, Aug. 31 The Tele-graaf Tele-graaf says it learns a new sickness, probably cholera, has broken out in Belgium. Thirty young persons died this week in a villago near Dicst. 17 miles northeast of Louvaine The Germans are vigorously trying to locate lo-cate the disease. |