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Show FRMO-AMEW Yankees Keep Pace With French Germans Making Feeble Resistance. WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN THE AISNE-MAR.NH FRONT, Aug. 2 8 p. m. (By the Associated Press.) The French and American troops north of Fere-on-Tardcnois advanced simultaneously early Friday, tho French occupying Cramaille and Cramolsclle before 7 o'clock and French Infantrymen entering Saponay at 8 o'clock. The Americans meantime kept pace with tho French through the forest of Ncslcs. Several locomotives and forty railroad rail-road cars wero taken at Saponay. Tho allies advanced undor barrage, tho Germans withdrawing northward through the valley stretching from Saponay, feebly replying at intervals with artillery There wero many tiros behind tho lino, the Germans having destroyed ammunition dumps bofore starting northward. Tho allies in this district encountered virtually no resistance. Tho French tonight arc sleeping In Saponay for tho first time In two months. Another Jump Forward. WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY ON THE AISNE-MARNE FRONT, Aug. 2. 7 p. m. (By the Associated Press.) Another jump forward was mado today to-day by tho French and Americans on the Aisne- Marne front From one to two miles wero gained and with almost al-most no fighting. Plans had been mado to strike hard blows against the rcsistnig German roar, but tho German war council evidently evi-dently had decided that the time was Inopportune to fight, for, When the allies al-lies moved forward, It was only to follow fol-low upon tho trail of the retreating enomy. At a fow places there wero sharp encounters but they were nothing as compared with the terrible engagements engage-ments that previously had been fought or what was expected. Tho French cavalry operated near Dravegny, about two and a half miles north of Coulongcs, with the American infantry close behind while another detachment of mounted French troops opened tho way a short dlstanco to the west with French infantry and American Ameri-can foot troops closo up. The penetration by the French and Amorlcans to ttic region of Dravegny would place them only a, scant eight miles southeast of Fismes on the railroad rail-road l'ino botween Solssons and Rheims. To tho westward the French reached reach-ed tho southern borders of tho Lou-peigne, Lou-peigne, Maroull and Alguizy woods, and the French cavalry to tho southern south-ern borders of the Moines wood. Occasional Occa-sional bursts of machine gun fire challenged chal-lenged the advancing lino but It was apparent early In the movement that the Germans had gone. The stlffest fighting encountered by the Americans Ameri-cans was in a little piece of ground east of Chamery, where, according to tho German newspapers, the body of Lioutenant Quentin Roosevelt was burled after his airplane had been brought down early In the present operation. op-eration. Through wheat fields and over wooded trails soaked with the rain that fell almost all day, the Americans moved slowly and cautiously, but almost al-most continuously, over farms and past" villages, among them Coulongcs and Cohan. To the westward another force of Americans also was moving steadily through and around tho Nos-les Nos-les woods and the rolling country east of tho woods. To both tho east and west of that part of tho lino held by the Americans and French were meeting meet-ing with similar success. Few prisoners were taken during tho day. One, a captain, admitted the Gorman artillery had been withdrawn, His story confirmed tales of other prisoners pri-soners that the Germans were determined deter-mined to make their next big stand on the Vesle, and not tho Ardre; and that their movements under way indicated the fortifying of Fismes as tho center of the next fixed line of battle. It is not anticipated that the Germans Ger-mans will withdraw to tho Vesle line without renewing their rear guard resistance re-sistance and it Is expected that the present virtually unopposed advance will end quickly, perhaps with Stiff fighting on the higher ground just south of the Ardre In order to give the Germans more time for getting their artillery and stores across." With only a slight advance in addi -tion to that of today the heavy guns of the allies, will be in position to shell Fismes and any part, of tho line the Germans may determine to stand on could Immediately be made uncomfortable. uncom-fortable. Although tho enemy's retreat on the whole has been successful and he has been able to get out the greater portions por-tions of his armies, observers have witnessed conditions which they believe be-lieve indicates that the Germans are moving more hastily than they desire. Huge clouds of smoke and dull explosions explo-sions have come from SL Gillc, on the Ardre a short distance south of Fismes, Fis-mes, and other places near the allied front. These told of the destruction or big ammunition dumps. Fires also are visible at eight or ten places, even as far as Fismes. That they had been started by tho Germans seems obvious since no allied shells had reached these places during tho day. The Americans expected to find the enomy. prepared for a bitter fight but when they swung northward from their positions In the line after brief artillery preparation, to which there was no reply, all was silence in front of them. Tho skirmish lino even was abandoned, and tho men were enabled to proceed single file through such wheat fields and clumps of woods as they had known at home. During the rarest of intervals there was a spattering spat-tering fire of rifle or machine gun fire which served to check the line for the few minutes that was required to silence si-lence the enemy gunners. |