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Show ENEMY FORCED : EVERYWHERE Heart of Great Coal Regions Evacuated, Fortified Positions Posi-tions Smashed Austrians Retreating Northward. (By The Associated Press) Lens, the heart of the great coal region re-gion In' northern France, and Armen-tieres, Armen-tieres, almost equally important as a manufacturing center, have been evacuated evac-uated by tho Germans; the German fortified positions between Cambral and St. Quentin have been definitely smashed and the Austro-Hungarians in Albania, forsaken by tho Bulgars, their former allies, are in full retreat northward from the Adriatic sea to j Lake Ocrida. . Of the re-conquering of invaded Bel-1 gium and the progress of the Franco-' American forces respectively north of Rheims and eastward in Champagne to the vicinity of Verdun, the tale remains re-mains the same the Germans slowly but surely are being forced everywhere to give ground and their vital defenses de-fenses daily continue to be eaten into, notwithstanding the strong resistance against the efforts of the allies to close in on all sides of the great battle are from the North sea to tho Swiss border and .compel the German high command to reconstruct its fighting . line. Allies After Naval Bases In Belgian-Flanders the Belgian, French and British troops are keeping up their eastward progress In their; endeavors to compel the Germans to . give up Ostend and Zeebrugge, their naval bases on the North sea. Roulers, tho important railway junction, junc-tion, with its lines of steel radiating to the North sea and eastward to Ghent, has been entered by the Belgians, Bel-gians, and at Hoogledo to the north, King Albert's men are virtually upon tho Roulcrs-Ostend-Bruges railway. To tho south Menin and Courtrai are seriously menaced. Lille Within Striking Distance Across the border in France the capture of Armentieres brings Lille, capital of tho department of the Nord, within striking distance and the evacuation evac-uation of Lens places Douai. the fortress for-tress northeast of Arras, and all the territory between Arras and Menin virtually in the hands of the British. To the south, from Cambrai to St. Quentim the German resistance is still strong but tho British, Americans! and French on all the sectors which ' are essential to the carrying forward-of forward-of the allitd , program have attacked valiantly and withstood counter-attacks, smashed tho old Hindenburg positions and materially advanced 1 their lino. Sequehart, north of St. nnnnlln n'liinli n .t. : Ivcuuuuu. uuiuii uiu utiuimis jii ji violent vio-lent counter-attack recaptured from the British Wednesday, again has been taken by Field Marshal Haig's men, who now are out on tho rolling country Co (he eastward, as likewise are all the allied troops from St. Quentin Quen-tin northward, Norlhwost of Rheims the Germans are offering more resistance to tho French along tho Aisno and on the soctors which are protecting the eastern eas-tern end of the Ghemln des Dames, the western end of which already is dominated by the French guns, but Gonoral Berthlot's forces nevertheless have captured Cormicy and reached the Aisno canal between Concovoroux nnd LaNouvillotto, a front of more than fifteen miles. In Champagne the French have enlarged en-larged their gains from the region north of Sommo-Py lo tho western fringes of the Argonno forest, taking prisoners and inflicting heavy casualties casual-ties on the enemy. Tho railroad Junc-; Junc-; tion point of Challprange, a Bhorf, djp- tance south of Vouziers, has been captured cap-tured and here tho French have completed com-pleted their domination of the Aire valley, running north of tho Arf;onue forest and aro only a-vniiting the arrival ar-rival of the Americans at the eastern eas-tern end of tho bailey to nip the big wooded bastion out of the fighting line. The Americans are slowly approaching ap-proaching the rendezvous. In their retreat from Albania the Austro-Hungarians everywhere arc In flight before the Italians, burning towns and depots behind them. Largo numbers of prisoners and quantities of war material havo boon captured. |