THE SOMME SUCCESS.

Evening Star, Issue 16211, 5 September 1916, Page 6

THE SOMME SUCCESS.

BRITISH ADVANCE HALFMILE ON TWO-MILE FRONT. GERMANS COUNTER-ATTACK VAINLY. LONDON, September 4. (Received September 5, at 11.50 a.m.) British official; The fighting yesterday from the Somme to the Ancre was severe, and our adyance was stubbornly contested. The enemy made repeated counter-attacks, which were defeated with heavy losses. We captured the enemy’s defences on a 3,oooyds front to a depth of 800 yds, including the strongly fortified villages of Guillemont and Ginchy, the • whole of which latter we at first captured, but we were compelled to give some ground, retaining, however, our hold on part of Ginchy, despite heavy counter-attacks at night. We took 800 prisoners. / ____________ FRENCH ORGANISE CAINS UNMOLESTED BY ENEMY. PARIS, September 4. {Received September 5, at 11.50 a.m.) A communique states: The Germans did dot attempt to retake the ground they lost northward of the Somme, where we are actively organising our new positions. Bad weather is hindering operations. Our fire repelled all attempts on Vans Chapitre Wood (Yerdun area). The High Commissioner’s message adds that the French captured 14 cannon on the Somme. BERLIN’S VERSION OF SOMME FIGHTING. GUILLEMONT LOSS ADMITTED, LONDON, September 4. (Received September 5, at 12.50 p.m.) A German communique states: The Anglo-French .attacks on the Somme led to a most extensive and most bitter battle. Notwithstanding oft-repeated attacks, we retained the mastery of all positions, and we recaptured some temporarily-lost ground near Mouquet Farm. The fighting between Ginchy and the Somme continued till late at night, our troops heroically defending the completely-destroyed first position, in which the enemy obtained a foothold, and in our second line our defence stemmed all attacks. Guillemont and Le Forest are in the enemy’s hands. A French attack near Barleux was sanguina'rily repulsed. In the Verdun area an attempted French attack on the Thiaumont work and southeast of Fleury failed. The French salient in Souville defile has been cleared. BRITISH AIR RAIDS ON ANTWERP SHIPYARDS AND CHISTELLES HANGARS. LONDON, September 4. (Received September 5, at 10.20 a.m.) The Admiralty announces: Our naval aeroplanes on Saturday afternoon successfully bombarded the shipbuilding yards at Hoboken (near Antwerp). _ A large squadron of our machines on Sunday effectively bombarded an enemy aerodrome at Ghistolles (near Ostend). All the machines returned safely. AIR SUPREMACY. AUGUST’S FINE RECORD; TWO FOR ONE. LONDON, September 4. (Received September 5, at 8.55 a.m.) According to British, French, and German communiques 189 aeroplanes were downed during August, including 121 German machines, of which number the British accounted for 33. WAR OF ENDURANCE. BALLIN TALKS MODERATELY. OBVIOUSLY FOR PUBLICATION. NEW YORK, September 4. (Received September 5, at 9.40 a.m.) Herr Von Weigand (Berlin correspondent of tho ‘New York World’) h;e interviewed Herr Albert Ballin (the managing-director of the Hamburg-Amerika Line), who says:— “The war will probably last another year., The question who can stick out the longest will decide the wax. For the moment the other side has scored a moral nctory,_ and this has had the effect of dissipating the wax weariness of the Allies, and has aroused new hopes. The question is how long will it be before th s revivified -war spirit is lost. Whatever happens in the next few months will neither decide nor end the war. “After the war Germany will be better able to begin the peaceful reconstruction of her trade than England. Germany will owe the greater part of her "debt to her own people, -while England will be under an enormous debt to America. “Our motto is: ‘Stick it out to the end; endure through everything; and keep our months shut,’ v