SCENE OF THE BRITISH AND FRENCH OFFENSIVE.

Nelson Evening Mail, 6 July 1916, Page 8

SCENE OF THE BRITISH AND FRENCH OFFENSIVE.

Speaking generally, the sector over whichi the combined' British 'and Frenoi offensive extends lies midway on t!>>■battle front between Arras and _ the ■TSver Oisc. The exact scene of tb. fighting is the partition of the line ex tending in a south-easterly direction from Hebuterne, eight and a-half mil-, due north of Albert, to the River Somin: l'eeion, north-east of and abmr." eight miles south-east of Albert. La Bu" selle. close to Albert, is about the central point of the sector. The region i Woi— nrj h v tw" the Ancre an< the Somme. The Somme, after reaching Corbie, 10 miles south-west, of A; _bert, flows in an easterly direction, wit: a gradual trend towards the north. Th ■part of the river,abdut which the. batt? is developing is that in the neighbour Jiocd- of Frise. eight- and a-half mile-south-east of Albert, where the Somm follows a curiously -winding course. T l . River Antr-e rises a considerable distant-' rorth of Albert, which is on its hank* an-d crosses-t-be sector near Thieoval, fnu jniles norttf-east of Albert. After passins Albert- it joins the River Somme just below Corbie. Montauban is fivc and a-half miles east-of AJberfc. SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE EXTENDED BRITISH LINE. The ground over which the Britis" are now fighting represents the souther most portion of _tneir extended fron from the Yser to the Somme, the ta'r ing over of which—in order to relieve the French at Verdun—was announceon March 28 last. A number of Britis! troops had from JN'ovemfcer last bee:, holding ground north and south of Ai faert,ibut there was at the same time -• considerable French force in the neigh jbonrhood of Arras. The region of the French offensive extends from Frise, south of the Somme to a point west of Peronne. . Although no operations of a majci kind Have been hitherto attempted in the Hebuterne-Frise sector, trench warfare has been carried on there scareeu'.vithout interruption since February 1915! These minor operations havs obliged both sides to give ground at times, but- the French more than one*, advanced their lines after finding a vulnerable spot in the German lines. At the extreme north of the sector a French attack was launched against the Oermar lines on June 8, 1915, which resulted ir the enemy being driven from two silcces sive lin'es of trencher at- Tons Vent? Farm, three miles south-east oi Kebu terne.