Struggle for Ypres

Germans again driven back

Allies stout line on the Yser

The line now held by the allies on the Yser canal sags nowhere and the pushing of the Germans from the left bank is a bigger and more powerful achievement than the laconic announcement from Paris suggested.

The line is now as an iron bar, straight and stout, making defence easier and attack more difficult.

That the Germans after all their bluster, the bluster of deeds, not words, should at last so meekly accept options to quit is evidence of a very real weakness, a weakness of which the Paris reports say very little.

It may not be out of place to repeat that with certain minor qualifications, the French communiques are entirely reliable.

From the beginning of the war the French government have confined themselves to the barest recitals of victories, they have allowed reverses and have not tried to gloss them over.

If there is any complaint to make against their statements it is that they are so restrained as to be almost depressing even when they chronicle a success.

The Russian communiques are also extremely correct and restrained, but the long communique released the other day was a most lucid explanation of the course of events and followed on a map it showed how near to a reverse the Russians were.

The French artillery superiority is becoming more and more manifest as time goes on. During the past few days three German batteries have been destroyed, one in the Aisne region and the others in the heights of the Meuse, while others have been silenced.

Two of the batteries destroyed were of the heavy type while the third was one intended for use against aircraft.

To the south west of Ypres the Germans adventured three violent infantry attacks, all of which were beaten back.

Last night’s bulletin announced the repulse of German attacks at both extremities of the front.

During the week the French have made excellent progress in Alsace where the fighting has been of a desperate character.

It would appear that British warships are still shelling the Belgian coast villages with the intention of rendering impossible a a German dance along the coast, several have been reduced to heaps of ruins.

Fierce fighting continues in Poland without apparently having an important effect on the disposition if the contending armies.

The latest Russian communique states that operations are continuing normally.

South of Cracow the ground is still being fiercely contested and here the Russians have captured 4000 more prisoners and several guns.