New leap forward

French enveloping movement

Eastern horrors

Heavy German losses

The German position at St Mihiel is a very strong one and had moreover been looked on as a place comparatively easy to hold but, with a successful continuance of the present French movement towards its envelopment, the enemy will find it necessary to clear out.

Envelopment may not be the precious military term to apply at the present stage of operations but a glance at the map will show how it is being played out.

To the North East the French line is close to Combres. On the south, the French are at Regnieville.

The three positions are the equi-distant points of a triangle with St Mihiel as the south westerly extremity or apex.

From Combres to Regnieville the distance is roughly 16 miles and from St Mihiel to either of these places the distance is about the same.

The recent brilliant successes of the French at Esparges have given them almost the whole of the strong position on the plateau dominating Combres and a south easterly advance from this area together with progress northward towards and beyond Thiancourt from Regnieville would mean a joining of hands and the complete cutting off of St Mihiel.

This double movement is perhaps impracticable at the moment and, indeed, before it was well underway the Germans would have evacuated the whole of the settlement.

But it matters little by what means the French accomplish their object.

St Mihiel has to be taken from the enemy and taken it will be, after that there will be a straightening of the line and an irresistible rush onwards in the direction of Metz.

More likely than not, the strategy suggested above will be rendered unnecessary and for the most obvious of reasons.

St Mihiel may fall first and the advance go on afterwards.

Last night’s communique suggests that the French are rapidly becoming masters of the situation, with the leap forward at Les Eparges being reported along with the crushing defeat of violent counter attacks.

The German losses were again huge, more than a thousand corpses having already been counted on the ground.

Further to the north, at the wood of La Merville, a German company was destroyed.

Ten survivors were taken prisoners while just below St Mihiel yet another success in the wood of Ailly is chronicled.

Counter attacks were repulsed and trenches taken, then again in the foothills east of St Mihiel a footing was gained in the enemy’s defensive organisation, all attempts by the Germans to drive them out proving futile.

In the eastern theatre the terrible struggle in the Carpathians rages with unabated intensity.

There can be no doubt that the losses on both sides are enormous.

The Austrians indeed are declared to have lost 200,000 men in Carpathian battles, 100,000 of whom are prisoners.