HUGE GUNS ROLLED UP IN ALSACE.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 November 1916, Page 2

HUGE GUNS ROLLED UP IN ALSACE.

I ' GIGANTIC OFFENSIVE PLANNED BY j FRENCH, j | FRANCO-SWISS FRONTIER. u ' " August 10. Beyond the occasional mention of unimportant encourters between patrols ot i outposts, the official communiques say . very little at present about the Alsatian i front. And yet it would be an error to ) conclude that this part of the front had i grown to be of only secondary interest. It is certain that, some day in the more or less distant future, the Allies' offensive will extend along the Western front. Alsace represents too much in the eyes of the French for them to attempt nothing important in this direction. Both adversaries" are engaged in subdued but incessant activity in Upper ! Alsace. Reinforcements are being . brought up; old entrenchments are being strengthened and new ones prepared; railroads are being laid and platforms installed for heavy cannon. A • duel between the two artilleries is al- , most of daily occurrence, especially in the upper valley of the Largue, between the respective lines of Pfetterhousc- ' Largit/en and Mornach-Hoinurdorf. Almost invariably the cannonade is started by the French. Recently their cannon bombarded the localities of Moos, \ Bisel, and Moernach; soon the cannony ade spread over the entire line. j STILL PILING UP GUNS. At Bonfol one could hear the noise of the heavy cannon tractors- i-olling uninterruptedly along the neighboring Al--1 satian roads, and the crackling of innumerable machine guns was audible in Bonfol and Bournevesin. The French infajitry made frequent incursions into the.German trenches. Everything leads jne to believe that the French have in view the investment of Altkirch, which since ilio war has been transformed by ' the Germans into a powerful fortress. But it is hardly possible for the hitter to use the Altkirch-Waldighofcn railroad, for it is dominated by French cannon. > The .French seem to be endeavoring to , advance- to the north of Altkirch, against : Aspaeh, Walhoim, so as to intercept the ■ railroad from Mulhouse. In the region I of Dannerinarie they are petting up ■ heavy pieces of large calibre and recent i manufacture, and it is believed that some (.f these pieces are even now in ac- : tion. It can be affirmed, contrary to the assertion of several German newspapers, - that neither the Somme offensive nor the Verdun defensive have necessitated the withdrawal of troops from the French fronf cf Alsace. Indeed, the number of unattached troops have enabled the French to reinforce their effective force and considerably increase their material. On this part of the front at least the French artillery it distinctly superior to the German.