The second phase of the great Anglo-French offensive on the western front began to develop late in July, and attacks were continuous throughout the month of August and up to September 15.  At every point in the Somme region the giant British and French guns poured shell into the German works, destroying barbed wire entanglements and wrecking trenches, while Allied gains were reported almost daily, as the Germans were slowly but surely ousted from their original positions along a wide front.

An engagement typical of the prolonged fighting on the Somme occurred near Armentieres, where the Australians on a two-mile front made the greatest trench raid ever undertaken in any war, inflicting heavy damage upon the enemy by bombing and hand-to-hand fighting.  The German position at Longueval passed into British control on July 28, after what was called the most terrific fighting of the war, in Delville Wood.

Between August 6 and September 10 the British under Gen. Sir Douglas Haig and the French under Gen. Foch fought off many determined German counter-attacks in the Somme sector, and continued their advance, the French gaining Maurepas and the British moving closer to Guillemont and Ginchy, driving the Germans back along eleven miles of front and capturing Thiepval Ridge and other important positions near Pozieres.

On September 9 German official reports admitted considerable losses on the western line, both in the section south of the Somme and to the northeast of Verdun.  Fierce attacks by the Germans at Verdun had been renewed during August, but the French, under the able command of Gen. Nivelle, more than held their own, recapturing a considerable portion of the terrain occupied by the enemy, including Fleury and the important Thiaumont Work.

ITALIANS CAPTURE GORITZ.

The greatest blow which the Italian army had struck against Austria since the beginning of the war was completed on August 9, when Italian troops captured the fortified city of Goritz, for which they had been struggling for months.  The number of prisoners taken by the Italians was 21,750, and in the next few days nearly 20,000 more fell into their hands, with great stores of war munitions and many guns.

The taking of Goritz, one of the strongest fortresses in Europe, compelled the retirement of the Austrians at other points along the Isonzo River, and opened the road for the Italians, under Gen. Cadorna, to strike at the coveted city of Trieste, twenty-two miles to the southeast.  With the capture of the “keystone” at Goritz, the Italian commander confidently expected the resistance of the Austrians to weaken and looked forward to the early occupation of the coveted provinces of the Trentino.

ITALY AT WAR WITH GERMANY

On August 27, Italy declared war on Germany, giving as a reason the fact that Germany had sent both land and sea forces to the aid of Austria.  The declaration became inevitable when Italy sent troops to Saloniki to cooperate in the campaign of the Entente Allies on the Macedonian front.  For more than a year Italy’s position with regard to Germany had been an anomalous one, for although she withdrew from the Triple Alliance on May 25, 1915, and declared war against Austria, she remained officially at peace with Germany until August 27, 1916.