Evening star., 1915-04-09
GERMANS ARE MAKING
HARD COUNTER ATTACKS
Terrible Fighting Follows Allies
Advance From Three Bases, in
as Many Directions.
MUCH NEW GROUND TAKEN
Heavy Losses Are Said to Have Been
inflicted Upon Kaiser's Men.
Great Casualties in Vicin-
ity of Eparges.

LONDON. April O. - The
French movement between the
Meuse and the Lorraine frontier
is developing a distinct offensive.
with Gen. Jofre pushing his ad
vance. while the Germans are
making fierce counter attacks
This is the substance OF the latest
dispatches reaching London from
the continent. Whole German
trenches have been left cloked
with dead, it is declared, during
the drive of the French.
According to an analysis of
the situation by the French gen
eral staff, the French offensive
movement OF the last few days
has been on three sectors. The
, first is on a front of fourteen
miles to the east of Nerdun, the
actual line running southeast
from point near Etain; the sec
ond on a front between St. Mihiel
and Pont-a- Mousson, where the
French are attacking from the
south, and the third is in the
north in the vicinity of Gussain-
vile, where the French now domi-
nate the valley OF the Orne and
are threatening the railroad be-
yond the River Orne with attack.
French Occupy New Ground.
The French advance is thus being
pressed from three bases in three Diff
ferent directions. According to Paris
| official reports. French forces on fronts
many miles long have occupied new
ground measuring from several hun
dred yards to two miles deep. That
! the German resistance to these ad-
vances has been stubborn is strikingiy
indicated by the French report that
the Germans on one point of the at
/ tack left 1000 dead on the field.
British Repel Attack.
That the British forces also have been
in action is indicated by the French
official statement, which declares that
German attack on the enemys
trenches was repelled.
In describing the fierce contests in
which the French forces have been en-
gagged. an official statement says:
Despite the continued bad weather
fresh successes were won between the
Meuse and the Moselle. At Eparges
a night attack enabled us to make a
step in advance and we have main
tanned our progress Notwithstanding
three violent counter attacks We
have already counted on the field more
than a thousand dead bodies of Ger
mans.
Germans Wiped Out.
Farther 10 the south. near L.amor-
willie, in a spirited infantry action. We
| wiped out a German company and took
prisoner the ten survivors.
in the ALLY wood we carried addl-
tionaI trenches and repulsed two coun-
ter attacks. In the forest of Mont
mare. north of Flirey, We gained foot
ing in the enemy's defense works and
held our ground there in spite of the
efforts the enemy made to regain them
ITO the northeast of this wood the
cable of a captive balloon was severed
by one of our shells, and the balloon
drifted across our line toward tho
southeast
Summary of Gains.
ITO sum up: The offensive reconnois-
sances and attacks which we have car
ried out since April between the
Meuse and the Moselle have given the
following results:
..First-On the northeast and east
fronts Of Verdun We have gained on a
front of twenty kilometers and occu-
pied the heights which dominate the
course of the Orne river, and carried
the villages of Gussainville and Fro-
mezey.
.Secoud-On the heights of the Meuse.
at Eparges, we have carried almost the
whole of the strong position held by
the enemy on the plateau which COM
mands Combres, and we retain tho
ground captured in the face of numer-
Gus and very violent counter attacks.
.'Third-Further TO the south. near st.
Mihiel, we have captured the entire
southw estern portion of the Ally wood.
where the Germans were strongly es-
tablished This they have been unable
to retake, despite repeated counter at
tacks.
Gain Nearly Two Miles.
..Fourth-In southern Woevre, be-
tween the forest of Montmare and tho
forest of LIE Pretre, we have gained on
a front of seven to eight kilometers
aistance of three kilometers (nearly
two miles), and have taken from the
enemy the villages of Fey-en-Haye and
Regnieville.
AT all these points the Germans suf-
ho
ed from the number of bodies found at
Eparges." 4