Connecticut western news., 1917-03-29
FRENCH MENACE
 GERMAN LINE
Drive Wedge Further In on
 Western Front.
TEUT0NS DEFEAT RUSSIANS

Hindenburg Drive to Moscow Launched
 With Advance on Minsk, Experts Be-
 lieve-Gas Attack Drives SIavs From
 Trenches-British Capture Two More
 Villages In Face of Desperate Fight
 ing In Their Section of France.
 The fate of the "Hindenburg line"- St. Quentin-La Fere-Laon-stin hangs in the balance. Fresh advances by the French, however, spell grave menace to it's retention by the stubbornly cOun- ter attacking Tcutons. The British also made new progress, but of less i'm portant strategic value.
 To the French fell, after furious battle, the important village of Coucy- Le Chateau, halfway between La Fere and SOissons. Thus the French wedge between these two key positions was considerably extended. Berlin admits the abandonment of this ground, say ing that the German rear guards, after inflicting losses upon the French, gave way before a threatening outfian hiking movement"
 Hardest Test Coming.
 General Nive1le's troops are now fac ing the supreme test in this region. In front of them lies the formidably forti- fled terrain protecting Laon. The Ger man guns are emplaced on extremely high ground, which dominates all the surrounding territory.
 The advance which carried Coucy-Le Chateau is described by the French war office as brilliant night attack, "' and it is added that the village was energetically defended.
 The battle between St. Quentin and La Fere continues a deadlock. Here the Teutons are fighting with the ut most tenacity and have been able thus far to hold their ground.
 The British have taken two addition al villages, Equancourt, ten miles south east Of Bapaume, and Longavesnes, three miles northwest of Roisel. These gains went a long way toward straight ening out their new front. The new progress was made in spite of bad weather conditions.
 Berlin officially admitted the aban- donment of Roisel village to the Brit ish. "after repeated unsuccessful ad vances"
 Germans Break Russian Line.
 Following up their ''feeIers,'. the Ger mans on the northern end of the battle line in Russia made their first actual attack of importance against the Rus sians and, according to official admis- sion from Petrograd, succeeded.
 The advance was launched from Ba- ronovichi, on the Brest-Litovsk-M -Minsk- Moscow railway. ill a nOrtheAsterly di- rection toward MinSk. After a first at tempt had broken down in the Russian barrier fire the Teutons with the use of gas broke through the Muscovite positions and forced the latter to fall back, taking more than 300 prisoners and considerable booty. The positions won are on the west bank of the Shara river.
 '"The first attack" says the Russian official report, twas repulsed, but a second, accompanied by a discharge of asphyxiating gases, obliged our troops to fall back in an easterly direction"
 Drive For Moscow.
 The Teuton attack in the sector lends new strength to the theory that Hindenburg plans an offensive in the direction of Moscow with Minsk the immediate objective
 Simultaneously with the operations in the Baronovichi region the Germans are constantly putting out "feelers" farther northward around Smorgon, whence another railroad leads directly to Mihsk. The report speaks of sue cessful raids here. Lively artillery activity is displayed by the Germans besides at Baronovichi in the region of Postavy, the foremost point of the Ger man lines in Russian territory in the north.
 The Russians on their part made vigorous attacks on the Teuton lines in Volhynia west of Lutzk and in Galicia near Brzezany and north of the Tarno- pol railroad. All these attacks were repulsed with "heavy losses" Berlin asserts.
 The Berlin official statement contains the usual mention of Field Marshal von Mackensen's front. This is taken to dispose of the unofficial report that the field marshal has gone to Turkey to undertake complete reorganization
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