The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-04-19
WON H|NDENBuRC l LINE IS SHAKEN
 BY FRENCH SLOW
Terrific Assault Eaters Ger man Positions Over EX-
 tended Front.

Paris, April 19-That section of Won 1indenburg's granite wall that runs from Soissons to Rheims has been shaken to it's foundation by the terrific blows of Gen. Nivelle. The French have the whip hand now and
 the Germans are still staggering from the great rebuff dealt to them on
 MoNday. The French soldiers who
 won the first line have been relieved by fresh formations and the second phase of the battle has begun with
 renewed vigor.
 Unaffected by counter attacks in some places and the sturdy resistance
 offered everywhere, the French have gained substantial advantages and have driven forward with such speed
 that the Germans have beer obliged , to abandon many guns The enemy
 made a desperate effort, to stem the
 tide between Jucincourt and Berry au
 Bac This is the weakest point of
 his line, being devoid of natural de-
 lenses. Thirty thousand of the best
 German troops were hurled forward
 here in a furious counter attack, but
 the move had been foreseen and the
 French guns were ready. Artillery
 and machine guns smashed wave after
 wave of the green clad soldiers until !! finally the attempt was given up after lawful carnage.
 r Tn the fighting from Soissons to
 Auberive the French infantry tactic.
 ally outclassed the Germans. The
 First army, operating from soissons ! to Craoone, had established itself on i a "a ,v,i, frn northeast of Margival and vauxaillont to the south of Craonne, by vregny
 Chivres, Chavonne, Chivy and Allies
 North of the Chivres-Chivy line the l enemy retained all the heights and a
 footing had to be won thereon before
 the operation, so auspiciously begun,
 could be properly completed
 l Two simultaneous attacks were de- | cided on, with Nantuil Ia Posse on the
 left and Chivy and Braye en Laonnois | on the right as the respective objec- tives. The attacks succeeded perfect
 ly notwithstanding the determined
 resistance of the enemy, who had all 1 the Advantages of the ground. Driven
 out of Nanteui1 and Braye, the Ger mans nevertheless still chung to the | intermediate positions, comprising
 Vailly and the important bridge head
 on the Aisne by which they could l threaten the French Hanks.
 The movement was then extended l to the bridge head which was soon
 carried and the attacking troops seal l ed the slope of the plateau north of Vailly. They advanced rapidly as l far as Rouge Maison farm and a 1 country house to the right gaining several hundred yards on the sum- init of the plateau. Substantial pro- gress was made east of Nanteuil and 1 by the afternoon only one narrow gap was left through which the Ger
 mans could withdraw the troops in | the region of Condo, Celles and Sancy. 1 These detachments are in serious danger of capture.
 | The violence of the French attack | threw the enemy into such disorder 1 that it was unable to bring up re- serves and consequently lost several
 guns. Toward the end of the day the French made further progress to-
 ward the end of the plateau.
 The advance toward Courtecon during the last three days has been even greater and amounts to more than three miles in depth. In the center the battle ragged most fercely in the region of La Vile aux Bois. The wood east of the village, 2.000 yards long by 500 yards deep, was very strongly held by the enemy, no less than 1S0 machine guns being crowd ed into it. All these were captured, together with 1,700 men. by a clever maneuver which cut off tl.e wood from the rest of the line.
 The army on the right, from Pru- nay to Auberive, by skilful maneuv- ring, cleared the Germans out of most
 of the heights in front of the village of Moronvilliers. On one of the
 crests several heavy guns were cap- tured.
 On the whole. when the wretched
 weather and the difficulties of the terrain are considered, the days work
 is regarded as most satisfactory and,
 it is believed, paves the way for more
 rapid progress in the future.