Norwich bulletin., 1917-04-18

burg line has been Its belts of pro- tective wire.
 Caught within the meshes of this wire, the German guardSmen scream ed madly for help and guidance. Some, like trapped rabbits, scurried up and down the outer barrier searching in vain for openings. The British troops meantime. had the greatest opportun- battle of Marne. Lying fiat on the ground they poured bullets into the panic stricken Germans until each man had fired full hundred rounds.
 While this was going on the Brit ish field guns came into pay with a shrapnel barrage, which completed the demolition of the entrapped enemy. It was little wonder that fifteen hum that four hundred guardsmen sur rendered with upheld hands and emo- tional cries of "Kamerdd."
 Everywhere they have been pushed Lack from the British front and es- pecially north of the rolled up" por- ton of the Hindenburg line. the Ger mans are endeavoring by every means to gain time in order to complete de- lenses upon which to fall back. Their efforts to dig in everywhere and seek the shelter of strongly fortified ines do not tend to cOrroborate the oft stated German hope that the warfare Flight become open again. Ih fight ing these retardinG actions. the Ger
 
 troops, as they did during the rear guard engagements in the recent re- tirement on the Somne. The charac- ter of the troops selected for these en- agreements is considered the best ev- idence of the importance the German attach to what plainly appears to be their desire to avoid decisive bcf ieS just at this time.
 Lens was virtually invested Monday although the Germans are making a desperate effort to hold their positions about 1t, as Lens seems to be the pivot of the new back-swing of the tie of Arras. Against these German strong points many German guns were turned today, for with the heavy pieces captured by the British were thousands of rounds of ammunition. British gun crews were rushed up to man these weapons, which were turn ed around in their own pits. thus forming British guInery outposts, while British -owned guns were nov ing forward.
 Explosions continue within Lens and the outlying mine districts, and there seems little doubt that the mines will certainly be destroyed as far as possible. Lens cathedral was .ie damaged. Fires were still seen within the German lines.
 About St. Quentin. at trc southern point of British activity, there has been HdTulHB UBnLIHB5 nucD or IL De- ing hand to hand. As one officer ex- pressed: Our men got in well with the bayonet. causing heavy losses to the enemy"
 The prisoners taken in the southern parts of the line had heard nothing of the Arras fight, except that a British attack was somewhere crushed and that the Germans had taken hundreds of prisoners. A certain Irish regiment fighting in the vicinity of Lens has, during a breathing spell, taken pains to inform the enemy of the results at Arras. Some of the adventurous spirits planted boards in No Mans Land few nights ago, saying:
 We took 5000 Huns yesterday"
 The Germans endeaVored all next day to shoot the board down, but they did not succeed. That night the Irish planted a second board, reading:
 "Sorry we made a mistake. Should have been 11,0o0 Huns instead of nine."