The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-05-19
GERMANS IN new,
DRIVE ON French
The Crown Prince Attacks With
Heavy Forces, but Fails to
Make Big Gains.
BRITISH CONTINUE ADVANCE
Haig's Army Plugging Away at Enemy
and Steadily Winning Ground-An
Appeal by Petain for Help
From United States.

Paris, May 17.-After a cannonade
which lasted all night long the Ger
mans again attacked the French po-
sitio2s north of the Aisne river.
The war office in it's official COM
today said that furious bat
tie Is raging over front two and one
half miles wide. The German crown
prince attacked with heavy forces, but
was unable to throw the French from
any of their positions. The fighting
is especially severe around the village
of Moulin de Laffaux. Other German
attacks have been delivered at Berry
au-Bac, south of the Aisne river, near
Auberive, in Champagne, and at Avo.
court on the Verdun front.
At no point, says the war office state
ment, were the Germans able to gain
any ground. In Upper Alsace the
French raided German trench, clear
ing it of soldiers.
Official advices from this front say
that the British have won back most
of the ground they lost to the Germans
in Bullecourt earlier in the week. New
British posts have been established
west of the village. In the sector of
RoeuX which the British captured on
Sunday, direct assault and counter-at-
tack have followed each other re.
peatedly, while the artillery on both
sides pounds away without cessation.
Haie's Army Nbbine.
Hard fighting all along the British
front continues with Field Marshal
I fiiiig sBibbling n the German line
I ratllap EksRn ataenapfEng Il smash his
|; Il
\ fjlSk over III eisie 'front.' TiferT wefj
violent actions around Bullecourt
where the British menace to the Hin
/ denburg line is now the most serious
| of all.
The spring campaign on the Austro
Italian front has opened with a re
newal of the Italian drive towards
Trieste. Advances We're made on thu
heights southeast of Goritz (tht
Carso plateau), in the PLAYA sector
and also on Montecusco,> but the Ital
ian troops had to withstand violen
counlter-attacks by Austro-H Hungarian
! forces. A large number of prisoners
some cannon and machine guns, wer
captured by the Italians.
One Solid Fertilization.
Stretching southwark from Lens 70
100 miles or more, all France is on
solid fertilization. The Germans. wit
characteristic forethought, have fort
fed every building, turning factories
mines, stone quarries and even tn
cemeteries into fortresses. Farm
houses have been transformed int
blockhouses bristling with machin
guns. All these fortified works al
linked up with trenches and at som
points enormous dugouts have bee
constructed big enough to hold loo
men.
In the fighting about Roeux the Bri
ish had to overcome German CARR
sons that had fortified chemic'
!, works and also cemetery. III
gravestones were used as defensi,
works and caverns had been dug,
,, many places exposing bones that ha
reposed In peace for scores of year
A favorite form Of defensive mat
rial with German officers are windmill
|, and watertowers. These afford N
;. only Notifications but excellent obse
;. walton posts.
Need U. S. Men Now.
q Paris, May ia plea for the Uni
ed States to send an army to Fran'
!. was issued by General Petain, the +
!. nous soldier who yesterday BEGAN
, commander in chief of all the Frent
q armies In the field.
|, "What is imperative now Is men
said General Petain. what Franz
; needs most is men--infantry. full
believe that Of all the nations, Il
United States can do most in the lea
time. What we look to America for
quick action to relieve the natiol
! which have already suffered so muc
q We look to America also to see b
things DONE"
0 General Petain dwelt especially U
8 on the need for officers and urged tn
/ an American army be sent to the hgf
ing front within three months, If pc
sible.
London, May 17.--British forces Q
: Grating in Palestine are preparing I
n renewal of their drive against t
:, Turkish positions, says a dispat
v from Cairo, Egypt. It Is predicted th