The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-12-11
TeutOns Mask Attack by Gen.
eraI Artillery BOmbardment.
Belief Blow VIII Fall on Sector
Held by French.
GRAND ENTRY AT JERUSALEM
Official Occupation by Allied
Troops Is Set for Today.
Invaders Suddenly Abandon At
tacks Against Italy.

London, Dec. 11.-Over the whole
Of the western front today German ar
tiIlerv was roaring challenge to the
French and British armies. Some
! where along the great battle line 1t
was confidently believed Germany
was preparing tc make her heavlest
attack since the days of the invasion
Iof 1914.
! She is masking the location chosen
for that assault by an artillery bonn
bardment that is impartialy scatter.
/ ing shells over almost every sector OF
/ the British and French lines. Off
cial reports, however, indicated
slightly stronger fire over the French
| positions. From this it was deduced
here that Hindenburg had chosen the
| poilus as opponents for his massed
/ armieS-reinforced by numerous d.
visions recently transferred from the
Russian front.
(By the Associated Press.)
Heavy German reinforcements have
arrived in France. it is believed in al
I lied capitals, but where the expected
blow will fall is yet to be disclosed
| For the moment the infantry is mac
4 tive along the western front, but the
artillery and especially that of the
Germans is very active in various sec
tors On the British front the Ger
mans are bombarding heavily, the po-
sitionS southwest of Cambria and east
and --ortheast of Ypres the two sec
tors which have seen virtually all the
heavy fighting in the last few months
From St. Quentin to the Swiss border,
Paris reports great enemy artillery ac
! tivity between the Oisne and the Aisne
Mn Champagne northeast of Verdun
and in upper Alsace.T The British and
/ French cannon are replying in kind
against the German positions.
The heavy German artillery fire
may mean that the Germans are at
I IN nd T. int
may be only for the purpose of draw
ing the allies fire again to one spot
while the troops from the Russian
front are massed for a strong effort
on a hitherto quiet sector. Strong
local German attacks on the right
bank of the Mouse northeast of Yer
dun have been repulsed by the French
who took prisoners.
Invader Forces Scattered.
Infantry fighting has stopped MOI
mentarily at least on the Italian front
from Asiago to the Piave river. The
Austro-German effort to break thru
the Place and the Brenta failed with
losses. The enemy then reformed his
shattered forces and attempted to
break thru between Asago and the
Piave. He failed again. The Austro-
Germans captured some terrain but
without improving their tactical posi-
lions and at heavy cost. An appa-
rently local attempt to cross the lower
reaches of the Piave has been checked
by the Italians who recaptured obser-
walton trenches taken by Austrian sol
diers.
Official entry into Jerusalem, the
Holy City of Christians, is planned for
today. Allied troops entered the CAPT.
tai of Palestine after it was surround
ed and the Turks were forced to sur
render. Capture of the city was de-
layed thru the fear that the fighting
operations might result in the damag-
ing of the religious shrines The de-
| liverance of Jerusalem from the hands
of the Moslems marks not only the
success of General Allenby's drive into
Palestine, but probably ends al
) Turko-German hopes of cutting the
? Suez canal.
Bolsheviki Hit Snag.
Meagre reports from Russia indi
; cate that the Bolsheviki are meetins
with difficulty in maintaining contro
of Moscow. The situation there is re
ported grave, with the Bolsheviki gar
: rison refusing to obey it's commander
who has ordered machine guns placed
$ in the streets in anticipation of al
uprising. A Copenhagen dispatch say
that the Bolshevild have ordered
troops from the Caucasus to put dow
: Generals Kaledines, Korniloff and
Dutoff, while from London it is re
ported large forces are being sen
>, from the BaItic-Black sea front int,
!. the Ukraine and the Cossack pro
vinces. Whether clashes have oc
Cured between the Bolshevilzi and tn
;. counter revolutionists is not apparent
: | The Bolshevilxt government control
q virtually all the direct means of com
5 munication with the interior o
/ Russia.