The Lexington intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1901-1949, 1917-05-18
LULL IN BATTLE
ON WEST FRONT
Little Movement Now Except in
Few Spots Where Fighting
Never Stops.
HAIG KEEPS CHOPPIAG AWAY
British Commander Continues to Make
Slow But Sure cains-slash
the German Forces.

London, May 1~6.-Though a lull
oVerhangs the greater portion Of the
battle line, so complete in places that
larks singing and swallows fussing
make welcome breaks in the silence.
other spots are Witnessing amending
fighting. Bullecourt is one of these
spots. Lens is another, and the val
ley Of the Scarpe another.
Here the Germans never cease coun-
ter attacking, throwing in fresh bat
talions after battalions, only to pull
them out after three or four days as
slashed remnants.
Field Marshal Sir Douglas Halg, ap.
preciating the homely axiom that there
are more ways of killing e dog than
by choking him to death on butter, re-
fuses to sacrifice his men in frontal
attacks on such positions. Thus day
by day shipping off a piece here and
there he is gradually cutting away the
fabric known as the Hindenburg line
and threatening positions farther
back. He carefully nips the edges of
the enemy's strong points, conserving
his W force until at a given moment
he closes in to capture points with
their garrison AMI supplies.
The Bullecourt fighting is a typical
example. Here what amounts to hand
to-hand struggles have continued for
two weeks, sometimes advancing and
sometimes r%etreating, but always net
ting slow but sure gains for Haig's
legions. The German wireless recent
ly said:
This is the twelfth attack on the
mass of craters which represent
B%ullecourt since April II. If, however,
the English are bent upon possession
Of this heap of ruins, they will have
to repeat the attack for the thirteenth
time"
In effect the village is virtually all
British, only needing the German ad-
mission that the thirteenth assault
was completely in its conquest. The
Germans twice have frenziedly coun-
ter attacked the British holdings in
the Hindenburg line through the edge
of the village, leaving many dead as
they staggered back defeated.
The British are almost impercept-
IDLY closing in about Lens In much
the same manne with almost continu-
GUS fighting reported.
Southeast of Loos the Germans, at
lacking from trenches near Cite St.
Laurent are breaking up under the
English artillery. In a snappy encoun-
ter around the Gillemont farm, the
Germans drove out the British in a
midnight attack, but the British coun-
ter attacked and recaptured the farm
before dawn.
British Occupy Roeux.
London, May 15-The British troops
have occupied all Of the village of
Roeux, according to the official re-
port from headquarters in France to-
night and have made some advance
north Of Gavrelle. The text of the
statement reads:
"Our troops today continued their
progress north of the Scarpe river and
completed their capture OF Roeux,
which has been the scene Of much
desperate fighting during the opera
lions Of the last month.
I'm the air fighting yesterday, six
German alrplanes we're brought down,
two others were driven down out Of
control. Three of our airplanes are
missing"
Paris, May 15.-The official state
ment from the war office tonight
reads:
"In the course Of the day the Ger
man artillery violently bombarded the
front north of Braye.en-Laonnois and
Cerny. Quite lively artillery action
took place east Of Berry-au-Bac and in
Champagne in the region Of Mont
Haul.
"On the heights Of the Meuse an en-
envy attempt against one OF our small
forts in the Bots des Chevaliers vas
easily repulsed. There was no lmpor-
tant event to report on the rest of the
front.
1000 klIos Of Explosives.
"on May - and 10 our bombing
sQuadrons dropped 1000 kilos Of ex-
p~loslves ON stations and bivouacs be-
hind the German front.
Eastern theater: The Serbian
army continues to advance In the di-
rection Of Dobropolye. Enemy recon
naissances south OF Makukovo and
near the right bank Of the vardar
were repulsed."