The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-06-18
rHN!|ESOF BOTH
FALLING
FOR BIZ BREAK
Sparring All Along the West
ern Front
BIG BATTLES TO COME
Any Great Advantage Gained Must
Come as a Surprise SO AS to
Block Reinforcements.
BIG BATTLES TO COME

London, June 17.-All the way be
tween the North sea and the Swis!
frontier the Allies and the Germans
are "stalling."
The big battles of the year are still
to come. Everybody knows it, but
nobody knows where. This is the les
son the Germans learned on the Ysel
and Verdun, the Allies in the Cham
payne, on the Aisne and at Arras-
that no offensive can be pushed home
to It's ultimate purpose, the big
break through" unless it comes alb
solutely and completely as surprise
so much so that the opponent can
not find time to throw his reserves in
men and guns into the sections at
tackled.
Not the slightest inkling must be
given the enemy precisely on what
front the great breach is to be effect
ed. Therefore, practically the whole
front must be continuously lombard
ed with equal force until everything
is ready for the big blow.
That's what is going on in the
west today. Hindenburg is doing it
on the French front, in the Cham
payne and on the Aisne. Sir Douglas
Haig on the front between Ypres and
Lens Now and then local attacks
are launched, "kink'' in the line is
Strengthened out, and all the while
accommodating parties are darting
forward into the opposing line return
ing with prisoners from whom, even
when they are unwilling, some valu
able pointers are always obtained.
Today interest centered on the
Franco German front There the Ger
mans gave signs of showing their
hand-but signs may have been part
of the bluffing game both sides are
now playing. This front is about for
ty miles long, from Cerny, southeast
of Laon, to Auberive, eastern pivot
of the Champagne sector. These are
three subdivisions; first, from
Cerny to Berry au Bac; second, from
Berry au Bac to Nauroy; third, from
Nauroy to Auberive. In each Of these
the Crown Princes heaviest artillery
has been displaying its top capacity
ever since the French drive was
checked. In one of these sectors the
French look for big counter thrust.
1t was on the eleven-mile front be-
tween Cerny and Berry au Bac that
the Teutons in the last twenty-four
hours developed more than ordinary
activity. They were massing troops
to the northeast of Cerny, under COW
er of terrific gunfire. But the French
observers were on the job Without a
moments delay the "75s" were put in
to action. Their murderous hail
squashed the Teuton organizations in
the making. No infantry attack de-
veloped. A little later, the crown
princes cannon, as if to get even for
the check at Cerny, let loose an earth
shaking drumfire on the French posi-
tions on Hurtebise farm. This farm,
the real key to the road of the
ladies" is a sacred spot with the Ger
mans. There is every indication that
they mean to get it back. Late this
afternoon the guns were still roaring.
The French, however, answered shell
for shell. Incidentally, the farm was
the same from which Marshals Ney
and Drouet, 103 years ago, elected
lBluecher while Napoleon looked on.
The French mean to live up to the
tradition.