The sun., 1917-05-06
PIERCE
ENEMY'S LINE
Cut Salient of Four Miles in
LaOn DefenceS-Get
1900 Prisoners.
ADVANCE AT CRAONNE
Germans Counter Attack and
Lose Heavily--Battle on
Forty Mile Front.


Forty Mile Front.
PARIS, May 5.--With renewed vigor
| the French returned to-day to the attack
! on the defences of Laon and made excel
lent progress. They cut salient OF four
miles from the Hindenburg line. and ON
| front as large cleared the last German
| from the Craonne plateau. reaching the
dominating heights beyond During the
day more than 1900 German prisoners
were counted. which makes the total OF
$500 since the present offensive started.
! This victory was accomplished, how
ever. only by breaking down a German
defence stubborn beyond description. In
fact. It may be doubted whether many
| days Of more intense fighting ever have
| been seen. On the whole front OF forty
miles and more there was an incessant
| battle. in wh!ch French attack and Ger
| man counter attack alternated.
Against the French, as he has against
the British, Won IIindenberg threw in
many fresh divisions. The French
identified four new units on small sec
tions of the front. Wherever a point in
| his line was threatened the German COM
| mander threw In reserves in fierce et-
forts to regain lost positions. II Is au-
thoritatively stated that the Germans
counter attacked to-day more violently
than at any time since the French Of
q fersve started.
"Will such a struggle continue
Havas correspondent, asked one Of the
French commanders.
No Letup, Is Response.
Yes" was the reply. Tomorrow
and the next day and 80 on untE We
get a decision"
The French seemed to-day well on
their way to that decision. For the
frs: time the War Office announces Of
fc!ally the capture OF parts Of the Hin
denburs line. which the French have
now penetrated as the British pene-
trated 1t. And the French cut into that
famous line exactly as the British cut
tat lis point Of junction with the
old line
In the region no-theas. OF Scissors,
between Soissons and kaon. the French
stor,ned salient Of the Hlndenburg
trenches along the national highway
from Paris to Maubeuee. which passes
through Laon. The attack was divided
in two parts and each part progressed.
Immediately began the German coun-
ter attacks The gray lines came on
and on, almost increasingly, with tie
exhortations OF their officers 10 retake
the Hindenburg trenches ringing in their
ears Each attack was caught by the
French artillery and great gaps were
blown IN tine formations. Then the REM
nants that had managed TO penetrate the
harrage we're wiped out by the swish
inE French machine gun fire.
Advance About Craonne.
To the east about Craonnc tho
French infantry set out 10 reap all the
benefit from the capture Of that impor-
tant position yesterday, and did II. The
whole plateau. including the whole Nau-
clerc position except the forest. was
overrun by the blue gray troops. They
did no, stop until they had reached the
hills that look down upon the valley of
5 the Ailette. the moat that protects Laon
4 from the south and divides the main
. plateau into almost equal parapets.
Here too tho Germans made the mos,
{ bitter attempts to stop the French. and
here also the attempts failed. In spite
OF the most strenuous defence. followed
1 by counter attacks once the position was
( lost, the French did what they had
h set out TO do.
0 The advances made to-day followed Il
Q night of terrible fighting, when the Ger
mans strove nightly to offset tho
A French gains of yesterday. All througi
: the night the whole front or the French
n offensive from Scissors to Auherive
t along the Aisne and in tho Champagne
was in continuous, action.
e Around Craonne the fight was Of grea'
I. violence The town itself and the sur
e rounding positions were attacked II
q force, hut the Germans never got near
a the outskirts OF the town they had lost
= Near Rheims strong German reserve'
h were thrown into the fght, but tn
4 French heavy guns. as we'll as the felt
l. guns and machine guns, got their range
i and the only result was heId pilet
,e with German dead.
. In the Champagne there was no
f,Rht near Mont Carnillet, in which th'
French attacking troops made progress
east OF the hill and north of Mont Blond
Here the Germans made four counter at
- tacks, utterly without success
omciaI statem ements.
10 The German statement covering m
n French victories says simply that &c:
, new battle has begun while the earle
statement ignores the loss of Craonno
% 1t does contain. however, a series Of tact
'e admissions Of defeat, alternating viii
& claims Of successful counter attacks an,
II SOME 500 prisoners taken. The offlcia
statements follow:
% French Night Statement--Our oper-
10 ations continued to develop to-day in
.r conjunction with those Of the British
Al armies. In the region northeast of
er Soissons and the Chemin-des Danes.
ID Notwithstanding the desperate resist
ance Of the Germans. who have thrown
important contingcnts without number
into the struggle, our troops gained a
very brilliant success.
10 Southeast OF VauXaillon VIC attacked
- a salient In the Hndenhurg line ard
., carried German positions on n front
III of about ak kilometers. one part o.
e. the line extending from the Noisy
'o farm to Moulin de LafrauN, and the
In other east of Moulin. where We adj
ne yanced our lines as far as the inme-
Id diate vicinity OF the road from Sois-
A. sons TO Loan. north Of Nan,euil-la
" Fosse and Sancy.
b. The enemy suffered exceptionally
IN heavy losses In the course of his coun-
o. ter attacks. which he has multiplied In
d. this region and which have broker
So down under our artillery and machine
gun fire.
al German columns observed on the
Is march near Chermizy and Chamouillt
re were caught by the fire OF our heav,
r. batteries and dispersed,
ic In the region OF the Chemin- -des
es Danes our infantry occupied the en-
D. tire plateau from east Of Cerny -en
T. I.aonnOis TO the east of Craonne, de