The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-05-02
ARTILLERY OF
FRANCE RUMBLES
their Illuminating shells momentarily
CONTINUED from Page -

their Illuminating shells momentar1ly
turned night into day.
AS the night advanced the lombard
ment increased in fury. Smoke and
dust turned the clear moonlight air
into an impenetrable mist, through
which giant gun flashes appeared as
mere sparks. Yet the French artillery
observers. with their perfect range in
struments, observed details invisible
to the naked eye, even including giant
explosions ten-fifteen miles behind
the enemy's lines, where well placed
shots from great range cannon explod-
ed German munitions depots.
Simultaneous with this all-night
earth combat, an equally fierce aerial
battle ragged in the star lighted heav-
ems. Both French and German army
commanders sent behind the others
line big bombarding squadrons OF aero
planes.
From where l stood these aerial
craft were invisible, but the rumbling
of their motors and the sharp crash
of their bombs were audible above the
artillery.s roar.
Back to the rear great search lights
fingered the sky locating the enemy
raiders while antiaircraft guns she'll
ed the skies and fighting planes swept
aloft to play machine gun fire against
them.
Meantime other French planes cir
cled above the artillery fire, fighting
back German machines and dropping
bombs or occasionally swooping down
and flooding the trenches below with
machine gun fire. But for the most
part these fighting planes flew far
aloft, out OF range of projectiles from
the enemy
All night these aerial battles were1
fought, repeated and refought. Then
at daybreak these night hawks left
the air. They were replaced by
French observation planes soaring
over that part of the front where the
attack was impending, seeking out the
places where the nights bomhardment
had not yet completed its destruction.
Following their report and the fixing
of new ranges, the French artillery
went methodically to work repairing
its omissions.
At 12:40 in the afternoon, the
French Infantry leaped from their
trenches and went Looping UP the slopes
of Mounts Haul and CornilIet.
Although in the first onward rush
the French were victorious every
where, the Germans gradually put up
the resistance Of desperation. Hin
denburg threw into the struggle an
other of his "strategical reserve" di-
visions-the thirty-third out of his to-
tai Of forty-three reserve divisions on
the western front which he has al
ready sacrificed in seeking to check
the Franco-English offensive.
Mote: The German division for
merly contained 10000 men, but recent
Rdvices have detailed a new organiza-
ton plan whereby such units now only
include from 10000 to 1900 men.l
With the advent of this fresh divis-
ION, fierce bayonet and hand grenade
fighting ensued. The French were oc.
casionally driven back. But every
time they doggedly reattacked
Nightfall found them even tighter
grasping Moronvilliers crest and one
of Germany's firmest grips still left
on French soil That grip is all but
broken. Germany's fingers only hold
a tiny bit of it now.
British Not Progressing.
LONDON, May 2.-Another night OF !
inaction insofar as large movements |
were concerned, was reported from the
British front today by Field Marshal !
Haig.
Between ST. Quentin and Lens |
there was mutual artillerying at night !
he declared. In the nighborhood of |
Faquisart, a German II ling party was |
repulsed."
halt in major operations on the
british front has now extended over