Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1918-05-01

SMALL FORCES WIN.
A satisfactory feature Of the strug.
gle is that the British and French EN-.
ployed relatively small forces TO de.
feat the enemy.
At one point the French were forced
to yield little ground, but supports
promptly arrived and drove back the
Germans.
BY 80 o'clock in the morning the
Germans had forced their way
through near Locre as far as Hyde
Park corner, between Schcrpenbcre
and Mont -.ouge. This was one Of the
critical moments Of the day, but the
French counter attacked fiercely and
an hour later had pressed back the
enemy on the flank and held him in ths
center.
RETAKE LOST GROUND.
BY 8 o'clock the French were hold,
ing the ground east OF KendeFhct farm
and Locre chateau, and afs0 part oi
Locre village on the southern slope oi
Scherpenberg.
Thenceforth, the position becams
steadily more satisfactory and by $50
the French had retaken all the lost
ground except narrow strip at Hyde
Park corner.
Further desperate smashes by Won
Arnim's army against the allied lines
on the Flanders battle field yesterday
afternoon and evening met with nc
more success than the enemy's futile
and costly attempts earlier in the day
to break through and capture the hill
positions west of KENNEL.
Allies Hold Firm.
Not only did the British and French
maintain their positions at virtually all
parts in the face of furious onslaughtss
but during the night they reclaimed
several bits of territory on which the
enemy had succeeded in getting :
hold.
Locre had again fallen into Ger.
man hands late yesterday, but the
French once more made dashing
counter drive, and thrust the enemy
out of this important place.
The allies lines in Flanders this
morning were to all intents the same
as when the Germans surged forward
yesterday and in front of the defend
ing positions gray uniformed men lay
in great numbers, representing the
awful price paid by the Germans
German Wedge Fails.
North of KENNEL, the British and
French, countering in conjunction,
also pushed forward somewhat during
the night and bettered their positions.
At one time yesterday the Germans
actually had some men on the lower
slopes of both Mont Rouge and the
Scherpenberg, after they succeeded III
driving a small wedge into the French
line between these two elevations.
Fierce fighting continued about
Locre all day, and the enemy sacri-
ficed great numbers of men in an at.
tempt to push through here.
In the meantime the flanks were
holding brilliantly against successive
shocks. A particularly bitter battle was
waged astride the Kemmel-La Clytte
highway, near the junction Of the
French and British. Here the enemy
tried his favorite trick of trying to
divide the two forces.
Germans Lose Heavily.
At Rdgewood, west of Voorme-
zeele,, heavy fighting also continued
throughout the day. the Germans los
ing great numbers of men, both killed
and wounded. 1t is impossible to say
how many attacks the enemy made at
this point during the course of theS
day; they came forward in waves
throughout long hours.
There was no cessation of the terri
bic battle. The wonder is that the
allied troops were able to hold in the
face of such onslaughts by superior
numbers.
The German artillery which had
been greatly augmented for this at
tack pounded the back areas inces-
sanity, and the duel between the OPP
posing guns of all calibers from Sat-
urday evening until last night was APP
palling. sss
The British improved their position
slightly before Villers-Bretonneux.
The enemy artillery was very active in
this region and the enemy guns were
increasingly busy from Vimy north
ward.
Thus far the German capture Of
Kennel has done them little good.
for the allied artillery has kept the
crest of the hill so smothered With
shell fire that it has been impossible
ior the enemy to occupy it in force.