The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-03-23
BRITISH PURSUE
DEFENSE aim To
SLAUGHTER HUNS
Massed Formation Offers Ad-
vantage to British Guns.
Great Gaps Torn in German
Ranks Quickly Filled.
PAVE WAY WITH GAS ATTACK
Huns Smother Front Line With
All Brands of Artillery.
Gas Masked TOmmies Stick to
Guns and Now EN- Down.
Great Gaps Torn in German
Ranks Quickly Filled.
PAVE WAY WITH GAS ATTACK
(By the Associated Press.)

BRUSH Army headquarters IN
France, Friday, March 22.-British
troops between the Scarpe and the
Disc have fallen back in places but
the British generals had foreseen this
eventuality anil made preparations
accordingly. In the face of great
attack it is not only impossible, but
quite unsound, to attempt to hold the
front line trenches everywhere. Good
defensive tactics usually aim at or
ganizing resistance SO that the further
the enemy advances the stronger will
be the opposition he meets.
Taking the situation as a whole the
British are well satisfied with the
results of the first stage of the fight
ing. They undoubtedly lost several
ruined villages and the Germans
probably will make much of their
capture, but the defenders have held
on amazingly we'll and worked ter
rible slaughter among the attackers
Greatest on Two Sectors.
The fighting today was greatest
in intensity on two sectors-one
orthwest of Cambria and the other
southwest. The fighting on the
northern front was about Bullecourt
while Hargicourt is the southern CEN
"A
day and airmen were most active, the
British aviator, flying at very low
attitudes and using their machine
gun. again It the opposing infantry.
Before they attacked today on the
sector between the canal Du Nord and
Croiselles on the northern battle front
the Germans for four hours smothered
the British with every conceivable
form of hate which gun could throw.
The enemy depended largely upon large
numbers of trench mortars to cut the
wire entanglements. The British had
use great quantities of gas sheiis.
This proved to be true a1tho there
was nothing new in the type of gas
and the British gas masks appear to
have been most effective. The Brit
ish TOmmies and their officers fought
for hours with their gas masks on but
even this drawback could not dampen
their jubilation at the havoc they
caused as the German infantry pre-
sented itself in the form of point blank
targets. Nine German divisions ne
gotiated the assault in this section but
they met with strenuous resistance.
Did Terrible Execution.
British machine gunners did terrible
execution as the Germans moved for
ward.
AS on Thursday the Germans today
depended on tremendous artillery
!
with great numbers of troops to
achieve results. At least forty Ger
man divisions have been identified and
! the German artillery concentration is
4 the greatest that has been seen in the
west.
| It is reorted that in one section the
! Germans came across No Mans Land
! in regular formation and gaps in the
ranks were quickly filled in to present
| solid front. The Germans are said
to have stopped when they reached
/ the barbed wire and to have cut it by
hand under a heavy fire from rifles
machine guns and artillery How
! ever the report is not verified but il
is certain that the Germans advanced
! in more dense formations than ever
/ before and naturally suffered griev-
! Gus casualties
/ Retire to Disc River.
Six German divisions Thursday de-
! livered a very heavy attack against
/ the British south of St. Quentin. De
spite the fact that the enemy had q
superiority in numbers the British
: hung doggedly to their posts thruou1
! the day and it was only after the Ger
mans had stopped the assault that the
British withdrew their lines somewhat
/ in order to give them protection by
means of the Disc river and the flood
ed ground around it A further at
tack here will be extremely costly tt