Evening star., 1918-06-17
GERMANS TURN HEAVY
ARTILLERY ON BRITISH
By the Associated Press.

their line considerably Friday night
and in the region of Dickebusch and
Scherpenberg.
The initiative, SO far as infantry
activity was concerned. rested mainly
with the British, who carried out
number of highly successful raids.
Predictions in these days Of sudden
upheavals Is unsafe, but it may be
said that the Germans have main
tanned themselves in a state Of pre-
paredness to attack along the British
front. notwithstanding the exertions
of the crown prince in his drive for
launch another drive against tho
British in the near future there is
no doubt that his troops and artil-
lery are ready for any attempt that
he may deem it advisable to make.
Operations in Hinges Sector.
Further details concerning the Brit
ish operations in the Hinges sector
Friday night now are available. The
yards just east of Hinges. 1t had its
northern extremity near La Pan
merle. The Germans were holding
strong line of shell crater positions
close to the British on the eastern
bank of La Bassee canal.
A limited objective of 500 yards in
depth was set for the enterprise. An
unusual feature of the attack was that
it was conducted entirely in the dark.
1t began shortly before midnight.
There was no moon to guide the as
saulting troops and the success Of the
each man keeping his right direction
as he pushed forward in the black
ness
Holding this sector for the Germans
was the 18th Reserve Division. which
was among the first to violate Belgian
soil. 1t was the 18th Division which
committed such horrifying deeds in
Tormonde and Louvain. which brought
down upon it the execrations of hun
dreds of helpless Belgian women.
Preceded by Bombardment.
The attack was preceded by an
eight-minute bombardment Of the
German front line positions. At the
same time British gunners were car
shooting and the heavy artillery was
pounding the enemy back areas hard.
AS the bombardment ceased British
infantry started forward toward the
shell-hole craters, which the enemy
held-machine gun posts that rep
The 18th Division is composed of
hard men morally: it must be said to
its credit that its troopers are also
hard fighters.
AS the British advanced the enemy
opened a heavy fire from every ma
chine gun nest along the line. The
Germans Were shooting more or less
blindly in the dark, which saved the
British many casualties. But it was
trying work to push ahead through
the barrage of bullets sweeping
waist-high across no mans land. The
g. a. 1T =
the enemy's post, and bitter hand-to-
hand lighting occurred at most of
these nests.
British Secure objectives.
The battle in the region of La Fan
nerie, where the Germans were espe-
cially strong, was exceedingly fierce.
Here the contending troops strug-
gled throughout most Of the night.
ever. the British had secured all their
detectives and forced the enemy to
Upward Of 200 prisoners remain
ed in the British hands. Large num-
bers Of German dead against gun
positions told Of the desperate fight
ing that had waged
The morale of the prisoners as a
whole seemed fair. Many of them
were convinced that the Germans
were winning the war and confident
that they would break through the
educated captive. however. was not
so optimistic. He said the German
people were disappointed because
their troops had not got ahead faster
in their offensives.
Food conditions in Germany. said
this prisoner. were getting worse
and worse and the situation was es-
pecially bad since the new bread
restrictions went into effect. He add
ed that the people also were disap-
pointed because the Ukraine had not
produced the grain for Germany that
had been expected.
Bombard North Of Bethune.
LONDON, June 16.-The Germans
late Saturday night carried out heavy
bombardments against British posi-
tions north of Bethune and between
Locre and the Ypres-Comines canal,
tion issued today. The artillery was
particularly active early Sunday
morning in the neighborhood Of
Dckebusch lake.
The text of the communication fol-
lows:
Yesterday afternoon one Of our
raiding parties entered. German
post southwest Of Merris and brought
back eleven prisoners. Further sue
cessful raids were carried out by
us during the night south OF the
Somme and in the neighborhood of
Hebuterne. They resulted in the cap
ture of seventeen prisoners and three
machine guns.
"The hostile artillery developed
considerable activity during the night
north of Bethune and between Locre
and the Ypres-Comines canal. being
especially active early this morning
in the neighborhood OF Dickebusch
lake."