Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-04-06
Would Open Road to Anliens
Without Waiting For
Heavy Guns
FIGHTING is GENERAL
ON TWENTY MILE FRONT
Hindenburg Now Evidently
Attempting to Gain High
Ground for Drive

While awaiting heavy reinforcements
Of big guns before Srsumfng mis- drive
against Amiens, Hindenburg is batterino
away with his infantry against me
British left center, between the Somme
and Ayette.
Haig reported heavy fighting every-
where along that twenty mile front yes
terday and last night, with resumption
of the attack his morning.
A United Press dispatch from William
Philip Simms, describing this fighting,
told of an attempt by the enemy to
storm the embankment of the Amiens-
Albert railway southwest Of the latter
city with force OF $4,000 men. This
particular thrust centered around Der
nancourt, two miles south of Albert, and
probably extended to the south of Nor
lancourt, which is four miles north of
the Somme and about midway between
that river and Albert. This fighting
was continuing when Simms filed his
cable today.
1t was this very railroad embankment
which Simms declared the British hoped
the Germans would attempt to storm, i'm
dicating Haig had particularly strong
an unusually heavy toll from an attack
ing force.
simms said this fighting around Al
bert, like the fighting south of tho
Somme, is an effort by Hindenburg to
gain high ground before resuming the
offensive on major scale.
Haig reported that in the fighting
south Of the Somme, the British improv-
ed their positions by counter attacks.
The French conmunique described viO-
lent artillery duels in this region, but
no infantry combats.
Henry Wood, in describing the can
nonading alluded to by the French war
office said that while such a lombard
ment usually precedes an attack, the
Germans apparently plan a VASTLY
greater artillery concentration before
risking the main drive toward Amiens.
The Germans, Wood said, are handi-
capped in this artillery concentration by
the heavy rains which have been fall
ing since Thursday and which have turn
ed the shell pitted battle field back
of the enemy lines into morass
But the French, with their railways,
have already completed their counter
concentration.
In their offensive against Amiens,
the Germans have approached to with
in eight miles of the city, on the south
east, it is indicated by Simms' dispatch.
He mentioned the enemy IS occupation
Of wedge-shaped ridge at the con-
fluence of the Noye and Avre, from
where the main line of the AmiensParis
railway is in plain sight, mile and
half away" The Noye and Avre con-
verge five miles southeast of Amiens.
exactly half way between that city ana
Moreuil. A point mile and half east
of the Amiens-Paris railway which is
one of the enemy's objectives, would
locate the ridge three miles southeast
of the confluence. This is the nearest
approach to Amiens yet reported.
Simms reported the Germans also hold
ing a wedge between the Avre and
the Luce-north Of Moreuil and east
of the ridge referred to-and another
between the Luce and the Somme-prob-
ably with the point before Villers-Bre-
tonneux ten miles east of Amiens.
The French eommunique said that
raids in the region of Zuzey and Vaux-
Les Palameix, between Verdun and st.
Mihiel, where tie Americans have taken
over new sectors, fell down last night.
There was also heavy eannonading in
this region and on the Toul front, where
the original American sector is located
A United Press dispatch from tho
American front said there had been n"
Iet-up in the troop movements towards
the German offensive front.