Arizona republican., 1918-04-16
RE-CAP TURF OF
 NEUVE EC[|SE
 ADMIT TED BLOW
Correspondent Believes theI
 Situation of English at Bailleul Is Growing Brighter As Time Passes
Republican A. p. Leased WireJ

WITH HE BTtl1loI1 Alkh4 IN | FRANCE, April 15.-(By the Associat- l ed Press)-Another attack on the un- | happy town of Bailleul appeared to be | boiling up today. following upon the | recapture of Neuve Eglise by the Ger mans last night Hard fighting was proceeding this morning in the Bailleul sector, but up to the filing of this dis 1 patch C D. m) the enemy had not be- 1 gun the big onslaught which was eX- pected.
 The loss of Neuve Eglise certainly made the situation for Bailleul no brighter, but the allied position, on the whole, has been growing better with the passing of time
 Whyschaete Is Pivot
 The British were still pivoting on Wytschaete, and last night, when the pressure at Neuve Eglise became too great, they swung their line to the northwest, thereby eliminating the salient which bulged out. around that place.
 The British yesterday re-captured Arrewage, just east of the Nieppe for est This whole area is reported full of German dead who fell in the hard fighting South of here. at Cornet Malo. east of St. Eloris, the Germans yesterday delivered four fierce attacks. All were repulsed with heavy losses to the attacking troops
 Fight from House Windows
 The fighting here has been contin- uous and the British are holding Cornet Malo with machine guns trained from house windows. These rapid firers have done great execution in the enc my's ranks. At one time the enemy .I.l chine gunners got in on the advancing troops and smashed them badly.
 The importance which the Germans attach to Bailleul had added confirma tion on Saturday night when troops were sent into the attack with orders that they must capture the Meteren- Bailleul highway ar all costs. They paid in advance, but did not get what they were after. Here again the ma chine guns reaped harvest
 Huns Use 23 Divisions
 The trend of operations in the north ern battle may be seen from the num- Der of troops the Germans have been using since the opening of the strug- gle. On April when the attack began, they were using II divisions in the line. On April 10 this was increased to 13; on April II and r to 20: April 13 to T and April 14 to 23, other divisions being held in reserve.
 Casualties 50 Per Cent?
 From the southern battle front comes word that German officers of the 24th reserve division captured at Hangard wood April [, stated that the casualties of the German forces engaged on this front averaged 30 per cent since the attack began. In addition the enemy suffered mulch from transport trouble and shortage of food and ammunition. This was partly due to the great nuu- Der of horses killed and the bad condi- tion of the rest.
 The Germans occupied a shambles when they took Neuve Eglise. The con- tending forces, who had been battling bitterly here for days, had been asking and giving no quarter Several times the shell torn village changed hands. On each occasion it was struggle So the death with bayonets as the troops swirled in a mad melee through the crimsoned streets.
 Thin Line Holds Town After the British re-captured the place on Saturday they continued to hold it with hollow square of troops thrown around it. The massed Ger mans kept flinging themselves against this thin, but determined line of de- | lenders. The battle went on until late last night, when the pressure from l overwhelming enemy forces became too great and the weary square of khaki dissolved, to reform in new positions a little northwest of the town. Even then the Germans found themselves in q desperate situation. for British ar i tillery immediately opened a tremen- dous bombardment and began piling up German dead with those who had gone 1 before.
 Cut Up Massed Troops The enemy also formed an attack northwest of Merville, but the British artillery cut up the concentration and the attack did not materialize. Two small enemy attacks in the neighbor- hood of Messines ridge were driven off.
 On the southern battle front the all lies on Sunday carried out small but successful operation which resulted in the establishment of some of their positions north and east of Hangard.
 The hand of war is resting heavily on the towns and hamlets in the north ern battle zone and they are rapidly going the way of the devastated places in the other sections of the front.
 MailIeuI Mass of. Ruins
 The quaint old town of Bailleul is all ready mass of ruins. Many of the beautiful buildings have been smashed by shell fire, and the famous hot houses which supplied wonderful grapes to people in all parts of the world have been entirely demolished.
 German Transport Bad
 The Germans have been having a bad time with their transport on the Ar mentieres battle front because of the wet nature of the ground. which is very low and threaded by many streams. Considerable quantities of supplies have been stuck in the mud and the enemy has been working overtime re- pairing railways and highways.
 In the last few days they have con- structed and rebuilt network of high ways in the Bailleul- Merville sector The British unwillingly furnished a small force Of Germans with a feast lthe day the enemy broke through the Portuguese and got around the British right flank at Bac St. Maur. A sup ply train loaded with rations was sur lrounded.