The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-05-16
ALLIES CONTINUE
/. MAKING GAINS AS
ARTILLERY RACES
Constant Successes In
Local Attacks Con-
sidered Hopeful.
HUNS BOAST LESS
Admit Coming Drive
Will Not Be Ultimate
| Victory They Have
/ Predicted.
ITALIAN FRONT ACTIVE
Austrianz Attempt New Dis,
positions Of Their Tpops,
Which Airmen Trysto
Conceal.
ITALIAN FRONT ACTIVE

London, May f5.-The last twcuty-
four hours brought the allies nevg
gnins--of n local nature. It Is tr,.A
but of great importance, nevertheless.
because yard gained In this pre-
paratory tactical struggle may mean
miles when the battle Of movements
rcopcns.
These constant Franco British sue.
cceses in the jockeying for tacticaI
positions that preccdes the inevitable
revival Of the great western battle -
greeted both here and I'm Paris with
the greatest qualification. They
strengthen the confidence that Hind.
enburg's blow. no matter when ~
where or how IL Is struck. will he par.
r'ed. and parted effectively
All the world Is afutter with runaoR
and gossip and speculation about tfo
next stage of the titanic battle. (SA4.s
man newspapers no longer declare
fatty that 1t will be the last stage
They no longer strive to convince t1los
people that the allies viii be struck
down by one huge blow. Rather. th4xs
are preparing the popuIace for w
series OF battIes--,vhich Is a considers.
able crawl from the original bomss
bastic boastfulness of the enemy.
The allies are now deiuging the Ger
man positions and rear conmunicas6
ton with an unprecedented shell ARA
The average i'm this tornado OF hOt3
fat &c al
German. All OF the encmy's roads arld
crossroads and villages are smooth
cred with shells day and night. Thn
roar of the allied cannon Is heard
forty miles behind the front.
German troop concentrations are
continually cut up, the enemy THUG
losing heavily before he can even
throw his masses into a new life-do-s
vouring assault. Meanwhile the all
lied aircraft are not losing momenks
, in harrassing the foe and scattering
death and destruction behind his lines
French and British flyers are dumpin9I
tons of high explosive projectiles ev0rye1
hour of the day and night. All thtnl
intense and effective work OF destruC~I
ton seems to give the German troOp0l
a punch in the jaw before the btxl
fight starts
What of the drive in Italy? No 0nQ1
knows whether or when 1t will GOMEZ
! but everybody believes IT is bound t01
come almost immediately. The milt~j
tary critic of the Berne Gazette. whoj
Is usually well informed, predicts thaI
Offensive AZ an imminent certainty.
A Reuter- dispatch from Rome re~3
ports great massing OF Austrian
troops and artillery along the Alptnos
| line, and particularly in the Fr4ul4s
! plains, The Austrians, says the d.
patch, are trying to conceal Their
! movements. which are undertaken
mostly at night time. Austrian air.
men arc feverishly trying TO prevent
/ the Italians from making recopnatn4s
ances that might reveal the dispo1tss
! ton of the Teuton forces. R
! As far as the western battle, The
/ latest report from German sources
! Is that Prince Leopold, of Bavaria
who was commander in chief Of tho
eastern front. has left Breet Iitovalxs
for the west front. Recent reports
were to the effeft that both he ana
Field Marshal Won Meckensen weroS
scheduled 10 bring fresh forces ~
the west The heavy German loosen
since March II Individually compel
the kaiser's high command to gather
every ounce of available man poWeea
for the new test of strength. l
Paris military critics agree that the
ed against the front between La Has,
see and Villers- Bretonneux, and thAtS
the chief blow will fall on the Arr1nsa
Albert sector in the direction OF tn
allied base at Doulens. the GermaNg
aim still being TO separate the FrAnc4s
and British armies, Asx
| Last night and today the FreucMS
! scored couple of notable SUCCESSES
north of KENNEL. in Flanders. aA4S
! around Hailles, southeast OF AmteAMz
In the latter area they captured ~
wood on the west bank OF the Ayf4s
( Above KENNEL they took prisonoN(S
} in an advance which improved thGeES
lines and which is admitted by Beru4Hs
The German war office. on the 0tls13
/ hand claims l2o prisoners In tNNa
same sector, and reports a penetratt643
OF the British lines on the Bray-E6&
bic road The KENNEL advances
which was made last night. was cnS
: ried out while the allied troops MN&
being relieved. the statement AYERS
] German Ayers dropped bombs
Calais and Dunkirk. S48
On the Austro Italian theater Hx4&
artillery and accommodating acttN3
proceeds without pause. fhe Ftou
/ war office today conceded the ~
/ of an ''outpost nest" In the ~
Coma region. New Austrian IN
to regain the Monte COrno -
,vAra futilA. 55Rs MA 222