Republican farmer., 1918-04-26
Opens Battle AlOnq
 Front Of 20 Miles;
 Held Al All Points
DETAILS OF SEICHEPREY BATTLE BOY FROM CONNECTICUT THE HERO-HUNS
 TRYING AGAIN TO PUNCH THROUGH
 BETWEEN FRENCH AND BRITISH.

The drive for AmlenS, for which the Germans plunged desperately but failed to reach in their great offensive last month, was resumed today. In the effort to push toward this important junction point and Allied base, renewed after a two weeks interval in which the main German effort was transferred to Flanders, the enemy this morning launched a heavy attack on a front of ap- proximately 20 miles. The line at which the German infantry again is thrown extends from the district north of Albert, northeast of Amiens, to the Avre river.
 Nearly all this front is held by the British, whose line links up with the French at the river Luce, about three miles north of the Avre.
 It has been regarded as almost in evitable that the Germans again would strike here, as the advance of their right flank in the Amiens region was stopped short by the strong British resistance at Albert, tagging far be- hind their left, which was pushed at Castel to within a short distance of the Paris-Amiens railroad. A further l driving in of the wedge south of ! Amiens was thus virtually impossible unless the line to the north also could be advanced. | The attack here, furthermore, rep resents continuation of the persist ent German effort to push in between the French and the British by strik- ing heavy blows near their point of junction.
 The comparatively narrow field in which the enemy could attack with reasonable expectations of profit to himself has thus given the Allies warning, largely eliminated the ele- ment of surprise, which was so strong a factor in the earlier German suc- cess, and doubtless has led to the massing of strong Anglo-French forces | at the point where the Germans now are striking.
 The Germans have been working UT
 a strong artillery fire along virtually
 the whole British southern front fo1
 several days, following the easing o1
 their pressure on the Flanders front
 but the preliminary intensive bonn
 hardment was of comparatively shor | fro hos ST-lH
 today, followed shortly by the ad'
 vance of the infantry.
 What apparently was intended a!
 a surprise blow, without notable ar
 tillery preparation, was launched by
 the Germans at dusk last evenin:
 northwest of Albert. The British
 were on the alert, however, and me
 the advance with a hail of rifle anC ! machine gun fire, driving back tn,
 enemy.
 Meanwhile the enemy has maintain ed sufficient pressure in the Flander areas to keep the Anglo-French force well occupied there. Not only has thu artillery bombardment been heavy n
 many sectors, but last night ther was strong hostile attack on tn northerly side of the Lys salient nea Dranoutre close to Mount Kemmel The French were guarding this re zion and they repulsed the assaul after sharp fighting, their artiller cooperating with the British guns i severely punishing the enemy. In making their apparently success | full attack on the German submarin , nests in zeebrugge and Ostend, tn British fleet have given the German
 fleet something to ponder. The sail ors and marines who have returnet from the gallant enterprise report tn gate to the lock of Bruges canal ha been blown up and the water let ou o 1 into the North Sea The channel als was blocked by sinking concrete ladel
 cruisers and the batteries and muni : tion stores on the mole were destroy Il ed. The Bruges canal has been use as base. ry the German submarine
 and the blowing up of the lock. tn
 report of which lacks official confrma e ton, the blocking of the channe Il would destroy Zeebrugge's usefulnes for some time.
 The London war office statemeI follows: = 1Ae AOSIlle artillery dCdNILy IT 0 creased yesterday afternoon an
 evening on the greater part of tn IL British front particularly in tn Il Somme and Ancre region, in the va, ley of the Scarpe and in the sector ie north of Bethune and north-northeai of Bailleul.
 u At dusk hostile infantry left the v trenches to attack northwest of A
 bert, but met with heavy rifle and ms
 chine gun fire and were driven back. |. Strong hostile attacks develope IT, also late in the evening in the neigl LII borhood of Dranoutre and were r pulsed by French troops after shaI oA fighting. French and British artillel IL inflicted severe loss on the enemy. in
 der when chaIlenqed and at the CT