Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-06-29

the positions taken on Friday by the
British near Neippe forest. in the
Lys sector, are reported. The Brit
ish, it is announced, captured more
than 400 prisoners in their attack.
Attacking the Germans suddenly
on two widely separated sectors.
French and British troops have i'm
proved their positions greatly and
captured 1,45O prisoners.
By their enterprise in taking the
initiative unexpectedly, the allies ap-
parently caught the Germans nap
ping and realized their objective in
a short time. The British rectified
their line east of Hazebrouck. in
Flanders. South of the Aisne the
French drove the enemy back on the
important Ambleny- -Montgobert sec
tor which bars the open space be-
tween the forests of Compeigne and
Fillers- Cotterets. The fighting here
continues.
Take Important Points
Not only did the allies straighten
out their lines. but they took from
the German salients which would
have suited admirably as jumping
Off points in future operations. AL
though the British attacked on a
front of three and a half miles and
the French on four and one-half
miles. each effort was intended as a
purely local operation to harass the
enemy.
In the north the British wiped out
the Germans salients which would
Nieppe forest northwest of Merville
and that town now is menaced seri-
ously. Three hamlets were retaken
in an advance of one mile and the
Germans lost. three hundred prison.
crs. Australian troops around Mer-
rls, north of Merville, made a small
gain and took forty-three prisoners.
Lost Ground Recaptured
After this check on the Noyon-
Montdidier front, the German Crown
Prince made a strong attack south
of the Aisne for the apparent pur-
pose of getting in behind the forest
of Compeigne. A large part of the
gains made then have now been re-
captured by the French. Important
positions were taken from the Ger
mans, whose lines were penetrated at
several points to depth of more
than a mile. The French bag of
prisoners totals 1000.
Berlin reports the German troops
as striving to check the Franco
farthest point west the Germans
reached in the Lys battle, and the
British gain there lessons the peril
TO Hazebrouck. Not less satisfac-
tory from the allied viewpoint is the
successful French thrust south of
the Aisne, which also relieved enemy
pressure at a more or less vital
point.
Airmen Are Busy
The Germans show no intention
of resuming the offensive, but it may
be that the French and British
strokes will spur them to action
before the allies regain other impor-
tant positions between Ypres and
Rheims. Except in Flanders and
south of the Aisne, the western bat
tlefront has been quiet.
Intense aerial activity continues
without a letup. The Germans re-
peated their raids on Paris Friday
for the third night in succession, but
few bombs were dropped. In air
fighting allied pilots have account
ed for fifty-three enemy machines,
while Berlin reports the shooting
down of twenty-five allied airplanes.
French pilots are bombing military
targets in Picardy and north of the
Marine, and British bonn bers persist
in their raids into the region about
Metz.
Fighting activity on the Italian
front is of minor charcter. Artillery
duels have increased in vigor along
the front. Some Austro-H Hungarian
trenches on the Asiago plateau have
been penetrated by British troops,
who took prisoners.