The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-07-25

II
remove some Of his troops from the
| Soissons-Rheims area. 1t seems to be
agreed that the logical point to ex-
! pect such a German attack is some
where along the British held line. The
British, in the meantime, are not idle.
They have been conducting raiding OPP
erations In the Nebuterne sector for
| some time.
Allies Maintain Progress.
| Overcoming strong enemy resist
ance, the allied troops maintain their
progress on the Rheims-Soissons bat
| tie field.
General Fochs offensive enters up
on its second week today, with the
! Germans still being forced back be-
fore the smashing blows Of French,
| British and American armies. Ex-
IRENE severity marks the fighting on a
| greater portion of the front. Goodly
gains are being made by the French
| and American between the Ourcq and
the Marine and by the British south
west Of Rheims.
Steadily as allied pressure has
| forced the Germans back within the
| pocket formed by the battle lines, the
| Germans defensive efforts have in
creased in ferocity, due to the contin-
uous throwing In Of reserve divisions
The allied offensive, therefore. in one
| week, not only has brought the fifth
German offensive to a hasty halt, but
has turned it into disastrous repulse
and also forced the enemy to bring in
reserved troops from other fronts.
| Military observers in Paris believe
that the German command is prepar-
ing for a new blow against the allies
! in order to counter balance the situa-
ton on the Rheims-Soissons front.
Close on Supply Base.
From the west along the Ourcq and
from the south the French and Ameri-
cans are closing in on Fere-en Tarde
nois, the German base of supplies on
the lower side Of the pocket. The
town has been under violent shellfire
| for several days and the enemy has
made vicious counter attacks, which,
j although partly successful temporarily,
finally were turned into advances for
| the hard-nitting French and Ameri
cans. Not only has Epieds been re-
| taken, but the Americans have ad
vanced beyond Courpoil, five miles
south of Fere. Between Courpoil and
the Marine, the French and Americans
are fighting their way forward through
the forests of Fere and RiS. Bridge
heads along the Marine have been ex-
| tended farther.
While the advance on the western
| side of the salient has been more spec
tacular, the steady allied pressure on
the eastern side continues undated
and is making progress. British troops
around the important point Of Vrigny,
three miles south Of the Vesle, and
the Rhein s-Soissons railroad, slowly
are pressing the enemy back. This
advance not only threatens the Ger
man lines west Of Rheims, but places
the enemy forces between Vrigny and
the Marine in bad position. Tie ter
rain there is hilly and wooded and
! there is still quite bulge in the Ger
man line. The bulge on the western
end of the line was wiped out when
the Germans retired from Chateau
! Thierry.
From all sides the allied artillery is
battering the German positions I'M
ceasingly. Bombs by the hundreds are
being dropped with good effects on
dumps and depots. American avia-
tors are reported to have brought
| down five German machines in aerial
! combats, north of the Marine, Wednes-
day.
Berlin Reports Success.
The German crown prince has not
yet been forced in a general retreat,
but not day of the allied offensive
has gone oy without additional gains
being made by the allied troops. Vir-
fuallv all mt ono Of his lines Of COM I
munication have been lost and his po-
sition is becoming increasingly uncom- |
| Portable as fresh troops in repeated
efforts fail to check the steady sweep
| forward Of the allies.
Berlin continues to report that all
allied thrusts are being defeated, using
the adjective completely in telling of
| Tuesdays fighting. Similarly the Ger
man war Office describes the French
| toward the Avre, northwest of Montdi-
der, in which the enemy lost 1,180
! prisoners, four cannon and three hun
dred machine guns, as Of no effect.
| The lull on the other fighting sectors
in France and Italy still is unbroken.
In Albania the French have completed
their present movement by the cap
| tupre of important heights and the oc
equations of two additional villages.
British and allied shipping losses
| in June were the lowest in q months,
or since september 1916. Losses due
to German submarines and mines and
marine risk totalled 276.629 tons in
| June, the British losses being $4,000
| tons.
!