The Washington herald., 1918-04-12


AFmentIeres Abandoned.
The German wedges north and
south Of the Lys have been pushed
~ her ahead. Armentieres, hopeless
Is outfianked and rocking with pois-
ouous fumes has been abandoned by
sc British Ar last accounts the lat
- were holding the Teutons on this
insi southeast Of Ypres.. Wytschatc
dge, Ploegstreet Wood, SteenEerck.
t.staires, Lestrem, Giyenchy.
ltany a determined counter attack
sas been launched by the British in
,he last twenty-four hours, driving
ths German advanced forces out of
villages they had penetrated in the
initial onrush.
At this moment word comes of a
sudden switching of the storm center
from the ridge to the Hollebeke-Y Ypres
front. Hollebeke is essential to the
Teutons in their effort to turn both
Ypres and the Wytschaete range. 1t
lies three and one half miles south
east Of Ypres and about three miles
northeast of wytschaete village.
Meet MurderOus Fire.
The little town is just below the
DEtE-COIIFDfINS 'Cdtdls ANOL AdE "
the north lies the strategically im-
portant Hill 50. There the Canadian
machine gunuers haye been waiting
for just such a chance. German
storming columns attacking Holle-
beke deliberately dashed into a muir
derous fire both from Hill 50 and the
White Sheet Ridge"
From the distant Toul front comes
-
cess. Eight hundred select German
troops rushed into what had been
planned to be a big raid. 1t was
a single American casualty occurred.
Two Germans were captured
In two other sectors on the French
front American cooperating with the
French frustrated German raiding en-
rerprises, OF the east of Souain. where
the Germans are only a little more
than four miles from the Paris-Ver-
dun railway at Suippes. and in the
Chemin-des-Dames sector, northwest
OF Rheims.
Railway Lines Foes Objective.
Tn aim of the German drive in
Flanders now stands fully revealed.
Hindenburg is proceeding in almost
the identical fashion of his eastern
campaigns. especially in Northwest
ern Russia Strategic railway CEN
tiers and subsequently the lines that
radSate from them form his chief
obJectives. Cripple the enemy's
communication SYSTEM" is his lett
motiv'' in this whole mammoth Of
fensiye.
I,y;pO paralyza5 tho Ap,iaps sac
tors Of the Calais-Paris Railways. he
purposes now to put out of commits.
sion the supply lines feeding the
British northern armies from the
channel ports
South Of the Lys the German
wedge is heading toward Bethune. a
vital rail center and important Brit
ish base connected with Calais by
a double track system. Upon it the
British Arras army relies chiefly for
its supplies and reserves. The last
forty-eight hours advance has
brought the Germans to Givenchy,
within six miles of Bethune
Threatening COmmunieati0ns..
North Of the Lys the German salient
with its spear-head at SteenBerck is
aiming at a similarly important rail-
way center, Bailleuil. a little more
than four miles northwest of Steen-
werck. Beyond Bailleuil lie Haze
brouck and st. 0mer, on the direct
rail to Calais.
Thus, by their drive for rail centers
north of the Lys, the Germans are
threatening to. deprive the British
armies at Ypres and northward to
the seat Of their communication lines,
and south OF the Lys they aim to
cripple the supply system feeding the
British forces at Lens, Arras and
Nimy Ridge.
BY tonight the Tuetons had moulded
their Lys River wedges virtually into
one. i've miles west of Armentieres
above the Lys and ten miles south
west Of that town below the river.
The Berlin statement that. up to
Tuesday night 5000 prisoners and
90 guns had been taken in the
.Nrmentieres did not come as a sur
Prise. sInce Major General Maurice
A oosrINUEp on RAGE TWO