The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-04-03
German Offensive Slackens
Still Further While Guns
Are Brought Up.
ATTACKS ARE LOCAL
French Fire Takes Heavy
Toll at Points of Enemy I.
Concentration.
ALLIES MAKE PROGRESS
British Capture Post Near
Serre-Raiding Along
Battle Front. !
ALLIES MAKE PROGRESS

LONDON. April THE German often.
sive in France slackened still further to-
day. the fghtinE consisting Of a series
OF purely local engagements and OF arr
tillery exchanges. All the War once
statements tonight agree that there
were no engagements OF Importance dur.
ing the day. The enemy Is presumed to
he bringing up his guns and using every
effort TO repair his shattered divisions.
while the main allied reserve still Is held
back waiting the time to strike with full
force.
The British carried out minor opera
,ions IN the neighborhood OF Serre, cap
turing German post. In yesterdays
fighting between the Avre and Luce
rivers they took few prisoners and
thirteen machine guns. German counter
attacks In this region were broken by
British artillery. the Germans suffering
severely
Another enterprise almost identical In
character was carried out near Hebu.
terne. Raids were carried out at Ache
willie and Ilollebeke.
spirited Artillery Fighting.
Paris reports quite spirited artillery
fighting. particularly between Montdid;ae
and I.assigny. A threatened German at.
tack on the left bank of the Oise was
stopped At several places French guns
caught enemy concentrations and took a
heavy toll OF them. Last night the
French and British made some progress
between the Somine and Demun. The
French also have carried out several sue
cessful raids.
Berlin claims that the attacks at
Hebuterne and between the Luce and
the Avre broke down. with heavy allied
losses. To-nisht's German report gives
none OF the details customary when the
Germans have had fairly successful
day. The charge is made that the
French continue to shcll Laon and have
killed number Of the inhabitants Of the
fortress town.
The general situation at the moment,
as described by Reuters spondent
al British headquarters. is thai the main
movement OF fresh enemy troops ana
others that are moderately fresh con-
tlnues to be toward the zone between
the Somme and Mondidicr North Of
the Somme the B'.t.sh haze succeeded
in stabnizing the line, AT any rate for
tnc time being.
action In be1R iuH.
There has been a considerable In
crease in the artillery Are against tho
British positions at Passchendac,e and
on the Goeberg ridge, in Be!g um north
east OF Ypres. The correspondent says.
however. that the Germans are COM
m:ited so heavily to the present battle
front that II is not easy to believe they
will try an offensive elsewhere
The Alsatan contiugents. three quar-
;ers OF which had been used until now
on the eastern front and are now in
france. appear 10 give great concern to
the Germans. according to secret in
siruct.ons found ON prisoners. II is for
bidden to use -AlsatianS and I.orra iners
in the h'st line and IN patrol duty
According 10 prisoners. a number of
enemy battalons have special light
trench mortar detachments known as
infantry artillery. equipped with two
leht trench mortars OF new model
mounted on specially high wheels. sup
posed TO be capable OF firing twenty
rounds minute against tanks or other
obstacles. The personnel OF each de-
tachment comprises two officers and
forty men.