Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-03
IERMANS TESTING
IALLES DEFENSES
Continue Feeling Out"
/ Whole Western Front
| With Raids
DEFENSIVE Z Y p L G. r ED
'Teutons Seek to Find Weak
est Point and Veil Exact
Point Of Attack ,
OFFENSIVE EXPECTED
LONDON. Ian.

l'DNL'oN, jan. d.
Considerable enemy aTtlllcrying cast
of Epehy during the night and rcpulse
e.of raiders south and southwest OF La
was reported today by Field
Marshal lIaig
f,ermapy is still feeling out" the
,.holo western front with strong raids,
Which arc taking place daily. All the
NAV from the North Sea to the Swiss
IAlns raiding detaclmcnts aro thrust
nc acainst tho Allied line, testing Its
htrenguh aud taking prisoners for the
burpose OF seeking Information as to the
humber OF reserve troops and the supply
bs artillery munitions on. hand.
Military mon expressed tho opinion
odav that the increased yaiding actlvi-
ies IL a preliminary to an offensive and
that the Germans have two objects in
Is.,sw. First, TO confuse tho Allies as TO
she exact point of attack; second, TO
f,nd the weakest point OH tho allied bat
lilo line. ,,-.-..,,.,,., go
,eclally in west Flanders, ou tho Arras
Front, and III Champagne.
with their operations held up ty cold
heather and snow III the Ncnctial Aips
~ Austro.t;crinau invaders III Italy
aro roncwcd their efforts TO force a
eross,nr of tho piavo River, Oh the
,eneitai plains The hustro- Germans
Lea 10 effect o. Iodgmcnt ON the west
~ honk OF the river ut 1nestadura, Dut
80 driven back by tho Italians artil-
orc Boats containing tho attack
,rsro caught under direct fro and
overai wero destroyed. the occupants
,s,ne killed by shell fire OF drowned
Elsewhere Oh tho Italian front 'i'S
,.uaI cannon ilro is III progress.
According to deailcu lhloI IhH.'
tia ttprnlanS arc
.assinp troops opposite Drinsk' on the
r..,,,a river. la2 miles southeast OF
1,,.. This is understood to nave IN
cmsrced tho interruption OF tho i'uaso-
|Cermau peace negotiations
WITH TIE ITALIAN AlMlEs' Jan
j. . ...,,,.,,
Trcspt fcr D few outpost positions
80 the delta. at the mouth OF tho PiaNe
w. yho,e western bank of that river To-
Iday was clear Of Austro-Gernlan forces
|rtalian troops by their capture ct the
yanson pridgehead- drove back the last
pf the etrong enemy forces.
eoms idea. Of tho magnitude OF the
Zenson victory may be given Wne~ u
|is explained that the German position
There was about concrete nest OF
more than sixty machine guns eleNeriy
concealed under a bank OF tho stream
The position had beon built with ca
ceedirg care and was evidently held I'M
i,regnable by the enemy. 1t was cap
tured almost intact by tho irretisuple
rush of the Italian forces. Austrian
nviatora mana aged to drop bombs on
Italian stations about fivo milca distant
from Vienna today. They were evil
IDENTIFY headed for Venice itself. but were
forced to turn back without achievinG
their aim, owing to the vigorous Italian
gerial dstenses.
Snow, now many feet deep in the
mountains, was expected today to force
a shifting OF the major fghting to the
Plave front In the opinion OF othcers,
the Teutonic offensive on tho Asiago
front and between the Brenta and the
Pisve is now definitely at an end.