Mountain Home Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1915-1946, 1918-05-11
NEWS REVIEW or
THE PAST WEEK
British Army, Now Supported by
French Troops, Still Holds
Back the Germans.
DRAWS BACK EAST or YPRES
Huns Fight Furlously to Capture the
Messnes Ridge and Bethune--Secre-
tary Baker Returns to Speed
Americas Men Across-SchWab
Heads Shipbuldng.
BY EDWARD w. PIckARD.

BY EDWARD w. PIckARD.
At the end of another week of the
most sanguinary battle the world has
ever known, the British army was still
undestroyed, It's lines still unbroken.
Overwhelmingly outnumbered in Elan
ders, Halgs men were forced to give
up some important positions, and east
of Ypres they withdrew from the bulg
Ing Passchendaele salient before the
enemy observed the movement, and
Strengthened and shortened their de-
fensive line so that 1t was much
stronger and more secure. Meanwhile
French re-enforcements arrived to as
sist the British the commanders hay-
ing decided that the Flanders offensive
yeas not merely a diversion. To the
south, on the Somme and the Aisne,
Ene French had been stoutly repulslng
every attack. and 1t was predicted
that the time was near when General
Foch. the allied commander In chief.
might be expected to start his counter
offensive. Though they We're still
bringing fresh divisions into the bat
tie, IL was figured the Germans must
be approaching the point of exhaus-
tion. when a return blow would he
most effective: Indeed, IT did not
seem this blow could be much longer
delayed, for the British, though their
spirit and courage were undiminished,
were sustaining continuous attacks by
an enemy which vas Immensely superb
or in numbers and was under leaders
whose disregard for life was utterly
reckless.
AT the beginning of the week the
Germans, finding they could not make
much progress toward Bethune, mt
the south part Of their salient, because
of the stubborn resistance of the Brit
ish at Givenchy, Festuhert and LOGON,
turned to the north and undertook 70
flank Ypres by driving the British
from the Bailleul-Neuve Eglise, Wul-
verghem Hollebeke line. For two
days the attacks of the Huns We're
beaten back with fearful @slaughter
but then Field Marshal IIaig was com
PEELED to give ground and retired from
part Of the famous Messines ridge, at
the same time drawing his lines nearer
to Ypres. There was still higher
ground at his rear however and his
generals and men displayed a cheerful
optimism that contrasted with the de-
preston caused In England and. to a
what looked like serious reyerses
Not for a minute did the men who are
doing the fighting admit that they
were beaten or could be beaten by any
forces Hindenburg could bring against
them, and though The Hun, when he
had taken Bailleul, was within "a
miles of Dunkirk, they still had no idea
OF permitting him to force his way TO
the coast.
In the effort to reach the In Bassee
canal and take HazebrOuck, the enemy,
nfter Intense artillery preparation. at
tackled along the front from Meteren
to Robecq, hut was repulsed at almost
every point and sustained heavy
losses. The allied artillery was espe.
rIally effective here and east Of Be
hume and the Germans found It aI- |
most impossible to bring up their
transport trains.
On Thursday the enemy resumed |
IFS attacks in the Bethune region, |
throwing number of light bridges
across La Bassee canal near LOGON.
These were swept away by the British
and maehine-gun fire and
arge numbers Of Germans were killed.
Again and again the Germans re-
lewed the attack using more than
$4,000 fresh troops on the l2-mlle
roDt between st. Yenant and Given
hy. but each time they were thrown
'ack with appalling losses. French
infantry and batteries c0-operated
With Halg's forces
I'd
Save for rertnin engineer units. the
'er'ren troops had not vet been en-