Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-15
HAIG'S ARMY IS
HOLDING FAST IN
GREAT BATTLE
Heroic Hand-to-Hand Fight
ing Marks Desperate En-
counter in Flanders
BY .4ssociatca Press

Fighting heroically in hand to-
hand engagements to British troops
have checked the German drive in
| the region west of Armentieres and
enemy effort, like the one in Picardy,
seems almost definitely stopped. The
Germans have spent thousands of
lives in reckless and insistent attacks
through the British lines or to de-
stroy the British army, but the ef-
fort has been without the result de-
sired.
Against the American sector south
of Nerdun. German storming troops
hurled themselves Sunday. Ameri-
can infantrymen beat back the
enemy in hot fighting. The enemy
withdrew to his trenches with the
loss of nearly 100. North of Toul,
the Germans have not repeated the
attacks which cost them 400 casual
ties.
Fighting Is Desperate
All around the sweeping semicircle
created by the enemy attacks to the
southwest of the Messines ridge posi-
tions he was fought to Il standstill
yesterday and last night and in some
localities the British positions were
improved by counterattacks. At only
one point did the defense give way.
This was at Neuve Eglise, on the eX-
treme edge of the Messines spur,
where the British finally withdrew
after beating off attack after attack.
The proba bilities seem to be that
the German tenure of even this small
bit of ground will be a short lived
one. The village has changed hands
repeatedly during the fighting of the
past few days and the British were
once before definitely out of it, only
to recapture it in a counterattack.
This morning the British again were
back at the Germans here and We're
reported to be giving them a hard
pounding.
Although they have been but a
little more than mile from Bailleul,
n valuable position, for two days the
Germans have not been able to ad-
vance more than several hundred
yards. West of the town the Ger
mans have been repulsed in heavy
attacks and south round Merris their
efforts have gone for naught.
Americans right Hard
Their effort on the remainder of
the battlefront in Artois has brought
no change. Near the apex of their
salient at Merville the Germans at
tempted an attack but were dis
persed by artillery fire. In Flanders
and along the Messines ridge there
have been no further actions and
the British still hold the heights on
the south unchallenged.
On either wing of the sharp salient
around st. MihicI, the American
troops in the past few DAYS have
been meeting and beating off i'm fine
fashion strong German attacks. The
enemy has not followed up his er-
forts northwest of TouI and cast of
st. Mihiel where nc was repulsed in
two days hard fighting by the Amer
cans i'm Aprcmont forest. The ar
tilIery duel there is heavy, with the
American gunners keeping up their
end of the exchange.
Sundays attack on the American
sector between Verdun and CT. MihieI
came after violent bombardmcnt
and was made by picked enemy
trops. Prisoners were captured by
the Americans and thirty four Ger
man dead and ten wounded were
found in the American trenches.
while just beyond them were 80
more enemy dead. The Americans
with hand grenades and bayonets
went out of their positions to meet
the oncomiag Germans. Two Amer
lean aviators have brought down
two German fighting airpIanes, the
enemy flyers being captured.
Czcrnin Resigns
There has been no activity on the
Picardy battlefront and on the re-
mainder of the western front EXCEPT
for artillery duels.
Count Czernin, Austro-H -Hunarian
foreign minister has resigned and
Emperor Charles has accepted the
resignation. The steps leading to
the counts act are not disclosed as
yet but the publication by the French
government of the emperor's peace
offer letter to France early in 1917
probably hastened his withdrawal.
Semiofficial attempts still are being
made to deny the letter, but neither
the emperor nor Count Czernin has
denied flatly the existence of the
letter which was not only n peace
move but divulged damaging evil
dence concerning intrigue against
Serbia