The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1918-04-12
Heavy Fighting Going On Along
20-Mile Battle Line From
Ypres to LeBassel.
THE LINE is NOT BROKEN
British Recapture Town of Civ
enchy and Take 1000 Prison
ers-Germans Claim 5000
Chauny Changes Hands.
Wednesday,

AMERICAN troops are now rein
forcing the British line in France,
along the greater portion Of which
the Germans are keeping UP their
strong attacks with hordes of men
and great concentrations Of artillery
in assaults that now apparently have
their objective in the penetrating OF
the battle front in northern France
and Belgium. 1t was a happy lot OF
men that swung into the sector cho-
sen for them, and they were greeted
with enthusiasm.
From the south OF Ypres in Bel
gium to the region of LaBassee in
France the new offensive OF the Ger
mans is being carried out with great
desperation, with thousands of men,
under cover of unprecedented bonn
bardments of the allied rear lines,
endeavorings to pierce the bravely
defended fronts held by the British
and Portuguese-and now also at
some unnamed point by Americans.
On several sectors of the new 20
mile battle line a few deep salients
have been driven by the enemy, but
in the process the Germans nowhere
have been able to break through, the
line merely bending back under the
great pressure. Particularly deep are
wedges northwest Of Armentieres
and northwest of LaBassee-salients
hinh -
uation by the British of Armen-
there's and to theaten seriously the
important railroad junction of Be-
thune.
Pressed Back by Germans.
British positions southwest of Ar
mentieres, lying between the Rivers
Lys and Doube, north Of Armentieres
along the five-mile front between the
Ploegsteert wood, and the Wytschae-
te-Messines ridge have been pressed
back by the Germans. East OF La
Bassee, Givenchy hill, the key to Be-
thune, has been tenaciously held by
the British and the town of Givenchy
retaken, while to the north in the re-
gion of Ypres the enemy's attacks
against the high ground about the
Messines ridge everywhere have been
decisively repulsed. The British in
recapturing Givenchy made nearly
thousand Germans prisoner.
The latest German official state.
ment asserts that between Armen,
there's and Estaires the Germans have
crossed the Lys river and that north
of Armentieres the British lines on
both sides of Waasten-Warneton
have been penetrated. Six thousand
PRISONERS and 100 guns are claimed
to have been taken by tn eGermans
in the fighting between Armentieres
and LaBaesee canal.
The famous Vimry ridge. won
year ago by the Canadians. is receiv-
ing a prodigious visitation OF shells
from German batteries.
French Hold Chauny.
While the battle in the north has
been in progress the fighting south
OF the Somme. where the British are
aligned against the Germans, has
been rather subdued. Not SO, how
ever, on the sectors where the French
and Germans are disputing the oc-
cupancy of the terrain. Furious as
saults and counter-assaults have been
going on around Chauny. the village
changing hands many times. At last
accounts the French not alone held
the village but also the nearby cem-
etery.
The German submarine menace
evidently is growing less each week.
According TO the British admiralty's
statement the sinkings OF British
merchantmen last week by mine or
submarine consisted OF four of more
than 1900 tons and two OF less than
1900 tons. The total OF the pre-
vious week are six merchantmen of
the larger category and seven under
that tonnage.
Only two French merchantmen
were sent to the bottom during the
week ending April 6.