American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1918-04-30
GERMANS MEET REPULSE
AT ATTACK ON YPRES
Heavy Losses Inflicted ON Historic
Battlefield d-Attack Still in Progress
ON Other Sectors.

WI UiutE NtttOf>s
Suicide corner"-the Ypres bend
remains unbroken and many thou.
sands of picked German lighters who
tried to test the truth of the name are
dead or wounded at the end of an all
day battle. in which General Won Arnim
tried vainly 10 break through.
From dawn till dusk. Monday, and
On far into the night, the German in
fantry legions were hurled against the
southern and southwestern ap-
proaches. Everywhere the allied
line held like granite. The attack had
been planned on a gigantic scale. All
the way between Meteren, the little
town between Bailleul and Haze
brouck, to the lake near Zillebeke viii
lage, front of fifteen miles battalion
after battalion, division after division,
was sent forward with the order to
conquer or die" Thousands of them
cid the latter; the rest we're either
wounded or streamed back before the
murderOus British artillery and ma
chine gun fire.
1t was one of the bitterest disap-
pOintments the German staff has yet
had to swallow. After Kennels fall
the taking of Ypres had looked like a
walkover. An earth-shaking drum
fire along the whole Flanders front
ushered in the great concentric as
sault
The sun had not yet risen when the
ferocious cannOnading began. Sector
after sector in true systematic Prus-
sian fashion, was covered with a vol
cano of hot metal until the whole line
was ablaze. Field Marshal Haig was
just issuing his early morning report
when the German shock troops left
their trenches. Infantry attacks are
now developing" he bulletined to the
war office.
At the same time front correspon-
dents said that IS. o. S." signals had
been rocketed from British positions
asking for artillery support.
The hours that followed were of the
tensest Britain has lived through in
the war. Anxiety rose to a feverish
point as the hours rolled by bringing
no definite news. A note of pessimism
was in the air. No one denied it
Everybody knew Won Arnim, and Hin
denburg behind him, and the kaiser
behind both, meant business. For
after Kennels fall, the Teutons
thought they had the Briton where
they wanted him, and today.s on.
slaught was to be a sort of coup de
grace"
Then came the first bulletin from
headquarters to the war office:
'Enemy's attack repulsed."
1t had the effect of an electric
shock. Apart from a handful of su
per-Optimists. everybody had looked
for the natural thing" namely a new
enemy advance, bending the line anew
The concern of the hour had beer
that the line might break. Now
came the news that it had not ever
budged and the full text of Haig''
statement revealed that new "verl
heavy losses" had been inflicted OF
the foe. Haig seldom uses the wore
very"
The battle is by no means over
Fighting is still in full swing at near
iy all vital points. but the first shock
the kind that an attacking army cal
exert only once in many weeks. ha
been met and its force recoiled.
Nor does the allied success in beat
ing off the enemy legions mean tha
Ypres is permanently safe in thei
hands. The all-important thing i
that. had the Germans broken through
~ their attacks disaster would hav
befallen the entire British front. Haia
, according to military concensus.
prepared to get out of the nasty salien
but he means to do il in his own time
, al in his own fashion. not at tn
er emy's dictation.