Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-05-28
FRENCH BEAR BRUNT
OF HUN ASSAULTS

OE HUN AOOAOLlO y
CONTINUED from First Page.I
along the whole Aisne front to-day.
the brunt OF it being borne by the
| French. before whose lines there was
! seemingly the greatest concentration
| for the enemy effort The French
communications are excellent in this
sector. however. and the probability
| is that reserves are speedily being
sent up to the threatened points to
! place before the Germans a force
that can effectively stop them
British Right Holds
The British when the battle started
apparently were holding q line ap-
proximately twelve miles long be-
| tween Bermicourt, seven miles north
! west of Rheims. and Craonelle, across
the Aisne to the northwest the line
straddling the Aisne at about mid
| way this distance near Berry-au-
Bac.
There is no indication that the
British right flank was materially
affected by the shock. The left flank.
however. felt the effect of the i'm
pact upon the French front further
west, where a crossing of the Aisne
was forced. and the British left was
obliged to fall back in conformity.
Flanders Attack a Feint
The British line to the west of
Berry-su-Bac is now wholly south of
the Asne, according to the indica-
tions in to-day's official statements
The German attack in Flanders was
evidently a subsidiary affair. not even
on the scale OF some OF the previous
offensive movements there, although
there was an extremely heavy con-
centration of troops for the limited
front attacked.
The French bore the brunt of this
blow and repulsed it with the loss
of scarcely any ground. the Germans
succeeding only in pushing in some
thing like a half-mile north of
Dickebusch lake, about four miles
southeast of YpreA
Promising Counterattack
This morning the British and
French made counterattack In this
sector. which was progressing well
at latest advices and promised to
turn the whole German effort on the
northern front into a complete fail
ure which had cost the enemy heav-
lily.
Military opinion seems to be sway
ing between the view that southerly
attack, now being pressed by the
Germans between Scissors and
Rheims, is the main enemy effort in
the resumption of his offensive. or
whether he is planning to deal an
even greater blow at the Amiens
front, where his first great stroke
was delivered this spring.
May Drive at Paris
In view of the persistence with
which the Germans are now follow
ing up their early success in storm
ing the Chemin-des-Dames and
forcing the Aisne crossings 1t seems
probable that the former opinion
will gain strength and that a deter
mined following up of the enemy
effort, in the shape of a drive for
Paris will be looked for.
General Foch's strategy is counted
upon TO employ the vast effective
forces at his command so as to coun-
ter the Germans effectively when
they have fully developed their pur-
pose. whichever way the attack may
trend.
Gains by the armies of the Ger
man crown prince on the Aisne front
have been balanced in part by the
sanguinary repulses OF further at
tempts to push forward southwest of
Ypres. In prepared second line posi-
tions along the Aisne the Franco
British forces are offering strong re-
sistance to the Germans who are
pressing on to cross the river, while
in Flanders the French confidently
await increased enemy attacks.
In gaining the heights north of the
Aisne and the famous Chemin-des-
Danes the Germans suffered most
heavily. The region over which they
have advanced thus far is one of the
most battle-scarred in France. If the
crown prince hoped to crush the
French and separate them from the
British at Berry-au-Bac, he failed, as
contact between the allied forces has
been maintained throughout the
fighting. How far the Germans ad-
vanced on the extreme ends of the
new fighting front is not defined
clearly, but in the center they reach
ed the region north of Pont Arcy, a
four-mile advance on the Aisne.
Along the six-mile front from
Locre to Voormezeele on the Flan-
ders battlefield, the French hurled
the enemy back with great losses
and still hold tenaciously to the posi-
tions protecting the ridge running
westward from Mont KENNEL. Near
Voormezeele. where the French have
taken over the line from the British,
heavy fighting continues around
Dickebusch lake, where the Germans
penetrated the allied line.
Americans Win Fight
Meanwhile, there is very intense
artillery fire from north of the Som
me to the Avre in Picardy. The Ger
mans have made no attacks here, ex-
cept for strong raids against the al
lied lines, especially the American
sector west of Montdidier. The Amer
leans threw back the Germans in
counterattack after fighting in which
the enemy suffered severe losses and
prisoners were taken by the Ameri-
cans.
Renewal of heavy fighting in
Northern France is coincident with