Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-03-22
BRITISH HOLD HUNS
IN FIERCE BLAST
ON 80 MILE LINE
Check Attempt by Foe to Cut OFF
Sector and Recapture
Lost Trenches.
TRY TO SURROUND ENGLISH
nv Associated Prose- to Every Evening

London. March 22-It is mt vet
possible % give more than very general
and vague idea of the fighting Thursday
on the front between the oise and the
Senaee. which continues Bith swaying
fortunes. according tu the accounts ot
correspondents NJ tho British front IN
the morning newspapers
The German attack made on the British
front west and southwest of Cambria
evidently aims AT recapturing al the
TIindenburg line, SAYS dispatch % the
Morning Pnst FROM British headquarters
in France which adds
"The German army attaeling south
of the Sf.arpc serma Ia have delivered its
| first blow principally in tho triangle of the
ArrasC Carnbrai and Bapaurne-C Camfrai
roads, while the German army south of
Carnhrai Is striking against mir trench
systems in tho region west Of the Schetlt
canal No doubt the enemy hopes that
the attacking forces If these two armies
may sueeeed in forming = junction and
thus cutting off q considerable sire of
the British front and taking back all the
Hiudenburg trenches lost exactly four
months agu
eFRr9GfF ron rtfr4gFa
Struggles for villages and ruined farm
houers continued throughout Thursday,
according ~ tho correspondent Of the
DAILY Mail
The enemy hombariment he says.
began At five . rlark IN the morning and
ri seven o'clock snre of fhc German units
left their trenches and attacked ihn British
with heavy and light machine guns Be-
tween nine aud ten tho engagement he-
earne general on n front of sofne twenty
i've nnles
The right ~ tho German atfark was
aimed ~ { rpiailes. Hullecourt and Iagn
court and there was hard fighting ~
! brick field near he FIRST ~ these villages
Along tho Bapaune-C amhrsi road he
rnefnv also attacked and hen toward
t,otlgeaucnuri. while his left wing vas
pushed IN the direction of Ronssoy and
ItafEiceiri
The British front IN the area ~ attark
forms rather sharp salient If the enemy
could pinch of this salient and run his
line straight ia a northwesteriY slant
instead of having II run at angle
first north and then west he would 10 able
~ hold il with fewpr troops. Also in
punching il ofT he would hope to surround
and capture great humber of British
/ troops. These, 1t seems PLAN, are his
plans IN the first stage Of tho offensive.
fFFhr enemy IS trying tn repeat nn 2
largrr scale the operation by which
he won back some of tho ground we gained
N the battle pf anhru Then. he pushed
IN on an angie of orr front both from the
north and the east lis Two bodies of
troops dil their best 80 JOIN hands but
COULD not make a. though they had At
frat considerable success Much the
same design IS being followed now We
have good reason to nope that Il viii be
checkmatsd as was The previous one
The great battle on the western front
continued until late last night, the War
Office reports The British are holding
the enemy
"Durlng tho enemy attacks Yesterday
his massed infantry offered remarkable
targets 10 our rifles. machine guns and
artillery. of which full advantage was
taken by our troops All the reports
testify to the exceedingly heavy losses
suffered by the enemy.
No serious attack has yet developed
this morning but heavy hghtIng still Is to
be expected
The first stage of the great German Of
fensIve on the western front has passed.
and It IL 10 be scored as a German failure,
the enemy having fallen short of realizing
ms aims N the ilrst great smash, accord
/ ng to dispatches from British head
quarters today.
After attacking all day Yesterday and
until a late hour last night the Germans
let down III their smashing operation
along fifty miles Of the British front and
had not resumed their heavy assaults
at the latest adviccs from SIR Douglas
Haig today. Further hard lighting was
ahead, however, the field marshal pre-
dicted
The enemy was still being held in the
British battle positions, he reported which
means that the British line still is intact,
although admittedly it has been bent
backward at points under the terrific
Feutonic assault.
CTRIKF uACk sPfRfTkuIY