Republican farmer., 1918-03-29

IdC6 yesterday restored
some of the positions that ,
the British had abandoned
temporarily. One of the
most brilliant British coun-
ter attacks occurred at
DOiqnies. The British ad-
vanced with infantry and
fleets of tanks at Z p. m.
and after fierce fighting
drove out the enemy.
British Army Headquarters
in France, March 22-(By the
Associated Press)-The fight
ing still is continuing, but the
first stage of the offensive has
passed. The enemy has failed
badly in the execution Of his
program, as is attested by cap
tured documents showing what
he planned to do in the early
hours of his offensive.
The exact British line cannot be
made public at present, as it might
| furnish the enemy with valuable in
! formation. Last night was fairly quiet
| along the front This morning the
| Germans were bombing in the region
| of Croiselles. There were indica-
tons that they intended to continue
their attacks today.
The weather is cold and bleak, A
| heavy mist makes air Reconnaissance
| impossible. This is of advantage to
the British, as the enemy is deprived
| of greatly needed aerial observa-
| tons.
The Germans in many sections yes
| terday attacked in three waves of
! infantry, followed up by shock troops
AS a result they suffered very heavy
losses. The heavily massed German
/ artillery has been badly hammered
by the British guns. ,--.
If this proves to be the great Ger
man offensive that has been predict
| ed, the preliminary round appears to
! have gone in favor of the Entente, al
though, as the official report points
out, further heavy fighting still is to
be expected.
The tremendous artillery battle
was heard more distinctly in Kent
last night. Houses continually were
shaken as the result of the violent
| conclusions.
1.-THE British are holding the enc
| N.Y. says the war office report.
During the enemys attacks
attacks yesterday his nassed in
fantry offered remarkable targets
to 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 enc
my.
"No serious attack has yet deveI-
oped this morning, but heavy
fighting still is to be expected
Nineteen enemy divisions were
identified in yesterdays fighting, Reu-
ter's correspondent at British head
quarters wires. He adds:
THE whole thing is too big to be
able even to sketch or vizualize
easily. So far the enemy has paid a
colossal price for such small gains as
represent the fruits of his mighty eff
fcrts.''
1t is not yet possible to give more
than a very general and vague idea Of
the fighting on the front between the
Disc and the Sensee, which continues
] e.
the accounts, of correspondents at the
British front in the morning news
papers here.
The German attack made on the
British frontw est and southwest OF
Cambria evidently aims at recaptur-
ing all the Hindenburg line, says a
dispatch to the Morning ost from
British front west and southwest of
adds:
THE German army attacking south
of the Searpe seems to have delivered
it's first blow principally in the tri.
angle of the Arras-Cambrai and Bau.
paume-Cambrai roads, while the Ger
man army south of Cambria is strik-
ing against our trench systems in the
region west of the Scheldt canal No
doubt the enemy hopes that the at
lacking forces of these two armies
may succeed in forming junction and
thus cutting off a considerable slice
of the British front and taking back
all the Hindenburg trenches lost ex-
actly four months ago."
Struggles for villages and ruined
farm houses continued throughout
Thursday.
1.-THE enemy bombardment," the
Daily Mail correspondent says. be
r ban at 5 o'clock il the morning and
at o'clock some of the German units
: left their trenches and attacked the
J British with heavy and light machine
guns. = Between 9 and 10 the engage
| ment became general on a front of
) some IS miles.
''The right of the German attack
was aimed at Croisiles, Bullecourt and
Iagnicourt and there was hard fight
ing in brick field near the first of
these villages. Along the Bapaume-
Cambria road the enemy also at
tackled and then toward Gouzeaucourt
while his left wing was pushed in in
the direction of Ronssoy and Hargi-
court.
!, 'HThe British front in the area of at
tack forms rather sharp salient. If