Daily Kennebec journal., 1918-06-20
ITALIANS CLAIM
CAPTURE OF OVER
5000 PRISONERS

The Teutonic Allies apparently
have lost their spirit of do or die.
Their attacks everywhere lately have
lacked the tenaciousness of days
gone by.
Instead of ploughine through al.
lied lines with stubborn indifference
to casualties as long as an objective
was gained, they now waver and
then halt in the face Of the artillery
and rifle fire of the men barring their
way, and with the points they were
trying to gain still far beyond their
reach.
Ambitious attempts Of the troops
Of the Central Powers in the past few
weeks have proven this. The OPEN
ing of gateway to Paris through
the western front running from
Mentddier to the Marine failed COM
pctely; the offensive on the Italian
battle line launched by the Austrians
seemingly has failed miserabIy in the
mountain regions and apparently has
| almost been stopped along the Piave.
while stroke started by the Ger
mans against Rheims broke down in
its inception without the enemy TAX.
ing yard of territory.
And i'll these various ATTEMPTED
enterprises the high commands of
the German and Austro- Hungarian
armies have seen their men literally
NOV down until bat.lcficlds have
/ been clogsed with dead or wounded
as rccOmpCnsc to the allied troops
for the small bits Of terrain they
yielded.
| The Austrian offensive in the Ital-
ian theatre is still in progress along
the piave river. but in the mountain
region after the sharp reaction by the
Italian, British and French troops.
who, in counter attacks, pushed
back the invader from thc points he
had reached in his initial rush. the,
enemy evidently is fearful of again
trying out the mcttlc of the defend.
erH.
! ON the Piare numerous attempts
have been made by the .Austrians to
set IN further bridgchcadS on the
western bank of the stream, but the
Italians everywhere are holding them
WIN thclr gunfirc and also doing
SahSulnarN execution within the
ranks OF the enemy across the river
with bombs and machine gun fire.
Vienna asserts that the Austro- Hun
sarlah troops have crossed the tosct-
Ia canal a som points where Tues.
day 1t was claimed they had made au.
Nances, ard also that several Italian
lines at the southern foot of the Mon
tetio plateau, the key 10 the Venetian
, plains, have been pierced. Rome, on
the other hand, declares that all the
weak attempts made in the Montelio
region were completely repused
ore than 5000 mel have been taken
! prisoner by the Italians since the of.
fensive began and many guns and sew
eral hundred machine guns have been
c tured, That Intensive air fighting
has also taken p'acc is shown by the
fact that ~ enemy planes have been
shot down. Only two Of the Allied ma.
chimes have failed u return.
The attack Of the Germans near
Rheims resulted disastrously to them
Hardly had they left their trenrneJ
after one of the most terrific bombarG-
n nts ever experienced on the west
ern front when nearly 1900 men were
faced by the rein Forced French armies
and literally cut to pieces and forced to
fall back precipitately. Only at on,
point, to the east OF Rheims. did the
enemy succeed in penetrating ths
French line. Here they were ejecte;l
almost immediately. The German of
cial communication describes the at
tack as a demonstration of artillery
and mine throwers
Little activity has prevailed on the
remainder OF the western f ont excep.
the usual reciprocal bonbar Imcnts AMI
patrol engagc mcnts.