Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1918-03-29
LINE STILE HOLDING AGAINST
ASSAULTS Of MILLION HUNS

through. Their speed should have In
creased day by day. Instead IT has de.
creased. Now, apparently, 1T is almost
stopped. hts
eWe have yielded ground and ma
teriaI, of course. But there is no sign
Of a break. through. The Germans to-
day, after the. sacrifice. Of hundreds OF
thousands {. lives face the, same or
ganized defense theyyfaced last Friday,
when their artillery first opened
It IS admitted in both Italian and
British circles that England had
brought men from Italysto work In the
reverses In Flanders It is denied that
these forces have been used.
From Italian sources. 1t is learned
that this has not weakened the. Italian
front. n bib ss.t.a.
Roman Drive Likely. ~ ~
On the contrary, a formidable italian
offensive, it is learned on high author
ity, is 10 in the making. IT win,
according to reports here, be more than
q diversion to prevent the Withdrawal
of Teuton forces from this point The
Italian high eommandis CONVINCED that
the time is ripe for an advance against
the line whence heavy artillery has al
ready been shifted to the west front.
The price in lives. which the Ger
mans have paid for their advance on
the west front is thus described by an
American official who had read every
line of official dispatches received in
the United States concerning this bat
tie. he says .I.a1 .ss. e5s@ d-Sa \
German men are being killed at a
rate that no dreamer of slaughter evet
dreamed possible. If It keeps up for
another twenty-four hours it viii be a
great British victory
II regard 1.-The British losses as.
strikingly small. They have host heav-
lily in material. But that can be made
up quickly. The British army is prac-
tically intact. It has made the Ger
mans pay over and over again for any
losses the British have incurred"
Whole German Army Engaged.
The correspondent of the Daily Mail
at British headquarters in France says
that nearly two-thirds Of the entire
strategic reserve of the German army
now has been thrown into the fierce.
and vigorously. continued attack. -.
This German reserve he adds;
Consisted of eighty-five divisions, to-
falling 1,275.000 men, out of a total
number now reaching far short. of 200
divisions, or possibly 100000. men,
which they have upon the western
front. After the first day thirty-three
of these divisions were put into bat
tie. On7the third day another twenty
one are known to have taken part.
Since then they must have drawn upon
the reserve for a few more divisions.
1T is, therefore, clear that we have
been struggling with the whole avail
able strength of the German army, and
the marvel is that our soldiers have
held out so ~obstinately, and steadily
against odds so heavily against them.,'
Prepare Huns for Setback.
The Berlin Taglische Runsdchau of
Sundays date attempts to lower the.
high expectations of the German peo-
pie on the great offensive. The pap
points out that 1t will be necessary to
crush the British army before it is
possible to break down resistance, and
adds: ~.
IF 1t is impossible. after a short,
but severe, artillery preparation, to
break. through all the Inns with u
infantry, then we must not count. on
an immediate break through along the
whole 'front.'
Turning Point Near at Hand.
An air of expectancy is apparent
among Americans and other military
officials who are following most close
ly the developments of the battle in
France. They appear. to9feeIs that a,
turning point In the terrific struggle
was close at hand. Press reports from
the British front limited at the same
feeling there. 81,
Cor the people of the United States,
the announcement by the British
authorities that American, troops are
fighting side by side with French and
British defenders brings the battle
closer home. War department Off
Gals have had no word from General
Pershing on the subject, but were ex-
peeting at any moment reports showing
the extent of American participation.
Attention centers mere now ON the
French front, rather than on the prog.
ress made by the Germans against the
British lines, As the battle proceeds,
officials here are becoming more GER
tain that the defenders are carrying
out Il definite plan. of which thu Brit
ish withdrawal is a part, but which
will prove soon to be coupled with a
powerful counter-thrust. The most
probable place for the launching of
such a movement, it was thought, was
from the thanking position the French
held tenaciously along the left bank of
the Disc