Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-04-29
London TmeS.PuJHc Ledger Serrice

London TimeS.PHbIic Ledger Serrice
Copyright IaIs. Jy Public Lodgcr co.
British Headquarters, April %
There is continuous fighting, of which
the chief cnnters are Neteren. Locre
and Noormcztclc. At each of these
places minor positions changed hands
more than once. ON the whole, the
recent fighting has been in favor of
the British,
About Metterlcn Australians are
fighting and everybody except them
selves is loud i'm their praise. They
have worked their way to the very
outskirts of MetarCu The place IS
very strongly held, too. The Aus
tralian parties by clever work nave
pushed the German line back IN TINS
section of the front.
The Germans have cen bringing
m new divisions and a number of
guns ON both sides now are masesd
i'm prodigiOus quantities In all VII
lagos. while roads and other CenterS
behind the lines arc almost con
tinuuusly shclled. The Germans eS-
pecialIy have been Smelling from all
the successive heights behind Mont
KENNEL back to Mont Des Cats,
while from the small towns beyond
they have been drenching .he ruins of
Ypres with gas.
Foe Pays Dearly
The outstanding fact of last weeks
operations was the capture of kem-
mel hin by the enemy and the prog
ress he has made on the Flanders
front. II would be foolish to attempt
to minimize the Importance of these
gains, but it may be worth while TO
consider them in their relation to the
field ss a whole The entire opera
tions here constitute an attempt by
the Germans TO attain certain definite
ends, which must be attained within
measurable limits both Of time and
expenditure Of meu.
Though the enemy losses in the
KENNEL area were very great, the
ground won may be worth the losses
But are they worth the total losses in
all parts Of the battle areas? During
the week the Germans made their
very costly attempt on the line from
Villers- -BretonneauX to Hangard. 1t
was an oversanguine estimate TO
place the number of prisoners in this
affair at a thousand. Those taken by
the British only amounted to some
800. As the French also took some
the total will not fall far short Of a
thousand As has been stated the
fighting was singularly fierce and the
( number of prisoners taken We're un-
/ usually small in proportion TO the
! euemys losses. In addition, the Ger
mans made two ineffective attempts
/ against our line north OF the Somme
near Sally, both of which were com
( pletely crushed by rifle fire. Here
again the Australians say their losses
were extremely heavy, as in such
/ cases they commonly are.
The enemy also suffered badly i'm
/ his operations in Aveluy wood and
! BOuZinCOurt, where the Welsh troops
/ fought well. Finally all his minor
/ operations, which are all he attempted
| in the RObecq-G -Givinchy area since his
disastrous fiasco of April Is, have
/ gained him nothing but the loss OF
| liVea. Surveying the field as a whole,
| the drain upon German man power in
all these episodes must be reckoned
as offsetting the German gains in
| Flanders.
To Crush British Army
| But IL is understood that the Ger.
man high command has undertaken
| to crush the British army and reach
| the Channel ports with losses not eX'
ceeding a million and a half of men.
! Whatever estimate we may choose to
make, it is certain that the casualties
already consume a measurable proper
| tion of that number. II IS accepted
now as fairly automatic that either
side can capture any position provided
he has guns enough and Is willing to
spend sufficient men. We have always
succeeded IN our formal attacks. how
ever. against strong positions and II
looks as II the Germans can do the
same. But the Germans have burned
up men as we never dreamed OF doing,
lnnd no one but the German high com