The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-05-11

/ Bretonneux, east of Amiens. After
an intense preliminary bombardmeni
lasting two hours, the Germans adj
vanced, three battalions strong, and
hand-to-hand fighting ensued all along
the line. The Americans put up de
Tense that won the warm praise of
the French commanders on their
TANKS, and the Huns, after considera-
BILE time, were driven back with heavy
loss. The losses of the Americans
were said to be rather severe.
The second attack was made We'd
i nesday night in the Themes sector,
southeast of Amiens, and was as COM
plete failure as the other.
-R-
Already, the expected Teutonic
peace offensive" is beginning to de
velop, as it always does after the
kaiser has won some successes and
then has been brought to a halt.
Charles of Austria Is said to have
made peace offers to Italy, the real
purpose Of which is evidently to Gre
ate discord in Italy and at the same
time to quiet the discord among his
own subjects. The pope, 1t Is under
stood, will put forth peace proposals
on Whitsuntide, May 10, making con-
crete offers Of mediation by the holy
see. Germany's own offers are ex-
pected after another great effort has
been made to smash the allied afmies
In France.
This peace offensive will be nj less
offensive to the allies than Its Irede-
cessors. They will not be deceIFAd by
Offers to restore Belgium and F1ede
Lorraine. Nothing less than tile ut-
ter defeat Of the central powers viii
satisfy them, unless there Is ah I'M
believable change in the state Of mind
of the governments and the peoples.
This is no less true in America than
in England and France The Amerf-
can casualty lists, though still COM
paratively short, are scattering all
over the country's map little black
dots of mourning, each of which be-
comes the center Of a strengthened de-
termination to see the war through to
complete victory.
The Austrian emperor Is truly hav-
ing hard time keeping his subjects
to their allegiance. From Serbian
sources comes the news that the Serbs,
Croats and Slovenes In the dual mon
archy are holding plebiscite on the
plan to Join with Serbia and Monte
negro in one national independent
state, with Peter Of Serbia as the
hing. This movement is led by the
prime archbishop of Carniola. Mean
while the Austro-Hungarian military
commanders have been greatly exer-
cised by the fact, just announced,
that large numbers of Bohemian
troops are joining the Italian army
and are now on the italian front in
Italian uniforms. They belong to the
Czecho-Slovak army which Is being
formed at many points within Austria
Hungary.
.-M-
Though they have slowed up a bit
In Russia proper, the Germans are go
ing ahead steadily with their penetra-
tion Of Ukraine, and now have es-
tablished military rule in Kiev, It's
capital, on the ground that the gov
eminent has proved too weak to main
tain law and order. A number of the
members of the Ukraine government
have been arrested. OF course, the
prevailing disorder there is mainly
due to the presence of the German
troops and their oppression of the peo-
pie, but little discrepancy like that
does not bother the kaiser. Recently
General Won Eichhorn, the German
commander there, ordered the peas
antry to return all property and eff
fects taken from the landholders and
to begin at once the cultivation of the
estates. This order designed to pro-
tect the interests Of the landholders,
most Of whom are Poles and Russians,
was vigorously opposed by the rada,
which declared 1t would not permit In
reference by German or Austro-Hun-
garian commanders In the internal af-
fairs of the country. The minister Of
agriculture was instructed to tell the
peasants not to obey Won Eichhorn's
order.
Berlin announced on Thursday that
Sevastopol had been occupied by the
German forces.
-M-
For day or two last week the world
was startled by report that there had
been a counter-revolution in Russia,
and that the former czar's little son
had been proclaimed emperor, with
his uncle, Grand Duke Michael, as re-
gent The story came from Scan
dinavia, and soon was recognised as