The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-04-27
GERMANS TAKE
KENNEL MILL.
Enemy Now MenaCeS Whole
Of YprGS Salient.
LOSSES WERE FRIGHTFUL
Capture Height That Dominates Sec
tor by Overwhelming Allies With
Superior Numbers.

London, April 27-The Germans in
their attack on the Flanders battle
front have occupied KENNEL hill.
General Delmar Radcliffe, chief di
rector of military operations ut tie
war office so announced
At Kennel hill, continued the gen
eral, the Germans gained 20JO Yards
on Il front of about 1900 yards. i'll
Guiding the important tactical features
of the hill itseN, which gives import
ant observation over all the ground to
the north.
con the KENNEL front, the enemy
has made considerable progress. Cen
eral Radcliffe said
The latest information is still in
complete. bat there is no doubt the
Germans succeeded in occupying Knm-
mel hill. il section involving both the
French and British troops.
There is nothing decisive about the
loss of Kemmel hill. 1t is one of
the most important tactical features
as the hill is an observation point for
remains to he seen whether it will
remain in the enemy's hands.
Our line to the north is all right
and it is easily possible to hold on to
the 1preS sector even if the enemy is
on KENNEL hill. But his presence
there is not convenient and we hope
to gel him off"
(kcmmeI hill, or Mont KENNEL, is
in Belgium, just west of the lower
end of MeSSineS ridge The village
of KENNEL. which is on the crest Of
the high ground, is about five miles
that city The KENNEL ridge is about
400 feet high. Just west of WytSch
aett, and dominates the whole OF that
sector of the line. It's loss. ii was
considered, might entail withdrawal
from Ypres and possibly of the whole
British line in Belgium.)
The allied forces were engaged with
greatly superior enemy forces along
this front from Bailleul to Hollebeke
Ga distance of about ten miles) and
finally were compelled to give ground.
German posts which were holding
out southeast of Villers-B retonneux,
on the front south of the Somme,
after its recapture by the British,
were cleared up. The French are
counter attacking at Mont KENNEL
in an attempt to reclaim the positions
taken by the Germans.
The fighting was of a desperate ma
ture The enemy gains were only
made at frightful cost
One French regiment to which had
been entrusted the defense of the
crest of Mont KENNEL, with orders
to- hold it to the last man, immortal
lied itself in the battle. Throughout
bitter day they chung to their
and sent swirling streams of
death from their machine guns down
the slopes into struggling masses of
ed the hill and We're trying to battle
to the top.
Some of these fearless poilus at lat
est reports were still there. The
staccate chatter of their rapid-firers
sent out the message to their general
they were obeying his order to hold
or die.
Along the Ypres KENNEL railway
the defenders held for a considerable
time and inflicted heavy losses on the
attacking troops.
Meanwhile the French infantry on
the crest of the hill was pumping
steady stream of bullets from machine
guns into the Germans.
The enemy troops kept pushing on
until finally they swung their line in
circle about KENNEL Throughout
the early hours of the day they tried
again and again to swarm up the
slopes s0f the hill, but each time they
met with such a grilling punishment
they were unable to get forward. Six
hours of fighting passed before any
German infantry was able to get near
.bo top of the hill.