The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-07-19

North of the Marne and between the
river and Rheims, the French and Italians
have struck back at the German forces,
forced their line westward in the Roi and
Courton woods, retaken Moulin dArdre,
and improved the line at Bouilly.
The capture of four cannon, machine
guns and 400 prisoners in these opera
tions is reported.
There is no mention in the official re-
ports of fighting along the Marine east
of Chateau Thierry or east of Rheims,
in the Champagne sector.
The allied plunge against the German
line south of the Aisne, SO far as def
nitely known, advanced to an extreme
depth of nearly six miles, the deepest
penetration being at Buzancy, on the
west hank Of the Crise river, southeast
of scissors.
The railroad leading south from Sois-
sons to Chateau Thierry thus is under
the direct fire Of the allied artillery,
while the railroad leading from Cour-
melles to Longpont has been cut. Fur
ther south the allies have reached Chouy,
which is within seven miles of Nanteuil
Notre Dame, ON the only other line of rail-
road on which the Germans can rely for
supplies for their forces along the Marne
from Chateau Thierry to Dormans Thus
the railroad communications of the en-
emy are placed in extreme jeopardy
While it is much too early to consider
the allied smash against the German
lines as great success, except in SO far
as it may well serve to complete the
check of the German offensive, the re-
suits obtained during the first days
fighting may be reasonably compared
with those reported by the Germans aft
er the first days fighting south of the
Aisne in their great attack on May 27.
The allies advanced at all points to an
average depth of a little less than three
miles. They captured, according to un
official reports, $4,000 prisoners and 100
cannon. The number of men involved is
not known.
The Germans, with 325,00O troops en-
gagged, broke through the allied line
north of the Aisne on May 27 and ad-
vanced little more than three miles to
the Aisne. They captured $4,000 prison
ers, according to their own figures. Ber-
lin did not report the capture of cannon
in its statement on the first days fight
ing.
While it is altogether probable that
the allies did not face such strong posi-
tions as those held by the French along
the Chemin Des DANES, the actual re-
suits of the first days battle compare
very favorably with the German effort
on May 81, when the Germans were not
called upon simultaneously to face ma
jor offensive against another sector of
the line not many miles away.
There is note of conservatism evil
dent in the language of the French off =
cial statement and in the comment of
the Partisan press on the newest phase
of the struggle. 1t is evident that the
results of General Mangin's mighty effort
are awaited before anything more than
n mere counter stroke against the enemy
Is chronicled.
The next few days will determine the
exact character of the operation now GO
ing on between the Aisne and the Marne.
Even if it comes to a halt to-day, it
seems probable it will have achieved its
purpose-the stopping of the present
drive against Rheims General Luz
dendorff probably will not continue his
offensive ON the south while his right
flank and rear are seriously menaced.
A matter of intense interest is the
manner in which the Germans meet the
new onslaught. There have been reports