Arizona republican., 1918-07-29
GERMANS HOLDING TENACIOUSLY TO
 PREVENT DEFEAT
Allies, Now Aggressors In
 Great Battle, Lock Door to Paris and Drive Enemy
 Back Over Twelve Miles
By The Associated Press)

The Franco American troops, con- tinuing their pressure on the Germans in retreat from the Marne have reached and crossed the Ourcq river and penetrated the town of Fere- en- Tardenois, one of the great German supply bases for the enemy troops in- side the Soissons- Reims salient.
 Meantime on the center of the allied right wing southwest of Reims, violent attacks by the French have forced the enemy to give further ground and en- abled the French to capture several towns of strategic value and to draw their front appreciably nearer the high road which runs nOrtheastward from Dormans to Reims.
 Enemy Fights TenaciousIy On the extreme wings of the grad ually decreasing pocket-near Soissons and Reims-the enemy, heavily rein l forced, is holding tenaciously. realizing that successes there would result in general crumbling of his plans of de- fense against the locking up of his en- tire armies inside the big bag.
 In addition to the large number of 1 troops for reinforcement that have been thrown on these two sectors, the German long range guns from the re- zion north of Sossons and north and northeast of Reims are keeping both wings ~f the salient under a heavy enfilading fire.
 Drive Huns Back Twelve Miles
 under the battering tactics of the Americans and Frenchmen the German line on the south now has been driven pack more than F miles from the point nf hot I,, allied troops locked the door to Paris against the enemy July IS and them selves became the aggressors in what has turned out one of the greatest bat | ties of the war
 The crossing of the Ourcq. even if only by advanced elements of the allied forces, preSageS general crossing later on. The French official commun- lcations thus far during the battle have been remarkably conservative in their estimates of the gains that daily have lbeen made, and it is indicated in unof- flcial dispatches that allied troops are considerably in advance of the line as announced officially.
 Tanks And Cavalry Active
 Where the Germans are in retreat cavalry has been brought into the fighting. Tanks and machine guns are
 
 heavy. Airplanes are flying over the retreating hordes dropping bombs while the big allied guns from the sides of the salient are keeping up their in tensive firing from all angles into tho densely congested area
 The retreat of the enemy has by nc means become rout, and so long a: the picked troops around Soissons ant Reims are able to keep well open tn, mouth of the bag through which tn, Germans are falling back it is expected that the greater portion of the armie. of the crown prince will be successful in reaching in order the line where i is intended for them to turn and mak. a stand
 Just where they will stand is prob lematical. More than half the pocke has been recaptured.
 No Offensive Apparent
 If, as some of the military critic have suggested, Crown Prince Rup , precht of Bavaria purposes to start al offensive against the British in Franc and Flanders. no signs of it are aD parent. What little fighting has bee going on in this region has been in tn nature of patrol raids, in which tn British have taken a number of pris oners md machine guns
 Evidently impressed by the threat 0 n the British premier that if they re r mained on strike until Monday the would be liable to military service. majority of the dissatisfied munition workers in England will return to wor immediately.