The Washington herald., 1918-06-14
Stone Wall of French Re-
sists Between Oise and
,.Acntdidier.
MILES LOST TO FOE
Further Advance Toward
-Cotterets Forest
Would Be Menace.

NAN
yesterday between Montdidier and
the Oise. More than that-they
were thrown across the Nat,
River, near its confluence with the
Disc, and on the French left, be.
tween Courcelles and the north OF
Merry they suffered new terrific
losses in vain efforts to break the
French hold.
In the Oise-Aisne triangle they
one OF those essenti shrdluuunnu
did not renew their attempts 10
push the French further south.
ward. The latter, however, scored
some local gains in sharp counte,
thrusts.
In one area, however, the crown
princes troops registered a new
and admittedly menacing advance
OF about 1874 miles. This wa,
south of the Aisne, in the center
OF the line between the village Of
Laversine, the Paris war office ad.
mitted in last nights communiuue
tr-F ,nnhstei0 eta shr cmfw Wig
COeuyres Village Loaf
Earlier in the day the loss of
Coeuvres village, aIightlv to IN,
northeast Of Laversine, had been
admitted by the French War Office
The German, however, found IL inn
possible TO debouch from tbi. ham,
let. Viciously a. they tried to do 50.
This fact gives strong cause for
here. too, has by now sunhciently
stinened TO hold the invaders A
further German advance south Of
the Aisns woSId 4esvsIy menace ali
French fohce- EtffI hcr5fne rfhen-
selves on the north bank. and at
the same time would threaten 10
pierce the open ,Sround between the
formidable fOrests Of CompiEne and
Villers-Cotfreta.
Further South. above Corey. the
Germans made a sudden violent
Iunge toward the northern edge Of
the Nillcrs-Cotterets forest. Tn.
initial push penetrated the French
lines, but the poilUs came surgfnR
back quickly in an irresistanI.
counter assault and threw the in
Vaders back. entirely restoring th.
original French positions.
Ferocious Attack CheekeS
On the extreme left Of the Mont
didier-Marne front the German,
made a ferocious attempt TO
strafe" the Yankees and wrest
from them at least some Of tn.
ground lost TO the Marines in the
last few days Not a yard did they
gain. Again their losses are de-
scribed as serious. The Yankee,
fully on the alert for the expected
counter-thrusts. clung tenaciously
and successfully 20 ali their gain,
To sum up: The battle for Com
piegne has come to a standstill IN
the northwest, north and northeast.
except for bitter local fighting. in
which the French had all the best
OF 1t during the last twenty-four
hours. But west OF Compiegne the
battle took a new turn. with the
Germans trying furiously to drive
pincer into the French side and
menace the rear of the French above
the Aisne. On the greater part OF
this attacking front the poilus held
their own. In the direction OF the
southern part of Compiegne forest.
however. the invaders did succeed
in pushing forward nearly two
miles.
New Offensive Impending
Meanwhile the day brought dis
tinct signs of an impending new
German offensive on a large scale
for after all, It is now clear that
the Montdidier-Noyon drive was OF
subsidiary. Strengthening OUT
character.
Paris in its night communique re-
ports lively gun action on the
ourcq and southwest OF Rheims,
around ChamplRt. where the British
held firm during the German dash
to the Marne, as well as near Fort
Pompelle. one of the Rheims bas-
tions. where mixed French and
British forces hold the line. The
German night report also mentions
local engagements south Of Ypres.
that the Bavarian Crown PRINCES
reserves remain virtually untouched.
Lundenorff is believed to have
used the interval preparing a new
major blow. II maN, come east of
Rheims, in the Champagne, or at
Nerdun. At any rate, the convic-
tion prevails in Paris and London
that the German high command pur-
poses to bend might and main TO
force a decision. and to keep ham,
mering away at the Allies fronts,
no matter what the cost Keen in
terests are also fixed on the Arras-
Albert front, where Amiens is q
steady lure to the Germans.
Advance In Macedonia
A considerable allied advance on
the Macedonian front is reported by
Paris. Details are still lacking, but
IL is announced that the allies swept
forward on a front of nearly gwclve
miles to a depth of more than eight.
Whether this foreshadows a large
scale offensive designed 20 keep Ihs
Bulgarians from the West 'front.' 10
not yet clear.
Berlin's oficial day report stated
the total Of prisoners at more than
II. 900. which means that only 2.oco
additional captiyes were netted by
Wednesdays lighting.
Incidentally, the German report also
tells Of the repulse OF new attacks
northwest Of Chateau Thierry. OF the
lo4s of Rallau Mood 70 the YauI~m