The Sentinel=record., 1918-06-20

allies apparently have lost their
spirit of r-die Their attacks
everywhere lately have lacked the
tenaciousness of days gone by.
Instead of ploughing through allied
lines with stubborn indifference to
casualties, so long as an objective
was gained. they now waver and then
halt in the face Of the artillery and
rifle fire of the men barring their
way and with the points they were
trying TO gain still far beyond their
reach.
Ambitious attempts by the troops
of the central powers in the past few
weeks have proven this. The open
ing of a gateway to Paris through the
western front, running from Mont
Didier to the Marne have failed com
pletely the offensive on the Italian
battle line launched by the Austians,
seemingly has failed miserably in the
mountain regions and apparently has
almost been stopped along the Piave,
while a stroke started by the Ger
mans against Rheims broke down in
its inception without :he enemy taxi
ing yard of territory. AS in these
various attempted enterprises the
high commands of the German and
Austro- Hungarian armies have seen
their men literally mown down until
The battlefields have become Gogged
with dead or wounded as recompense
to the allied troops for the small bite
they yielded.
The Austrian offensive in the Ital-
ian theatre is still III progress along
the Piave river but in the mountain
region after the sharp reaction by
the Italian, British and French
troops, who in counter attacks push
ed back the invader from the points
he had attained in his initial rush, the
enemy evidently is fearful of again
trying out the mettle of the defend
ers.
On the Piave numerous attempts
have been made by the Austrians 20
gain further Eridgeheads on the
western bank of the stream, but the
Italians everywhere are holding them
with their gunfire and also doing
sanguinary execution within the
ranks of the enemy across the river
with bombs and machine gunfire
The Austrian war office asserts
that the Austro Hungarian troops
have crossed the Fossetta canal at
some points where Tuesday it was
claimed they had made advances and
also that several Italian lines at the
southern foot of the Montello pla-
teau, the key to the Venetian plains,
have been pierced.
Rome, on the other hand, declared
that all the weak attempts made in
the MoDtello region were completely
repulsed.
More than 5000 men have been
taken by the Italians since the often
sive began and many guns and sew
eral hundred machine guns have been
captured.
That intensive air fighting has
also taken place is shown by the
fact that fifty enemy planes have
been shot down Only two of the
allied machines have failed to re-
turn to their tase,
The attacks of the Germans near
Rheims resulted disastrously to them
Hardly had they left their trenches
after one of the most terrific bonn
bardments with shells of all calibres,
including gas proiecules, ever expert
onced on the western front nearly
10000 men were faced by the rein
forced French armies and literally
cut TO pieces and forced to fall back
precipltately Only at one point TO
the east OF Rheims, did the enemy
succeed in penetrating the French
line. Here they were elected almost
Immediately.
The German official eommunlea-
tion describes the attack as q dem
onstratlon OF artillery and mine
throwers.
Little activity has prevailed ou the
remainder oI lhe Western tfent eAr