REPORTS OF TO-DAY FIGHTING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3057, 19 April 1917, Page 5

REPORTS OF TO-DAY FIGHTING

:'.: :.\. ORGANISING THE. CAPTURED POSITIONS. ,;'■ The High ; Commissioner reports:— .. i ■;■"■* W' i.- *-i t '\ *.' ,;„ , ' l-orHlon, : April 17, 3.25. p.m. iinndrtf* r W* s tates:_" Between Soissons aniEmsm contpued;the; organisation of the positionscaptured. In the region of Ailles a strong German ; counter-attack on, pur...new. lines: was. broken by our barrage and^maohme-gun.fire the enemy suffering heavy.losses. :other enemy coimterattacks at.Couchy-la-Ville"also, failed." . j «uji^> ■ : '->'a V ■'■•!.•«-v i ' .\' , m London, April 18, 2.40 a.m. _. A French official Teport states:.' To-day our, action extended east' of Reims!. attagked.the.enemy's lines; between Prunay Saint Hiliare and the St. Soupplet Road capturing the first German position on,a fifteen kilometre front: (about Mmies). , South of. Moronyillers, beyond this potion we captured the enemy's line and the solidly organised heights-on .anElevenkilometre, front (seven miles), from Mont Cornillet to.Vudevincourt. We captured the village of Aubenve and a powerfully-fortified salient on a front pf three falometres (about two miles), around the village. The enemy's coun-ter-attacks Mont Cornillet were smashed.' On this part of the front we took over 25Q0 prisoners. . • ■ •j _ ''A strong enemy counter-attack-at.Hurtebise farm was repulsed by fire and; bayonet. A second; violent enemy' counter-attack r also failed. TVew reports show that the enemy employed 19 divisions, in the battle of April ll'ooO e " reen Solssona and elms > w3l ere the prisoners, taken - now total. : The Press Association dispatch covering the;above report, adds: "A violent attempt on the seotor of country occupied by the Russians also failed. Burmg yesterday's battle between Soissons and Reims, our guns broke ud important German forces ; who were, expecting an attack. They had broueht up nineteen divisions. Prisoners state that orders wore given to hold out at ZLZ\T I 8 «»**»».■ wMjiad Wn deepened: The enemy suffered heavy.losses on the eye of-the attack. One enemy division enea-red during the relief, in a sector in its neighbourhood, lost a large part of "its effectives through the violence of our, artillery nre.'"^-Aii S :-N.Z Cable Assn - iveuter. > • ■ FRENCH COMMUNIQUE. ■ \ t? ' i • , , ™. London, April 17. ' .A French coinmumqne--states: "The weather continues very bad. There have been artillery duels in the sectors west of Auberive, in the Champagne Nine enemy aeropanes were brought down, including the thirty-sixth bv cV tain Guyiiemeyen"—Ans.-N.55. Cable Assn.-lieuter. " "