FURIOUS ASSAULTS SHATTERED

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 169, 6 April 1918, Page 9

FURIOUS ASSAULTS SHATTERED

SLIGHT ADVANCES AT ■ HEAVY COST ;: SMASHING COUNTERRAIDS ON GERMAN TOWNS ■ To-day's official and other reports describe violent .enemy attacks on tho Allied front south of the Somme. In these the Germans j. have made very little headway, and have suffered' enormous '.osses. Eleven divisions were employed against a section of the French front north of Montdidier. in. attacks ten times repeated, but the enemy's \ total achievement was to capfcuro a couple of villages, while the French remain firmly established on neighbouring heights. M. Mar-cel-Hutin is of opinion that the enemy will launch his next big attack in the Arras area or further north. A Moscow report stat-cs that the Armenians have lecapiiured Erzerum. An account given by a French newspaper of rteent Allied air. raids on. Germany indi- : cates that a vast amount of material damage has been done, and . also that the poptiJotion has been reduced to'a state of indescribable panic. ': /.STRONG ENEMY ATTACKS' ' BETWEEN THE SOMME AND THE AVRE BRITISH PRESSED BACK SLIGHTLY NEAR HAMEL (Rec. April 5, 8.35 p.m.) London, April 4,11 p.m. Sir Douglas Haig reports"The enemy this morning, after heavy artillery firing, strongly attacked on the whole front between the Somme and the Avre. He was repulsed upon the right and centre of the British front, but upon the left the whole weight of the assault succeeded in pressing us back a short distance in the neighbourhood of Hamel, where the fighting continues. An enemy attack in the afternoon west of Albert was completely repulsed. The Canadian cavalry brigade has greatly distinguished itself during the past few days' heavy fighting southward of the Luce. It was engaged in many successful actions, mounted and dismounted. Our aviators made several flights, despite unfavourable weather. A fight • occurred during a clear interval between two very large formations. We brought down twelve enemy machines and five of ours are mi6sing."-r-Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. GERMANS MAKE SLIGHT ADVANCE AT TWO POINTS BEATEN BACK. ELSEWHERE.. WITH CONSIDERABLE LOSS. (Rec. April 5, 8;3o p.m.) London, April 4. The Press Bureau states that north of the Somme the position is unchanged. . The enemy south of the Somme launched attacks early this mom-, ing against the English and the French He progressed on the British front in the direction.of Hamel and Vaire Wood. The British beat back the attacks elsewhere, with considerable loss. The fighting continues. The enemy gained ground against the French on our immediate right, in the angle between the Luce and the Avre.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. FRENCH OFFICIAL REPORTS ENORMOUS GERMAN FORCES ATTACK NEAR MONTDIDIER TWO VILLAGES GAINED AFTER SANGUINARY SACRIFICES (Rec. 'April 5, 8 p.m.) London, April 4, .4.40 p.m. A French communique states:—"The artillery struggle became very intense in tho night-time in the region north of Montdidier. We have penetrated the enemy trenches at several points north-west of Reims and on tho left bank, of the Meuse. Enemy raids east of Reims, in Avocourt Wood, and north of St.' Die were unsuccessful."—Aus.-N.Z'. Cable Assn.\ . , (Reo. April G, 0.5 a;m.) . '. , . London, April 5, 2 a.m. A Lrencli communique stntes: "Iho battle was resumed most violently this morning north of Montdidier, and still continues. The enemy launched enormous forces on a front of 15 kilometres (!)} miles) from Grivesnes to north of the' Amiens-Roye Road a- determination to break the front at all costs. So far we have identified eleven enemy divisions. The French intrepidly resisted the shock of tho assaulting masses, .vhich our artillery mowed down. The Germans, notwithstanding that they repeated their efforts ten times, only succeeded, after making sanguinary sacrifices, in gaining some hundreds of yards of ground, capturing the villages of Mailly-Raineval and Morisel, whose adjacent heights we hold. . Grivesnes was attacked with special fury, but is retained by the French, who shattered all the assaults, and then counter-attacked and made progress at-;this point. Tlie artillery tiring is most activo between Montdidier"and Lassigny."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Reuter. GROUND RECOVERED AT LASSIGNY (Rec. April 5, 11 .'2O p.m.) ' .London, April 4. The French recovered ground at Lassigny, after defeating a terrific German- Cable Assn. , THE LULL DUE TO GERMAN LOSSES ALLIES PREPARING FOR THE NEXT BLOW. Paris, April 4. Semi-officialTho present lull is due "to the fact that the Germans have lost 300,000 in killed and wounded, and also to the difficulties of bringing up thoir. artillery owing to tho bad state of tho roads. . Soon the Germans Will ;have regrouped thoir divisions and brought up material, and will launch a new formidable attack; but the Allies, who are reinforcing, will be able to meet the blow.—Router. ENEMY ATTACK EXPECTED ON ANOTHER PART OF THE FRONT. Paris, April..4. M. Marcel Hutin writes that in view of tho sacrifices involved in reaching Paris, via Amiens, he believes that the Germans will now attack on another front, probably towards Arras or to the north.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. "SITUATION COULD NOT BE BETTER." Paris, April 4. M. 1 Clemeiiceau, wlio lias returned from a visit to the front, has authorised the statement that the situation could not be better. The battlo will still be hard, but we'will win-Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. AMERICANS REPULSE A HEAVY GAS ATTACK. . 6 . , Paris, April 4. The Americans have repulsed an extraordinarily heavy gas /iltack on their new sector.—Aus.-N.Z.-Cable Atsn. ANOTHER PAR.IS CHURCH SHELLED. Paris, April 4. A shell from the long-rance. gun fell'on another church, , and injured many persons— Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.