THE SURPRISE BLOW IN CHAMPAGNE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 216, 31 May 1918, Page 5

THE SURPRISE BLOW IN CHAMPAGNE

. GERMAN PRESSURE FORCES EVACUATION OF SOISSONS DEFENDERS HEAVILY OUTNUMBERED ' By Telegraph-Press AfiKwiation-Copyright. .'-..,... ..■•■, London, May 29. The Germans have captured Soissons! Civilians previously had been ordered to leave." A tattle is raging on the heights south of the Vcsle. Somo of the Allies' reserves are arriving. The British havo fallen back south of St. Ihierry (six miles north-west of Reims). The frontal attack on the Craonne Ridge promised little, owing to the declivities of. tho ground and the paucity of good roads across tho valley of the Ailette. ' The chief assault was between Juvmcourt and the Aisne, most of which sector was held by British tcoops, who were pressed back to Font Arcy. The French also fell back in good order, the British troops at Bermericourt withstood the pressure. The Germans hoped, by breaking the line, to throw the French holding the ridge into confusion and make a great capture of prisoners. This hope was disappointed. The British retirement was dogged and slow.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

THE. OFFICIAL REPORTS CAPTURE OF SOISSONS.STRONGLY CONTESTED. The Hiali Commissioner reports:- ' ■ «.,„,„ " . London, May 29, 3 p.m. . K French official report states: "Wo retired towards Soissons, fighting foot by foot as far as the borders of tho town. The battle continues towards Hums. The Britfeh aSd French forces, after an energetic defence at SI. Thierry, were bene slowly back, but are holding the line between the Vesle and tho Aisno Canal, in the centre, with varying success." A French official report states: "Tlio town of Soissons was evacuated after, debate resistanoe. West and south-east of the town the battle continues. tt righi! the! troops covering Eeinis fell back behind the Aisno Canal, northwest of the town." , THE FRENCH COMMUNIQUE London, May 29. A French official communique states: "Last night and to-day the enemy, again proating by his numerical superiority, made fresh efforts to accentuatei his toe / southwards and towards Soissons. Our troops on tho left counter-attacked vigorously and stopped the German advance, shattered attacks on tho He gnu ot Nonvillc, on Jlargival from Urogny to the north-east, of Soissons and on the hills in tho region of Ciry, Salesogne, and Vasseny, which immediately dominate the Valley of the Vosle tp tho south. The British on St. Thierry Bulge resisted the assaults of the enemy, who seem to have suffered particularly heavy looses. West-of Montdidicr tho Americans, supported by, our tanks, brilliantly carried on a front of two kilometres the salient of Cantigny also the vil age, which the enemy had strongly fortified. German counter-attacks m tho-afternoon a " a inst Cantigny completely failed. Tho artillery duel continues with great ac-, tivity on the right of the Mense and at several points on the Lorraine iront. - Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Beuter. '(Bee. May 30, 10 p.m.) London, May 29. ■ 'A French official communique, dated May 29, 4.20.p.m., states: "During the night the German drive, supported by the arrival of fresh divisions, increased notably on tho two wings in the direction of Soissons and Reims. On the left we retired, fighting foot by foot, to the outskirts east of Soissons, where tho battlo continues with bitter intensity. On tho right, the French and British troops, after an energetic defence on the massif of St. Erie, have withdrawn slowly south'and south-west of these heights, where 'they aro holding in between the Vesle and Aisno Canal. In tho centre the fighting has continued with various fluctuations on the south bi.nk of the Vesle, the heights- of which our troops aro defending with admirable bravery. West of Montdidior the Americans shattered two enemy counter-ithrcks. A lively artillery duel continues on both banks of tho Meuso, in the Wocvre, and in the sector of Imbertesnil, in 'Lorraine. A series of hostile raids north of tho Bezonvaux region, and at BfidonTillers, near the Ehino and Ehone Canal, failed."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Beuter. SIR DOUGLAS HAIGS • (Bee.' May'3o, 10 p.m.) London, May 29,10 p.m. Sir Douglas Hnig repjrls: "We drove off a night raiding party in tho neighbourhood of Beaumont Hamel. The French completely repulsed a looal attack northward of Kemmel. Wo successfully raided the cnomy's lines south-east of Arras, and repulsed raids at Givencliy, La Basseo, • and on the Ypres-G'omines Canal."-Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Eouter. THE WAR IN THE AIR (E«c. May 30, 10 p.m.) London, May 29. Sir Dougla6 Haig reports: "Fine cloudy weather prevailed on May 27. Our aviators dropped sixteen tons of bombs on various objectives. Wo brought down eighteen of the cnomy's machines. During tho night our aviators bombed Zeebimgge, the Bruges docks, and a great many cnoiny dumps. Tho hostile nightbombers were active. Our long-distance night-bombors were very active, and bombed tho chemical works at Mannheim, railway stations, and other objectives nt various placos, largo explosions following."—Aue.-N.Z. Cablo Assn.-Kculor. Washington, May 29. British military dispatches state that the Allies' airmon on tho West front brought down or destroyed 2n2 aeroplanes between May 18.and 23—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. THE AMERICAN SCORE NEAR MONTDIDIER. Washington, May 29. A' communique from the American Army in Franco on tho Picardy front states that the American troops attacked on a front of a mile and a quarter, and captured the village of Cantigny (four miles west of Montdidier). Two hundred German prisoners were taken, and severe losses in killed and wounded wore, inflicted on the enemy. The American casualties wore relatively email — Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Beuter,

BELGIAN BACK AREAS BOMBARDED. (Rec. May 30, 8.20 p.m.) J London, May 2!l. .A Belgian official communique stalea: "Tho enemy's artillery was specially lively in our back areas, still .inflicting many civilian casualties in I lie umniMicicd "localities."—A u.s.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-Keuter. THE GERMAN REPORT • London, May I!). A German official communique stales: "On the morning of April 27 wo penetrated the French lines between Voormezccle and Locrc. The Crown I'l-iiu-o's^ attack southward of Laon was completely successful, defeating the French and Knglisli divisions. Von Boehm Ermolli's army stormed and captured the Cheniin des Dames, whoso long ridge which we evacuated for strategic purposes last autumn, is again in our hands. Our infantry, after a tremendous artillery preparation, crossed Hie Ailetto between Vauxnillon and Craonne and penetrated the English lilies farther cast between Corbeny and the Aisne. The occupants of tho trendies were completely surprised, and generally offered slight resistance. In the early hours of the morning we stormed Pinon, Chavignon, Fort Malmaison. Courtecnn, Corny, Winterbcrg Craonne, Villorberg, and"the fortified works near and northward of Borry-au-Bac. Towards afternoon, after steady fighting, we reached the Aisne between Vnilly and Bcrrywiu-Bac, capturing Va'illy. The attack was continued in the afternoon. Wo arc on the heights between Vaiwcaillon and V.iilly near Nouvillo and Laffaux and northward of Comic. We crossed the Aisne, carrying the kiltie into an area untouched since 1914, and drove the onciny from fortified wooded heights on tho south bank of chc river. We have reached the heights northward of the Vesle. Von Below Ihrcw the enemy out of strong positions between Sapigncul and Brimont back across the Aisne-Manie Canal, iWe stormed Cormicy, Cauroy, ami Loivre on the west bank of the canal. Up to the. presont wo hiivo taken prisoner 15,000. Fighting activity has been revived between the Jleuse, Mosel, and Lorraine." A. later report states: "In continual ion of our attack across Ihe Aisne we extended our successes and are now fighting for the Vesle sector between Roissons and westward of Reims. Wo have captured the south bank of the river on both sides of Fismes."—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.-liculer. f (Kec. .May 150, 11.20 p.m.) ' London* May 2D. A wireless German official reports stales: "Increased fighting activity hns continued from the Yser to tho Oise. The enemy during n local attack westward of Mondidier penetrated Canligny.. Generals von Boehm and von Below, on May 28, victoriously continued their attack, defeating tho French and British reserves which had been rushed up. General von Larison, after repelling a Fronch counter-attack, captured lornyForny Ridge, on the height north-east of Boissons. General Wjchura's troops broke tho enemy's resistance on the plateau of Conde, storming l'ort Conde, and also- capturing Vregiiy. Wo occupied the heights westward of Ciry. Threo corps crossed tho Vesle, capturing Braisno and Fismes. We are now standing ou the heights southward of Vesle. Wo stormed and captured the hills northeast of Pr'ouilly, and captured Yillers Franqueux and Courcy. We are now fighting for the heights of Thierry. Our prisoners now total. 25,000, including one En"lißh and one French general.'-Aus.N.Z. Cahlo Assn.-Keutcr.'

ANOTHER REPORT CLAIMS 25,000 PRISONERS. London, May 29. Tho Germans claim the capture of 25,000 prisoners.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. "A DYNASTIC VICTORY," THE GERMANS SAY. ' /Amsterdam, May 2D. The German papers 'are enthusiastic over the success of the Crown Prince's attack on the Chemin des Dames, which was "not only a demonstration of Germany's unbroken 6ffonsivo powers, but a dynastic victory for the Hohenzollerns." It is a matter of the utmost importance, they say, that the final blow of the war should be meted out by the future Kaiser.—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. "DER KAISER UND GOTT." . , (lice. May 30, 9.33 p.m.) ' . Amsterdam, May 29. The Kaiser lias telegraphed to the Empress from the battlefield sou Hi of Laon: "God has granted us a fine victory and will grant us further help.'-Eeuter. CORRESPONDENTS' DISPATCHES THE CAPTURE OF THE "LADIES' WAY." : i (Rec. May 30, 10.20 p.m.) London, May 29. ( Eeuter's correspondent at French Headquarters writes: "Monday morning's attack was preceded bv a four-hours' gas-shell bombardment. The enemy engaged twenty-five divisions, including some which'had been moved from the HirsonMozieres region at the last momont by a night inarch. The attacking front was held by tho armies of Von Boehm Ermolli and Fritz von Below, Von Boehm holding the line from Noyon to Craonno with nine divisions, and Von Below that from Craonne to Ainberive, east of Reims, with eight divisions. The Chonun des Dames line was attacked in tho flank from the Corbeny and Juvmcourt region. The enemy launched infantry in a dense wave against the eastern end ot the plateau, and captured Craonne. turning the flank of our division, and stormed tho California and Vauclerc Plateaux. Tho German force outnumbered ours by five to one. The position attacked was a long, narrow-topped barrier, along which the 'Ladies' Way' runs from Hurtebise to the head of the valley. Tho defenders of the ridge had no room to manoeuvre, and could not retreat oven a few yaids without losing tho crest. It was inevitable that they should recoil under the shock, with tho result-that the Germans remained in possession of the ridge. 1 no position had been drenched with gas for hours, and officers and men had been wearing masks for hours when tlio attack started, and could not remove them even for a moment. Consequently it was almost impossible to give or to understand orders. A battle in such conditions becomes mi affair of individuals and small units. The difficulty had been foreseen by our command, and as soon as it was clear that the Germans were established on tho crest the order was given to abandon the whole of tho 'Ladies' Way'and fall back to (he Aisno lie retreat was executed in excellent 01401-, and the French and Britisli retired without serious loss. The Enemy's Tactics. In an evening dispatch dated May 29 Reuters correspondent says: "The ' expansion of tho enemy's wings enabled him to bring his right within a short distance of Soissons, while his left reached an alignment which form practically a semi-circle arownd Reims. Last night liio position ot the French and British, who were holding the extreme right of the line, had become difficult. They were under fire from three sides from the old German line between Courcv and Reims, and from new lines which the Germans had established in passing them to the south, so that they are now obliged to face east, north, and west. We are entering upon a-critical, phase of the battle, but the issue is. awaited calmly. Our reserves are hastening up. The moral of our, men is superb. Tho Germans had the choice of the point of attack, and wcro able to concentrate their masses against a sector that was thinly held. The choice of the real line of resistance will be ours." . _ ,»,',, c ~ Regarding the role of tho British divisions during the first two days ot the Aisno fighting, he says: "Wo had four divisions which held the front from Craonno to Bermericourt. On the right, the Twenty-first Division, in liason with the French division; our left, consisting of the Fiftieth Territorial Division, was I in touch with the French, who were holding tho Chemin des Dames. Tho weight of the German attack on our sector fell on tho Fiftieth Division, which had tho worst of tho gas bombardment and sustained the heaviest part of the German infantry attack. Our troops bore thems e i V es magnificently, and held on untu the men were drowned under the German weight of numbers. The same fate overtook the French division on tho crest, o n the right, and a retirement to the second line was inevitable. A gallant attempt by tho Fiftieth Division to recapture Craonne was defeated, chiefly through the machine-gun fire of the German tnnks jvhich wore attacking on tho right fl all k. The enemy used tanks to a gneator number than ever before. Finally', the Fiftieth Division was obliged to fall back in a general retreat to the r i verj keeping in touch with the Fronch left On the right sector our Twenty-first Division and the French division stood the assault like rocks. Tho Germ anS( attacking in the proportion of two to one, did not make progress. It was a i OI , K the Chemin des Dames, where the density of tho attack was greater, that t. n0 Anglo-French line was submerged. The Twenty-first Division and the Frcn cn , a f( er beating off a fantastic number of attacks, held last night almost integ rn yi y the ground on which tho battle had begun. Our Twenty-fifth Division was rien t { 0 support them. The units of this division are now 'fighting with the Fren c h in close amalgamation."—Renter. i Gallant Stand by Famous Divisions. Mr. Perry Robinson writes: ''Twenty divisions attacked on nearly thirty miles of front from V.auxaillon, north of Soissons, to Briment, above Reims. The British held .twelvo miles of this stretch, and fought with extreme stubbornness. Wheii the extreme British left was compelled to swing back it did so methodically, pivoting on its left centre, and fighting hard all the way. Tho left centre held its original position until ordered to conform to the retirement. Tho Aisne divisions commended by Sir Douglas Haig fought gallantly in the previous stages of the offensive. The Twenty-first and Twenty-fifth Divisions have been twice commended. I have already recorded their glorious doings. The Fiftieth were in tho front line again yesterday. They supported the retreating troops in tho oiTensivo of March 21, and were moved northwards subsequently to face immediately the shock of the next German advance. Each of these four divisions this year has been compelled to withstand the weight of tho heaviest attacks of the war. The successive shelling alone was sufficient to break the hearts and spirits of men lcss. v magnificent. Remembering what they have gone through, it is difficult to imagine anything more moving than, that these four divisions should once moro fight as they have during tho bust two days They necessarily includer numerous new drafts, which are behaving splendidly. The situation generally is unchanged on the remainder of the British front. A lesser attack between Locre and Voormezcele was without result. The position here has now been restored. Tho American attack at Montdidier was tho first definito offensive which the Americans had undertaken. They fought with their expected) dash, and gainod all their objectives."—"Tho Times." Filtration Tactics. Stubborn fighting centred on J!;nisnes. A strong position on tho top of Bnismcs Hill was lost and retaken, but is now behind the German line. Today's development is owing to- tho German movements on eacli flank. Their infantry outdistanced the artillery, the Germans Tclying on their machine-guns and filtering through as they did on the Somme.—United Service. Heavy Counter-attack on Americans Stopped Dead by Withering Fire. Renter's correspondent at British Headquarters, in a dispatch dated May 29, 3.30 p.m., says: "The Gormans, apparently very vexed at the American success in Cantigny, opened n tremendous bomhnrdmont on tho now positions. Tho enemy's counter-attack was met by tho Allied gunners with'such a hurricane of fire that tho German waves in mass were stopped dead and thrown back with heavy losses."—Renter. COMMENTS ON THE SITUATION ' DEFINITE CHECK EXPECTED IN FORTY-EIGHT HOURS. London, May 29. It is expectod that within forty-eight hours tho Gorman advance will bo .definitely stopped. British and Fronch military circles lako a calm view of the new battle, and consider. that General Foch will not bo induced to weaken tho forces under his command, which must deal with tho enemy's main attack. It is by no means certain that the,real offensivo will lie launched on the Aisne. General Bovthau.t, writing in the "Petit I'arisien," believes, however, that this timo wo nro in the presence of the German offensive. Operations on forty kilometres (24 miles') of front,'ho thinks, canmfi bo a diversion. Nevertheless, the onemy has enormous reserves, and his strategy may be planned on a huge Othor critics say that tho first shock on tho Aisno was extremely heavy. Tho Germans returned to the assault again and again, but tho Allies' front did not break at tho end of tho day, as sufficient reserves were presenl..-Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. THE LOSS OF THE CHEMIN DES DAMES. ■ London, May 29. I Renter's correspondent at Fronch Headquarters, writing on Tuesday, says: "The Chemin des Dames was nover moro than tho curtain of the fortress of Laon, of which the main defences were the plateaus, We hold tho curtain, but tho

fortress itself was never ours. The Germans have utterly failed this time to do' what thov succeeded in doing on March 21. Our front is not broken. For us the. battle has hitherto gone more satisfactorily than the battle in March, and the Germans are not likely to make serious headway before they are arrested and our reserves restore the equilibrium."—Beulcr. OUTNUMBERED FOUR Oil FIVE-FOLD. (Ecc. May 30, 7.15 p.m.) London, May 29. Mr. George Porris, (he "Daily Chronicle's" correspondent on tho French front, says: "Von Hiudcnburg has scored another spectacular success. After a throe-hours' bombardment, largeiv of gas shells, the German attack began at dawn, outnumbering the defenders four or five-fold. An attempt to hold tho Cheiiihi des Dames wouid have meant the massacre, of our troops before our reserves reached them. The only Hun? to do was to retire steadily, punishing the enemy as much as possible. The enemy'used the same methods as in his March offensive, with some-improvements. He used his reserves prodigally, and used his interior lines of communication skilfully for throwing masses suddenly ami unexpectedly on a chosen sector. Only seven German divisions held the twenty-five miles of tho attacking front nnti'l the eve of battle. Though the exact number of divisions employed in the attack is unknown, yet' there were probably twenty-five, tho equivalent of over a quarter of a million men. These, figures are of note, since tho Germans on March 21 had seventeen divisions on forty miles of front prior to the battle, and used thirlv-four for Hie attack. They prolxibly used denser masses on Mondav because tliey intended to carry the Aisne heights i;u a single rush. In the circumstances the enemy necessarily won some ground. With tiound tactical sense, he directed'his heaviest assault at I'.e eastern end, near Craonne. It was soon evident that the lino would l>e uuk'inble, as the whole line would he in danger of being turned. The attackers included some of Von j tinder's specially trained units, which were employed in the March offensive, and also two Guards divisions and othcrcrack formations, who grit forward quickly at heavy cost. The Knglish and French effected an orderly retirement, firing continuously."—A us.-N.Z. Cable- Assn . NO VITAL COMMUNICATIONS THREATENED. (Ecc. May 30, 9.20 p.m.) London, May 2H, 1.30 p.m. The great surprise in Champagne, brought a desperate race between Ihe Allied reserves and the advancing Germans. The most optimistic messages from Paris do not anticipate an immediato stemming of the tide. M. Marcel Hufin sets forty-eight hours as the time required to bring up tho necessary reserves, adding: "A stand is now being organised." Some commentators regard tluj Vesio line as definitely lost, and discuss the possibility of (ho enemy reaching tho Marne. Tho "Petit Parisien" considers that Ihe situation \f grave, serious,'but not perilous. No vital communications arc threatened, nor is n cleavage of tho Allied armies likely. Paris is gravely impressed, but not-panicky. "L'Homme Libre" states that ihe reserves arc already arriving and that the enemy is paying dearly. A semi-official commentator slates that what happened was that the surprise attack resulted in the French troops evacuating all the positions in the Chemin des Dames, necessitating a general retirement in order to avoid tho massacre of thb whole of the outnumbered forces. Von Boehm immediately and rapidly developed his success, throwing in-increasingly .more powerful forces, failing on •both wings, but succeeding in tho centre.—United Service.. BRITISH DOGGEDNESS SAVES REIMS. Eec. May 31, 9.21 p.m.) Paris, May 29. The "Petit Journal" says 1 : "Thanks to British stubbornness Keims has been saved, though tho enemy reckoned, after his first day's success, that ho would easily capture the city.' 1 The "Petit Parisien" says that the Germans have advanced thirteen and a half miles on their centre, and a few miles on their right and left wings — Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn.

. ARRIVAL OF RESERVES. ALTERING THE SITUATION. (Eec. May 30, 9.35' p.m.) London, May 29. Some Parisian critics are of the opinion that the Crown Prince's operation was originally intended as a big demonstration, but owing to the success of the first shock this was changed into a thorough offensive. The heights 60iith of the Yesle form an excellent defensive position, and Hie French Tcscrves arc now altering the character of the battle. The enemy's advance will bo blocked as at Noyon and Montdidiei; before 'Amiens. The onemy, by advancing twelve and a half miles on his centre, has made a risky salient for himself.-Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn. STOCK EXCHANGE QUIET BUT SECURITIES STEADY. ♦ , London, May 29. Tho war news'has quietened the Slock Exchange, but gilt-edged securities are steady—Aus.-N.Z. Cable Assn..