MUCH HERALDED
OFFENSIVE OPENS.
CffMi Attack Dtlivartd a*
Espactmd — Practically Na
Pcnatratioa mf li»*--Fra»ck
Traopa Drira German* Back
Fndajr March it.—Presumably tho
gnat attack; horsMml for months,
ha* begun, and what may powihtjr
prort to b* on* of tha graataat bat
tl«a of ail tima to taki.ig place in
Franca.
At Rv« o'clock on Thurnday morn
ing the r.vnmnni |un« optiwl fire
along • fifty-mil* front, roughly
speaking from Arm# to La For*,
whore • network of rotdi croaa the
river Sensee, to the hanks of the
River Oiae to point above Croiaellea
Otaa in the neighborhood of La Fere.
The distance, H the crow (lien, ia
hetwae.i forty and fifty mil**. Crois
allae itself livss four and a half milea
aouthweat of the direct road from
Arra* to Cambrai, on a line cutting
that road Just eight milea from Arraa,
whilat the river Oiae turn* a rough
right angle from north .o weat a* it
paaaes through! La Fere.
The line on which the attark waa
made ia held by the Britiah, and Mir
Douglaa Haig's diapatch explaina that
after three houra of bomber.iment,
with gaa and high explosive ahella, the
enemy'a first attack waa launched
upon the Britiah defenaea. The Ger
man formation* were in cloae order,'
and were puahed forward with per
aixtence and determination. Aa a re
ault, however. Sir Douglaa' din patch
declarea, all that waa gai::ed waa the
driving in of the British outposts, and
a alight penetration of the battle posi
tions at certain points on the front.
Owing, however U the formations
adopted, the enemy's losses have nec
essarily been peculiarly heavy.
The main attack centered on the
northern flank of the salient driven
into the German lines immediately
mouth of Croiselles, and having Mar
coing for iU apex. Here from the
river Sensee to Flesquiercj, the care
fully trained Hhock-troopn were sent
to the attack, with the cole effort, so
far, that in accordance with the ar
rangements already come to by the|
Versailles Council, the outposts were
withdrawn. Flesquirex, itself, is a vil-j
lage south of the direct road from
Bapaume to Camprai, and lies Ave and
a half miles southwest of Cambrai,
two and a quarter miles northwest of
Marcoing, and the same distance due
south of the Cambrai-Bapaume road.
The immediate object of the Germans
is clearly to drive in this side of the
aalient, and for this purpose his fierc
est attacks were deliveded round Croi
selles, Bullecourt and I.agnkourt. If
these were successful he would then
start a vast turning movement
through the gap, for which purpose
enormous numbers of troops with-1
drawn from the eastern front, have
been massed.
The allied information is, however,
ko perfect that the Versailles Con
gress was informed of exactly where
the attacks was to be delivered whilst
the maps on the raptured officers
prove that the initial assault in no
case reached its objectives. As a mat
ter of fact, Mr. Bonar Law, explain
ing the situation to the House of Com
mons, pointod out, that the British
staff and the Versailles Council had
considered every phase of a possible
attack, and were fully prepared to
meet this particular attack, which had
been launched against the very sec
tion of the lower line which three days
ago, they had received information
would be attacked.
Penucola, FU. March 20.—En
miirn* Delephany and Draper, aviator*
attached to the naval air section here,
were in»tantl][ killed late yanterday
when their machine fell about 500
feet into water, it became known to
day. Th cauce of the accident i«
unknown. Draper'• body wsa recov
• ered, but the body of Ensign Delehan
ty «u not located.
' ■" ... A mm
SLAUGHTER IS APPALLING
m it Adrwua :n CIom For
WIUi the Britiah Army in fruM,i
Marrh 24.—Tha Britiah Mid Krvnch,
who co-op* rate at Um junction of |Im
two araiw, war* vi«winf tha trend
of tha German offenaive with optlmla
tic ajraa thia morning. Hard A(ktiii|
waa in prograaa, hut tha lataat raporta
•howad littia or no change in tha atte
ntion in favor of tha an amy whila on
tha othar band tha defendant had
puahad tha attacking foreaa back af
tar a bittar truggl* and wara holding
•trongly along tha whola naw front
to which thay had withdrawn.
Fi|ktinf of a moat daaparata na
ture Ka« haan continuous aince tha ini
tial attack, but no far tha Britmh hava
uaad few troop* othar than those
which ware holding tha front linev
Thane hock troop* have bean making
aa valiant a defense a* waa ever re
corded in tha annalx of tha Britiah
army, and aa a reault they have en
abled tha main body of the foreaa to
fall back deliberately and without con
fun ton and occupy poaitiona which had
bean prepared long before tha Ger
man offensive began.
The German* on the other hand op
erating under the eye* of the emperor
and the rrown prince, have twen hurl
ing vast horda into the fray with utter |
disregard for the life and have follow
ed into the abandoned portion* get
ling farther and farther away from,
their supplies and finding their com
munication* increasingly difficult.
More than 60 German divixoina al-|
ready have been identified by actual^
contact, and many of these men were
limply given two days' iron ration*
and lent over the top into the fright
ful maslstrom made by the allied ar
tillery, machine gun* and rifle*. The
*laughter of the enemy infantry a* it
advanced in close formation over the
|
open ha* been appalling.
The British losses have Keen within,
the hound* expected, due to the tac
tic* of the commander*. The allie*
have lost a considerable number of
men in prisoner* and a certain r.um-j
her of gun*. But very few piece* of
artillery have been taken by the Ger
man* since the first day. In fact, the
whole withdrawal ha* been executed {
in a ma«terly manner, showing how'
thoroughly the British had planned
for the very event* which have occur- j
ed.
ii ix pennuuKi 10 say now mac me
British never intended to try to hold
the forward position if the German!
attacked in the force expected.
There ii every reason to believe
that harder fighting than has yet taken
place will develop shortly. The Ger
mans, in the British view, cannot now
hesitate in carrying on their attack,
and it is a case of break through or
admit defeat. In this circumstance it
is interesting to note a statement
made yesterday by o German officer,
a prisoner, who declared that the Ger
man offensive was an act of despera
tion brought on by the fact that the
fatherland must have peace.
The hardest fighting yesterday oc
curred east of Perunne and in the Rois
de Genlis. This most important phase
of the battle occurred in the latter
neighborhood. During the mo ning
the Germans had pushed southward
toward Ham and had succeeded in get
ting a foothold at some points in the
defenses to which the Britirh had fal
len back.
■ utr i.iivinii uijjnillim a i UUIUOI HI*
tack and hurled themselves against
the Ge. inans with ruch ferocity that
the enemy was fo>ced to give way,
ami the situation was restored. This
was i.c of tho very few counter at
tack! a* yet attempted by the Rritiah.
I.ust nitfht was fairly quiet along
the bat'lefront, buAhis morring the
British again surged forward against
the Ger nana to the southeast of Ham,
while, the enemy continued his as
saults in the neighborhood of Mory,
southeast of Croisellos.
ioi Ut^uakuaihetI, t i'rtMK., ,; iti, Afrfji
BRITISH LINE HOLDS
IN FACT Or ATTACKS.
r C«*Mt Otwiln *1
TwwJan C—t — Claim
Capture «f Engii.h f kM
TrwclM* rfiMMTi a^ iwi
Saturday Marrh A—After a loll
'luring Thursday nifkl the German*
attacked Sir Dnaglaa Haifi Una again
hi imaaenae fore* on Frhh; morning.
TKa battle waa continued all day ard
late Into the evening, with the raault
that tha Germane rlalm to have rap
tnrad tha ZafHah bit Una tranche*.
tome 14.000 prisoner* end 200 guns.
Tha first Una trenches of course,
amount to neat ta nothing. they ara
thoaa advance work* from which one
Una keeps ni touch with tha Hna opo
aite, bat which ara never meant to be
held nor provided with mean* of being
held in the fnce of a grand assault.
In the English ra»e, wa know, from
Sir Douglas Haig's dlapatch, that
much of this first line waa necessarily
evacuated without re«iatance whan tha
German masses were cent forward.
With reapect to tha guns, it » tha
German habit to count aa gun* every
trench mortar the tiny guns whirl) ara
uaad to do the utmost damage to tha
enemy, and ara abandoned aa the de
fender retire. With ropect to the
prisoners, it la impnaaible to *peak,
but If the German* have multiplied
the prisoners aa they did the Italian
prisoners In their advance on the
Piave, the number may be safely dis
counted.
i nt great imc\ remains, nowcver,
that so far the British line bold*, and
has held at tremendous Iom to the
Carman*. When forty divisions, num
bering something perilously near \r
#00,000 mrn) pet in motion in clow
- ■ *' I - m mm » - .. . t
nrMf;-acaimc ■ *viv} rjciiiucu posi
tion, it U unnecessary to exaggerate
what inevitably take* place. The
German*, however, alway* fight with
a prodigality of life hokiinr that when
you attack it ia your business never to
consider your loeaes, but the gaining
of your objective. Sir Douglas Hair'*
dispatch merely states that the Brit
ish loiuie* have heen heavy, but all
considered, not excesaive.
He claims, however, that the Ger
man losses, in the very nature of
thing* have been enormous.
I ne effort.* or trie (>ermans in oft
vintisly to break through the British
tin* ao a* to reach Pari*. It they suc
ceeded they would take Amiens, with
its famous cathedral, in some ways
the most famous of all French cathe
drals, on their way, and there miirht
be another case of Rheims. Their
other object in unquestionably to reach
the sea at Calais, and with this end in
view Sir Douglas thinks that the at
tack may yet be extended further
north in the direction of Lille.
What the Germans have done is
what they were expected to do, when
Russia deserted her allies. They
have broken their sham treaty with
the Bol.ihevike. as the Bolsheviki must
have known they would, and have
transferred men and guns from the
eastern to the western front. They
have also drawn on the Austrian and
Bulgarian forces for assistance, with
the result that in one section of the
line their massed guns have been plac
ed at distances of only 12 yards apart.
This vast mass of men and gun* has
been brought to bear on what is once
more the "thin line," along a distance
of 50 miles, with the result that dur
ing the first two days the ftghtir.g line
has l>ent somewhat, as was practically
inevitable, but has absolutely held.
Mr. Lloyd George dwlared recently
that the French had given great honor
to the British by leaving to them the
defense of Paris in the north, and it is
the defense of Paris for which, a* has
lieen stated, the pa?t of the British
line now attacked is fighting. "Tie
Germane are huilaig all their forces
into the present Llow and the eewt
and loss will be MfnntJv'rg tremendous
iI thev fail
Hm greatest force 1 ilia attack wa
J. jlj ' . ■ ^ : -1.. J.
•r
frtm VaoJx-Vrauconrt m tho
north in a aouthoaatorly ilinctiw hy
way t Morrhwa U Boaamotz, boing
l«rtinikrly imo*. Hara nut* <&
viaiona war* thrown la mi in It.(M»
yard front, ao that mm 200,000 Gor
man woro hoinc ponrod forward in a
rvmoraolooa affort to brook thrnugh
nvtrr a diatanro of aoaa at* milaa. To
moot til 1a Sir Douglaa Hai« had only
throo rlivlainna, ao that tho add* no*
morirally woro overwhelming. Tot in
npito of thia tho lino hold. Kvon worao
waa tho proaouro furthor al»*( tho
lino whoro oirht Gorman divjaiona
•ndoavorad to *mn«h their way wtr
two Britiah.
ynmnm
at the hattl* in .however, the fart chut
not one of the wonderful German tie
viceji. which for months hav* h««n
heralded through th« allied and neu
tral pre**, ha* y*t appeared. Ab*o
lutaly no n*w engine of war ha* *o
far h««n introduced. Th*ra la gaa,
but th*r* ha* always been gas. Thar*
ar* hie ffun*. firing tnornou* dis
tance* to the roar, hot thi* ta not now
either. So far not a single tank ha*
been nmn, whilut th* German* are
■till absolutely outnumbered in aero
plane*. the British flier* being able to
descend over the itorm troop*, and
rake them with their quirk Brer*, and
also bomb the masses concentrated
in reserve. Whr.t the German* are re
lying on I* manifestly an overwhelm
ing number of men *nd batteries. It
is, in short, '' rdun over again, but
on a far more terriflc scale.
Germans Reveal Nothing New.
London, r-yi—^ (S*tarday>—The
0*immm km nmM tMkftf new
in offensive method*, trying to over
whelm by gunfire and number*, 40
division* being already identified. The
barrage was like a rain torrn all day
on the British defensive positions,
with a German (fun to every 12 yards
or *o of front.
No German .tanlu appeared but any
surprises would not be forthcoming
at the start. The gas caused no ex
cessive casualties the British troops
having trained in wearing gas masks
for long stretches and in some in
stances fought in them over six hours.
The odds were overwhelming, eight
division* hurling themselves on two
British and nine against three. As
to gunfire the Germans used heavy
probably naval guns to bombard vil
lages and the open country 20 to 30
miles behind the British lines.
The losses were considerable but
not out of proportion *o the battle's
magnitude. Sir Douglas Haig reports.
A total of 16,000 prisoners and 200
guns, Berlin reports. Sometimes the
Germans failed completely, elsewhere
they gained ground, the battle being
fiercest at Beaumetz. Morchie* Vaulx
Vraucourt, north of the Bapaume
Cambrai road.
int» area in cancu tuc univic-iuiic
and the Germans hoped for a break
through here. They threw in nine di
vision- on «i 11,000 ya-d front and
apparently made the biftrest advance
here, St. Ix-ror More hies, Vnulx-Vrau
court and Bcnumeti being the line to
which the Germans penetrated. The
German lot-Res were everywhere enor
mous, the field sruns repeatedly firing
into solid ranks at closj range with
open sights. The massed attack re
called Mons and Verdun.
AH perM.n* or firms engaged in im
porting. manufacturing, storing, or
distributing fertilisers or fertiliter in
gredients must secure licenses on or
before March 20. Application mu3t
tie made to the Law Dcpa tment. Li
cense Division, United States Food
Administration, Washington, D. C.
Only the 12-cylinder tvpe of Liber
ty motor for airplanes i« now being
bu'tt. It having been th'-uirht best In
view of developments abroad to con
c**t~*U on the high-powered engine
iiuiMKl of the eight-cylinder.
-- - —mi iiiii iiinifciiiiiiif.
I Pirn, March 24.—The f i«nfitn
"mowUr cannon" which Km hun
bombarding Parts baa heart located In
the forest of M. (Main, weat of I-ann,
and approximately 7« mile* from the
Pan* rity hall. The (run bomhardod
Pari* during the grantor part of Sun
day
The day ou ushered by load ex
ploit ion* from the 10-inch shell*. and
immediately the alarm to take n-ver
wa« sounded. Thin ncmrred at *:Srt
o'clock and many parson* nought * hal
ter, bat greater number) of them ap
peared in the street* on their way to
the churches, which ware almost as
well filled as uaual. The women who
sail palm leave* on Palm Sunday* did
their u*ual business.
At first shell* began arriving at in
tervals of 20 minutes, and the detona
tions *eem«rf loader than on Saturday.
Their power to disturb the equanimity
of the populace, however, seemed less
the people refusing to be distracted
from their Sunday habits.
Ule bombardment of the capital
ended around 1 o'clock.
Although during the earlier hour*
of the bombardment* the shells arriv
ed on 20-minute interval* later in the
day they arriving every 15 minutes,
and some of them even fell 12 minu
tes apart.
In military circles ftelief was ex
pressed that the Germans were using
two long distance guns. The Matin
' est, which would place it farther sooth
than had been believed. This position
would be about 70 miles from Paris.
During the early hours traffic in the
streets of Paris was curtailed, but be
fore noon both the subways and tram
1 ways began running. In the afternoon
streets of the city showed great ani
mation. During the day large num
jbers of persons unable to secure
means of transport walked. As is
' usual when air-craft warnings are
sounded, large numbers of the popu
lace sought shelter in subways and
besements.
* Julie* Verne Foreseen Gun.
Let Petie Journal nays that Jules
Verne had foreseen this gun, and de
clares, moreover, that it ia a French
invention. "More than a year ago,"
it adds, "we discovered the secret of
firing cannon more than 100 kilome
ters. The secret lies in the greater
suppression of the atmospheric resis
tance."
The Echo de Paris declare!- the bom
| bardment is designed to give the im
pression that Paris is within range
of German guns. "It is a political
| cannon," the newspaper says.
Premier ( lemenceau's newspaper.
L'Hommen Libbc, asserts that the
password of the hour is "Confidence."
"Germany," it declares "has wish
ed to make it a complete offensive on
all fronts, the land, water and air
fronts, as well as the front of the
rear.' We are facing an enemy who
wishes to end it as soon as possible.
That suits us. Every shell that falls
into Paris drives deeper into us con
fidence in an ultimate victory."
Gun of Austrian Manufacture.
Le Journal in ita article, says the
(run is of 9V» inch caliber and of Aus
trian manufacture. It is a very de
licate piece of machinery, which must
be handled by expert mathematicians
and gunners, the newspaper adds, as
the loading and pointing is a difficult
task. It declares each shot coats
about $4,000. "This is a new con
ception of oar enemies." the newspa
per comments.
Ordnance erperta were not ready le
commit themselves as is whether the
shell was a sort of aerial torpedo
driven by propellers; ihathar an in
j ner projectile contained la the original
ahall to ral—aiit by an axploaiva
tr*
ktaalf raarhaa *a
piapalUd parhapa by an a>fl<>ato* af
fovea IMkarta wIumv*.
•hota hi «Q aura flrad fra« 7 20 a. m.
to S o'clock p. m., and praaantad all j
Ik* rharartariatica of a bombardM**
by haavy artiltory. Thara van ra
lutor intamUa halwaan tha ahota ami
tha ahalla fail within a raatrvtad i
Enamy aviator* who flaw high
tha city ragutotod tha firing.
LINE OF DEFENSE
WAS NOT BROKEN.
Only BmI Says Um Military at
tach* to British Embassy.
Washington March 28.— Major Cen
"ral McLaughlin, military attache ta
the British tmhatiy, ma*t« tlw follow
in* statement today to the A»*nciate4
pmi:
This morning's new* show* that ear
lines of defense srs not broken bat
only bent. The battle it appear* In
fact, ia what was to have been expect
ed from the trenieiufcms weight of the
attack. So far aa ran be gathered the
Carman baa concentrated against a*
about half the total force* which he
had on the western front; hi* con
centration of artillery la on the mum
unprecedented scale. Even no oar ad
vanced linea were actually penetrat
ed in a few places only.
"On by far the greater part of the
rector attacked oar retirement baa
been voluntary and tn accordance with
previous plana to stronger positions.
Had our ftrst line baen nowhere peas- »
txated (Ma miniwl weald In sB
weald hare mssnt unnecessary teas of
life. A* it la oar losses hare been
considerable bat not excessive. The
enemy on the other hand most hare
lent very heavily. He has stracked
consistently in dense masses relying
to break down oar defenses by sheer
weight of numbers.
"After gaining s few miles of war
swept territory "he ia new approaching
the ftrst of our main defenses with
many of hi* best divisions already oat
of commiasion. It may well be that he
will mske a further sdvaaes if he pur
suss the reckless tactics of the last
few days. The alliss. however, can
afford to w*jt with equanimity. Ger
many has made no secret that she Is
'taking everything on this blow. She
has promised her people and her allies
thst if lucre*» will produce victory
and peace they shall have it.
"As the battle ends, aa every pros
pect suggests it will end, with oar
army and those of the allies in posi
tions strongly occupied, however. Car
many will have failed and failed decis
ively. The opening of the fighting sea
son of 1918 will And her with the flow
er of her array gone. and with her peo
ple disheartened by the moat spectac
ular and coatly failure of the war*
"Finally it must be remembered
that the battle is still only in its first
stage. Behind our armies engaged is
the grest French army and also oar
stratgetic reserves which have not
been used."
That farmers are today receiving
for their wheat 40 per cent of the
money paid for the rash loaf whereas
la it year they received Uu than SO
per cent of the price of the loaf U a
recent announcement of the U. 8.
Food Administration. Elimination of
hoarding and speculation together
with stahiliiation of price* are re
sponsible for the doubled share of the
retail price fanners are now receiving*
In spite of unsettled conditions, th*
total American trad* with lluad*
amounted to $4»fiM,POO to 1*17, a
decrease of only W.OM^M as otm~
pared with ltli TMa dmtoM wu
la the trad* with AslaOt ktoti awl li