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Show Allies Give Up Fortified City on th Aisne; New Lines Are Sixteen or Seventeen Miles Back. MANY TOWNS FALL TO FOE; HUN WAVE NEARER PARI! PARIS, May 29. After desperate resistance and fighting i the streets, lasting several hours, the French have evacuated Soi sons, which the Germans occupied, according to the t official ai nouncement from the war office tonight. The text of the statement reads: The troops covering Rheims have withdrawn behind the Aisne canal northwest of the town. The battle took on particular violence on our left wing. In the region of Soissons, after stubborn resistance and fighting fight-ing in the streets, which held back the enemy for. several hours, our troops evacuated the town, the western outskirts of which we occupy. Southeast of Soissons the battle extended to the plateau marked by Belleu, Septmonts, Anibrief and Chaerise. In the center, under the pressure of the enemy, wq gave ground in the region of Loupeigne, north of Fere-en-Tarde-nois. The Franco-British troops further east maintained their positions on the line of Brouillet, Savigny and Tilloy. LONDON, May 29. " Ahostile raiding party was driven bac during the night in the neighborhood of Beaumont-Hamel," say the British official communication issued this evening. "A local attack made by the enemy north of Kemmel was con pletely repulsed by the French troops. "There is npthing further to report from the British front." BERLIN, via. London, May 29. The number of prisoners take by the Germans on the Aisne battlefront has increased to 25,00( says the German official communication issued today. The prisor ers include one French and one English general. The text of the communication follows: On the battlefronts from the Yser to the Oise increased fighting activity continued, French local attacks south of Ypres failed. The armies of Colonel General Boehm and General von Below, of the army of the German crown prince, have victoriously vic-toriously continued their attack. French and English reserves re-serves rushed up were defeated. The right wing divisions of General Larisch, after repelling re-pelling a French counter-attack, captured the Terny-Sorny ridge and the heights northeast of Soissons. After hard fighting fight-ing the troops of General Wichura also broke the resistance of the enemy on the plateau of Conde. Fort Condc was taken by storm. Vregny and Missy also were taken on the southern south-ern bank of the Aisne and the Vesle heights to the west of Ciry were occupied. The corps of General von Wikdler, General von Conta and General Schmetow have crossed the Vesle. Braine and Fismes has been captured and we are standing on the heights due south of the Vesle. The troops of General Use have taken ta-ken the hills northeast of Prouilly by storm and have captured cap-tured Villers Franqueux and Courcy and now are fighting for the heights of Thierry. In spite of changing weather, our aerial forces are attacking at-tacking the enemy with bombs and machine guns, while aviators avia-tors have surveyed without interruption our attack and effect ef-fect of our artillery fire. The number of prisoners has increased to 25,000, including includ-ing one French and one English general. WITH THE FRENCH ARMY IN FRANCE, Tuesday, May 28 In the vicinity of Fismes, on the south bank of the Vesles river there was heavy fighting, in which a British cycling battalion dis tingtiished itself before retiring in the face of overwhelming pres sure. The fighting of the first few days, although all one-sided, hai been indecisive, as the entente allied reserves still have to play then (Continued on Page Three.) 4 ALLIES LOSE MORE "GR'OUND (Continued from Pago One.) role? The task of the allied commanders in meeting such a brusque attack was most difficult. Now they are able to act with decision. FRENCH TROOPS FALL BACK TO OUTSKIRTS OF SOISSONS the Germans in the long-range bombardment bombard-ment of Paris indicates that new guns are being used. lirgtr shells are being employed than formerly, the caliber of the guns being li 4 centimeter S1. inches) instead of 21, but the force of the explosion ex-plosion does not seem to have Increased. Fighting in Macedonia. PARIS, Tuesday, May 28. Reporting on operations in Macedonia, an official statement state-ment from the war office tonight says: Army of the East. May 27: There were reciprocal artillery actions west of Lake Dolran, on the right hank of the Vardar and in the region of Vetrenik. A French detachment car- ried out a successful surprise a l tack against an enemy post southwest of Gievgheli. An enemy attempt to attack at-tack Serbian trenches southeast of Gradesnilsa was repulsed. PARIS, May 23. The French troops I have fallen back to the eastern outskirts of Sotssons, where the battle continues with bitterness, the French war office announced this afternoon. In tiie center, continues the war office announcement, lighting is going on with varying success on the heights on the southern bank of the Vesle river, where the French troops are bravely and admirably ad-mirably defending their positions. American troops to the west of Mont-dldier, Mont-dldier, the French statement says, have repulsed two (Jerman counter-attacks against the village of Cantigny. Franco-British troops, the statement adds, have fallen back to the heights south and southeast of St. Thiery, where they are holding positions between the Vesle and the Alsne canal. The statement follows: Last night the German advance, assisted by the arrival of fresh divisions, divi-sions, was more powerful, especially on both wings, in the directions of Soissons and Rheims. On the left, French troops, fighting every foot of the way, fell back to the eastern outskirts of Soissons, where the battle continues with violence. On the right. Franco-British troops, after an energetic , defense of the Massif of St. Thiery, withdrew slowly to the heights soutli and southeast, where they are holding on between the Vesle river and the Aisne canal. In the center, the fighting Is continuing, con-tinuing, with varying results, on the southern bank of the Vesle, where our troops are defending the heights with admirable courage. West of Montdidier the Americans broke up two successive German attacks at-tacks which were directed against Cantigny. Spirited artillery fighting continues on both banks of the Meuse. The French fire broke up a number of German raids in the sector of Em-bermenil, Em-bermenil, north of Eezonvaux, in the region of Badonvillers and near the Rhone-Rhine canal. |