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Show British and French Retire Re-tire to Environs of the Cathedral City; Heavy Losses Are Inflicted on the German Hordes. ALLIED RESERVES NOT YET ENGAGED Americans Defeat the Enemy at All Points; Annihilate an Attacking Attack-ing Party in Furious Hand-to-hand Conflict. In their violent attacks on the thirty-mile thirty-mile baitlc front running from Soissons eastward to the region northwest of Rheims, the German armies are continuing continu-ing to force back the French and British on nearly every sector. The fortified town of fioifcisons, the extreme ex-treme left flank of the allied battle line, has been occupied by the enemy, although al-though the French are still holding tenaciously tena-ciously to its western environs, through which emerge the railway lines leading to Pai ls and Compeigne. According to the German official communication, com-munication, 25,000 prisoners, among them a French and British general, have been taken, and numerous additional towns and vantage points all along the front have been captured. RHEIMS ABOUT TO SURRENDER. Seemingly Khefms, like Soissons, also is doomed lo fall into the hands of the enemy, ene-my, a the French war office reports that the troops covering the famous cathedral ca-thedral town, which almost daily for several sev-eral years has been the target for shells of hate from the German guns, have been withdrawn behind the Aisnc canal northwest north-west of the town. On the sector directly southeast of Sofcisons the Germans are now fighting relatively twelve miles from whero they started their drive Monday from Vaux-aillon, Vaux-aillon, while further east, near Loupelgne, and in the center of the vicinity of Sav-Igny. Sav-Igny. wedges have been driven In to a depth of .approximately fifteen miles. HUNS THROW IN FRESH TROOPS. Tho Germans continually are throwing fresh divisions into the battle, but the British and French troops are keeping up their tactics of giving ground only when it is impossible longer to hold positions posi-tions under the tremendous pressure of the enemy. Heavy casualties are being suffered by the army of the German crown prince, while tho losses of men lo the allied forces are described as relatively rela-tively light. Although unofficial reports have mentioned men-tioned the rushing up of reinforcements from the south, there has as yet been no official statement that General Koch in sending in Ids reserves. Of almost as great interest ns the Aisne battle is the situation around the little town of Cantigny. where the Americans made a notable gain in their first "solo" attack against the Germans Tuesday. Numerous counter-attacks have been la unched against the Americans holding Cantigny and the outlying positions, but all of them have met with the same result re-sult failure and the loss of -many men killed or wounded. Kvidently the Americans Ameri-cans are prepared to dispute to the last degree their occupancy of the high ground t hey have won overlooking the plateau east of Cantigny. Unstinted praise has been showered upon t lie Americans by military officer for fie dash and daring they showed when tbey left their trenches and started! out in quest of their objectives. Still another defeat has been Inflicted on the enemy by the Americans thin lime far to the east In the Ton sector. (Continued on Pago Nine. i RHUS 15 LIKELY TO SIMPER ID HH (Continued from Page One.) Here the Germans let loose large quantities quanti-ties of gas near Bremenil and delivered an attack, which the Americans shot to pieces with machine guns. Later, on another an-other sector, under a heavy barrage fire, fourteen Germans managed to invade an American trench. None of them returned. re-turned. In hand-to-hand fighting nine of the Germans were killed outright and one died later from his wounds. The other four were" made captives. In Flanders and Pi card y the Germans are heavily bombarding French and British Brit-ish positions on various sectors, and raiding raid-ing operations are being carried out by both sides. No big battle has been begun. be-gun. The British transport T,easowe Castle has been sunk by a submarine In the Mediterranean, with the loss of 101 persons per-sons drowned. |