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Show GERMANS HELD BV THE ALLIES Tondon, April 2'.. B p m The following fol-lowing statement was issued this afternoon aft-ernoon at the Belgian legation: "1-lzerne (Belgium, west of the1 Ypres canal), which was taken by the enemy on Friday night, has been petal. en today by Franco-Belgian troops. "Our artillery has replied bucccss fully to a fire directed at the whole ' length of our front by German bat I teries. "Notwithstanding a very strong wind, our aviators have been able to ! make useful reconnolssances." London. April 2f. Two great turn- : Ing movements have developed simul- j taneouelv In the fighting about Ypres, one by the French and tbe other by the Germans. While the center of the fifteen-mile battle line is held firm by equal and immovable hostile forces on the left hank of the Yser at a point opposito Li-.erene, the FYench have started a flanking movement to the north In an effort to turn the German rlnht At the same time the Germans have launched a terrific counter movement against the British northeast of Ypres In an effort to catch the Canadians, the British contingents, on their Im ! mediate right, and the Franco-Belgian forces on their left between two vice-like columns of a corps each. Battle Line Like Letter S. The battle line is fast assuming the shape of a great letter S At the be ginning of the uppeT curve the French are pressing In upon the Germans In their flank movement near Blx schoote. To the west and then south and eastward again the Germans maintain the wedge they drove ir, the .allies' line at T,izerne. On the lower and greater curve the allies maintain main-tain the old established Ypres salient, sa-lient, somewhat blunted at its most easterly reach where the Germans made an incursion near St .Julien but nevertheless effectively presenting the Germans from seriouslv menacing Ypres, tbe kev to Talals The advantage of the day's fighting rests with the allies, according to the) official reports from Paris French counter-attacks have proved success- j ful generally, but the most notable 1 progress has been made on the rlcht bank of the Yser to the north, near Bixschoote. Battle Still Rages. The battle continues with undiminished undimin-ished energy . Paris states that conditions con-ditions everywhere arc favorable to the allies Berlin states that further gains have been made by the G-ermans. and that the cround they i aptured north of i pres has been held. Thin despite the report from Paris last night that the Zouaves and Belgian carbineers ' had retaken LIzerne and had pressed the Germans back to the left Kink of the Yser. and the official statement of the Belgians, Issued at the lega-tion lega-tion here today, confirms this claim The German summary savs that the kaiser's troops took by storm the farm of Solaert, southwest of St Julien (about ten miles northeast of Ypres . as well as the vlllape of St. .Tullen and tho hamlet of Kerszelaere Troops advanced victoriously toward Grafen. stafel. the statement adds About 1,-ono 1,-ono English prisoners were captured and several machine gung taken. A British counter-attack west of St Julien was repulsed this morning, assorts as-sorts Berlin German activity in this section was so notable as to merit mention In the French night communication, which adds, however, that the Germans succeeded suc-ceeded In gaining no ground Paris reiterates t.he claim that Germans Ger-mans are using asphyxiating gases, asserting as-serting that their continues as part of the German plan of attack Some of the German projectiles that failed to explode wore found to contain a large quantity of these pestiferous gases, according to the official statement. state-ment. I Confirmation of the employment of m 1 these engines of warfare al the out-I out-I set of the Flanders engagement was reported In Paris to have been received re-ceived from an eye-witness or the I fighting. The Intrenched French troops oh-Bervtod oh-Bervtod something unusual happening In the enemy trenches, where a lot of new loopholes had been bored Suddenly, when the breeze turned westward, fumes began to rise from these loopholes and very quickly a huge wall of chloride vapors swept to. ward the French, who, couching and choking, were sharply ordered to retreat re-treat from the pestiferous zone The Germans who led the attack wore protecting masks, .say theBc eye. witnesses Fighting on Meuse Front. FuriouR fighting is reported from the Mouse front. A heavy defeat is claimed to havo been Inflicted on the French to tho southwest of Combres Berlin reports that the Germans, by a rushing attack overwhelmed a succession suc-cession of French trenches, capturing twenty-four French oflccrs and 1300 men and resisting successfully French attempts to regain the lost ground The French statement asserts that the Germans made the attack with an entiie division compelling the first line on a front of five-eighths of a mile to gie way, hut that later the French regained the position Fresh activities nrp reported by abators near So'ssons where General von Kluk Is bringing up his reserve forces and many additional heavy field guns, evidently for the purpose of crentinu a diversion nn |