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Show ALLIES WIDEN Capture Position North of St. Quentin Town Continues Con-tinues to Burn. LENS HOLDING OUT Germans Blowing Up Buildings Build-ings and Doing GJeat Damage to City. BRITISH HEADQUARTERS IN FRANCE, April 16, via London, 1:47 p. m. (From a Staff Correspondent of the Associated Press). The British continued today gradually to widon tho second gap out In the Hindenburg line north of St. Quentin, having captured cap-tured the position known as the Three Savages, oast of Gricourt. St. Quentin Quen-tin continues to burn. Away to tho north, Lens still holds out. The Germans Ger-mans havo several strong positions about tho city, to which they still cling. Tho British apparently would like to take Lens without inflicting too great damage from an extensive bombardment. bombard-ment. They have always been in a position po-sition to reduce tho city to ruins, but the shells have been directed against selected spots known to bo used for military purposes by the Germans. Nevertheless, tho Germans continue their work of destroying the city by blowing up buildings Desperate Attacks Made. Further details of the fighting yesterday yes-terday show the desperate character of several German attacks on the new British positions. Tho attack which was essayed from both sides of Que-ant Que-ant and "temporarily pierced the line at Lagnicourt, was exceptionally bit-tor. bit-tor. It began at 4:30 o'clock Sunday morning and continued for three hours without interruption. British advanced advanc-ed posts wcro driven in, but the support sup-port units joined the issue with the Gormans. Many hand-to-hand encounters encoun-ters followed. There was also more actually aimedritte shots than for many months. During this fire the Germans fell in clumps. They Kv tempted to seek cover behind bushes' and in small thickets. Tho British fired into these with good results. When the reserves came up at last the Germans broke into full flight. Hundreds of them were caught in their own wire entanglements as the; attempted to regain their trenches and they died by scores. Prisoners were taken along the six-mile front of the German attack, more than 300 being brought in. All Day Fighting. There was fighting all day about Monchy le Preux, east of Arras, which already had witnessed some fierce encounters en-counters since the battle of Arras began. be-gan. Monchy. in its way, Is a little Vlmy ridge all by Itself, standing sentinel sen-tinel as tho last high ground over miles and miles of plains sweeping eastward. The Germans held out thero for two days after the Arras battle oponed and have launched half a score of counter attacks against it without success. The place lends Itself to counter attacks because of outlying woods, where troops ordinarily could assemble unobserved. There were morning and afternoon attacks yesterday. In both Instances the intentions of tho Germans were discovered and artillery played on the woods, scattering a large porccntago of the formations. Notable Air Fighting. There has boon notable air fighting over Monchy and many machines have been brought down there in the last two days. Largo German formations have attacked tho British scouts and the patter of machine guns overhead has been almost continuous during tho daylight hours. The Germans as a rule are careful air fighters and virtually vir-tually never attack unless thoy outnumber out-number the British three or four to one. A single Gorman machine is seldom sel-dom sighted. They havo come to bo known as "gang air fighters," but their tactics of lying In wait high above the fleecy clouds and darting upon an isolated iso-lated foe does not perturb tho British filers. British Police the Air. The British continue to police the air, not only behind their own line but far into German territory, and say they naturally suffer tho same casualties casual-ties as a police force would form encountering en-countering ambushed attacks from outlaws. Tho weather continues favorable fa-vorable to the German methods of avoiding open air conflicts. Even on tho cloarer days the sky is filled with clouds which offer protection and hiding hid-ing placos for tho high winging German Ger-man machines. All Lines Are Hindenburg Llneo. AMSTERDAM, April 16, via London, 1:40 p. m. It Is asserted In a dispatch received horo from Berlin that various villages in tho Arras region, which tho British official statoment of April 14 reported captured, were villages and pleccB of ground which tho Germans Ger-mans had voluntarily evacuated several sev-eral days previously. "Tho English press," says tho dispatch, dis-patch, "is circulating reports regarding regard-ing tho piercing of tho Hindenburg line. Tho English attempt to break through was directed, however, against old positions hold since 1915 and, despite de-spite local successes. It has completely and finally failed. "It la not cloar what the English press means by tho Hindenburg lino, for all lines are Hindenburg lines." |