OCR Text |
Show Great Fight for British Key I Josition in Flanders Raging I British Holding Messines Ridge In. Furious Baffle Germans Push On to Famous Objective Several Times in Desperate Hand-to-Hand Fighting ! But Are Thrown Back by the British Attacks in the Champagne Broken Up by the French. Armentieres has been evacuated by the British, while the Germans, driving in from the southwest of the town, are . struggling to push forward in the area southwest of Messines ridge, the key point of the British line in Flanders. Messines ridge itself has been the objective of desperate frontal attacks and the Germans are reported to have pushed .on to the ridge several times during the fierce hand-to-hand ( lighting. Each time, however, the British came back at them U with effective counter-attacks and today were still holding V the ndf' . PARIS, April 1 1 . A German attack in the Champagne j last night was broken up by the French fire. On the principal battle front there was heavy artillery fighting between Mont- diclier and N'03'on. Fighting to the Limit. V I "i i meal iorec he enemy; 1 trusslmg in his deep sallfnt. has J puttied the lighting to the limit and at I 3no time succeeded in gaining somn thr.i miles bevond the river Lys to I .-a Chreche. In this situation the ! British likcwiso reacted strongly and M l y i;,oroiir counter-attacks ousted 110 (jcrniiins from La Chreche and other nciKhboriiig terrain L Wytschaete, south of Messines, was f also ho ohjeciive of heavy German El attacks and possession of it changed several times, but this morning found 1 1 Held Marshal Haig'a troops holding 1 1 the to.ru, Germans Driven From Lestrem. 4 There v. as a similar hard fight for Hi Lrstrcm, at the western tip cf the Gterman salient cn the river La we. H The Germans wofked their way into s his place, but were unable to move further and ultimately were driven n out ot it and back across the Lawe. H The evacuation of Armentieres had A been lonr.rn and discounted, a:- ihe place Is without strategical value H What is left of the town is full of Kas. hangincr there from the copious B gas shell bombardment - North of Armentieres the British H position hiuges on Vloegsteert and M Ploepsteert wood which the line bl sected this morning. There was no let up in the engage-I engage-I ment today, the battle continuing ou I the entire "-mile front from La Basse I north to the Ypres-Comlnea canal, H just below Ypres. J WITH THU BRITISH ARMY IN PItANfl-: AM) BELGIUM, April 11 I (By the Associated Press ) The fight - ing wa3 continuing this morning north lot Armentieres with the British still I holding Messines ridge and Wyt- IT Bchaete. which yesterday changed I hands several times I 'uring the day the enemy suc-J suc-J ceeck-d in entering not only these I positions but La Creche, Nieppe and I Hollebeke Vigorous counter -attacks J forced tin enemy from all these plat 3 The Germans this morning were In e: I - ".11 ,,1 ;,!, ui (.i iln- ilia,-" ol Moegsteerl ..rid Plogst ecrt wood en the Flanders battle front, just 10 the I north of Arment ier I British Withdraw From ArmentierCG. lj LONDON, April 11 The British jj har withdrawn trom Armentieres nr the northern battle front, the war I office announct ( The statement follow.- "The battle la continuing on the whr,!, 1 1 n ' hum , , Ha. y-- canal to the Ypres -Comine.s canal. "Severe fighting has taken place in th- fi-r,tili(irhood of the Lawe and Lyfi fcanals, from about Lestrem to Armen-I Armen-I ' t 1 1- ii. .ops e been v it h drawn from Armentieres, which Is full l Of s I "North of Armentieres there is little 'h:irr',- ,n 11, . -iiualiun Hea llghl-Bing llghl-Bing was continuing at a lat hour la. 1 tnight. in the neighborhood of Ploeg-laleert. Ploeg-laleert. Messines and vtsehaeto, I "On the remainder ot the British I front there is nothing v report." Germans Push On. j LONDON. April 11. The Germans ! pushed on yesterdaj from Croix du ,Bac, southwest of Armentieres, and . l,;irl ' of them are reported in the I neighborhood ol Steenwerck (about. I five miles Vest of Armentieres). Keuter's correspondent at British h aduuarlan reports. J '' y 1 Yesterday noon the enemy occupied Lestrem, but in the course of "h" afternoon the British drove him out and across the river Lawe Belgian Trocns Raid Enemy. PARIS, Wednesday, April 10. A Belgian official statement issued tonic: to-nic: ht reads: "During the nights of April 8-9 and 9-10, our patrols made several raids into enemy advanced works, especially I near Lombaerizyde, St. Georges, Dix-mude Dix-mude and Zevecote. After the fights several prisoners were brought back to our line Sirailai enemy attempts against certain adance posts in the region of Merckem and west of Hou-tholst Hou-tholst forest were without result. Along the coact the two artilleries have been very active, employing a large number or" gas shells." Artillery Active In Italy. I ROME, Wednesday, April 10 The official statement from the Italian war office today tells of artillery activity throughout Wednesday between the Astico and the Brenta. "At Asiago enemy patrols, faced by patrols of the allies, were turned j back," the statement says. Germans Advance Positions. WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE AND RELG1 CM, April 11 (By the Associated Press.) The heavy enemy attacks north and south of Armentieres Ar-mentieres yesterday resulted in the advance of the German positions until the town was in a deep and narrow pocket the mouth of which was on a line drawn approximately north and I south through SteenwercK. The Germans attacked north of Armentieres Ar-mentieres at 5:80 o'clock yesterday morning after two hours of intense bombardment. They advanced under cover of a heavy fog and the opposing ! forces were at close quarters before j fighting was begun. The attacks were pressed as far north as Hollebeke, where the enemy made slight gains. |