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Show SLAUGHTER IS APPALLING ! . , i British Strike Back; Battle, After I Reverses, Going in Their Favor I Germans Making Repeated Attacks On British Line f British Make Successful Counter Attacks and Inflict Terrible Punishment Infantry Caught Under Withering Fire British at Ypres I Withdrawn to New Line. LONDON, April I 7. The greater part of Wytschaetc and probably all of it, is in the hands of the British, Major-General Major-General F. B. Maurice, chief director of the military operations at the war office announced today. Counter-attacking successfully at Meteren and south of that place, the British have driven back the Germans half way to Bailleul. They have advanced and improved their lines in the direction of Neuve Eglise. LONDON, April 17. The battle in Flanders is raging today with incredible intensity, telegraphs the correspondent of Reuter's limited at British army headquarters in France. As far as the latest reports enable the correspondent to judge, the battle is going in favor of the British. Notwithstanding the desperate attacks of the Germans they have gained no further ground since Tuesday morning 5 and apparently they have lost some. 3P" Among the numerous enemy attacks Tuesday after- ial noon and evening on the northern front in Flanders, one in great force in the Zillebeke sector was disastrous for the Ger-iff Ger-iff mans whose massed waves were shot down at close range. 8- They apparently were ordered to retire and then the British Q(j gunners got on their flank, the correspondent says, and the jlcl slaughter Was appalling. px- LONDON, April 1 7. According to an Exchange Telegraph Tele-graph dispatch from Paris, the Germans have advanced from Wytschaete as far as St. Eloi and also have a grip on the southern slopes of Mount Kemmel. Y LONDON, April 17. The British at dusk on Tuesday, says a Reuter's dispatch from the British headquarters in ,et France, were advancing in the neighborhood of Wytschaete, Lb south of Ypres, and were reported again to be holding the ground which they had lost there ian During his three years' experience in the war zone, the an correspondent says, he never had heard such terrific and un-lel un-lel intermittent gunfire as has gone on since Tuesday afternoon nS and which continued as he filed his dispatch this morning. WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN FRANCE, April 17, 1 0 a. m., by the Associated Press. It was reported this morning morn-ing that the British fighting magnificently had regained the much contested town of Wytschaete although this was not confirmed at the time of filing the present dispatch. lM ' -4. Ypres Salient Menaced. j it- u" Willi Ibo Ypres salient in southwes- IX lorn Belgium menaced by the cotuinu ed advance of the Germans on the I Lya battle iron'. Immediately to the houtri. the British have begun to with- draw from i his advanced line. Today's British official report announces an-nounces what at least Is a partial withdrawal from the Ypres sector. The forward positions east of Ypres have been given up and a new line to the west occupied. Apparently the retrograde movement move-ment is pivoting on the Wytschaete borior where London today reports a successful counterattack carried out upon the Germans "'bo eslerday cap-lured cap-lured the town of Wytschaete near the b. ghost, point of the easterly Messine ridge ;.nd who presumably pushed out somewhat beyond tbe town. They are unofficially reported, indeed, as having H advanced to S- Eloi, a mile and a half i north of Wytschaete, two miles west 1 of Ilollebokc and about six mile- directly di-rectly south of Yprea St. Eloi is on the old battlo line as it existed before the British began their offensive last v ar The line as a whole appears likely to hold as long as the railway communication- supporting it .ire mtaet Apparently the security of these communications com-munications bas been provided for by the massing or large forces in the northwesterly sector ol the Ls battle front. The German objective hen i Haze-brouck, Haze-brouck, the important railway junction junc-tion about lour milns beyopd the point of the farthest advance westward and near Nieppo wood, bix miles southwest of Bailleul. A British counterattack last mht indicated the strength of the British line in this vital sector. It re-pulled re-pulled m thi driving of the Germans rom the u wn ol Metered a mile and a half west of Bail'ul which they had entered. The Germans arc still hani-n hani-n oi in" the British line north of Bail leul .vhicb to the nor'.N f.S( they are reported to be close to Mont Kemmel. the toweriug height which dominates tlis sector. The British now seem able to riccl with tin to along the Bail-leiil Bail-leiil -Wytschaete lino, however, and repulses re-pulses oi repealed attacks with terrific terri-fic losses to the enemy in the Bailleul sector aic reported. The present attack in Flanders does not seem to have diverted material British reserves from the Somme battlefield bat-tlefield and such operations as arc oc- lining south from Airas reveal the British in strength on this front where the main German effort, must inevitably inevitab-ly be e::erted. The British last night counter-attacked opposite Boyelles and drove out Germans who Jad entered en-tered H e British trenches yesterday. Reports come from Loth the British and Prencb WSJ oFics of marked in-i in-i crease in i'Ullery fire south of .r.e Somme I LONDON'. April 17. The Brilish I have recaptured Meteren on the north-lern north-lern battlo front by a battle attack, it is announced officially. The British positions before YprtrS I have beep withdrawn to a new lino. Soutl oi Arras the Germans were driven out of British trenches into Which they had forced their way. Early Ear-ly this morning the German artillery became more active south of the , Somme. The Lrtisb made a successful oouu- ! ter-attack In the neighborhood of i Wytschaete. Repeated Gorman attacks north of Bailleul were repulsed, the 'Germans suffering heavy losses. Official War Statement, The statement follow: "Yesterday evening we delivered a ; successful counter-attack in the neigh : borhood of Wytschaete. At Meteren also our counter-attack restored the situation and the village remains in jour hands Throughout the afternoon and evening yesterdaj repented hostile attacks north of Bailleul were repulsed I With loss to the enemy. Bodies of German infantry advancing In close ; formation were caught under the fire of our troops at short range and stif- i fered heavy casualties. We secured a few prisoners. "The enemy also attempted to develop devel-op an attack yesterday afternoon east of Rohooq, following the bombard ment already reported, but his ad Ivance was broken up by our artillery ! fire. "In consequence of the progress made by the enemy on tho Lys front. lour troops holding our forward posi Hons east of Ypres have been withdrawn with-drawn to a new line. The withdrawal I was carried out deliberately without 1 Interference by the enemy Yesterday afternoon partlei of bis troops advanc ing over our old positions w n caught by the fire Of our outposts and do ; stroyed. "on the battlo from south of AlTSS, i parties of German infantry who had entered our irenchos opposite Boycd j les were driven ou. yesterday after-i after-i noon with the loss of several prison ors. Our line in this locality has been i ompletel) restored j "The Loslile artillery activity increased in-creased considerably eaily this morn-'' morn-'' Ing on the British from south erf the 1 Somme," HEAVY ARTILLERY FIGHTING. , PARIS, April it Heavy artillery fighting occurred last night on the principal battle front between the Somme and the Olse, the war office reports The statement follows: "on the lront between the Somme land Olse (here was greaT activity of the artillery on both side-French side-French Carry Out Raids. " Pbe French carried out several raids especially southwest ot Butte tin Mesnil in the region of Tauure and north of Fliery. We took a number Cf prisoners. On the right ban-c of the Mouse a German attack o:.st of Samogneux was repulse Otherwise i the night passed in quiet." Review of War Situation. Having driven the British from Ball- ( Continued on Page ) 1 Germans Making Repeated Attacks (Continued from page 1 ) , leul and Wythschaete. the Germans are battling desperately to gain other points on tho high ground south and southwest of Ypres. After fighting with huge forces for eighteen days, the Germans Tuesday got out of the lowlands, but to make their gains here they must push on further. The British, Brit-ish, resisting every step of the way, are striking back doggedly. The situation, it is admitted In London, Lon-don, is more serious than at any time since the German drive in the north began. Some British newspapers already al-ready advise the evacuation of the hard-WOIl sector of Ypres and the' Passchendaele ridge which Is a con-j Premier Lloyd-George told the house of commons that he was hopeful hope-ful of the situation, adding that General Gen-eral Plumer. the British commander i in the Messines area, and General Foch, the allied commander-in-chief, were both confident Nothing Vital Lost. Nothing vital, the premier said, had been lost. The enemy, he added, had not yet wiped out the British army, which was his aim. In capturing Wytsehaet and the height of Spanbroekmolen to the southwest the Germans drove the British from the high ground at the southern tip of the Messines -Passchendaele ridge which extends for fourteen miles from Wulvergaem to Passchendaele in a northeasterly direction. di-rection. From Wulverghem to Wyt-schaete Wyt-schaete is two and one -half miles Ypres lies four miles directly norui of Wytschaete and between them are the heights of Klein Zillebeke and Observatory' ridge, which are equal in height to Wytschaete, sixty meters. To wipe out the Ypres salient, the Germans must gain more of the long ridge and must cut the railroad from Hazebrouck to Ypres, which is one of1 the main supply lines to the British lines east and northeast of Ypres. Ap- i parently they are attempting to reach the railroad and are engaging the I British heavily at Meteren, west of Ballleul and four miles east of the railroad and six miles east northeast of Hazebrouck. Directly west from ! Wytschaete and north from Bailleul is the height of Mount Kemmel, 156 meters, which Is the highest point in this area. But before the enemv can cut the railroad and gain additional heights, the British may retire, or an allied counter-attack may be hurled against the German lines. On the other parts of the front from Wytschaete to Givenchv the British have repulsed German efforts especially around Merville, the center of the line German attacks have broken out south of Arras. The British Brit-ish repulsed an attack there near Boyelles To the south around Albert and 1 across the Somme the German artillery artil-lery fire has Increased. The enemj bombardment Is violent in the Mont-dldler, Mont-dldler, but no infantry' operations have developed. On the American sector around St. Mlhiel the weather has been unfavorable unfav-orable for three days, but the Germans have not repeated their attacks of last week. Near the Apremont forest, east ol St, Mlhiel, American patrols have crossed No Man's Land and reached the German barbed wire without mo-lestation. mo-lestation. East of the American sec-tOT sec-tOT near the Bois le Pretre the French have repulsed German efforts. Bulgarians Driven from Villages. , In Macedonia, northeast of Salonild, the Bulgarians have been driven from j about ten villages along a front of M fifteen miles from the left bank of the Struma northwest from Lake Ta- j hinos Greek and British troops par- j ticipated in the operation. Prisoners j were taken and severe losses inflicted j on the enemy. The government manpower bill with- the Irish conscription clause included, passed the British house of commons on third reading by a majority of 19 votes. An Irish home rule bill will bd LntrodUOed soon by the government lad Premier Lloyd -George and hist colleagues will insist on its passage or leave office. Nationalist opposition continues unbroken. Bolo Pasha, condemned to death for aiding German propaganda, whose ac-' tlvities extended to the United States, j was executed early today at . in-cennes. |