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Show I AMERICAN SOLDIERS TO BE I ,mjmmB fimmm the ceaw i Opposing Armies Preparing For the Next Great Move i Vicious Local Fighting Is Occurring The German Command Learns Massed Attacks Are Costly Seventy-seven Divisions Waiting for Guns to Move Up Before Attempting Another Gigantic Effort. H Today's official reports on the situation along the long Igreat battlefront revealed conditions virtually unchanged.! iYesterday's dispatch from General Pershing in which it was' tnoted that both sides were digging in between Montdidier and 'Noyon made it seem probable that the lull would continue in I this sector, at least, and apparently there is little more activity! on the line north from Montdidier and along the British front. Considerable increase in the violence of the artillery fire j at some points, it is announced, was to be expected as the op-posing op-posing armies were increasingly able to get the large guns into ' position. f Paris has been subjected not only to another long range ! I bombardment but to an air raid. At any rate the dispatches ! show a period of an hour and ten minutes between the sound-I sound-I ing of alarm and the "all clear" signal. The big gun bombard-1 I ment, the eighth upon the region of Paris, started shortly after 10 o'clock this forenoon. , . LONDON. April 2. There has been a considerable in-; in-; crease in the artillery fire against the British positions at Pas- schendaele and on the Goeberg ridge in Belgium northeast of Ypres. The correspondent says, however, that the Germans are committed so heavily to the present battlefront that it is i not easy to believe they will try an offensive elsewhere. BRITISH ARMY I ZADQU ARTERS IN FRANCE, I , April 2, by the Associated Press. The British stormed strongly held German positions in a wood along the Luce I river j'esterday. When the enemy withdrew after sharp fight- $ ing he left the ground strewn with his dead. 1 The Germans shelled the wood heavily after it was oc- t cupied by the British and organized two counter-attacks for jf the purpose of retaking it. Both were caught in the British artillery barrage and broken. I PARIS. April 2. French and British troops advanced last night between; 1he Somnie and Demuin, it is announc- j ed. officially. Over most of the front between the Somme and the Oise the night was relatively calm. Heavy artillery ar-tillery fighting occurred at some) i .points The statement follows-"The follows-"The night was relatively calm on I the front between the Olsc and Ihej I Somme Artillery fighting became heavy along some parts uf the battle-field battle-field "Franco British troops made pro-I pro-I igress during the night between the i I Somme and Demuin. "In the region of the Colonne trench H (and at Ban de Sapt the French made I (two successful raids and took prison - era." T British Take Prisoners. H LONDON, April 2. In the sector H fbetween the Avre and Luce rivers yes- J terday the British took fifty prison- s rers, ihe war office announces. Thir T- tHn machine guns were captured, if Near Hebuterne, the British made a II 'successful stand capturing machine guns and prisoners. A German counter-attack was repulsed H The statement follows: a "In the course of the fighting yes- W Iterday in the area between the Avre M land the Luce rivers we captured fifty prisoners and thirteen machine guns. I ,A large number of German dead were U 'found and two counter-attacks at- ,B' (tempted by the enemy later in the day lere broken up with heavy losses by I lour artillery. ( "A successful local enterprise car- ' (Tied out by us in the neighborhood of iHebeturno resulted in the capture of j seventy-two prisoners and three ma il ' I Ine guns. Many Germans wore killed 'in this operation aVso and a hostile M (counter -at tack during the afternoon 1 Waa omplel ely repulsed " Review of War Situation. 1 Infantry operations on a large scale llj n the Picardy battlefield have died H down while both sides prepare for the I n?xt move in the great conflict. Vic-0 Vic-0 ious local fighting has occurred bell be-ll rween Albert and Montdidier but the 'Germans have been checked in all Hl attempts to advance toward Amiens I. fyhUe the Franco-British troops have made small gains between the Somme and Demuin. In the days of desperate and sanguinary san-guinary fighting since they launched their attacks on the line before Cam-brai, Cam-brai, St. Quentin and La Ferer. the German command apparently has learned that maaafld infantry attacks without great artillery preparation are fruitless and most costly. The German artillery fire Is reported to be weak, 1 indicating that th enemy has not yet been able to move his big gun- across the barren region between St. Quentin Quen-tin and Albert. 77 Divisions Waiting. Seventy-seven German divisions are on the battle line waiting for the guns before attempting another gigantic effort ef-fort to reach Amiens. North of the Somme there are forty divisions while thirty-seven are on the line between the Somme and Chauny. Allies Making Ready. Meanwhile the allied armies under General Foch are making read not on! to counter another German blow which the enemy must make or concede con-cede defeat, but also for a counter-offensive. American ti-oops not unlikely will participate in the renewal of beav fighting along most of the line as more than 100.000 are moving toward to-ward the battle lines Some unseasoned unseason-ed American units will be placed side by side with hardened British and French veterans, according to a decision de-cision announced in London. Germans Massing Troops. The Germans are reported to be massing troops before Albert where their attacks were beaten back by the British Monday. The Britsh look for heavy German efforts north of the Somme where there has been no marked mark-ed activity since the repulse at Arras Thursday Except for the activity at Albert, the fighting has been confined to the line between the Somme and Montdidier. The allied troops have reclaimed some ground between the Somme and Demuin De-muin while between Hangard and Moreuil heavy German attacks were beaten off with loss German attempts against Grlevesues, northwest of Montdidier, Mont-didier, were repulsed by the French. Artillery exchanges conUnue on the rest of the front in France including the American sector near Toul and on ihe Italian front. The Austro-German artillery fire against the Italian lines is moderate and there are yet no indications in-dications that the enemy is ready to launch his attack with the many thousands thou-sands of troops reported to have been brought from the eastern theater. In the three Caucasus districts ceded ced-ed to Turkey by Russia in the peace treaty with the Cential powers heavy lighting has broken out. The Armenian and Georgian inhabitants of this territory ter-ritory are defending themselves against the Turks who are attempting military occupation. oo |