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Show Germans Place Division for Every Two Thousand Thous-and Yards. GALLANT DEFENSE Hottest and Most Disputed Dis-puted Point at lory. BRITISH ARMY HEADQUARTERS IN FRANCE, Sunday, March 21. (By the Associated Press.) The main thrust on the British right flank by the Germans Thursday morning was south i of St. Quentin and tho enemy used a division for every 2000 yards of tho ; front, there being approximately ono German division against over' British Brit-ish battalion. The purpose of the attack at-tack here was to capture Urvillers and Essigny-le-Grand and thereby acquire ! high ground for a further advance. It ; is now possible to give moredetaUs 1 of the earlier stages of this and other fights. On the extreme right of tho British army the enemy crossed the . river Oise at two places. One body of troops came out of La Fere and swung north whilo another army crossed at Morey and turned south to form a junction with tho La Fere group. Throughout the day the battle raged in the lowlands about tho Oise. At Vendeuil a group of British held out until -i o'clock in the afternoon. A little further north the Germans stormed Urvillers and Esslgny. Just west of St. Quentin the British were forced to fall back but throughout the day thoy clung to the Holnon wood, a little northwest of the city. British Make Gallant Defense. South of St. Quentin a number of strong British redoubts made a gallant defense and it was nightfall beforo the last of them, with their machine gunners, had been reduced. The end of tho first day found the BriUsh behind tho St Quentin canal. Friday morning tho enemy renewed his assault with increasing vigor and, after desperate fighting in the region of La Fere, succeeded in getting across to tho British side. Drive at Ham. Further tho British also withdrew from the Holnon wood. The Germans then drove at Ham, which had been cleared of civilians, and Saturday morning, after obtaining a crossing of the canal, drove southward into tho British positions. In the other main theater of operations opera-tions between Arras and Bapaume the Germans made their first drive against the high ground between the Cojel and Senseo rivers. The German Ger-man preliminary bombardment was terrific and their infantry outnumbered outnum-bered the British eight to one in some cases. Occupation of Mory. Early the Germans attacking southward south-ward into Bullecourt and the British withdrew to a line covering Vaulx-Vrancourt, Vaulx-Vrancourt, Morchics and Baumetz-Les Baumetz-Les Canibrai. The hottest and most disputed point was Mory, which the Germans occupied only yesterday. During Friday the Germans overran over-ran St. Leger, Vaulx-Vrancourt and Henin. One company of machine gunners gun-ners on Hennin hill held up tho German Ger-man advance for a long time, doing deadly execution in tho densely formed ranks. The Germans have been bringing up artillery in tho most ablo manner bo-hind bo-hind their shock troops and have been making full use of this arm as the advanco continued. German cavalry tn small numbers has been in action but thus far it has been used merely to harass tho British Brit-ish during their withdrawal. oo- |
