THE 8EMI.WHEKLV TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE. NEBRASKA.
BRITISH RETREAT
TO
NEW
POSIT ONS
MOVE BACK TO MAKE SLAUGH
TER MORE APPALLING.
GERMANS DISREGARD LIVES
i iV'' "k in u ii ' '"K i tut' luriiiiiiis limn- t nan a
t.iKii i'l(ii u.ll develop shortly. , )cnr ago, had set u record, mill ord
Tlic (icrumiiH, in tliu British view, I mince officers of the American, Brit
tmiiixi ntrr lis!tit' tit cnrrjiiiig out ' and French corps freely conceded
Hurl Masses of Men Directly Into the
Face of Certain Death. Foe Get
Farther Away from Supply.
Paris Shelled from Afar.
London, Mnrcli 20. Fighting of n
most desperate diameter linn linen
continuous on the western front since
tho Initial attack last Thursday, hut
no far the British hnve used few
troops other than those which were
lioldlng tho front lines. The new po
sitions, according to latest reports,
nro being held Intact hy the British
nnd nre expected to withstand tho
German onslaught. British shock
troops havo been making as gallant a
defenso as was ever recorded In the
annals of tho Hrltlsh army, and as a
result they have enabled the main
body of tho forces to fall hack do.
liberate!) and without confusion nnd
occupy positions which had been pre
pared long before tho Germnn offons
lvo began.
Tho Germans on tho other hand,
operating under the eyes of tho em
peror nnd tho crown prince, have been
hurling vast hordes Into the fray with
utter disregard for lives, and havo fol
lowed Into tho abandoned position,
getting farther and fnrthor away
from their supplies and finding their
communications Increasingly dltllcult.
More than fit) Gorman divisions
hnvo been Identified by nrtual contact,
nnd many of tlieso men were slmplji
her iTennlve, and it Is a who ol
breaking through or admit drfent. In
Oil connection. It In Intcnwfliig to
note n statement made Saturday by i
Germnn officer, who declnrrd Hint tin
German offennlvo wan an net of des
peration brought on by the fact thnt
thr Fnthcrbmd must hnvo ponce.
However, the Brltlnh take such n
sertloiiN at their face value and are
proceeding accordingly,
The town of Chaiiny, southwest of
St. Qucntlii, situated on the load to
f'omplcgne, the gntewny to Pails, has
been occupied by the Germans and,
according to the Merlin olllclal com
munications, everywhere between the
Senium and the Olse rivers, the Ger
mans nre pressing their advantage.
Throughout Sunday along the en
tire fiO-mllo battle front tho fighting
they navor had dreamed of a mon
stor gun with a range more titan thir
ty miles.
Confident British Will Hold Foe.
Reports of huge losses on both
sides reaching Washington from the
Cambria front full to shnke official
confidence In tho ability of the 'Brit
Ish to checkmate the enemy In whnt
has developed to be the biggest battle
ever staged In the history of man
kind.
Canadians Spring Great Surprise,
Canadian Headquarters in France,
March 24. -While Germnn and Hrlt
lsh troops were struggling far to the
south In the opening clash of tho
spring campaign, tho grcntest nro
Jector gas bombardment of tho war
was carried out by the Canadians
Thursday night against enemy posl
never censed for a moment, and . tlons between Lens and Hill 70.
where Field Marshal Mnlg's men were At 11 o'clock u slgnnl rocket was
tinahlo to withstand tho terrific on- font up. A moment later more than
slaughts delivered by greatly superior jfi.OOO drums of lethal gas, slmultn-
mrces, ground was given lint always noousiy roicnseu from projectors, were
In orderly fashion.
It now has been definitely ascer
tallied that considerably more than n
hurled Into enemy territory from the
outskirts of Lens to Cite St. Auguste
and Holso De DIx-IIult. From his
million Germans have been brought fro,lt llnes nntl "trong points favoring
to tho western front In an indnnvnr . "'iius carrion tlio poisonous clouds
to crush tho British army holding I ,mck "I'011 lne enemy's dugouts, sup
the line from the reirlnn nf Amu tn . Ports, reserves and assembly areas.
the south of St. Qiientln. but It dally Tno w'c front wns lit by enemy
becomes Increasingly evident tliat the flnm which could bo seen through
enemy In his drive has.niel with oppn- tl,e nt'rtvy ,Ills while the enemy's
sltlon not counted upon, and been un
able to realize to tho full his objectives.
Tn addition to Chnuny, the Germans
are claiming the capture of both Pe-
gas alarm nnd cries of distress could
be heard from tho hostile trenches,
Nine minutes later tho Canndlnn
field artillery, supported by heavy
guns and trench' mortars, opened up
ronno and Ham. and to lmvn in. w,,n " ",ow bombardment, Increasing
creased the number of prisoners tak- 1,1 vlolo'"''! ntll, 40 minutes later, the
en to more than 110.000. In addition to nomy positions were swept with n
000 guns and lnrgo stores of war materials.
According to official estimates of
the casualties occurring up to Sun
short. Intensive creeping bnrrago,
...1.fl. 1. m
wiiicii rnKeo ins rorwara ana renr
areas with high explosives,
Caught by tho gas without a mo-
day night In the great battle, more '""if m "l"'?? !V ""T WCr c'ncrK!"S
ban "fiO.000 innii I.m.1 l.omi iriiin.i ' ""' .v kuii me, uie
... Ger
wounded or captured In the four days'
fighting.
British estimates place the German
WHERE GERMANS OPENED GREAT ATTACK
i2ta
ubenchcul
Off t 3 4- 5 (to-L
MILCS
mans' casualties must have been
very henvy, for the cffcctlvness of
smaller gns operations bns been cm
phatlcnlly proved by the evidence of
prisoners, nnd tonight's bomhnrdmcnt
was three times grenter than any
thing of Its kind over nttempted by
the Cnnndlans on the western front,
and much grenter than anything ever
munched by tho Germnns.
Critical Hour of War.
London, Mnrch 20. Tho official re
ports represent the hnttle position In
Franco ns undoubtedly grave. The
newspapers recognize, but do not at
tempt to appraise the situation or
prophesy the course of events. They
consider this tho critical hour of tho
i, war.
J Tho German seizure of Chnuny mny
compel tho withdrawal of tho French
I lines, In order to preserve contact nnd
1 alignment with the Hrltlsh. Much
rests on the use of the nllled "army
of maneuver" organized by the Ver
sailles conference, which may prove
the decisive force of tho battle.
Tho Dally Mall says that If Field
Marshnt Ilalg's report thnt the Ger
mans broke through west of St.
Quontln, uses the term "broke
through" In the generally accepted
military sense, It Is serious, but thnt
time alone can show the correct Interpretation.
Thin map shows that part of tho Hrltlsh lines In the region of Cnmbrai.
where tho Germans mndo their fiercest attacks In opening their now offensive.
Their nppnrent Intention was to drive wedges on both sides of tho Cambrnl
salient.
given two days' Iron rations and sent
over tho top Into tho frightful miiel
Strom niudu by the allied urtlllery,
machine guns urn! rifles. Tho slaugh
ter of the enemy Infantry as It ad'
vnnced In clone formation over tho
open lma been nppnlllng.
Tho Hrltlsh losses hnvo been wlth'n
tho bounds expected, duo to tho
tactics of the commanders. Thu allies
hnvo lost a considerable number of
men In prisoners aiid a certain mini
Iter of guns. Hut very few pieces ot
urtlllery havo been taken by the Ger
mans slnco tho first day. In fact, tint
whole withdrawal him been executed
In n masterly manner, showing how
thoroughly the Hrltlsh hud planned
for tho very events which havo oc
curred. It Is permitted to say now whal
Homo hnvo known for a long time
iiumely, that the Hrltlsh never Intend
ed to try to hold tho forward position!
In this region If the Germaus attack
' ed In tho force ejpeeted.
There la overy renron to believe
losses at 200,000 men. While nothing
olllclal has eoino from tho front
throwing a definite light on the Brit
ish losses, they nro estimated at ap
proximately half those of the Ger
mans. One of tho mysteries of the offens
ive which has now been solved Is
that the shelling of Paris is being
done by a long range German gun.
This statement Is contained In the
Berlin olllclal communication, and n
l'nrls dispatch says that one of the
guns has been located near Laon
about 70 mites from tho center of
Paris. Throughout Sunday morning
and Into tho mid-afternoon shells were
dropped In Paris at intervals of from
12 to 20 minutes.
Washington Officials Dumbfounded.
Washington, D. a, Mnrch 2(1. The
long-range bombardment of Paris by
a Gorman gun, presumably seventy
four miles away, announced ns a fact
In thu French capital, dumhfounde I
American ordnance ofllcers. The
twenty-two-mlle bombardment of Dun-
Drive Delayed By Flyers.
With the French Annies in tho
Field. During tho past months when
tho Germnns lmvo been concentrating
their troops, artillery, munitions nnd
materials for an offensive, nllled nvl
ators have kept up un unceasing re
connaissance of uver.v sten taken and
hnvo bombarded concentration centers
and communication Hues to such an
extent ns to doluy seriously the date
of attack.
From December 1, 1017, to Fcbru.
nry 15, 1018, seventy-seven days cov
erlng tho German's most Intense pre
parations, French nlr forces alone
made 22,M8 flights.
French fighting planes brought
down 101 Gerainn mnclilnes, of which
only twenty-nlno fell "within the
French lines, showing how the French
nro keeping German planes over their
own lines. Nlnoty-thrce other Ger.
mnn planes were brought down so fnt
buck of the German lines thnt It wns
Impossible for their complete destruc
tion to bo confirmed.
Against this total of 107 victories
In seventy-seven dnys, only thirty
eight French machines were brought
down by the Germnns.
French observation plnnes made
1.'10!) flights over tho Germnn linos.
In these (lights 21,!I82 photographs
were taken.
Meantime bombing squadrons (lying
night and day, mined 200 tons of e.x
jdoslves on centers of, concentration,
lines of communication and munitions
depots. '
Among the points bombarded with
exceptional frequency were the fam
ous Germnn chemical works at Lud
wlgshaven. mineral' bases at Brley.
the Snrry and ninny railway stations.
Alms at Ports On Channel.
London, -March 20. While cloudi
of uncertainty obscure tho details of
tho world's greatest battle, tho guns
of which nro heard In London, there
In n measure of relief felt that Ger
many lias finally shown her bnnd. The
purpose nnd method of tier long
talked ol blow nro now plain. Illn
denburg's objectivo Is undoubtedly
tbo channel ports, but ho purposes to
take tho first stop toward them by
breaking through the allies' line near
the junction of the French nnd Brit
ish armies. Tho attack 1ms shown
no now strategy, but appears to be
simply a colossal idow with masses of
guns anil men hitherto never used.
Thero Is no surprlso that the British
lino tfnB been forced lmck. Lines., of
defenso hnvo bentbeforo nil great 6f
fonstvos In this wnr. What tho Brit
ish pnoplo look to tho army for Is that
hronlr.
Birth Rata Cut In Half.
Washington, D. 0., March 20. Tho
birth rate In Hungary has been cut'
more thnn half by tho war, ns shown
In statistics rend to the Hungarian
chamber of deputies recently. In 1014
705.000 "chlldreli were born. In 1017
tho number was 328,000.
Many Killed In Munition Explosion.
London, March 20. Thirty German
soldiers were killed and more than
100 others Injured und fiOO munition
wagons were blown up by nn explo
sion at Mevrlgnles station near Mens,
Delglum, according to an Kxcliango
Telegram dispatch from Amsterdam.
. . .in. i ii oops advancing to a grenade attack under cover of u heavy barrage fire. 2 Italians moving a
heavy gun up to position for the expected spring offensive. 3 Sergt. MuJ. A. W. James of tho Canndlan forces,
who wns decorated In the presence of n huge crowd at Madison Square Garden, New York, for bravery In action
after being badly wounded. s
NEWS REVIEW OF
THE PAST WEEK
Germans Open Great Attack on
the British Front North of
St. Quentin.
MAY BE THE SPRING DRIVE
Allied Commanders Confident Their
Lines Cannot Be Broken Seriously
Teutonic Penetration of
Russia Continues Ship
ping Question Most
Serious Dutch
Vessels Are
Seized.
By E. W. PICKARD.
"We nre at the decisive moment of
tho war and one of the greatest mo
ments in German history," telegraphed
the kaiser to tho lUienlsh provincial
council, nnd thereupon, Thursday
morning, bis forces began n tremen
dous bombnrdment of a wide stretch
of the British front north of St. Quen
tin. This wns followed by attneks by
large masses of Infantry which were
hurled against the British front In
desperate efforts to brenk through.
Tbo nssaults were extremely costly
to tho enemy and up to tho time of
writing had been of little avail, for
though at some points the British ad
vanced lines had been penetrated,
Field Marshal Hnlg reported that on
no pnrt of the long front of attack
had the Germans attained their objective.
Apparently Von Illndenburg was try
ing to drlvo In n wedge on each side
of the Cambrnl salient, and nt the same
time his troops made vicious assaults
on the French northeast of Verdun
and near Helms, though these were con
sidered as diversions rather than parts
of tho main attack. The lines held
by the Americans In the Lorraine and
Toul sectors had not been assailed.
The British were In no way sur
prised by the attack of Thursday, and
their commanders met It with supreme
confidence. In every possible way they
wore prepared to meet the assault, of
which they had had ample warning.
Whether this smnsh was really the
opening of the threatened great spring
drive of the knlser or not was uncer
tain, lint American military experts
doubted It. If it were, said they, It
was the most hopeful -sign of the wnr
so far. for Its defeat was certain. And
such a defeat, they felt, would bring
much closer the ultimate triumph of
the cause of the allies.
fea
Intense aerial activity characterized
the operations nil along tho west front
last week. There were numerous com
bats, In which the allies generally had
tile best of it. and the British and
French nvlutors mndo many raids on
towns and1 military establishments
back of the German lines. Mannheim
especially was hard bit by the British.
The American llyers also were very
busy and won praise by their skill and
daring.
These developments lend backing to
tbo statement of one war correspond
ent that land fighting In France Is tem
porarily In' abeyance and that tho allies
expect to win the war there In the air,
having already undoubted supremacy
In that element, lie asserts that If
the Germans make their great drive It
must be made blindly, and the allies
will promptly send their Immense
uitvles of the nlr across and destroy
the Hun's lines of communications, de
pots and factories nnd his entire or
ganization of supplies nnd re-enforce-
mcnts. If this Is the plan, there is the
grenter need for thu United States to
speed up Its lagging production of bat
tleplanes. Tho Providence Journal,
heretofore remarkably well Informed,
asserts that In this respect the Ameri
can aircraft program for 101S Is an ab
solute failure.
fci
While the kaiser delayed Ids blg'nt-
tack nn the west front, the world lias
waited In considerable suspense to
know what the plan of the allies
may be. This rests with the supreme
couuull at Versailles In which Amer
ica is still unrepresented and there
Is reason to believe thnt It will decide
to take the offensive without waiting
for the Germnns to strike, as was Inti
mated In these columns some weeks
ngo. It Is believed that the council has
nt its disposal an Immense army mndc
up of reserves of tho various allied
forces, and some wise observers think
tho first great attack will be made in
Italy, though there will be enough do
ing In France nnd Belgium to keep the
Germans busy und uncertain. Intense
nctlvlty by both the Germans and
French In the Verdun region, nnd cer
tain movements In the American sec
tion toward Metz Indlcnte coming op
erations of magnitude on those parts
of the line. The French made some re
markably swift and successful raids,
destroying enemy blockhouses nnd
shelters that had takon three years to
construct.
fca
On the Toul front the Americans
were subjected to continuous shelling
and the enemy also sent over airplanes
thnt dropped large rubber balls filled
with liquified mustnrd gas a new
form of attack. Tho American artil
lery maintained Its record for nccuratc
fire, driving the enemy from several
strong positions nnd nt times attacking
the Germans heavily with gas shells.
Secretary Baker In the course of bis
visit to General Pershing's forces was
under fire In the front line trenches,
and one big shell exploded close to his
nutomoblle, but he escaped Injury.
On Tuesdny General Pershing ap
proved the awarding of the first of the
new American military crosses for
bravery, the recipients being Lieut.
John O. Green nnd Sergts. William
Norton nnd Patrick Walsh, All of
them previously had been decorated
with the French war cross.
Ja
in Hussln, despite the acceptance of
the peace treaty by the bolsbevlkl, the
German armies hnve been steadily
pressing forward, occupying town nfter
town In the south, moving up toward
Moscow and nlso iipproachlng so close
to Petrograd that the seizure of the
capital city was said to be a mntter of
days or hours. All the allied diplomats
left Petrograd, most of them retiring
to Vologda, .'!50 miles east. American
Ambassador Francis from there Issued
an address to the Uusslnn people,
warning them that if they submitted
to the peace imposed by the central
powers Russia eventually would be
come n German province, und pledging
tlie support of the American govern
ment to any government in Hussln that
would resist the German penetration.
Mr. Francis acted without speclllc In
structions from Washington, but his
utternncifti received tho full approval
of the administration.
Tlie bolshevik government has been
hurriedly moving to Moscow. Trotzky
is there and says lie will act as minis
ter of war If there Is to lie more light
ing. The new volunteer nrmy Is being
organized rapidly, with renewed dis
cipline, and the press and people, nl
rendy somewhnt disillusioned, cry out
against the predntory ruthlessness of
the Germans. The Transcaucaslan as
sembly at Tillls refused to ratify the
pence treaty and demanded Immediate
wnr on Germany. The attitude of all
the allies toward the bolshevik soviet
Is becoming more sympathetic, but the
hope of effective resistance Is rather
t'alut.
The hand of the conqueror falls
more and more heavily on Itoumnnta,
which Is now required to give up to the
central powers not only all of her own
.war munitions, but also those left In
Uoumnnla by the allies. If she yields
to this demand the representatives of j
the allies will leave .lassy,
rsa
The supreme war council of the al
lies at Versailles. Issued a statement
denouncing Germany's political crimes
against llussla and ICoumnnlu and re
fusing to recognize the peace treaties
with them. "We nre fighting, and menu
tn continue fighting. In order to finish
once for nil with tlds jwllcy of plun
der," suld the council. In reply Chan
cellor von Ilertllr.g asserted Germany
had un Intention of robbing or dishon
oring llussla and accused the allies of
hypocrisy, untruthfulness und brutal
ity. SQ
There was no material change In tlie
situation In the far F.ast, but the oppo
sition to Japan's plan to occupy Vladi
vostok seemed to Increase because, ot
the persistent distrust of the 'Nrl
plre'fj good faith. Trotzky warned the
world thnt Gcrmnny and Japan had
agreed to divide Bussla between them,
but Trotzky's opinions are no longer
entitled to very serious consideration.
Ms
Early Thursday morning two Brit
ish and three French destroyers en
gaged n force of Germnn destroyers
off Duukerquo, and when the tight was
over four enemy vessels had boon sunk.
One British destroyer wns damaged,
but the allied casualties -were slight.
The same day Ostend waB heavily
bombarded by British monitors and
Helgoland wns attacked by airplanes.
fly
Eloquent nrgumcnt having fnlled to
bring the Teutonic rulers to their
senses or the Teutonic peoples to a
realization of tho truth, and encour
agement and sympnthy having met
with no response from the Ilusslnns,
President Wilson seems to have de
cided thnt action, quick nnd forcible,
Is the only thing that will bring tbo
war to a close. He cheered up the
country Immensely by calling Into con
ference the bends pf the various war
boards, who bad been named as ndvls
ers to the chairman of the war Indus
tries board In establishing co-ordinn-tlon.
Hu Impressed upon these men
again the need of harmonizing their
work In order to hurry up shipbuild
ing, Increase shipping facilities nnd
provide materials for the production of
munitions. The shipbuilding question
Is the most pressing one, and the gov
ernment Is somewhnt disturbed by the
uncertain labor situation. It Intends to
adopt a definite labor policy, as did
Englnnd, but this has not yet been
formulated.
The matter of shlps also came to
the front again In England, and In re
sponse to public lemand Sir Eric)
Geddes, first lord of the admiralty,
gave out figures on the results of the
submarine warfare. Total losses to
the allies nnd neutral nations since the
beginning of the war, he said, were 0,
000,000 tons, and be admitted the
monthly losses nre 120,000 tons greater
thnn the new ships built. To correct
this. Sir John Jelllcoe Is to devote him
self to combating the submnrlne, Lord
Plrrle hns been made governor general
of merchant ship building nnd ull avail
jiblo men In the country will be put to
building ships. Premier Lloyd-George
said that by special effort the deficien
cy could be made good in British ship
yards alone.
te
A great help in solving this transport
problem Is the seizure of about a mil
lion tons of Dutch shipping by the
United States and England. This wns
accomplished on Wednesday after the
Netherlands government had refused to
put Into effect Its voluntary agreement
to restore Its merchant mnrlne to nor
mal activity. Most of tlie vessels
taken will be used in carrying food
from America to Europe, nnd President
Wilson says Holland will receive uni
pie' supplies of foodstuffs, In accord
ance with the orlgjnul pact. Germany
of course, has warned the Dutch that
their ships now will be sunk, but it
uever has shown much regard for the
rights of neutral ships outside the pro
r.crlbed zone.
a
After being ns.salled In vain by tho
Hepubllcnns, the administration bill to
establish u war Hnanco corporation
was passed by the house Thursday
with only two opposing votes. On the
same day Hie president signed the bill
which brings the railroads under gov
ernment operation and control until 21
months nfter tho end of tho war.
Ha
Agricultural interests were relieved
of anxiety by an order of the wnr de
partment permitting men engaged in
planting or cultivating crops to con
tinue their work until finished, al
though their draft numbers are
reached. This does not npply to dairy
workers.
lea .
Wisconsin, sinui tlngninder the Impu
tations of disloyalty caused by La Fol
lette and his doings und sayings, un
dertook to redeem herself In the sena
torial primaries, and succeeded In a
measure. Joseph E. Davles, backed by
the national administration, easily won
the Democratic Humiliation, hut Con
gressman I.euroot had a hard task de
feating James Thompson, the La Fol
lette candidate, for the Republican
choice. The Socialist vote, unexpect
edly heavy, was cast for Victor Berger,
who Is under Indictment for vlolnitiig
the espionage act.