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THE WEATHER
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VOL. XLVI-NO. 243.
t-zin
r7rrn
HAIG'S FRONT LINE
STANDING FIRM IN
: BEST POSITION YET
v , .
Even Where Position Is Weakest, Says Reuter Correspon
dent, It Is Orderly Arrayed Both in Men and Guns
and Nowhere Is Showing Signs of En
forced Retirement.
(By Associated Press.)
London, March 27. The British front is standing firm
along the line which appears to be the strongest it has occu-,
pied since the battle began, says Reuter's correspondent with
the British, headuartersjn France.
Even at points where the line-is not strong, the corre-4
- spordent adds, it is being held in very orderly array, alike of
men and guns, and nowhere is showing any signs of enforced re
tirement. ' , - '
ATTACKS MAKE.NO PROGRESS.?
The enemy, says the, correspondent,
attacked at various points today, but
from all reports these efforts made no
progress. ' j
British airmen report the whole of
the enemy front areas jto be black
with troops.
BRITISH COUNTER ATTACK
' London, March 27. The British
forces are not only offering strong re
sistance to heavyattacks both north
and south of the river Somme, but
have carried out numerous counter at
tacks during the day, resulting inthe
regaining of ground and the driving
back of the Germans at various points.
The report from Field Marshal Haig
tonight declares that in these opera
tions heavy casualties have been in
, --flietedTon the Tne"my7 '-" f -
Germans Reinforced.
British Army Headquarters- in
France, -March 27. Fresh enemy
forces were flung into the o'uthern
nhase of the offensive late yesterday.
'. These reinforcements, including the
farrfous Prussian guards, were sent
forward in a dense vaje against the
defenders. The latest rep&rts
merely chronicle a, most sanguinary
ttruggle without " indicating any
:hange in the situation;
At the latest reports tke Germans
twd made no further attack against
Bray. North of Alberrrlowever, they
attacked in considerable strength to
ward Aveluy wood. The assault
'broke against the British' line and re
Coiled. North of tin's point the situa
tion is unchanged.
Repulse Enemy at Albert.
Heavy lighting occurred' late yester
day, just north of .Albert, about
Meaulte., At the, same time the Brit
ish drdve off an attack north of Al
bert, at Auchonvillers. 1 "
Vhe enemy's gains further north
'have been large, but the elasticrtyof
the defending line thus far has de
feated his intention of . breaking
through here and dividing the British
forces. It is probably this elasticity
has resulted in he development of the
vicious drive which thejjnemy is now
making to the south. - x.
British Make Gallant Startd.
The resistance which has been of
. tered by the allied troops to the Ger
man advance constitutes one of. the
finest pages in the annals of the war.
The gallant sacrifcees' which those
hardy warriors i.iade in covering the'
withdrawal anckdelayTng the German
sweep forward.jundoubtedly will have
Hti important effect, on the final outcome-of
this greatest of all battles.
The appallinglaughter of the at
tacking' masses has continued since
the first day. All the prisoners have
much the same story to tell of the
great losses suffered. . Undoubtedly,
the Germans expected some such re
sult and it is probable all their cards
have not yet been played.
The Weather
For Nebraska--Unsettled.
Temprratute at Omaha Yesterday. .
y Hour. ( veg.
i a. m .. i
5 a. m. .... ,"7 33
7 a. m. ....34
8 a. m 36
- J a. m ,....38
10 a. m 13
11 a. m 49
12 m 52
1 p. m 65
2 p. m 68
3 p. m 61
4 p. m. 62
6 p. m ......61
6 p. m .....69
7 p.-m "....57
8 p. m, 54
Comparative I -oral Record.
1918. 1917. 19i6. ,115.
Highest yesterday .. 62 66 69 37
Lowest yesterday .'. 24 2S 31 28
Mean temperature .. 48 42 ' 45 32
Precipitation '.' 00 .0Q .00 .00
Temperature and precipitation depar
, tures from the normal:
' Normal temperature 4a
Excess for the day C
Total excess since March 1...... 382
Normal precipitation , M inch
Deficiency for the day Oi inch
Total precipitation since Mar. 1.. .11 Inch
Deficiency slnoe Mar. .1 1.03 inches
Excess io cor. period. 1917 .21 Inch
Jeficlency for cor. ftariod. 1916.. .79 inch
Reports From Stations at 1 P. M.
ilstlon and State Temp. High- Raln-
ofweather. 7 p. m. est. fall.
Cheyenne, cloudy ......50 58 T
Davenport, clear 44 50 .00
Denver, cloudy 66 68 .00
Dmaha. clear 57' 62 .00
f'T' indicates trace of precipitation.
L. A. WELSH, Meteorologist
rann
uvu
RESULT OF GREAT
BLOW UN CERTAIN--VON
LUDENDORFF
German General Praises British
for B(ave Resistance; Says
Battle Goes Exactly as
Planned.
Amsterdam, March 27. "A great
battle has been .fought and victory
has been wonj bu nobody can foresee
what will result from it," said General
von Ludendorff, chief aide to Field
Marshal von Hindenburg, in an. inter
view with the correspondent at the
fronfof the Tages Zeitupg of Berlin.
The general praised the British for
their tenacious resistance and con
tinued: "The British believed they could
rely oil th strength of machinery.
The employment of tanks and great
numbers of machine guns is typical
of their methods"'fof warfare."
The German infantry, the general
ajjds, had only one night's normal
rest during five or six days of battle.
Rislr Lives Many Timet.
"In a battle like this," he remarked,
"the infantryman must risk his life
not only once, but continuously from
trench to trench."
' In an interview which is published
in the Volks Zeitung of Cologne Gen
eral von Ludendorff says:
"The course of the battle goes ex
actly as jt was planned, and as it was
hoped it would go. The infantry has
completely maintained the spirit with
which it entered the war in 1914, and
this will bring fut'ther successes, al
though the enemy, is still strong and
fighrt witi. determination.
"We have succeeded in changing
the fighting from position warfare to
warfare of movement,.alth6ugh the at
tacker had everything against him
and the defender had strong defensive
means in his favor. Undoubtedly, the
British use machine guns with much
skill. For instance, they construct
subterranean corridors, starting from
trenches in which machine guns are
planted.
Advance With Spirit.
I "Such installations cannot be ob
served by our artillery, -and in foggy
weather especially cannot be reached.
Our infantry had to take all these machine-gun
nests, scattered everywhere
over the battlefield.
"Our men advanced with great spirit
so that it was difficult to follow rhem
with tired horses and damaged carts,
but the spirit of the men is splord'd.
"The preparations for the battle
meant two months of strenuous lalor.
In the beginning of February the or
der was given and on the nigh? of
Marcji 20-21 the attack was befun,
right to the minute. Everything was
ready. We see the result."
KAISER AND LUDENDORFF
' MIX IN VIOLENT QUARREL
Paris, March 27 Emperor William andGeneral von Lundendorff had
a violent quarrel before tjie beginning of the great attack on the western
front, according to a prominent Swiss, Who has just returned to Zurich after
some weeks in Germany, and has been interviewed by the correspondent of
the Temps. This man is quoted as saying:
There ,was much discreet talk in Berlin before the present offensive
concerning extremely violent scenes between Germany's leaders at general
headquarters, General von Ludendorff spoke so violent and authorita
tively that the emperor, becoming very pale, arose from his chair and
pounding the table, demanded:
" 'General, are you or I emperor of Germany?'
General von Ludendorff replied that he was only a soldier, and more
than anyone else desired peace. ' He said he was convinced that his plans
for an offensive were capable of bringing it about."
OMAHA, THURSDAY
-in c-n
MM
xJi I 1
immiKniiiiiiniiraiffiM
BRITISH RETAKE 2 TOWNS;
i FRENCH RETREAT AT R0YE;
! GERMANS SAY LINE BROKEN
Morlancourt and Chipilly
Now Held by Haig; Enemy
Troops Hold Albert;
Pushed Back on Anere.
(Bjr Associated Press.)
London, March 27.The Brit
ish delivered a counter-attack to-,
day between the angle of the An-,
ere and the Somme and recap
tured Morlancourt and Chipilly,
the war office announced this eve
ning. The French have been heavily
engaged west of Roye and were
forced to give ground, the an
nouncement states. Reinforce
ments for them are arriving.
An enemy attack in the neigh
borhood of Bucquoy has so far
made no impression upon the
British lines. '
A number of other heavy at
tacks, both north and south of the
Somme, were repulsed with heavy
loss td the Germans. The enemy's
troops are in Albert.
The Germans crossed the An
cre yesterday afternoon, but were
counter-attacked and driven back
across the river.
The British have again ad
vanced, their line south of the
Somme to Proyart
SincneiiicnniinnninKRiniii!
toUSS TROOPS
ODESSA AFTER JBL00DY
BATTLE
WITH
Bolshevik Forces', Fighting Austrians in Ukrainia, Take
Various Towns from Teuton Invaders ; Rada Re
fuses to Endorse Peace Treaty; PrepVres
Resistance By Armed Troops.
London March 27- Odessa has been recaptured by the
soviet and Ukrainian troops after a bloody battle, in which
naval forces took part, according to a, Moscow dispatch from
the semi-official Russian news agency.
i REDS REPULSE AUSTRIANS.
Moscow, Sunday, March 24. Bolshevik, troops, an official
announcement says, have been successful in fighting the Aus
trians in the southern Ukraine. The cities of Nikolayev, Kher
son and Zmananka have been recaptured by the Russians.
TAKE OTHER TOWNS. O,
A dispatch received in London
from Petrograd Tuesday said it was
reported the bolsheviki had' recap
tured Kherson and Nikolayev. Kher
son and Nikolayev are northeast of
Odessa and are important commerce
cities. Nikolayev" is fdrty mijes north
west of Kherson and has a naval yard
and large grain storehouses.
BOYCOTT PEACE TREATY.
The bolsevik Ukrainian Rada, which
fled from Kiev to Kharkov before the
Germans, is now at Ekaterinoslav,
where it has adoped resolutions re
fusing to endorse the peace treaty be
tween Germany and the Ukraine, un
less the central powers withdraw all
troops from the Ukraine. The Rada
decided to oppose the central powers
byeans of armed forces, strikes and
boycotts.
French Premier Says
Confidence Justified
Paris, March 27. In conversation
with deputies before the chamber
assembled this morning, Premier
Clemenceau declared that never
was confidence more- justified than
now. '
The Franco-British high com
mand is taking advantage of the re
spite to prepare for battles which)
the allies will deliver at their own
time and on the most favorable
ground.
Deputies who took part in earlier
campaigns express the opinion that
if the Germans can be held for 48
hours more their offensive will
prove to have been checked.
MORNING, .MARCH 28, 1918
to
-A
English Now Backing Up on
Both Sides of Somme
and Counter Attack
Fail, Says Berlin.
(By Associated Tress.)
' Berlin (Via London), March 27s
The British began to retreat
early this morning on a wide
front on both sides of the Somme,
army headquarters announced to- -day.
The stubborn resistance of
.the hostile rear guard was over
come in the sharp pursuit.
British and French divisions
which were defeated on March 25
endeavored again yesterday in the
pathless crater fields of the
Somme battlefield, the statement
adds, to arrest the German ad
vance. The German attack, it is de
clared, broke through the enemy's
lines. f
, To the north and south of Al
bert the Germans won crossings
of the Ancre. Albert was captured
last evening.
To the south of the Somme,
after violent fighting, German
forces drove the enemy back by
way of Chaulnes and Lihons.
Roye was taken by storm and
Uoyon was cleared of hostile
forces after bloody street fight
ing, the report states.
RETAKE
GERMANS
Praises Bee's Three
Special War Extras
The Omaha Bee deserves
great credit for its energy and
push in putting out three spe
cial editions Sunday, The people
wanted the latest news and The
B?e felt disposed to give it to
tlieni, and did. Plattsmouth
Journal.
WHEAT SHORTAGE
CAUSES FOOD CUT
IN FRENCH ARMY
Washington, March 27.-Informa-tiqn
that the bread ration of the
French soldiers, who are facing the
onslaught of Germany s armies, has
been cut because of the shortage of
wheat has led the food administration
to plan drastic measures to curb
hoarding in this country.
Wherever there is evidence to sup
port suspicion that the withholding
of food on which may depend the out
come of the war is due to disloyalty
or promeenng, it was saia lonignt,
prompt' action will be taken.
Wheat for the allies becomes more
imperative as the season progresses,
because of the danger of loss in ship
ping corn or potatoes, after April 1,
when the period of germination sets
in. Up to March IS the United States
was 800,000 tons behind in its pro
gram of cereal exports. Much of the
program was to have been corn,, but
the breakdawn in railroad transporta
tion delayed shipment so that wheat,
which earlier in the vear had been
given priority, had to be sent abroad
to avert famine.
'As only wheat and barley "can be
shipped after April 1, the public is
being asked to cut its consumption of
wheat to 50 per cent of normaf.
The March 1 report of the Depart
ment of Ag-iculture showed 111,000,
000 bushels of wheat on farms and
69,000,000 bushels in elevators .
Germans Look for. Big
Allied Counter Blow
Washington, March 27. Official
French dispatches received here today
say the newspapers in Germany are
preparing the people for - Franco
British offensive, forecasting the en
try of a powerful army of reserves.
FOURTEEN PAGES.
TEUTONS CROSS ANCRE RIVER;
ARE HURLED BACK BY HAIG
Terrific Counter' Attack by English Restores
Towns of Morlin court and Chipilly, -x
Says Official Report'
- I, i n i
1 (By Associated Press.) .
GERMAN LOSS TREMENDOUS.
The British counter attack between the angle of the Arce and Somme has
resulted in. the capture'of the two tdwns, Morlancourt and Chipilly. z
Haig s official statement admits the Germans crossed the Ancre, but declares .
they were driven back across the. river, The Germans hold Albert.
The British front is standing firm along the new line, which is the sohgesr
it has occupied, Reuter's correspondent m France declares. ('
' Germany ha,s lost 400,000 men in the grand offensive around Cambrai, accord-
ing toihe BritisKofhcial statement. - -,
- The estimated strength of the German division is 1 2,000- men. Official esti
mates place the losses of the attacking forces at 50 per cent of the number of men
engage. , : t
,rr According to these figures', 38 full divisions have been wiped i)ut. This is
borne out bythe fact that Germany has brought up 40 divisions from the reserve
torces. - . . ,
Paris; MaUh27r124ii$tiught the German advance was held up everywhere,
according to the official statement of the , war office today. The enemy, weakened
by heavy losses, if adds, has been obliged to slow up his efforts. J
COUNTER THRUST
BY FRENCH ARMY
TO FALLAT OflCE
Washington Connfident Turn
ing Point of Great Battle
" Near at ' Hand; Await
Word From Pershing.
Washington, March 27. Belief that
the turniflg point of the battle in
France is near at harid pervaded
Washington today, and American
military observers, who are closely
following developments in the terrific
struggle, centered their attention on
the front held by the French in antici
pation of a powerful counter-thrust.
War department officials today also
awaited confirmation . from General
Pershing of British official statements
that American troops were fighting
side by side with the French and
British. Nothing to show American
participation reached the War depart
ment last night and General Per
shing's reports offered only details
of the fighting in the region of Nesre
and Noyon, previously reported in
dispatches to the Associated Press.
Until official word -from General
Pershing is received none will mate
a' guess oa the part the Americans
are playing.
Quick Action Taken Upon
Bills By the Committees
(From a Staff Correipodnent.)
Lincoln, March 27. (Special-Telegram.)
The judiciary committee of
the house reported out for passage
three bills this afternoon, U. R. Nol.
1, 2 and 3, companion bills to the
soldier voting bill, and H. R. No. 6,
legalizing the home guards.
The educational committee of the
house, after wo minutes' considera
tion of II. R. No. 4, which repeals the
l(fockett law relating to the foreign
languages, reported it out for passage.
Lloyd George Sends
Appeal to America
For Troops Quickly
(By AMoclated Ftm.)
New York, March 27. A mes
sage from David Lloyd George,
prime minister of Great Britain,
calling upon the United States
to' send American reinforce
ments across the Atlantic in the
"shortest possible space of
time," was read tonight by Lord
Reading, British high commis
sioner to the United States at a
dinner given here in his honor.
0 Train, it Hetdi. CTMT W PrtDV mm" rI?XTTC!
Ntwi SUndt. Etc.. St. Ull
SiJi
' ' ENEMY ATTACKS WEAKEN.
The statement ays : '
"Last evening during the night the Germans, weakened
by their heavy losses, were compelled to retard their efforts.
The valiance of the French troops defending the ground, fool 1
by foot, is beyond all praise.
"The French are holding a line running through L'Echelle,,
St. Aurin and Beuvraignes, north of Lassingy, in front loi
the southern partof Noyon and along the left bank of the
Oise.' During the night the French repulsed strong recon
noitering parties whteh attempted to approach their position! .
northwest of Noyon.
"On the remainder of the front there was an intermittent
bombardment." v
GERMANS FAIL OF AIMS.
London, March 27. The zone of open warfare 4s continu
ing to enlarge as the entente forces fall back fighting under the
enormous weight of the German numbers says Reuter' corre
spondent at British headquarters in his dispatch today.
It is now clearly established, he adds, that the present
offensive is the great main effort oftheGermans and that it hai
no been as successful as they anticipated, the enemy being a
long way behind his time table and having failed to break
through and begin rolling; up tactics.
TRENCH WARFARE PAST.
The Germans are now pushing against the British line with
the full pressure of their masses. They have thrown in their
reserves more rapidly than they intended, it is declared, and ,
are, therefore, wearing themselves down, although they are
naturally tiring the defense in the process.
The general feeling, the correspondent reports, is that the
days of trench warfare are definitely passed.
CONTINUE FURIOUS ATTACKS.
British Army Headquarters in France, March 27. The
Germans last night continued their furious onslaught south
westward from Ham against the allies' defense in the region of
Roye and Noyon, having slowed down in their patent attempt
to cut through the British line further north, where such desi
perate resistance was offered.
Hard fighting occurred last night about the town of Al
bert. Large enemy forces pushed forward toward the place,
but at last accounts the British were holding them doggedly at
this possible gateway to Amiens. ' v
U.S. STEEL SHOWS
DECREASE OF 65
PER CENTIN YEAR
New York, March 27. Coincident
with an announcement of an increase
of IS per cent in the wages of its em
ployes making a total advance of 65
vr . mif .t. it..:. .J Ci.
per ceni suite i-jij, mc unuca omica
Steel corporation today made public
its annual report for 1917. This
showed a tremendous increase in the
volume of business, but a decrease in
earnings.
The volume of business for 1917, as
represented by combined gross sales
and earnings, equalled $1,683,552, an
increase of $452,483,773 over 1916.
After deduction of interest and
other charges total earnings, includ
ing an estimate of some $233,000,000
for war and income taxes set aside
for 1918, amounted to $304,161,471, a
decrease of $38,835,621.
Balance of earnings is further re
duced" bv other interest charges to
$295,292,180 t
- WJLil UVJJL X ID,
y
U PF.rT.ATM T.OST TJTPRTTnPV
The Germans have now reclaimed
virtually all the territory they held at
the beginning of the battle of the '
Somme in 1916. At 6ome places they
have not retaken all the ground, but at
other points they have overstepped it
somwhat. s
GERMANS GLOAT GAINS. "
Amsterdam. March 27. The Get',
man newspapers are already counting
the German gains. v
"It is self-evident," says the Cologne
Volks Zeitung, "that after what is
now happening we can no longer con
clude peace on the terms which we
were ready to accept a week ago. The
enemy must be brought to a submi&f
sive spirit and forced to grant every,
thing we need in the future, especially
in colonies and raw materials."
German Attack repulsed.
London, March 27. A heavy attack
was made early in the night against
the new British line south of the
Somme. It was repulsed after severe
fighting, the war office announces.
' In consequence of attacks yester.
(Continued on-Far Five, Column Two.)
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