, ammunition and retired. 12 Pages nt ------ Ey Hm Che Daily 7 a itish Whig "YEAR 85: NO. 71 KINGSTON, O NTARIO, MONDAY, MARCH 25, 1918. i LAST EDITION nemy Fail To Break Through British Defence BRITISH ARTILLERY'S SPLENDID SACRIFICE | the Covered the Infantry Retreat Til the Very fre Now Counter Last--The British ~ Attacking---Enemy Depends on Sheer Weight of Numbers. (Canadian Press Despatch) : London, March 25.--The British in "vw. their retreat defended every hill, ridge and fortification with the great- | report says: The British have infiiet- ed severe losses ats every part of the battle line, so that where the enemy ddvanced he passed through thou- | i : =~ - British May Have To Retire Further (Canadian Press Despatch.) London, March 25.---~The text of newspaper comment on the great battle to-day is that hour one for courage and standing firm at home as much as at the front, The wri- ters agree that this is a time when all political questions and all differences of opinion over the of the must be forgotten. The Standard says the Allied line withdrawn and may have to go back further, is management war has been LONG RANGE GON | FIRES ON PARS n Was Located Seveaty-Two Miles From! the French MYSTERIOUS BOMBARDMENT i | i {OF THE CITY WAS SOLVED BY | THIS DISCOVERY, | The Calibre of the Shells Reaching but that it is still intact, Nt er -------------- | - est stubbornness, messages from Ger- sands of his own dead and wounded BIG GAS Al [ACK man war correspondents on the west- ern fronts say. The British artil- lery, it is added, splendidly sacrificed | | itsel! in covering the retreat, batter-| /'8 #& vantage ground on our first ies only breaking up when the Ger- man storming troops arrived within a | hundred yards of the positions. The British gunners then fired their last British Counter-Attacking. (Canadian Press Despatch) London, March 2§.--The British this morning were counter-attacking between Nesle and Ham, a Reuter's correspondent at British headquar- tres reports. The French also were in action. North of Bapaume, he slates the Germans were attacking in considerable force at dawn but did not get through the British barrage, The Germans, says the correspon- dent, are relying on the sheer-weight of numbers in their heavy attack¢ on British lines, relieving their tired troops by fresh divisions which press forward without waiting for artillery support. The enemy all day yester- day and through the moonlight last night, kept up his hammering of Bri- tish positions, The messhge states the British troops are resisting with valant stubbornness. The Germans are employing small bodies of Uhlans mainly as scouting patrols, it is add- ed. > A further advance late yesterday by the Germans at some points along the battle front is recorded, Wilson Congratulates Haig. | many In accordance with the general plan of action, in view of the enemy gain- | ing a footing in our defensive sys- tem here and there, and thus secur- line of defence, our divisions have fallen back new defensive posi- tions, > They have done this methodi- cally under continuous and increas- ing 'pressure of the Germans, Along to parts of the line their move- | BY CANADIANS Over 5,000 Drums of Lethal Gas Dis- charged at the Germans. {ment has been covered by reguard | actions of the mogt glorious heroism, small bodies of nfen sometimes sacri- SEESAEREEE pa) ENEHY WITH INTEREST forder to gain fime for their com- | rades. Though entirely surrounded in some cas¢s by German .storm THE HUN LOSSES MUST | BEEN ENORMOUS, HAVE troops, they have defended redoubts | and outposts for many hours wards, pouring out machine-gun fire upon the advancing waves and raking their ranks. | How Wire Was Destroyed. The enemy's gunfire with quick- | time fuse destroyed much of our | wire, and the rest was forced by the | sheer weight of human bodies. front and support lines were smashed | into a chaos of earth,and the German | storm troops took them without | much delay. They were lightly held | the Canadians Thursday night against | and the English and Scottish battal- | ions fell back in good order. On the main battle line the en- emy's waves still came on and were mown down by our machine-gunners | i after-| | March Our | As He Was Caught By Both Can- adian Gas and Artillery--A Ger- man Raid on Hill Seventy Fails. Canadian Headquarters in France, 23.--While German and Bri. tish troops were struggling, far to the south, in the opening clash of the spring campaign, the greatest pro- jector gas bombardment in the world's history was carried out by between Lens Sharply at 11 o'clock the enemy positions and Hill 70. | a signal rocket gave notice of its be- | ginning. A moment later over 5,000 Paris Equivalent to Nine and a Half Inches, X {Carsdian Press Despateh.) Paris, March 25.--The Germans have been firing on Paris with a long range gun since eight o'clock Satur- day morning Shells of 240 mil- metres reached the eapital and sub- urbs at intervals of @ quarter of an hour killing and wounding a number of people. The shortest distance from Paris to the front i8 over sixty-two miles, Measures for coufiter attack- ing the enemy's canfion were under- taken. . { The most powerful guns in action heretofore have been able to hurl | their projectiles only twenty miles or | thereabouts. The calibre of shells | reaching Paris is equivalent to about | It was thought that the { gun fired some new aerial torpedo. | | The gun which shelled Paris was | located ..on. Sunday twelve miles be- | | hind the German lines(74 miles from Paris) and the hombardment of { Paris by this gun was re-opened t Sunday. At 6.55 a.m., shells fell! { about the city every few minutes, but | | the people went to Palm Sunday ser-| | vices as usual. i | The firing eeased at 3.30 p.m, Sun-| {day. It is thought two guns were used, h | Long range bombardment of} | Paris was resumed at 6.30 o'clock | this mornjng, _but was interrupte after the second shot. 9% inches. | An Aerial Torpedo, (Canadian Press Despatch) Ottawa, March 25.--One of the : a : : ! at short range, and by our field ar-| drums of lethal gas, simultaneously highest officers in 'thie military or- tillery firing with open sights. Their | dead and wounded were piled up in| heaps, but this did not check for| long "the \Jense masses that followed | for further sacrifice. There was in-| released from projectors, were shurl- ed into enemy territory from the out- skirts of Lens to Cite St. Auguste and Bois de Dix Huit. From his {dnance department here statod that | the weapan which is bombarding | Paris is not really an artillery gun | | but is the projector of an aerial tor-| | pedo which is valuable more for its| i é a, 3 he | tense fighting round Lagnicourt and | front lines and strong points, favor-| moral effect on the people rather than | Demicourt, the last two villages on | this line to hold out, and the High- landers of the 51st Division fought | ing winds carried the poisonous las a weapon of actual destruction. | | He said the Allies had been working | clouds back upon the enemy's dug-!on this inven tion_with.more or less re-| 8, reser sem- | sults, with immortal heroism, When their | Outs, supports, reserves, and assem- | 8 PEF PL PELE I PIE P RAL P ERE tbr b Pete | i | WHAT 4 DAYS' FIGHTING GAVE THE GERMANS. (Canadian Press Despatch.) London, March 25.--The sit- uation on the battle front last night was that half the territory wrested from or given up by the Germans since July, 1916, is again in the hands of the enefay as the rest of four days' fight- ing. The Germans made use of 1,464:000 men against the Brit- ish, Gen. Haig admits the cross- ing of the Somme by the Ger- mans, The enemy has sustain- ed huge losses in this sector. rE BB e OPP eb Erte Teed <+ The Canadians discharged over 5,000 drums of lethal gas, following this up with artillery and bombs, The Times says the real test of the offensive has yet to come. Aedbeob dodo dodededodid dedeoddidedodeoduleds ASQUITH DECLARES HE IS STILL LEADER And Has No Intention of Re- linquishing That Office. ~ ~ RIGHT HON. 1. ASQUITH London, March 25.--Herbert H Asquith, former Premier, made it | plain he does not consider that Pre- PEPE Peer eed closed -- The Enemy {Canadian Press be London, March on the results of the German offen-| sive, the Daily spatch) mmenting { los enemy Chronicle the German 150.000, the Says: "Assuming that are at least ustained a reverse, for he has not obtained a strategical suceess directly conducing to a decision while he has cent effectives without similarly lost from eight to ten per of his lowering the efficiency of the Allies, This mat- ter is of the greatest imp ritance, for Germany at the present is at a ecriti- | cal moment when the man-power pen- dulum is favor the Allies. the Anglo- French yet swinging in of No weakness at junction has been dis- closed and the task before the enemy in the next few days of the battle is more formidable than that already {accomplished." -- Aim At "The ultimate object of this rapid enemy the great says the Amiens, is clearly strategic point of Amiens," Times, the sufficiently { to warrant the contemplation of cat- { astrophe, have | would bring enemy to a { from which threaten our north- | ern line; it would assist them to strike at the Channel ports it would | endanger seriously safety Paris." The Times advises the British peo- ple to take seriously the long-range gun which has bombarded Paris, 'and adds: "We may be quite certain that our own inviolate shores will goon learn what the new gun can do." | advance "and though it is still remote situation is serious The fall of Amiens might three-fold It the point to consequences, and the of | ---- i i Attacking Around Bapaume, i (Canadian Press Despatch) | London, March 25.--Fresh attacks! {by Germans have developed north-| ward and southward of Dapaume, the! War Office announces. The British repulsed powerful attacks yesterday | THE GERMAN CASUALTIES ~~ ARE AT LEAST 150,000 No Weakness In Anglo-French Junction Yet -Dis- Is Attacking Around Bapaume -- May Aim at Channel Ports. tion to the amount of territory gain- ed. British Defence Unbroken. New York, March 25.--(By Asso- fated Press).---To-day's review of the British position in Flanders says: Persistent attacks with strong forces of infautry and lavish use of artillery have not enabled the Gers mans to break through the British defense, and after four days the great offensive blow in Northern France has not yet brought a deei- sion for the attackers. 'Heéavy fight- ing ids in progress around Bapaume near Peronne, and where the French and British fronts join. Field Marshal Haig's withdrawal, previously planned in case of a heavy enemy attack, has been exe- cuted in a manner described as mas terly, and great credit for its success is given to small uniis which some- times outnumbered by eight or nine to one, clung to their posts and im- peded the German advance, The British have made few coun- ter-attacks, but every one attempted has been successful. British efforts are centred on withdrawing as occa- sion requires and permitting the en- emy to wear himself out before the British defences, The intensity of the struggle is shown by the official announcement that British aviators on Saturday brought dowh fifty-four enemy ma- chines. The British lost only nine, In addition to carrying out their work in the fighting zone, British airmen again have _drapped bombs successfully on Mannhefm, Germany. American Troop Movements, Berlin claims that Franco-Ameris can detachments aided the British in the fighting on Saturday, but the identity of the American units have not been learned. It is possible that American and French troops from Chemin des Dames sector have mov- ed up to the Oise or north of #t, but it is more probable that American engineers with British army were concerned. There has been little except artil- lery fire activity on the remainder of the British front and on the French and American sectors. German ar- tillery fire has been violent along Chemin des Dames in the Campagne afternoon northward of Bapaume, I north-east of Verdun and in Alsace. French Aid The British, (Canadian Press Despatch) -- ! mier David Lloyd George succeeded | Paris Attacked from the Air, | him to the leadership of the Liberal (Canadian Press Despateh) | party. This statement was made in| Paris, March 5 official | the course of a strong speech before (Canadian Pres: Despatch. y Washington, March, 25.---Presjdent Wilson to-day cabled Field Marshal Haig, congratulating him on the Bri- flank on the right was exposed a bat- | bly areas. The whole front was lit | talion of Seaforths covered the with- | up with enemy flares, which could | Old Methods Of Attack. drawal of the other troops regard- be dimly seen through the heavy mist | 25.--An tish stand against the German of- fensive and predicting a final Allied victory, King George's Appreciation, (Canadian Press Despatch) London, Marche 25.--I ing George, hag sent Field Marshal Haig a tele-, gram of encouragement and appre- clation of the gallant work of the troops under his command. i { Contesting Bitterly. (Canadian Press Despateli) London, March 25.--The Germans have been pushing forward by sheer weight of numbers with the assist- ance of little artillery in the region between -Baupame and 'Peronne. The British fell back again somewhat in the ffghting late on Sunday. This marked the main success of the en- omy, whose progress is being cQn- tested bitterly step by step. -- Bapaume Taken, Says Berlin. Canadian Press Despatch, ) Berlin, March 25.--The Germans arg now standing to the north of the Somme in thy middle of the former Somme battlefield. Bapaume was taken in the night. In the evening Nesle was taken by storm, the offi- cial statement adds. British, Am- ericans and French were thrown back ' through a pathless wooded country. More than 45.000 prison- ers and more than 600 guns have now been captured, the statement says. ---- * Kaiser Visits Peronne. © (Canadia Fuses Despas 3 London, Ma 2 an pros William and | Marshal von Hin- denberg visited Pyronne on Sunday evening, Secard 'to Berlin advices orwarded from Amsterdam. - German losses in the battle of Ba] pame ure ed as "eotipara- tively heavy. i = © oc 5 : British Retired Methodically, Londo un, March 25.-Philip Gibbs' Arr. British ae Splendidly; ] g on Parls; Big German Tied a Blue Bottle: Incidents Hohtribution sg Soors Sen: Soin] Aromcers 5 : hurch, p 3 Rhymes. TRE Wins; Plant less of their own lives against hordes of the enemy. They held the position even when the enemy brought up two field guns and fired into them at point-blank range. This last stand of the Seaforths en- abled our men on the right to gain their defensive line, and only a tew men came back after that deed of glorious endurance. AA Dead Crowded on Dead. { Heavy German attacks i launched all day against serve line in this sector, and the dead were crowded upon the dead before they could force our troops to a further withdrawal, first to Vaux, Morchies and Beaumetz, and on Friday to the neighborhood of the old German line. Yesterday there were strong attacks again all along this line, but the enemy made no progress, and bled his foremost troops to death against our defence. There wag colitinuous fighting in and out of the village of Mory all last night, and, as on the preceding days, the enemy was endeavoring to get this place, in order to @rive road. Mory was lost, but retaken several times. A battalion of the Leicesters was surrounded there, and fought its way out with extra- ordinary valor. Afterwards the en- emy was surrounded in the village, and many were killed, and ldst night Highlanders and Lowland- ers swept through the village and recaptured trenches east of it. Hacked Their Way Through. A company of the Lelcesters held Vaucelette Farm, near Epehy, though entirely surrounded, and would not surrender, so they were either killed or captured. Another battalion was surrounded at Pezier- es, and, after fighting all.day and 'Sweeping the enemy with machine- gun fire, made a. gallant effort to fight a way. through two lines of Germans. Some of them succeeded and hacked their way back to our Hnes. Meanwhile, on the left of Lhe battle-line, between Monchy and 'Bullecourt, there was desperate fighting, the enemy flinging in new preserves and passing iment through regiment toy force his way forward at any cost. : g There 'were no fewer than ten at- tacks against Vaux and Wrancourt, and the enemy brought up his cave alry .in case the line was pierced, but they' could wot break through, and there was great slaughter of men and horses by our machine gun- ners. oa were | our re- | Fooled Foe Artillery. The position of some of our bate changed taries was V res A shightly while the men in our lines could hear the enemy's gas alarm.and cries of distress from the hostile trenches. Caught by Gas And Artillery, Nine minutes later our field artil- lery, supported by heavy guns and tretich mortars, opened up with a slow bombardment, increasing in vio- lence until, forty minutes ls.ter, the enemy positions were swept with' a ort, intensive, creeping barrage, which raked hig forward and rear areas with high explosives, Caught by our gas, without a moment's warning, and caught again as he was emerging. from his shel- ters by our artillery, the enemy's casualties must have been very beavy, for the efféctiveness of our smaller gas operations had been em- phatically proved by the evidence of prisoners, and to-might's bombard- ment was three times greater than amything of its kind ever attempt- ed by us on the Western front, and much greater than anything ever launched by the Boche. The German forces were beaten off clock this morning, when they launched a raid in strength against our trenches in the Hill 70 sector. ee SHELL STRUCK A CHURCH And Several Persons Killed While Attending Service, {Canadian Press Despatch Paris, March 25. The Matin says one of the shells fired in the direction of Paris yesterday by the Germans struck a church in the suburbs. Several persons, who were attending the Palm Sunday service. were killed, 5 ae Fath Journal says that Jules erne loreseen this gun, and it declares, ver, that it he a 'French invention. "More a year ago," Nt adds, "we discovered the seoret firing our cannon more thay 190 kilometres. The secret lies in the greater suppression of the at- spheric resistance." Echo de Paris declares that the im that Paris is within range of the German guns, "It is a political cannon," | the newspaper says, DL. ------------------ -. Heligoland, to command the com- merce of the Black Sea. is to be con- structed by Germany on Snake Is- land, about 25 miles from the mouth of the Danube. The new Rumanian Premier, Alex- ander Marghiloman, is striving for an Rumania and bombardment at dawn, [or (Continued on Page 6.) with heavy loss shartly after 5 o'- * the bombardment is designed to give| A pression statement says several airplanes at- tacked Paris Friday night dropping a number of bombs. There were some casualties, This city had its third air raid| in twenty-four fours Saturday night. It lasted several hours -<nad there were some casualties. War Tidings, i The Germans are making their| big effort near St. Quentin in order | {to try and divide the British and | French lines, | The Archbishop of Canterbury! asks that all churches in the Empire | offer special prayers for the Allies'! CaliSe, | The German official announcement! {states that Emperor William is in| commend of the western front. = | There were 134 German airplanes | shot down on the western and Italian | fronts in the last three days. The | Allies lost only eleven. } ---------------- FREER RER EPR PR PR bbb bee | + + + CAIRO IS AWAITING *| + A ZEPPELIN ATTACK. * Gre ds | % (Canadian Préss Despatch.) +! + Cairo, Egypt, March 25.-- #| 4% Zeppelins have been observed #| 4 flying over the Island of Crete & # in the Mediterranean and all # the inhabitants of this city have % been ordered to take shelter + from air bombs when the alarm # is given. A bombardment is ex- + pected here, + PEEP PER PEL PEPPER ERE P Phe i + * + + + * * + American Steamship Sunk. (Canadian Press Despatch) London, March 25.--The Admiral- ty announces that the American steamship Olattocchee, 5,088 tons, has been sunk by a.German submar- ine off the English coast. Her crew of seventy-eight was 'anded safely. . Famous Actress Dead; New' York, March 25.--Maggie Mitchell, one of fhe_most SAmaus of merican actresses, at in this city at the age of ot ham s ». » CANADIANS LAUNCHED '5 ' _ GREAT GAS ATTACK. ¢ London, March 25. The + nadians on Friday night, e the English troops were ¢ further south, launch- + greatest i L £ PEPE PRP b pb ed | didate for the Houke { choice, I was n | Liberal party," | mier. 'gas bombard- #|; a gathering of Liberal's at Derby, in which constituency Mr. Asquith's son, Raymond Asquith, was a can- of Commons when killed in action, September 15th, 1917. "It is ten years since, by your free inated leader of the id the former Pre- "I have not resigned that posi- tion, and I am not aware that I have been deposed. Until the time comes when my natural faculties desert me, of which event I will, no doubt, receive timely warning from my can- did friends, I have no intention of re- linquithing the leadership of the party." . ADVANCING ENEMY FOUGHT BY AIRMEN British Aviators, Flying Low, Pour Rounds Into Attack- ing Germans. London, Mareh 25.----British air- craft during the fighting along the front in rance aided materially the infantry forces below, killing or wounding many Germans with their machine guns while flying at low al- titudes, according to a British offic- ial statement dealing with aviation. In addition, British aircraft bomb- ed important military positions be- hind the line and aviators accounted for numerous German airmen in bat- ties {n the air. : GOVERNMENT ACTION. {It Will Not Interfere With Lora's Pay Act, Ottawa, March 25.--From the number of létters and telegrams reaching the Prime Minister's office, it would 'appear that an impression has gone abroad that it is the inten- tion of the Government to amend the Lofd's Day At in the interests of greater production. Tt is authorita- tively stated that there is mo inten- tion on the part of the Government either to amend the Act or 10 inter- Tere with its operation. As g matter of fact, under the provisions of the Act its enforcement is largely a mat- ter of provincial administration, The Germans have already estab- % lished through railway commections hetween the Russian districts taey April 1st Anyway, { London, Mareh 25 Lack of Ger- {man innovations in strategy and wea- | {pons in the offensive renders the | | British extremely cautious | { They still believe the enemy may | {try a surprise! perhaps an attack to! | the north (against the Channel poris | {of Dunkirk and Calais), when the {British reserves are diverted against, {the present centre of the German ad- | vance in the Cambrai sector { 1 It is pointed out that the Germans! are attacking positions which they | i onee abandoned themselves, retaking | {each foot at infinitely greater cost| than the advance is worth, unless they succeed in smashing through { Col. Regington, military expert of the Morning Post, warns of the pos-| sibility of a Grand Fleet action in con-| junction with the offensive. If the Germans seek a local sue- ress for the consumption of their | populace, they have probably picked the best place, though it is the very | worst for a real or strategic victory. {i Considering the openess of the! {allied position and the difficulty of { building trench fortifications under observation, the (Germans will have] i | failed badly if he does not win a local | SUCCESS, { iis attack may be a blind to cover | an onslaught elscwhere hut wihere- | ever he attacks the enemy lodees, will be great, < i The German is returning to his | earlier tactics and beginning once | agaln to attack in mass, as he has not | done since the days of the first battle] of Ypres, x : { Picked- Hun Divisions, #0 Responsible quarters sre gratified | at the magnificent manner in which | the British troops are withsts dding the ordeal, ' Not a singie division | failed or faltered. ¥ | It is noteworthy that some actual | retirements on our front were made! ouly upon orders, after the troops | had held the trenches intact through | the whole of the first day's violent ag- | sanit, : | The first dense waves of Thurs. day's attacks were frequently held by our wires, The Germans halted and hacked their way through, whilst our riflemen and gunners were mak- ing a veritable shambles of the! ground The enemy fought with! Sturdy valor, for it was picked divis-| ions which were participating : dt has been noted that all the at! lacking troops are clad in new uni| forms, and it will be remembered i, this connection that von Hindenburg, boasted he' would be in Parig to break through in record {tme, and as the divisions melt away under the torrents of shells and bul- dots, fresh ones are flung in The enetay's losses are officially re. ported here to have beer enbrmous, and to have been out of all propor- 3 Xe | yesterday Paris, March 25.--The French on Saturday went to the assistance of the British and 100k over a sector of the battle front, In the region of Noyon and on the right bank of the Oise, heavy fighting with = the Ger- mans is in progress, British Official Statement, (Canadian Prpss Despatch.) London, March \26.--To-day's offi- cial statement folldws: "The battie.geafinues with great violence on the whole front. 'Power- ful attacks delivered by the enemy afternoon ug evening north of Bapaume were heavily re- pulsed, Only at one point did the German infantry reach our trenches, - whence they were immediately thrown out. Elsewhere the enemy's attacks were sfopped by rifle, ma- chine gun and artillery fire in front of our positions, and his troops were driven back with great loss. During the night and this morning, fresh hostile attacks have again developed in this neighborhood and also to the south of Bapaume, South of Pe- | ronne, bodies of German troops, who had crossed the river between ILdi- court and. Brie, were driven back to the east bank by our counter-at- tacks." Break In Stocks, (Canadian Press Despaicly,) New York, March 25.---Stocks ibroke from one to three points at the opening of the market here to-day on further heavy selling impelled by the war news. re Dutch Cabinet to Refuse? (Canadlun Press Despatch) London, March 25. ~The Dutch Cabinet is said to have decided on Sunday to send the Allied Powers a formal refusal of their offer of grain in return for Dutch ships. R. E. Wright succeeds T. E. Kin- ney as manager of the Old Home- stead faotory, Picton. Mr. Wright will have charge of the three Picton factories of the Dominion Canners, Limited. (Canadian Press Despateh.) British troops have driven She Germans, who crogsed back over yr A river