rre
below St. Quentin, and the River Scarpe east of Arras.

FIERCEST BATTLE IN WORLD'S HISTORY.

Field Marshal Haig's report from British headquarters in France
described the German offensive as comprising an intense bombardment by
the artillery and a powerful infantry attack on a front of more than
fifty miles. Some of the British positions were penetrated, but the
German losses were exceptionally heavy.

It was reported at the end of the first day that the fiercest battle of
the world's history was in progress, and that 80,000 Germans were lost
in battle; while Berlin reported the capture of 16,000 Allied prisoners
and 200 guns.

The Associated Press correspondent reported that at least forty
divisions of German soldiers were identified as actively participating
in the attack. No such concentration of artillery had been seen since
the war began. The enemy had 1,000 guns in one small sector--one for
every twelve yards. The Germans in many sections attacked in three waves
of infantry, followed up by shock troops. As a result they suffered very
heavy casualties.

The German massed artillery was badly hammered by the British guns.

In the first stage of their offensive the Germans failed badly in the
execution of their program, as was attested by captured documents
showing what they planned to do in the early hours of their offensive.

By March 24 the attacks of the Germans had been redoubled, and it was
estimated that more than 1,000,000 Huns had been thrown into the
struggle against the British forces on which the attack was
concentrated.

The most notable feature of the attack from the spectacular viewpoint
was the bombardment of Paris by monster German cannon, located in the
forest of St. Gobain, west of Laon, and approximately 76 miles away from
Paris.

BIG GUN ONE HUNDRED FEET LONG.

Though no official description of the big gun was ever given, it was
stated by military authorities that it was approximately 100 feet in
length, and that several were in use, and more being built by the
Germans. At first the statement that a gun could shoot such a distance
was doubted, but when 75 persons were killed in Paris and one of the
shells hit a church doubt no longer existed. It also developed that the
gun was originally an American invention, and that similar weapons were
being built by the United States.

The use of the big gun was in the nature of a "side-issue" to bring
terror to the French, and in line