Paris, Nov. 17.
French artillery was active on the Western Front yesterday afternoon and evening, driving back strong German patrols east of the Moselle area, south of Saarbruecken and north of Wissenburg, the French high command announced last night, A French detachment surprised a group of German infantrymen digging new trenches and erecting machinegun emplacements east of the Saar River in the Blies region, the announcement said. Several small German patrols were dispersed in this same region, it was added.
German reconnaissance planes again appeared over north-east France yesterday in three groups. The first group arrived by the North Sea and returned the same way, The second arrived by the North Sea and returned to Germany by flying over Belgium, The third flew over the West Front and returned by way of Belgium.
It was assumed the planes did not encounter Allied planes, as the French war communique issued yesterday reported only "local patrol activity" on the West Front, The French Government announc~ ed that it had decided to liberate the military class of 1911 from active duty.—United Press,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.