Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-08-20
d'Epinal, in which France hopes to

d'Epinal, In which France hopes to
trap the invaders.
The exact nature of the advanced
line Notifications between Verdun
Toul and Epfnal.Belfort is unknown
to all except the officers Of the French
army, and probably the Secret In:
telligence Department Of the German
stan. But occasionally automobile
parties OF Americans driving through
little-frequented roads in the heart
Of the Vosges have come upon huge
buried cliffs overhanging pass or EN-
1nence, and the hasty challenge Of q
sentinel has sent them to the right
about.
Strictly speaking, Verdun and Tou>
are both entrenched camps, rather
than f%ortresses, with extensive peri
meters and ~far-aung outworks. The
works between them consist Of a Sc
ries Of forts d'arret. From Toul ia
!Espinal, in the valley Of the upper
M0selle, the French strategists left
the gap previously referred to, a. the
trouee Epinal, In order that the Ger.
mans, turned back from the elaborate
Notifications which edge the gap, may
swirl through It, Injured by lack OF
resistance, and suddenly find them,
selves enveloped on all sides In a cul.
de-sac, men and cannon.
Epinal and Belfort, the key-points
of the chain Of works on the other
side of the gap, are intrenched camps
like Verdun and Toul, and the works
between them are forts d'arret of the
same type al constitute the "Meuse
Line" It was the garrison Of Belfort
which distinguished itself by heroic
resistance in the war of 1901
Beyond Belfort there Is another con.
%tinuation of this first line of defense.
comprising heavy works in the neigh
borhood of Montbellard and along the
summit of the Lomont range, which
terminates at the TANKS of the Jura
mountains on the Swiss frontier. The
French flank toward Switzerland is
also protected, however, by works at
Pantarlier and elsewhere. Even in
the unlikely event of the Germans
succeeding in forcing their way
through Switzerland, the French
troops would be able to face them,
confident in the support of permanent
Notifications upon which they might
retire at need.
In the rear Of the Lines of the
Mouse and the Moselle" lies a second
airy defense in the shape of two large
defended areas, in which, under cef-
tain circumstances, the main French
armies will assemble preparatory to
offensive operations, and to which
they may return If defeated. These
areas form ideal grounds for the actu-
al field mobilization Of armies, as well
as effective barriers to the German
invasion. The eastern area, lying be.
hind the EpinalB elfort works, is in
the form Of a triangle, the points Of
which are the ~fortresses Of Langres,
on the plateau Of that name, Dion
and Besancon.
Eighty or ninety miles from Ian
gres begins the chain of three fort.
resses-Rheims, Laon and La Fere-
which constitute the defenses Of the
second area, and which, in them.
selves, form an effective defense
against invasion through Luxembourg
and Belgium, almost overlapping,
some distance in their rear, the
works between Verdun and Toul. The
gap between these two systems Of
Qualifications is another trap left in
%tentionally by the French for the pur-
pose Of dfsking the enemy into an
unavoidable situation where they
could be pounded on two or three
sides at once.
Even the Belgian frontier has been
defended, the three 1irst-class fort
resses Of Lille, Valenciennes, and
Maubeuge forming q chain, of resist
ance which should block, at least tenn
porarily, the advance Of an army, no
matter how large, necessitating the
detachment of considerable bodies OF
troops to blockade and isolate them.
"a third gap, about 100 miles wide,
has been left between Maubeuge and
the intrenched camp Of Verdun, the
idea, according to the opinions of Ger
man army officers, being for reasons
known only to the French, directly
to tempt the Germans to attack
France through the Duchy Of Luxem.
burg-which is precisely what the
Germans are doing.
II President Wilson believes it is