The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1915-08-10
OPENING CAMPAIGN
ON WESTERN FRONT
STARTLING AND SWIFT MOVES
MARKED THE OPENING OF
THE WAR IN WEST
Aisne and Disc Battle Line Quickly
Extended to the Sea-SituatiOn
is Reviewed

The first month and half OF thu
western campaign was made up O
startling, swift moves. On September
IL, a:.er the defeat on the Marine, the
along The Aisne river. The ten and 9
half ,~onths since then have seen q
long deadlock
Ths battle line OF the Aisne and the
Disc Quickly extended northeast to the
sea Fighting has been continuous,
With tremendous losses. The general
situation has remained unchanged,
gains of = few miles for one side at
one point Offset by minor gains for
the enemy in other sectors.
At the beginning OF August the
kaiser took possession of the little
state of Luxembourg and demanded
passage through Belgium to the Fran
co-Belgian frontier,
/ Permission to pass denied, Won
Einem attacked Liege august A.,
while other German armies passed
around the city and swept over the
level Belgian roads at terrific rate.
The little Belgian army yielded Brus-
| sells and fell back to Antwerp and
Client.
First Big Engagement.
| Not until the Germans had almost
reached the French border did the
FIRST important engagement take place
This is generally known as the battle
of Mons-Charleroi (about August 20
28), but at the same time there was
severe fighting along the whole line
through Thionville in Lorraine and
along the Vosges in upper Alsace,
which the French had invaded with
temporary success.
This battle resulted in defeat for the
French and English.
While obtaining some successes In
counter-attacks on the advancing Ger
mans at Peronne and at Guise, the
French were obliged to fall back rap
Idly to the line of the River Marine.
On the left the French had with
drawn to below Paris and the WESTERN.
most German army, under Won Kluck, !
followed
The garrison of Paris was put in
thousands OF motor cars and hurled on
Won Kluck's flank. The latter was not
taken entirely unawares and met the
attack strongly, but At the same time
the army of General Foch attacked the /
German army on Won Kluck's left and
drove 1t back. - sA... So =.
Driven Back From Paris.
The Germans had begun the battle
with five armies in line The with
drawal of the two fart.:est west now
caused the retreat CT the third, fourth
and fifth in that order, each In turn
finding it's flank exposed by the with
drawal Of the troops on its right. At
the same time the movement on the
east end of the German line was &C.
CELEBRATED by strong attack from the
French fortified zone of Verdun.
The German retreat was as orderly :
as that of the French and English had
been. The invaders took up an ad-
mirable defensive position. 1t ran
just north of the Aisne, river, on
series OF bluffs, then just north of g
Chalons and through the wooded. j
rough regions of the Argonne and the
Woevre, Joining hands here with the
troops besieging Verdun. The allies
have tried this line in vain ever since +
Both combatants now tried to turn. t
the west flank Enormous bodies of e
cavalry. On the part of the French n
Flanders. On the part of the French +,
here was largely the desire to link up
With the Belgians, now being attacked
n Antwerp. The mighty siege guns :,
# the Germans made short work of u
he Belgian seaport, however, and 1t U
ell on October 8. The remnants of S
he Belgian army retreated along the W
ca coast and the Germans in a final ic
ush reached Ostend October 15). te
Line Extended to the Sea, =,
The battle line of the Aisne was now
xtended co the sea, the Germans hold -
az the important French city of Lille, =
lille the allies kept Ypres in Belgium I'll
nd partly by flooding the lowlands, 81
ED the position of the User river and lie
anal of
From October Is to November 10 err
as fought the desperate first battle
Ypres, when the Germans suffered in
normous losses in attempts to break
trough the line in Flanders and reach
alais. They succeeded in pushing M
lck the allies only little and the -
vasion of S1lesia by the COssacks