New Britain herald., 1916-09-28

their line they will be compelled to rely for their defence on the tactl- cal skill of their commanders and the doubtful ability of their rank and file to stand up under heavy odds. With the development of the allied l strategy on the western front it be- l comes more and more evident that 1 the crucial struggle between the | Somme- Oise-Aisne line and the Prus- | sian frontier will come largely on the little Duchy of Luxemburg. French to Block Escape. 1 When the first gx4t sweep into France began, in August two years l ago, there were four distinct routes | of invasion, all of them following nat
 ural or artificial channels of travel. l The first was the Valley of the Mo- l selle, the Coblentz-Luxemb burg rail way and the Long'wy gateway, which l brought the crown prince to the Ar l gonne and the heights of the Mouse. The second was the valley of the 1 Mouse and the railway from Namur to Mezieres. The third was the Sambre l valley, and the fourth the great inter l 1 Brussels to Paris.
 l The natural Ines of retreat from l French soil would follow these lines l of advance The Ang1O-French com l 1nand, in their comprehensive plans, 1 which are not confined to battle or 1 a campaign, but are great enough in l scope to carry to the day of the gen. | eral armistics do not intend that these
 avenues of retreat will be open when 1 the Prussians dash to the frontier be- | gins.
 They intend that Luxembourg and l the contiguous Ardennes shall be the
 Prussian Sedan.
 l Belgium shall be devastated no
 more if military genius can preserve l 1t.
 The Prussian organization violated l I.uxemburg's neutrality once and
 there are signs that the great gen.
 eral staff is prepared to violate 1t again and there make the last stand
 to cover the road to the country be- yond the Rhine.
 l The entente powers are anxious to
 save Luxemburg, just as they are anx-
 ious to save from destruction what
 little remains of the physical Bel
 gium.
 Prussia, however, is challenging to
 a struggle and the allies are answer
 ing the challenge with disconcerting
 directness. They are forcing the is-
 sue, as the further development of
 General Joffre's plan of action will
 disclose In place of controlling their
 lines of withdrawal they are feeling
 now the pressure that will send them
 to the Father1and, not over the routes
 of easy transport and easy marching.
 l>.,4 +,
 narrowing bottle neck, where they
 will be in constant and actual danger
 of complete envelopment and dest1 ac-
 tion
 The battles of the Son1ne-the
 struggle in Picardy long ago passed
 the stage of one battle-have for their
 purpose the capture of Cambria and
 St Quentin. The Ang1o-French arm
 !es, which have been engaged in the
 fearful conflict, are within easy
 striking distance of bc tn these centers
 vital to the maintenance of the Prus-
 sian front from the Belgian frontier to the Mouse. They have passed the , ridge which cuts northwest France irregularly from beyond La Bassee
 to the Champagne and they are de- ', scending to the plain, on which the , third and last lPrussian defensive bar 
 Once Cambria and St. Quentin are under fire, Prussian tenure of French soil Is doomed.
 Retirement from these two cities f means retirement from the Valley ot
 the Aisne; it means withdrawal from P Lille and ultimately it means the Prussian right must fall back from the North Sea coast, where it rests now just above Nieuport. q That is General Joffre's opportu
 nifty!
 ] That is the development on whicl
 the allied command is counting as certain forerunner of the destruction |, of Prussian power in the west. >, Vast F1anking Operations. ] Once the Prussian grip on the coas l. is relaxed the allied superiority 1T | numbers will permit such a f1ankine }. operation as the war has not seen e Strategists here do not believe 1t vii 0 be possible for the Kaiser's staff t, g interpose a defence strong enough t. halt it. The reasons for this conf n dence can be summed up briefly. y Once a retirement from the Belgian @ frontier south is underway the Prus - sian positions along the Yser will b r without support on the left and o y necessity must be evacuated Thi o evacuation would include a retire j. ment from the coast to the Scheldt-
 the only natural defensive line il Belgium between the sea and tn . Mouse. It is generally understoo that at the first sign of a withdrawa
 from the coast British transports an
 a fleet of British warships will b
 ready to land an army in the victnit 7 of Ostend and Zeebrugge, directly o the exposed Prussan flank.