Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-05-13

then curves around Lens. which Is 1t
self now becoming an awkward salient
encircled from the north at Loos right
around toward the rear and east. north
of Oppy.
When the British penetrated the Ger
man lines as far as Monchy they had in
front of them at the point of their
wedge only the last German line. the
Drocourt-Queant line, of which one
hears so much. But it was quite Inn
possible for them to continue their at
tack through the very narrow gap they
had cut in the German support line, the
Oppy line. First of all it was necessary
to widen the wedge. AS for the Ger
mans. since their Drocourt line was
them to hang on to the villages and to
the fragments of the Oppy line still In
their hands and by counter attacks on
Monchy and elsewhere hold back the
attack upon the Drocourt line to the
last moment.
Here is the story Of the four weeks of
the battle of Arras. Today the British
are again operating on a broad front
parallel to the Germans and more than
four miles. in points more than five, in
advance of their old line Their old
wedge has disappeared; they can now
safely mass guns and men in the con-
duered area without fear Of flank at
tacks: they are about in position to
the same sort of attack they made four
weeks ago upon the old German front
before Arras
Lens Will Fall Soon.
In such an attack they have the ad-
vantage OF racing weaker positions
speaking only of the Typographical ele-
ments: There is nothing like the Vimy
ridge before them in the Drocourt line
They have the further advantage that
the new German line necessarily lacks
the per1ectlon or construction that two
years and half of occupation made
possible Tor the other front. On the
other hand. they have not now, as a
month ago. the advantage of surprise !:
the Germans know where the blow ts 70
fall and are able to mass men and guns
against it. "''
Meantime the position of the Ger
mans in Lens has become precariou..
sooner or later. perhaps before these
INES reach the reader, the Germans
VIII draw out of the city, which thew
are holding mainly for the purpose Of
destroying the adjacent coal mines.
VIII run straight from Loos all the
way south to Croisilles, and, with but
little curving. right down to the
french battle-ground north OF the
Alsne. Accordingly. any further Brit
,sn progress VIII begin to open a new
ton, and eight or ten miles of ad-
vance. less than twice as much AZ ha a
been made the last four weeks viii
threaten the whole German center and
compel 1t to withdraw to the frontier.
This is the larger strategic concention
OF the British attack
Now turning to the French OPERA
tlons Iar down on the other flank be-
iore Rheims: The German retreat has
oeen on front from before SCISSORS
70 tne environs of Arras. All along
TINS front there could be no immediate
attack because of the destruction Of
roads But just before Arras the Ger
mans and French faced each other in
iines that had endured since 1915. Just
east OF scissors the German line cross
ca the Aisne In front of Fort Condo,
then remounted to the north along the
Craonne plateau, the summit of which.
crossed by the famous Chemin-des-
DANES, was in German hands all the
way 10 Craonne. where it ends. But the
French held the lower slope of the
.laonne plateau north of the river, and
the Germans at Fort Condo were in a
rather narrow salient, east of Craonne
tne German line turned south toward
Rheims and rested upon four old forts
situated on commanding hills in a
seMl-circie about the town. From these
Iorts the town was steadily sheIled,
East OF Rheims the German line took
due easterly course and rested unon
the Moronvilliers hills. Mont Carnillet.
Mont Haut and Mont Sans Nom.
French Advance Between saIients.
Looked at on the map, this German
position from Scissors to the Moron
vlIliers heights resembles the letter
W. with the halves represented by
the salients toward Scissors and to-
ward Rheims. This fact dominates the
french strategical conceptions. Ac-
tualiy. the Germans held two salients
pehe.raeng deeply into French lines
a french advance between these two
salients on the Craonne plateau would
sun further narrow them, while an
attack upon Moronvilliers heights. if
successful. would narrow the Rheims
salient still more
accordingly. the French attacked, on
april 10. upward toward the summit
OF the Craonne pleateau. eastward be-
tween the Craonne pleateau and Fort
De Brimont and finally northward upon
the Moronvilliers Fights. The situation
when the attack began is shown in
diagram 3. "
The immediate effect of the attack
was Iar less considerable than that of
the British. The French did not i'm
fact. after three weeks they have only
just taken Craonne. but they advanced
SO far that the Germans at Fort Condo
and south of the Aisne had to clear out.
IN dhey pushed wedge right up to Fort
de Brimont. above Rheims, and still
further to the east they took the Mo-
ronvilliers heights. Three weeks later
the situation was as is shown in dia-
gram 4.
In this diagram it will be seen that
the situation of the Germans in the
salient about Laon is becoming awk-
ward. Laon is now within reach of
french artillery. and is slowly being
enclrcied. Even more serious is the
situation of the Germans in the forts
before Rheims. of which Brimont is
the most northern. Here the French
nave drawn a narrowing loop. and it
Is clear that little more progress
eastward between Craonne and Bri-
mont and a corresponding progress a
little more to the northward from the
Moronvilliers heights will compel the
Germans to quit the forts above
Rheims and the whole Rheims salient.
But such a withdrawal would affect
their line all the way to the Argonne,
and perhaps to the Meuse, and compel
a retreat on a very wide front Such
retreat, too would mean the further
extension OF the circle about Laon and
lead certainly to an ultimate with
draWal from this salient. If the French,
having taken Craonne, can also take
Fort de Brimont. they will have in
serted wedge between the Germans
about Laon and those before Rheims
wedge recalling that which the British
drove In at Monchy, in the Arras bat
tie. This wedge. it will be recalled,
compelled local retirement on the
part of the Germans all this way from
Givenchy to Croisilles.
A Large Objective.
In sum. the French conception is this: