Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-11-24
EVENTS OF THE WEEK

me Outstanding tnlng IN the weeks war events N
the smashing of the German line in the vicinity OF Cam
brai by the British troops under the immediate command
of General Byng. By a surprise attack, without the GUS
tomary artillery preparation, the British infantry. proceed
ed by great squadrons of tanks. broke through German
defenses that had been supposed by their builders to be
impregnable, and pushed their way on to a distance of
six miles in many places along a 50 mile front. The
thoroughness with which the work was done, and the
lack OF effective defense by the Germans is indicated by
the fact that more than 5000 German prisoners were
taken in the two days of the major attack, while the
total British casualties were less in number than the
number Of German prisoners.
Among the things that stand out in this signal sue
cess are the elimination of the usual artillery lombard
ment, the use Of tanks for the purpose of clearing away
Instructions in the way of the infantry, and the driving
Of the fleeing Germans into the open where, for one Of
the few times during the campaigns on the west front,
cavalry was used on a large scale. The use Of cavalry
is specially noteworthy, for during the long period of
trench fighting there has been no use for cavalry, and
the comment has frequently been made that the reten-
ton of cavalry was due to the prevalence Of an old fogy
notion which persisted in retaining an ancient instru>
ment which had long outlived its usefulness. Yet Gem
eral Haig has stubbornly held onto his cavalry, and in
an important battle he has found excellent use for it.
The official dispatches treat the Cambria offensive
as the sequel to the victories gained in the Ypres dis
trict, and emphasize the fact that the work done on each
sector is linked up with that on every other sector. The
victory just gained is everywhere treated as one of the
most important of the war. One Of It's immediate results
is to place the British troops within three mikes Of the
town of Cambria, the most important railroad center in
that section of France, from which radiate railroads on
which the Germans have depended for their supplies.
Even without thet capture of the town the railroads are
now within range \of the British guns, and this fact will
certainly necessitate important changes in the general
German disposition of troops.
l@ g.
In addition to its local importance the blow just
struck is expected to have an important effect on the
campaign on other fronts. If, as is generally believed,
the Germans have weakened their force on the French
front in the belief that the approach Of winter will cause
a lessening on the pressure against them in that section,
and have concentrated effort on the Italian campaign,
the menace to their entire western line that is not dis
closed is apt to disorganize their arrangements.
Little can be said Of the Italian campaign except
that for the past few days the Italians have been mold
ing the enemy well in check along the line of the Pave
river, although the Teutons are still pressing them hard
both from the east and from the north. There is no in
dication yet of the presence of French or British troops
on the Italian front, and some writers are of the opinion
that these troops are being massed farther back in an
ticipation of the retirement Of the Italians to positions
farther to the rear. 80
Fresh activity is reported in Macedonia, and the re-
ports are that Greek troops are preparing to take the
field in large numbers against the Teutons. Farther east