Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-02-17
Huge Armies Assembled orl
Somme Front Are Coil
ing Up to Spring.
TEUTONS ARE UNEASY?
ToWnsmen Back of Lines
Move Away and Much
Troop Shifting.

British headquarters I'm France, Feb.
IG. lvia London. Feb. n. $40 a. M
CFrom a staff correspondent OF The
Associated pressJ The cold which
has held the western front frost
bound for nearly a month is grad
uauy moderating and II is easy to
sense an along the battle line an I'M
mistakable quickening which tells of
The approach 90 spring and foreshad
Ows the coming o grips Of the great-
est armies yet assembled M the world
war Already these armies are reach-
ing out toward each other. testing
various parts Of the lines and af
tempting to discover the most likely
point OF contact for the beginning of
Che titanic struggle which is expected l.
90 make this the deciding year Of the
conflict I'm anticipation OF eventual-
itics. the Germans have removed the
civilian populations from the cities
and towns I'm proximity 90 their Inc,
but mo- such precaution has been felt
necessary behind the allied front
British Guns Roar.
Never silent. the British guns are
beginning To roar more and more
steadily Tonight they are looming
with particular violence In the sector
of The SOmme From a distance the
bombardment might easily be mistake
an for the crumbling echoes Of n pass
ing summer storm. The chorus OF +
guns rises and falls like great peals OF +
thunder and there are flashes in the
darkened sky like the play Of
lightning along the horizon.
Troops are shifted.
Sew crops OF divisions have been
recently Identified along the German
lines bearing out reports of great
troop movements now going on An
Germany British officers. however,
say that this concentration is not AS
formidable as Il appears at FIRST sight.
They say that many af the so-called
new divisions Of their opponents are
merely % rearrangement OF old diyia-
IONS These statements are based on
Information carefully collected dur
ing the continuous trench raids in a
raid undertaken this week am appar-
entity new BaTaEIau division was lO-
Gated ~ was afterwards discovered |
chat This corps had been made up
from regiments taken from old divis-
SONS, namely. The Fifth. Sixth and Sew
entH Another maneuFre carried out
ay tho Germans Has been a combing
out OFF reglmcu and divisions BY
which groups Oh Is of The youngest
men were taken from each company in
fh- lime and sent back t0 Germany 10
form new units or corps d'elite that
Field Marshal won Hindcnburg ~
placing his greatest reliance I'm.
Gaps Not Fnled.
According % THE Information OBJ
tanned here. tine gaps iu the compan-
les have not been filled and the dim-
mutton iu numbers has been covered
iu some instances 10y reducing In
fautry regiments from four battal-
ions to three. One infantry company
was recently encountered with "a rife
strength OF - out 81 q regulation
complement of IFa. Jaudsfurm reg
.meuts have recently been identified
on the front here. They had formers
iy been employed FRI patrolling The
Dutch frontier and protecting lines
OF communication According % prise
0ncrs, the picked men Of the land
sturmers are iu the trenches while
those who are untitled FOR The hard-
ships OF the firing line are on duty at
The depots DO thc rear. Utilizing the
.audsturm battaliona In this way per-
nits tine organization of the Young
men divisions fra Germany and ~ Is
these latter. British officers say.
whose movements are now reported
and who are depended upon 70 with-
stand the shock Of the coming battle.
Many boys OF ~ and rs have also been
found in the German trenches by tho
British raiders
Germans neasyg
The British staff Is kecnly inter-
sisted in q report that prior 10 the
declaration OF unrestricted submarina
warfare by Germany Field Marshal
sou Hiudenburg stated 20 Chancellor
,on Bethmann-Hollweg
Everywhere our front Is invulner-
able. The supply of reserve rs ample
he troops i'm good spirits and abso-
utely reliable"
The British point % view is that
(Coptlaued on Peze Two.f