Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1917-03-21
RETREAT Of GERMANS
PART Of WAR PLAN

Berlin, via wireless to the United
Press. Mar, Germany Ia retreat.
Ing to victory; another master
stroke has been achieved by Field
Marshal Won hindenburg. and the on.
tente's plans FOR a great spring OF,
fensive have been destroyed,
This. In brief. Ia the official ex,
PLANTATION given for the firat time TO-
day to the United Press OF Germany,
retirement ON the western front. Ger.
many is retiring TO u victory, because
her armies are taking their places In
new positions long prepared.
Those positions embody the new.
est lessons OF the war, They will
force the enemy to learn their trade
all over, They would BE- astound.
cd II their full details would DO re-
vealed, according to German oiiicials
They may effect Transformation
OF the entire character Of the war
In the meantime Germany had
been clearing the whole country In
front OF these new positions, They
are miles back OF the present line,
The whole country intervening be-.
tween the old German line and the
new ono has, BY necessity OF war
and necessity OF the new German
plans. been made n wilderness. Roads
have heen destroyed; the whole ter
rain has been made difficult OF pas
sage.\ All means OF communication
tave been effaced. Some villages
have disappeared; some have beer
only partly wrecked. Not only has
a free xone OF fire been obtained by
such procedure. but the enemy mus,
come forward slowly over the ground
so hazardous Of passage.
In the new positions the Ge.man
forces will face an enemy either hnf.
riedly brought up over this dificult
wilderness and. because OF this hurry.
insufiiciently supplied. or an enemy
which has come forward very slowly.
because OF necessity OF building ny
the'country.
In either event. the enemy will be
at disadvantage. Months OF toll
by a million German soldiers have
been expended in perfecting the new
German line, The German forces
will be entrenched In the strongest
possible defense. protected by for
ests Of barbed wire sntanglements.
A free fire zone In front will give
them clear view OF the enemy Guns
have been carefully ranged over all
this forefield. The enemy must come
up; dig itself In; must arrange trans
port OF millions OF tons OF ammunt-
tion, OF food and OF supplies over the
wilderness left behind by the Ger
mans in their retreat.
The allies will face German forces
prepared for every contingency and
protected as an army was never pro-
tected before by long preparations.
II has been impossible to carry out
this program OF a retreat. leaving
behind u wilderness. without severe
hardship to the French civilian in
habitants. But the move Is demand
ed.
Onlcials also point out that the new
line selected by the German army
chiefs is not one picked haphazard.
II was not one where the fortunes OF
battle have forced digging in and n
consequent strengthening, such as the
old line. The battle OF the Marne.
which was unfavorable to Germany.
forced German troops to make tneir
stand wherever they could. lrrespcc-
tive OF natural advantages. They
have had to withstand many months
OF pressure by entente troops since
that time. Therefore. the old line
was not taken up because OF special
advantages.
The new line Is. II lies In the
position where engineers and strate-
gical experts have chosen every fea-
ture OF topography as an aid. All
natural advantages have been utilized
and developed.
All this change comes Mt the very
point where Germany's enemies had
planned q new spring offensive---and
an offensive backed this time with re-
doubled power. The French and
British had planned to take the in
itlative from the old positions, which
they had perfected.
The German withdrawal secures
for Germany the Initiative for the
fighting, while putting their enemies
ut a disadvantage because they will
lack prepared positions.
Az officials here expressed 1.-THE
entente troops must now 20 forward
over deserted fields into uncertainty.
facing, unknowing, the sinister pos
sibilitIes OF latest master stroke OF