New-York tribune., 1918-06-06

yesterday on the west side of
the Aisne- -Marne salient. The
battle has not died away, but the old
driving power Of the Grown Princes
offensive has vanished. German at
tacks were still violent. The Teuton
infantry is not being spared. But
the French found less difficulty in
breaking up attacks than at any
other time in the last ten days.
What is the reason for this stabil-
ization of the defence? Simply men
the arrival on the scene Of ade-
quate masses of Allied infantry. The
same stabilization was reached, in
just the same way, on the Somme
and in Flanders. This uniform ex-
perience demonstrates that there is
no mysterious potency in the new
German method of attack-gener-
ally credited to the genius of Cen
eral Won Hutier. The secret of the
efficacy of that form of offence is
the concentration Of huge masses
against much inferior masses,
The change in the form of front
line fighting made by the Germans
in 1917 and accepted by the Allies
in 1918 gave the Won Hutier method
it's great opportunity. The increas-
ing power Of artillery had compelled
a thinning of the front line. The
elastic defence had succeeded the old
rigid one. But the weakening Of the
front lines gave the offensive
chance to break through at almost
any point at which it chose to con-
centrate vast preponderance of in
fantry.
Cambrai-an unexampled British
success in the first stage and seri
Gus reverse in the second-opened
the eyes of the Germans to the fact
that the value of the offensive had
been enormously increased by the
elimination of the old "solid" front.
They have merely applied the les
sons of Cambria in this years Of
fensives in Picardy, in Flanders and
in Champagne.
What is the necessary counter
move on the part OF the defence?
There is none in sight except to
stiffen and deepen the thinned-out
line. More men on a given line is
the obvious remedy. All three Ger
man offensives have been stopped as
soon as the forces on the fighting
front were equalized. The defence
needs larger total Of fighting men
than the offence. 1t is immobile.
The offence is mobile. The attacker
can concentrate his reserves before
he strikes, the defender only after
the blow falls.
The Allies evidently need more
men to carry through the difficult
defensive role for the rest of the
summer. If they cannot get more
men they will have to shorten their
present line from Switzerland to the
North Sea. For the situation from
Amiens south to the Marine is now
such that the bulk of the Allied
armies must be kept on that front.
Foch will abandon Flanders and
the territory north of the Somme
only under the pressure of dire ne
cessity. But, if the Germans are
equal to making another drive on
the scale Of their last three, the
present extended Allied line will
need to be compressed. 1t is far
more important to keep the Allied
line intact than it is to hold on to
any particular piece of territory.
The German attack on the lower
end of the Noyon- Marne front CEN
tired Tuesday night and yesterday
morning on Chevy, a village few
miles north of Veuilly Poterie,
where German progress was checked
Tuesday morning. Chevy is on the
highroad running northwest from
Veuilly- -Potdrie to Villers- Cote
rets-through La Ferte Milon. This
latter town is the next important
place down the Ourcq Valley from
Troesnes, which the Germans capt.
ured last Saturday, but lost last
Sunday. 1t is the immediate Ger.
man objective in this region. Nc
. progress toward it was made, how.
ever, at Chevy.
7 The next effort to the north was
made at Corey, which is also con
= nected by highroad with La Fertt
. Milon. 1t lies on the eastern edge o1
the big forest Of Villers-C -Cotterets
which is one of the bulwarks of the
u French defence. Another attacl
a northeast of Paris came at Dom
I miers, on the northeastern edge o.
the forest, little west of Missy
: sur-Bois, from which the French re
n tired day or two ago. These un