Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-09-11
VESSEL CARRYING $500 AMERICAN
SOLDIERS T0RPED0El: ALL ARE SAVED
rench Take Town Outflanking Ia Fere
FOch Armies
Face Strong
Foe DefenseS

With the French Armies in
France, Tuesday, Sept 10.-(By the
Associated Press The rapidity of
the splendid operation that wrest-
ed the initiative of the battle from
the Germans and drove them be
hind their defensive lines of 1917
to recuperate their forces and re-
constitute their shattered divisions,
IS no longer the proper basis for
calculating the speed of progress.
The allies are now in front OF OBJ
stacIes that do not appear on Ordi-
nary maps by which the general
reader follows changes of the battle
front. No maps show them in all
their details but enough is known
of them to reconstitute them in a
general way.
First is the Hindenburg line sys-
tenn Of field fOrtifications which the
Germans built by the forced Ia
Dor of prisoners of war and French
and Belgian civilians. 1t runs from
Lens southeastward to the Aisne
north Of Reims by way of Queant,
St Quentin, La FeTe and the St.
Gobain forest 1t consists of an
{ abOrate system of trenches, null
tIple lines of baTbed wire entan-
clements, concrete positions for
artillery, block houses for machine
guns, shelters for the infantry and
i further protected by flooded
stretches of country where the
means were available for that pur-
pose.
The second line of defense runs
from the fortress of Lille to the
stronghold of Metz, generally par
aIleI with the Hindenburg line, to
the region north of Rheims and at
distances varying from seven TO 20
miles. From scissors north of
Reims it runs sOutheastward. join
ing the old front north of Verdun
and continuing from there to
Pagny, on tine Mosel.e river south
ci Metz. There are secondary lines
attached to this system. notably
along the Escaut river from Cam
hrai north between the valleys Of
the Disc and the Serre and north
eastward from La Fere along the
SGippe river north OF ReimS.
A bird line of defense runs from
the Scarpe river south of Lille, to
the Meuse near Sedan, then south
eastward TO the iron region Of the
Basin of Briey, which it protects
from the west and the south, and
Joining the second line at Mose!le.
There are secondary defense
works to this line also in the reg
ION of Vervins A fourth line as yet
VncOmpleted is intended to furnish
q further defense between the Es-
caut near the Belgian frontier and
the Meuse at Givet.
Each one OF these lies furnishes
=. strong refuge for armies obliged
tC retire upon it, The lines also
offer to forces dwindIing in num-
hers the advantage of progressively
shortening the battlefront.
The first of the lines already has
been broken between Queant, and
DroucOurt. The development or
this success may determine the
question whether the Germans can
Oblige the allies to revert to trench
warfare. The enemy second lines
ol defense almost touches the Hin
denburg line at Cambria. just be
low the breach the British forces
have made in it, II they are able to
join the two lines there the Ger
mans viii have an uninterrupted
position in which the second line
enters for only the distance from
Lille 70 Cambria, being continued
to the -des-Dames BY the
Hindenburg line.