The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1918-09-02

already has been broken and the British are east
Of it. The possibility of outflanking the line
from the north presents itself If this is carried
out successfully and on large scale, the whole
German line in Flanders is threatened and re-
treat out of Belgium is in order, It is idle to
speculate ON the possibilities of the next weeks,
for Marshal Foch has sprung SO many surprises
since July Is that the average layman can only
admire his skill while he waits for the next de-
velopment on the war map.
We must not overlook the significant fact
that Ludendorff and Hindenburg, although in a
very tight place just now, are not so much con-
cerned with the present status of the campaign
as with the prospect of the future. They are in
the same position in which the Allies found them
selves early in the year when the German pres
sure forced them back over many miles, with this
important exception, that while the allies were
assured of new man power from the rapidly grow
ing American armies, the Germans today have
used up their available reserves from the old
Russian front, and have no new levles OF large
proportions. The Germans are falling back upon
prepared POSITIONS the Allies did, and II the
Hindenburg line is strongly defended the allied
armies have task ahead of them which is IN
finitely more complicated than their victorious
offensive so far has been. In the meantime Hin
denburg and the general staff have been trying
to devise foil to the man power which the
Allies are throwing into the field Earlier IN the
year the German staff believed that if the French
and British armies could be crushed before the
American levies arrived, the war would be won.
That accounts for the March and July offensives,
both of which were wrecked by the arrival of the
Americans and the brilliant counter-offensive
which Marshal Foch launched
Some military critics believe that Hindenburg
is counting on an army of 100000 recruited
from the Ukraine, Lithuania and Poland, and that
his present retreat is to give him time to get
these soldiers into line. M. Andre Tardieu, high
commissioner of the Franco-American war CO.
operation, in a cable to Washington, says Ger
many has only forty-seven divisions whose
morale is considerably shaken" as her last re-
serve in the present battle. This would make
Germany's total reserve at the present time only
Gil 900 men, very small force to combat the
American forces that pouring into France at
the rate of between 100000 and 100000 men a
month. If Gernany's man power has been eff
fectvely exhausted since last March, Hinden-
burg may be forced to retreat not only beyond
his old line but still farther east as to conserve
his fighting power.
Interest Of no small degree therefore, at
taches to the purpose and decision of the Ger
man general staff. To those who seeking an
explanation of the German motive and principle
in the fighting from Lens to Reims, the advance
of the Allies is not of great interest as an un-
derstanding of what the German general staff
has in mind and how far the Most High will re-
treat before he rallies for the final battle of the
war.
The relative distances from the fighting line
to German soil also are of interest in this con-
nection. An Associated Press dispatch Friday
said the Hindenburg line at St. Quentin is Is
miles due east from the allied positions St.
Quentin is 47O miles from Berlin and 1872 miles
west of Coblentz on the Rhine. American troops
east of Lunevile are nearest of the allied troops
to Berlin which is 400 miles north-northeast, as
the crow flies. In southern Alsace the Americans
are 1S miles from the Rhine.
In estimating the allied strength for the
great offensive, the American army south of Yer
dun must be taken into consideration This army
has not been used in the present offensive
American troops that have seen action are in the
Marine region and small number, so far as press
dispatches reveal their presence, have been assist
ing the French south of the Somne. Admittedly
the great American army will not be permitted to
lie idle and especially not since this part of the
line was definitely handed over to the Americans
many months ago and lines of communication on
a large scale between it and the American sea-
port base have been established. An attack on
this flank of the German line may be expected
provided part of these troops not on their
way now to reinforce the British in gigantic