Norwich bulletin., 1918-06-19
FACTS AND COMMENT

While ex-Governor Hughes at the presidents direction is Investigating what our aircraft manufacturers have not done, it is encouraging to notice what has been accomplished. Over | five thousand planes of all types have l been completed and Gen. Pershing's army has over three hundred fight i ing planes apart from thrice that num- 1 Der of planes for training aviators. Of our 62000 flying officers, 1500 were abroad by the first of May No longer l is it being said that the Americans in the trenches are unprotected overhead, 1 for daily reports tell of constant aerial l activity both in observatio and az gressiVe fighting. Though the Ger man rulers may conceal unfavorable news from without, thousands of mes sengers will soon be distributing it | from the skies for two hundred miles
 behind the battle line, and that too news of most incendiary character. The United States has already ship ped 800.00o men overseas. By the first
 of July the number win have been raised to a million, which fact gives some idea of the present rate of ship
 ment S00.000 men means about a half million soldiers available for fight ing. exclusive Of engineer, transport atlen and medical corps. This force should nearly replace the Allies losses incurred in meeting the German offen-
 sive. The French publish no casualty lists, but the British list have run to
 40 900 in the worst of the last twelve
 weeks. As the British and French fronts have in general not been as- saulted simultaneously and reckoning
 the French losses as equal to the British, Q rough approximation of the total allied casualties would be 4S0,- 900, Thus these losses are in a fair way to be made up by the ever-in- . creasing tide of Americans. They very successes of the Germans are bringing upon themselves this summer the enor-
 nous forces that the United States was not planning to put into action
 until 1919.
 For nearly a month German sub marine raiders have been busy off the Atlantic coast and have taken toll of twenty vessels, SIX of them Nor wegian. Most of these have beer small eoasting craft of no military inn portance whatever. Such a raid has | since we entered the war and a swarm
 of fast patrol boats has been in Feadi- ness to meet just this situation. Ii
 eXpedlent the Government Wlll also arm the coasters as it has done in thG
 case of the transatlantic ships, The
 fact that 200 001 men will be landed il Trance during the later half of this
 month shows how confidently the navy
 trusts III its ability to protect tht
 lines that are really vital. Meantime
 the search for q possible submarine . base continues unremlttedly. Ont glance at the map will show what
 search it is amid thousands of island;
 and miles of seaeoast. Cuba alone ha; over 20pU miles of coastline! Mexico none too friendly to her nertherr neighbor, affords countless local pos a-V,llt4es eten II not sympathetic as slstance. The hunt for the proVefbla needle in haystack isn't q circum
 stances too rootInS out a submarini base in the West Indies!
 Each American force on the lon,
 battle line takes especial pride in it own position At LantIgny they hay hammered in the very nose of tn Montdidier salient and have held theI / ground in the face of repeated as sauits. North of the Marne 1t wa r the American marines who de1initel . stopped the advance toward Paris an
 caused the Germans to shift the sttac and suffer the defeat on the Matt East of Chateau ThieITy American Iorc es are holding the enemy to the mort f of the river, and have themsslVe : gone over and raided German posi-. @ tlons On both sides of the Sa T Mihiel salient they stand ready to nj ', off this German outpost on the height
 of the Mouse. In Lorraine where tn first American prisoners were takeI r the Yankee troops had the honor ti recently of being nearest to Germa = territory facing the great German fort ress of Metz. Most recently of a Americans have been stationed in Al
 sace on what was actually German so
 at the beginning of the war. Thei . position is just east of Belfort tn French fortress nearest to the Swie border This region has long bee T quiet being rather lightly held by in y ferior forces while the first cIas q troops have been fighting it out man s miles to the north. Here the countr o has almost the aspect of peaceft ', times, for the Germans have refraine l from destroying region which the y look upon as their own.
 t As the fighting in France sIackene
 and resumed the character of raidin
 the enemy's lines, the Austrians bega
 a furious attack on the Italian froI
 for ninety miles from the Asiag - plateau to the Adriatic. Great niasse y of troops were hurled at the Italia Q positions in true German fashion an
 small attachments succeeded in cross
 ing the Pfave river in three place e The entire defensive line, comprisir 0 French and British troops as well { . Italian has put up a stalwart figh
 The forward positions in the nounta!
 part of the line have been wen baC
 and many Austfians have been take 'i prisoners, while along the river tv Q out of the three contingents that su, Il eeeded in crossing were hurled back
 destroyed. The offensive seems to ha7
 come to standstill after the Aust Ie ians have used up half their availab n forces.
 The fourth great German alta,
 was more furious and shorter -liv, ,s than any of the first three The dri I,, for Amiens which started on Mar, y 21, lasted all told over two weeks, ss until April 6. Then followed the a
 tack at Armentieres and the fall
 the Messines ridge positions and \ la Kemmel. These operations took t Iii Germans about the same length ot time. April g to 26. Third came t
 southward drive across the Aisne. IT
 was the easiest of all for the offensi' IF because Gen. Foeh seeing the Chem tdac naHnaq and