Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-18
FRENCH MENACE
GERMAN CENTER
Mangin's Army Now Press.
ing Hard at Fort NAL
maison Heights
OVER HINDENBURG LINE
By C.. H. PERRIS
Special Gable to Evening Public Ledger
COPYRIGHT. 1918, by Nc,o York Times co.
With the French Armies, Sept. 1s.


with the French Armies, Sept. 1s.
Though very familiar with this
ground a slip of memory yesterday led
me to anticipate by some hours the
arrival of Mangin's first lines across
the west end of the ChemindesDames.
When the map names no longer CORE
spond with any visible object, such
slips are easy and no trace remains of
the Maugeuge road, of the Guardian
Angel in Naurian's farm, which long
marked the point where the Chemtn-
des-Dames broke off eastward to Nal
maison, Chrevegny, Nauclere and
+ Craonne, those battlefelds of horrible
and glorious fame.
French Know the Ground
And now the wheel of fates comes
the full circle round with ineXOrahle
stride. The French alone now are re
covering their campo santo of last
years struggles. Bitter experience
has given them an intimate knowledge
of the ground and all its possibilities
Of ambush-thickets in the steep ra.
vines where boChe machine gunners
congregate and deep limestone caves
and ouarries with which the hillsides
are riddled. Now we have light and
rapid tanks. whose mechanism is being
constantly improved, and of which the
cars we first saw at the mill of Laf.
faux in April, 1917, were but clumsy
precursors. Swarming airplanes, with
their machine guns and bombs, are vir.
tually new and very precious auXil-
iaries.
Already the roads of the enemy
supply. enforcement or retreat along
4 the valley from Ani2y -le- Chateau tC
Laon are under our view and fire
Monkey mountain. carried on Sunday
night against strong resistanCe--more
than 100 dead bodies were found in one
trench--dominates the low ground or
both sides of the Ailette about Pinon
and its loss leaves the German forces
on Malmaison plateau with only on.
practicable road behind them, the
Maubeuge road through Chavignon t
Laon.
Mangin at Fort Malmaison
Besides $500 prisoners, the three
days of well-directed and determined
pressure has thus brought Mangin's
army to the eliminating height OF
Fort Malmaison. We know what tha
means by last years experience
When at length Malmaison was taker
in October the enemy abandoned tn,
whole of the Chemin- -des- Danes anC
bolted behind the Alette. A ridg.
further east and all his supply road
were, in fact, so closely in view from
this plateau that they could not lon)
be held, or only at fearful cost.
The situation today is different ant
much more favorable to us. The Ger
mans are at the same time astrid
the Vesle Hill astride the Aisne
astride the Chemin-des- Danes an
astride the Ailette. Instead of havin
these natural obstacles to fall bac
upon one after the other. they may b
cut off along the Aisne and along tn
=. Ailette valley simultaneously. Thei
chief stronghold, the st. Gobain fores
block, is in danger of being turne
by the south and east. The fate c
the whole center of the Hindenbur
line is therefore decidedly in question
1t is time the heroic blood and othe
losses of four years campaigning o
the Aisne We're avenged.