The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-01

, in the famous coal region, the three towns almost merge into each other while before them Armentieres stands as an outwork protected from the south par 1 ticularly with roads, railways and nu- merous canals and water lines which make the advance of troops against a stubborn foe extremely difficult The maneuver executed by Marshal Foch ap- pears to follow closely the one he has tried successfully on other fronts. In- stead of hitting at the weak point, the Belgian thrust, masked by an attack over the whole line to the North sea and aided by the British fleet, suddenly concen- trated on pernaps the strongest natural barrier north of Ypres- Houthulst forest.
 QUICKLY CLEARED
 The wood was cleared in fierce fight ing, then the Belgian line moved forward quickly and the British to the south be- gan an oblique drive along the old Hin denburg line defenses which has taken them past the Lille triangle with a rush. leaving that northern pivot of the whole German defense system in a rapidly deep ening pocket.
 Probably this explains the fact that the British lines from southwest of Douai to the juncture with the Second army somewhere west of Armentieres have been quiescent throughout the bitter fighting on both sides. It also may ex- plain the odd right angle turn in the line near the Sensee river limit of the great drive farther south, aimed at Cam brai and the withdrawal of British forces from Arleux and Aubencheul at the apex of this bend. It was unneces- sary to force a road northward over this l, I.< N...~ position because the drive to the north vas turning the flank of the whole Lille position.
 Incidentally, the Cambrai drive is car rying forward the southern jaw of a pin cer movement that probably will squeeze the enemy out of Lille in time even if the Belgian-B British effort in the north does not do it unaided.
 Until tonights dispatches came there were two other peculiar sectors on the front. one large and one small, where similar considerations of local strategy probably were holding the allied troops in check at certain points. From the right flank of the French advance west of Laon now more than half way along the famous Chemin- n-des-Dames to the Suippe river, east of Rheims where the French Fourth army is striking in con junction with the American thrust along the west bank of the Mouse, there had been no report of allied activ = until word came tonight that the French had launched an attack this front which was the center of the great French Of fensve in 1915 which carried clear through the German lines and fell just short O. driving the invader out of France.
 TONGUE REMAINS
 The small pocket is in the Argonne forest Between the French and Ameri- can thrusts there remains narrow tongue of heavily wooded land broken by sharp hills where no effort at direct advance has been made. On the north east the eAmericans are skirting the for est with hand-to-hand encounters with the enemy lurking in it's protection. on the opposite side the French have also encircled this strong position and French guns command the rear approaches 10 it. A juncture or the French and Ameri- can forces well north of the forest fort ress appears imminent and any enemy troops who remain in it's depth will be trapped. A full German division, 1t has been reported, holds this strip.
 The only other point between Verdun and the North sea which has not seen the allies moving forward during the last few days is St. Gobain forest be- tween LaFere and the Chemin- -des- Danes heights. Manifestly the flanking opera ticns already we'll advanced on both sides make it unnecessary to storm these wooded hills.