Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-20
LASSIGNY DOOMED
Continued from page ]
Associated Press Summary p, m.

hSSptiuttu IbtSs "
Allied forces again are making progress
on important sectors. Further success
full development of the present operations
ioubtlcssly will force the enemy To
readlust his line at least locally, II not
over the entire front from fpres to
Rheims.
French successes on twcnty-miie
front, east and west of the Disc, are be
coming a serious menace to the German
line from the Somme to Rheims West
of the Disc, Roye and Lassigny appear to
be doomed The British arc ut the gates
of Rove, while the French have reached
the western outskirts of Iassigny The
fall OF these towns will impcril the enemy
position AZ Noyon, which also IS being
threatened increasingly by the French
advance over the high ground between the
Alsne and the Olse southeast OF Noyon
PUSHED BACK ON stx-mrLE FRONT
In Flanders the British have made
| additional appreciable gains IN the l.ys
salient and the German situation within
| the salient appears more difficulty daily.
! Driving against the head of the salient,
| the British have won ground on front of
nearly SIX miles and entered the important
/ town of Merville, where the Clarence
| river enters the Lys
| Novou fast is becoming the central
| point OF salient such as that which cen
/ tered around Mnntddier at the beginning
! Of the Plcardy offensive The stability
! of the present German line from the som
! me 10 Rheims depends greatly upon the
| holding Of the N0yon salient, whose
! western outposts are Roye and La9slgny.
HAIG rAKFs RoYE STATION.
! ,.t -
+ reached the railroad station in the western
suburbs Of Rove The French have driven
( the wedge between Rove and l4assigny 10
Fresncres, cutting the main highway be-
tween the towns In addition to beng
threatened from the west I.assigny Is
being approached from the south by
Gen Humbert troops who finally have
dcbouched from Thescourt wood
2,2O0 MORE HUNS CAPTURED
Along the western bank o. the Olsc
and south Of Noyon the French have taken
/ Pimpcrz and reached Dresllncourt, TO
the northwest last ot the river toward
! ~oIssons ten Nangin has captured more
+. high ground and has taken MorsaIn and
/ has brought his total oliprsoners TO 200.
| In this operation, the French not only
menace the security Of Noyon, but re-
! licve the pressure agans Solssons
! From the heights around Morsain they
! can lombard the German battery posi-
! tons north Of Soissons which have been
! harassIng the allied occupants of that
city.
MAY FORCE ROCHE TO RETRiAT
II Marshal Foch can succeed in pinch
| ing off Noyon and advancing northward
I he virtually will compel the Germans to
| retir from the present line north OF
/ Rove toward Arras and will hasten, II
/ not force German retreat 10 the north OF
/ the Aisnc between Scissors and Rheims.
! Success around Noyon might be far
reaching, but the terrain IS difficult be-
cause OF the woods and hills and Ger
man resistance may continue stubborn
There has been only slight activity along
the Ncsle, the French and Americans hay-
ing enlarged their holdings north OF the
| river by slight advances at several points
There has been no change IN the Ger
| man tactics between the Ancre and the
Disc, which mig have been expected
/ from the appointment of Gen. voT
Bnehn, who conducted the retreat iron
the Marine, to the supreme command IL
that area. Berlin says that Monday
allied thr,ists west of Chaulnts and nortl
OF Rove failed, while the French wer'
repllscd in a vigorous battle between tht
Oise and the Aisnc.
London reports the checking of Ger
man efforts between Harleyllie ano
Lihons, west of Chatilnes.
HAIG GAINING STEADILY.
In the operations around Mervillc
the British have taken more prisoners Il
addition to the 675 captured III the sue
cessfu storming OF the Outtersteen ridge
The British forward movements in thu
Lys salient are not yet very Threatening
to the strong German positions on TIN
hills north and northwest of Armentieres
but if they can be continued eastward
the high ground from Mont kemme
eastward will be outfianked.
Allied forces in Nladivostok have beer
reinforced by the arrival of a secon6
American transport and third transpor
is expected North OF Nladivost tn,
| Czccho-Slovak troops have been engage
in heavy fighting with the Bolshevlk force
on the Ussurl front The Czechs hav,
been driven from their outposts.