Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-02-14
GERMANS MASS
ARMY OF 100000
ON FRENCH FRONT
Allies, However, are Confident of
Outcome of Great Battle
Now Impending.
ON ALERT FOR ATTACK
BY Associated Press to Every Evening

- AHhfs1fhts1 s-Fs~h W EsFHFF fsffftthh
Grand Headquarters Of the French
Army in France. Feb. l3 Delayed .--
German preparations for their announced
offensive on the Allied front have not
brought with them any relaxation %
German vigilance or efforts to meet any
pnseiblf attack from the Allies.
New concentrations Of German forces
arc gathering in the rear 0f their lines
simultaneously with the hard work which
continues on the front line positions,
whore a most formidable system Of de-
fences has been erected during the winter
months.
Various authorities make widely diff
ferent estimates of the number OF Ger
man divisions which may eventually be
brought into the line on this front should
the Germans decide 70 engage IN battle
on q large and decisive scale. The exact
total, OF the German forces In~the front
line and in tire immediate reserve 10
known 10 & unit.
One hundred and twelve divisions oe-
cllpv the German front lire facing the
French. british American and Belgian
troops, while their immediate reserve
total 63 divisions On the basls Of 1900
men in a German division, this would
be 100000 troops.
Possibly several additional divisions
have reached various points behind the
lines, but the fact has not been estab-
lished with certainty At any rate, il
is agreed BY authorities that the greatest
possible number the Germans could add
to their forces on this side does not ex-
ceed 20 divisions, which would bring the
total to 1875 divisions $4,000 mem.
GERMANS FEAR coUNTER-DRIvEs.
The latest news from inspired sources
at the French front tends TO modify
considerably earlier sensational stories
of gigantic hit or miss German
drive. whose failure-for the idea OF
success was scouted-would bring about
the end Of the war
4 writer in the Petit Parisien today em-
phasizes in a detailed article the fact that,
while a German offensive is almost certain,
allied observations show that the enemy
has spent infinite trouble on the organ
izatiOn of barbed wire and other de
fences in view OF possible cOunter-at-
taCks, thus indicating that the Germans
! have little hope of a possible rupture
of the allied front, OF even big ad-
vance, such as they attempted at Yer
/! dun
OPPOSING FORCES NEARLY EQUAL.
The truth IS, the opposing forces are
| too nearly equal in France at this mo-
ment and the defense systems are too
thorough for either side 10 expect any
material progress. Doubtless the Ger
mans have been able to bring artillery
) from Russia, but certainly not enough
| to give them an appreciable preponder-
| ance. especially IN view of their diff
| culties in the transport of munitions.
| As regards men, it is stated from an
authorized military souce in the Echo
! de Paris that reports of an immense
! increase in the number of Germans ON
! the western front have been greatly
exaggerated, and that in reality they
| have at the outside a total of la d.
visions t2,0SS, 900 men, estimating the
strength Of a division At .000)-Only
twenty-one more about 252, 600 mem than
at the time OF the allied onslaught last
spring, when the enemy was frankly on
| the defensive-w against that the
| British numbers have increased, the
| French have been reorganized, and the
Americans are already beginning to take
/ their place in the hne