The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-04-13
The War for, the Week

The fourth week OF the great bat
tie hnds IL becoming little more than
q race to see which side can slaughter
the reserves OF the enemy first.
The gains In ground have been OF
comparatively small Importance. ex-
csPt as they affect the immediate
tactics Of the opposing sides Both
seek the high ground. and each tries
to set the other side where marshes
and rivers viii interfere with its
movements But aside from that, the
gains that have been made by the
Germans viii play but q minor part
In determining the victor.
The one big factor on which vic
tory viii depend. win be the reserves.
II General FOch can lead the Ger
mans on, keep them coming forward
In waves against his machine guns,
while he slowly retreats and saves
his own reserves. he win be in posi-
ton 20 deal q crushing blow when the
time comes. On the other hand. II
the Germans by the fury OF their at
tacks can compel the Allied COM
mander TO throw in his reserves TO
keep the line from breaking. the Ger
mans stand q chance Of getting
through 70 Amiens or the channel
ports. and possibly separating the two
armies,
As long as the Allies do not retreat
any more rapidly than they have
been. and as long as they continue 20
take the toll Of Germans that they
have been taking. they are winning,
no matter what the map shows. At
no time has there been q sign Of
panic in the Allied retreat or with
drawaI as il should more properly be
called They have Withdrawn only
when il would cost more to hold the
position than the position was worth.
Their whole strategy shows a cool.
determined. cold bIoOded plan to
make the Germans pay for every foot
Of ground they take. and pay the top
price.
Tales Of Terrible Slaughter.
wounded men who are returning
from the 'front.' tell almost unbeuev-
able stories Of Slaughter. They re-
port Allied machine gunners firing
point blank at a distance Of 100. 900
and 500 yards. into dense hordes OF
Germans advancing in lines ten deep,
and sweeping the lines until the guns
became too hot to handle longer.
Undoubtedly the Allied loss in heavy,
but their casualties cannot be any
thing like as large as the Germans.
Estimates vary from ? to l to 3 and
4 to /.
During the week there has been
evidence Of nervousness in the Ger
man plan Of attack. The old battle
field in Pieardy has been temporarily
abandoned for the new front north OF
Arras. The Germans appear to be
frantieally striving to find a weak
spot IN the line. II their offensive in
Picardy had been going according 10
plan. il seems highly improbable that
they would have chosen a new point
OF attack, OF attempted to conduct a
second offensive.
On Monday the Picardy battle was
in, full swinE. Twenty-Five divisions
were hurled against the French with
virtually no success. Time after time
they went against the French ma
chine guns and artillery. and time
after time they were hurled back.
Their gains were inoOnsequentiaI. In
conjunction with this drive. which
was intended 70 flank Amiens on the
south. there was q direct drive by
infantry against Amiens. and a flank
ing movement on the north against
the British. These three separate at
taeks were in progress last Sunday
and Monday. The German artillery
also began pounding the French lines
south Of the Disc. which marks the
long southern fank OF the German
advances.
Tuesdays Fighting.
On Tuesday the attacks on Amisns
were discontinued. and the artillery
duel was resumed Rain interfered
with infantry attacks. and this may