South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-07-20
EXPECT REAL
COUNTER BLOW
LATE IN YEAR
Washington Officials Antici-
pate Full German Retreat
on Marine Front With
in 48 Hours.

WASHINGTON. july TO- War
department officials expect the real
counter offensive against the Ger
mans TO be launched later i'm the
present year. This was disclosed
Friday TO mem bers of the house
military committee by Gen. March.
chief Of STAFF. who Indicated thai
the employment OF possibly eight
American divisions IN the present
double battle on the Aisne Mayne-
Rheims front would not affect ma
terially plans 10 hurl Overwhelming
manpower into the great struggle
10 come when the effort 10 beat the
enemy back of French and Belgian
soil begins.
IL was made plain that the smash
ing attack OF Frauco-American
forces on the Aisne- Marine line is
a. Yet regarded as only a minor op-
Grafton i'm comparison 10 what d
To come The success of the drive
launched Thursday by Gen. Foch.
however. has already been start
ling. Official reports from Paris
Friday night said 1900 prisoners
and $50 suns had been captured
The Berlin statement admitted
French advances but ignored
American participation and claimed
%. 600 prisoners had been taken oy
the Germans i'm their dWFe launch
ed last Monday Apparently the
enemy commanders dare not admit
10 the German people that Ameri-
can armies are already fighting over
long front and scoring repeated
successes over veteran German diVi-
sions.
Latest Report Not Confirmed.
Reports late in the day from Lon
don and Paris indicated that fur
Their advances had been made by the
Franco-American forces durins the
day Official advices from Gen.
Pershing led 10 the hope that Sois-
sons. nearly 10 miles inside the Ger
man lines, night before last, would
be i'm allied lines within a short
time. Rumors that il had already
fallen and 30. 600 additional Ger
man prisoners had been taken were
in circulation. but no additional ad-
vices from Gen. Pershing had ar
rived at a late hour.
Mr.. Baker indicated the high
hopes of war department officials
in issuing the following statement:
The attention of the world Is,
of course. focused on the tremen-
dous counter blow being delivered
bv Gen. Foch Gradual extension
OF these operations 10 the east is in
dicated i'm the press dispatches, but
as yet is not officially confirmed.
The gain on the front OF the original
counter thrust has been deepened.
narrowing the salient and making
the position OF its German occU-
pants less and less tenable.
Expect Full German Retreat.
we have no report of the cap
ture of scissors, bat the battle has
been raging at that part Of the
front. and the fall of SCISSORS seem
e6 10 be indicated by the progress
made At the time of latest official
dispatches.
The significance Of this move
ment lies in the fact that the SUI
preme commander evidently feels
that the allied forces are now suf-
dciently strong 10 justify vigorous
offensive action"
The belief began 10 take shape I'm
the minds of many STAFF officers here
that another As hours might see
the Germans beating a hasty retreat
from the salient they now hold
south of the Marie and possibly
from the whole great bend they !
forced in the allied line when the
struck on the Chemin dies Danes T,
front last May and forced their way .
TO the Marne. Unless the Franco /
American troops are brought 10 a I
halt definitely before Sunday night, |
il is freely predicted that the enemy I
will be forced 10 fall back. Even |
il he is successful in evading the I
Jaws of the wise that IS closing i'm /
on him he viii be compelled 10 /
e bandon vast quantities OF war ma
terial and will lose many prisoners 1
in making good his escape, il is be- {
lieVed.