The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1918-09-21

slightly east of north to make the
shorter side of the triangle about fif-
teen miles. to a point west OF Fresnes.
The hypothenuse of this triangle was
somewhat under thirty miles. 1t is
this area, the importance of which will
be seen in moment, that was cleared
with such astonishing celebrity in the
course of last Thursday.
The enemy had intended at the first
sign of attack to withdraw. For politi
cal reasons, probably, he did not retire
until the last moment and the attack
was too quick for him. He had long
withdrawn most of his heavy guns ard
material, including. apparently, most
Of his aircraft. but he had to leave his
field guns, some heavies and men
enough to hold his line forty miles
long. The American main attack was
on the long southern side of the tri-
angle, lying east and west But at the
same time smaller attack was
launched from the middle of the other
and shorter side between st. Mihiel
and Frenes
We may be certain that at the first
sound of the opening bombardment the
retreat from the salient began. The
enemy did not allow, however, for the
rapidity of the American action. On
the short western face, where there is
very little broken and much densely
wooded country, he held up the attack
fairly well against the American and
French forces. With the aid of Aus
TRAN reinforcements he here pre-
vented complete advance for nearly
twelve hours. But on the southern
face he collapsed before the main at
tack. The consequence was a very
heavy loss in infantry, no less than
$4,000 men at least, and probably that
total will be increased before the
counting is over. Early Friday, caval-
ry from the southern American attack
had joined with the advance from the
west, and the salient of ST. Mihiel
ceased to exist
The conformation of the countryside
is peculiar. The river Mouse runs
from south to north in a sharply de-
fined valley which varies in width
from one to three miles. On either
side of this valley rise steep, wooded
hills from 500 to 500 feet in height
above the water. and these form two
banks. as 1t were, inclosing the stream.
The hills on the eastern side are
called the Heights of the Meuse."
Most rivers run in the midst of a
broad basin and receive from either
side tributaries whose sources lie far
off. The popularity of the river
Mouse and its strange trench valley is
that no such tributaries come in from
the eastern side. The moment YOU
have passed the summit of the eastern
hills. in some places only two miles
from the river, you are already in an.
other river basin, that of the Moselle.
and this stream runs off eastward
away from the Mouse
The heights of the Meuse fall
abruptly on this eastern side on to the
plain of the Woevre. which stretches
eastward as far as the eye can reach
to the Moselle on the horizon. On a
clear day one can just see from the
SUBMITS of these heights beyond the
plain of the hills around Metz, twenty
odd miles away.
The formation of the Woevre is clay
1t is sparsely inhabited, very bad 60
Ing in wet weather and full of ponds,
shallow marshes and numerous woods.
The Germans held all this plain of
the Woevre, and their organization
stretched westward so far that the tip
OF their triangle included a few miles
OF the hills and reached the Meuse
itself at the little town of st. Mihiel,
from which the whole salient took it's
name. The pinching out of the sal
lent has had the effect of removing
the Germans everywhere from the up
per Mouse valley above Verdun The
river and all the eastern heights
bounding it are In the hands Of the