The sun., 1918-08-10
GERMANS PUZZLED
BY MIXED TROOPS
Critics Cannot Agree on Which
Of the Allies Did Most
Fighting.
GIVE AMERICANS CREDIT
Better in Attack Than in De-
fence, Says One Observer
at the Front.

AMSTERDAM, AUG ?. - Reviews by
German critics on the military situation
IN the west disclose curious Emergencies
of opinion as 10 who bore the brunt or
the attack on the allied side.
The Cologne Gusctte's writer declares
the white Frenchmen did all the fight
ing, while the Frankfort Gdsettc states
that. on the contrary. the white French
men were spared for political reasons"
and that on the Americans fell the full
weight of the lighting. The Berlin
Lokdlonseioer asserts that the Italians
we're the ones who "bled." while others
declare that the Sencgalese and the Mo-
roccans took the main part in the fight
ing.
Few of tho writer's venture to predict
what will happen. next. The consensus
seemed to be that 1t was doubtful
vheth Marshal Foch would feel strong
| enough to risk a frontal attack on the
new German main line, Strengthened out
as II has been.
|, III he does" says the military expert
| OF the Ndchfchten OF Hamburg. I'VE
| must reckon with an extension OF the
fighting area to the north of the Alsne.
in the Compelgne region, because II is
| there alone that the possibility OF an en-
circling attack offers Itself"
Soibbohss
The same authority devotes some
space to explaining why tho Germans
evacuated Scissors. The evacuation. 1t
says. was due to the fact that after the
new defensive line was reached both the
city and the heights around 1t lost their
tactical value and became a projecting
| bridgehead, which was exposed to encir-
cling attacks and concentric artillery
| fire. Its retention. the writer declares.
| would have meant the tying up OF strong
| forces under unfavorable conditions.
Amid the chorus OF praise for the
brilliantly executed strategic rearward
movement" the Cologne Gdsette eau
| tiously expresses the opinion that 1t Is
too early yet to say which side wins on
| the balance,
History offers no precedent" says
| Gen Won Ardenno in the Dusseldorf
| Ndchrtchten. for the fact that the VIC
| tor, after three victorious battles, re-
| tires from the field embarrassed by the
| enemy to take up positions further in
the rear. This Is difficult to under
| stand" he adds. and he proceeds to ex-
plain how by a marvellous exhibition
| Of self-control the Germans refrained
| from pushing their attacks home when
| to do SO would have cost too much
| precious German blood" He is bound,
however, IN ADMIT tndt Inc
| Of carrying the enemy's FIRST lines with
| rush and following II up by deep
| thrust into the ground behind. WHICH
| had succeeded four times, failed on
( July ID
| Americans Prove Adventurous.
Gen. Won Ardenne likewise makes
the interesting admission that the Ger
mans had possibly underestimate the
enemys strength in numbers" and fur
| thermors he asserts that in the lost
territory the French have the advan-
tase in railway communications. which
is precisely the same complaint he made
when the French still stood on the
| south bank of the Marine.
| Eugene. Kalckschmidt, the war cor
respondent OF the Fronkfort Gazette, in
commenting on the Americans large
chare in the fighting says:
The Americans stood their baptism
Of Are not badly. They went through
ii pluckily enough. hut quickly learned
respect for our machine guns Charges
are made that they fired OIL ,he wound
ed and at times tried to mislead our
men by calling to them in German. Ad-
venturous elements are plentiful in the
American first waves. They are better
in attack than in defence