The Oskaloosa herald., 1918-07-25

The fortunes of war necessitated the
taking over of more line by the Brit
fish, Formerly the British line ended
cd as far as La Fere. and before the
4 troops got fairly into their new sector,
Hindenburg's blow fell.
/ Against the long. thin British line
reaching from the River Scarpe to the
0fse at, La Fere, was hurled the might
,sst force ever seen in battle. Along
lis s0-mile front three army groups
swept forward at dawn. under cover Of
mist. These were the It'll army of OF
/ p, Won Below. said TO be the ablest
,arnv commander HindenburS has;
The 2ud army of Won der Marwitz and
the 18th army of Won Hutier, together
numbering more than so divisions, OF
which IL divisions were used in the
first days attack Opposing the enemy
we're the small Sd British army under
1.-THE smaller 5th army. under Gen
Cough. worn down in the campaigns
mentioned and very thinly spread out.
No soldiers on earth ever went
Through such an ordeal as did the
British during the seven days follow
ing the start of that offensive. On
4 March % the enemy crossed the Tort
lille and for a moment ii seemed that
they might succeed in separating the
French and British armies. which join
ed up just south of this point, but the
gaps were closed and the 5th army
went on retiring. with the 3rd army
failing back in order to keep in touch.
To the south the French Gen. Fayolle,
with superb skill, kept the gaps closed
iaround Ham, Nesie, Chauny, Roye and
Noyons.
On the Somme came another critical
moment. Here again, had the Germans
been so clever as they like to believe
themselves, they might have broken
Through: but again the gap was closed.
. On the 25th the enemy took Mantin-
lpuich and Courceiette and Albert was
.entered on the following day, but by
this time Gen. Foch had been made
Egeneralissimo in charge of all opera
ltions on the western front, the French
had moved northwestward as far as
Moreuil on the Ayre permitting Haig
ito thicken his line, and the offensive
vas brought TO standsfill. In all. "a
divisions had been used by the Ger
mans. out of total of some 200 di-
visions then identified in the West.
The drive in Flanders came a few
days later, on April Q. II started in a
small way. against the Portuguese just
lsouth of Armentieres, and two British
idivisions on their flanks, BY their I'M
expectedly rapid advance in the cen
ter, crossing the River Lys at Bac-St.
Maur and pushing on towards Bailleul.
a dangerous situation was created for
the British. and the Germans knew ii.
. So they quickly flung in more troops
to enlarge the breach and, the follow
ling day struck at Messines, north of
iArmentieres. This city was deluged
with gas and "pinched out"
As on the Somme, the Germans un-
der Won Armin and Won Quasi, by adj
'vancing against the British LIST Army
] land the French. who had come up,
towards Hazebrouck, which soon be
, came their objective. forced retire
ment of the army to the north, the I'd
, which had won Passchendaele. From
the Ypres salient, now a dangerous
pocket, the British fell back with prac-
ltically no losses. 10 Ypres itself This
Twas heart breaking for the men who
had won this ground in 1917. but the
war had now become struggle, not
for towns and villages, but to Outman-
toeuvre and annihilate armies.
The Drive For Paris.
Il On May q, began the drive for Par
is just as everybody who had eyes TO
ssee had expected, continuation of
i Hindenburg's fundamental plan to
lcrush the Allied armies and force a
German peace on the world.
But the great decision to brigade
Americans with the British and French
already had become effective. We first
knew of it, in confidence, as far back
las January. Now it was a reality. The
result is, or ought to be, that the al
lies may fall back here and cede ground
there but slowly and surely linden
lburg's armies. must dwindle, while the
Allied forces grow. Fighting men from
the U. S. A. are pouring in. And de-
lspite the worst which yet may happen,
TO quote a square-jawed American !
have, just been talking to, nothing in
Goods world can save the Boches from
a hiding trat will last them the rest
of time."
/ The British have taken some hard
knocks during the past year and have
gone up against some bitter disappoint-
ments, but there is not one who does
not get mad as a wet hen II anybody
suggests the Allies are losing the war.
Just as during those terrible days
of the retreat from Mons. If you start
the cry: "Are we downhearted?' the
British viii shout back in deafoning
chorus:
| 100000,
Manoleon and Hannibal,