The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1918-10-14
FRENCH ADVANCE
BEYOND LAON
Line Runs From 0ise, Above
La Fere, to East End
Chemin- DeS- Danes.
HUN RETREAT HURRIE D
Little Resistance Offered-Foe
Now Perhaps on Brun-
hid Line.
(Associated Press.l

German forces have abandoned Laon
| and the whole st. Gobain region. The
French. after reoccupying Laon. have
pressed on until their line now runs
from the Oise river above La Fere to
the eastern end Of Chemin- des- Danes
When the Germans began to fall
back out of the bag into which they
were being slowly caught by the rapid
advance OF the allies on each side
they went with such speed that the
change in the battle line in that sec
ton of the front during n few hours
was astonishing. Not until the French
reached the Laon-La Fere railroad did
they encounter any real resistance.
Italian troops participated In the ad-
north of the Ailette river. At this
point the German lines have been
pressed back or have been withdrawn
so that sharp angle has been created
With tho exception of the area north
OF Douai, there appears to have been
slowing down of the allied advance
during the past couple of days. Al
no point have the British and Ameri-
cans swept ahead as they did on
Thursday and Friday last week.
This may indicate that the Germans
have reached what Is known as the
Hunding. or Brunhild, line. This posi-
tion. while much less formidable, so far
as known. than the Hindenburg sys-
tenn, is still strong enough to retard
pursuit by the allies and perhaps hold
them up for some time.
The Hunding line runs from Antwerp
to Ghent and thence to Journal Conde.
Valenciennes. Solesmes, Guise, Rethel,
Vouziers. Dun-sur- -Meuse. and then
down the base of the st, Mihiel salient
to the Moselle, where 1t Joins the old
front running through Lorraine and
the vosges to the Swiss frontier.
French and British forces have vir-
tually reached this line cast Cambria
and st. Quentin. British units are re-
ported at Solesmes. while the French,
further south. were within four miles
Of Guise.
On the Champagne front Gen. Ber-
thelot Is less than five miles from
Rethel. while further east Gen. Gou-
raud has taken Vouziers, but has not
penetrated much north OF that place.
Americans fighting IN the Argonnc
region are through the Kriemhilde line,
but their progress there is very slow.
Study of the tactics followed by the
Germans during the past week has
shown that they are following the
methods of retreat used in the Marne
and Somme salients in July and Au-
gust. They have held their fianks
Ialrly secure ana have withdrawn their
center. They have thus apparently es-
caped disaster around Laon, where
military experts have said the Ger
mans had delayed their retirement too
long for their own safety.
In the region Of Douai British troops
are fighting their way forward against
desperate resistance and in spite of
numerous waterways which serve to
hold up their advance. Douai IL vir-
tually reached, while to the north the
line Is sagging off sharply to the east.
should .Douai fall. the British will be
able to advance on Valenciennes. The
Olse river has been crossed by the
Erench to the northeast Of La Fere at
Originy. and they have advanced close
to the river to the north.
In Albania the Italians have captured
kavaya. town twelve miles southeast
Of Durazzo.