Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-07-23
FOCH HAS BROKEN
HUN STRANGLE HOLD
On CITY OF RHEIMS
His Strike. However, Was a Gen
eral Offensive, Not a Mere
Local Thrust, Says Expert.
DANGER TO ALLIES GONE

Washington, d G. July % The
war situation UP to tonight Is thus sum
married by noted military expert
The double character of the Allies at
tack Is nov becoming emphasized 1t
was generally supposed at the outset
that the object of the commander IN
chief was essentially defenslve-that he
intended primarily To relieve the pres
sure which the Germans were cNcrtlng
on Rheims and to force them to give up
the grip which they were Just beginning
to exert on this cncrclcd city 6ut inns
part Of the plan was fully realized when
The Germans rCtrcatcd across the Marne
Had this been the only object General
Foch had in mind. his offensive would
naturally have ceased NJ that moment
ALLIED OFFENSIVE lRRESIsrIR LE.
The fact that II has. if anything. been
more bitterly pressed since that time
than before the German retreat. lndl-
Gates that either he intended from the
outset 10 make has blow essentially Of
lons;yc or was led to change his plan by
an unexpected success IN the first days
al his blow But whether the hrNt or
ths, second of these alternatives = true.
The allied offensive Is being pushed ON a
large scale with all the force which Foch
feels justified IN throwing IN
The German efforts 10 rctard tho adj
vance of the allied forces are becoming
more and more determined In the ihcc
Of this opposition the allied effort Is
hfinc pushed to the hnni Why, s'ncc
the Germans have brought M such
heavy reserves. has not loch gradually
pernlIttcd his offensive to halt" lie has
acroinpliShcd much The German post
rion i not only unsatisfactory hut dan
gcrou~ All danger to the Miles from
hem has been removed, not atone Tor
the tune being. lut for some time TO
como Nhy j. the allied commander
not content to wait until his force reaches
something Ike its maximum rather than
10 press the attack 4 this time
Nus PREPARING TO EFTIKF
f@Thc only solution : that the Germans
arc preparing to evaG!atc The ~ahent
and retire 10 the Ne~lc River where
+ they have q good defensive front, with
good lines al communication Tins +
indicated IN a number Of vaN~ he trst
point j. the terrific opposition thc NlllrS
arc meeting with on both sides q the
salient. while at the head ot the Sailcnt
he &c rmans are giving ground much
more readily In the fighting 81 ycster-
,iav a small bolt Of territory was taken
between the Aisnc and the burcq. run
niug generally parallel 10 the ~oiSSons-
hatcau-Thierry road Ru' the great
,~t gam of the dal was made N the
south, north and northeast Of hateau-
Therrv. the Allies moving from The
Marine Valley
This move IS llnQucst Ionahv hc hard
est task due 70 tie advantage ~ terrain
which The Germans possess 81 TINS point
Immediately north of the Alarne lS tound
the forest 81 Barbiilon. heavy patch
of woods crowning the top 81 q plateau
which rises above the river bottom.
This place could be defended much more
easily and with fewer mon than could
the territory 10 the north along the
highway. And vet this sector marks
the largest gam OF the day.
HUNS A<xIo Is TO SAW SUPPLIES
The truth of the situation appears TO
be that the Germans are endeAvOnng 10
remove IN part at least the great mass
Of material that they had concentrated
Tor their offensive THIS Foch does not
propose to allow If he can help It. know
ing that tins Is the intention ne IS using
every means al his disposal 70 prevent It.
.StlU another indication Is the frequent
front that the German rs are burning be
hind their lines a number of villages
There could, 81 course, be no reason Tor
this If the ocSTIpation OF these villages
was 10 continue. as the matter of b!lletS
Tor the men * always something OF
problem Finally We come 70 the dan
ger OF the situation itself
BoCHE LINES NOT SOLID
"Wh.le the Germans have reinforced
the sides Of the salient considerably.
and have used more men III the defence
than they had used in the attack, they
can never be certain that their lines
viii absolutely hold There may be no
bad break. but q mateuai bending would
have "a far-rcaching effect They have
already lost excessively II men and
guns. and # the salient should be sud
denly snuffed our by a break III The line
rhe losses up 10 the present time would
be almost insi gnlhcant IL comparison
The situation before Fere-eu-Tar-
denois is particularly vital The allied
line here will have 10 advance only
short distance further III order to bring
this village under fire Of even mid-range
guns. This would spoil the Germans
chance of removing their supples even If
they were fortunate enough 70 get their
troops away before disaster came
RESERVES ~ GREAT II HIMBERs.
There is one more consideration in
connection with the offensive. and that
Is the use Of the German reserves These
are. according to all reports, even Of
the reports Of the GerInans Themselves
being thrown in with great rapIdity and
IN great numbers. BY keeping the Of
fensive going Foch IS forcing the Ger
mans to do exactly as they tried to force
him to do in their offensive waste re-
serves 50 that they VII have little left