The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1918-10-22
GIVING WAY BEFORE
PRESSURE OF ALLIES
FOE IS SLOWLY CALCULATING
FRANCE AND BELGIUM. HIN
DENBURG LINE A MEMORY.

Obvious to the peace talk and the
diplomatic note writing behind them,
the allied armies in northern France
continue to drive the defeated Ger
man armies toward the Belgian from
tier. The past week has been large
in successes, some of the strongest
positions held by the enemy in north
ern France falling before the Brit
ish, French, American and Belgian
arms. Furthermore, the Germans do
not appear to be lettering their po-
sitions by their wide retreat. The
allied victory is not yet complete.
With the fall of Laon and La
Fere the Hindenburg line became a
memory. 1t has been taken in its
entirety by the allies; its principal
cities, Douai, Cambria, st. Quentin,
LIE Catelet, La Fere and Laon again
fly the French flag. Meanwhile the
Germans. still withdrawing troops
from various sections of the 200
AII4S lung UdIIlS lluS, are dIISulp IlHB
to form new line of resistance be-
tween the Hindenburg line and the
Belgian frontier.
Despite occasional show of increas-
ing resistance on the part of the
German forces there is but one
thing that can prevent the allied
armies from clearing all of northern
France of the foe this year This is
the weather There are at the most
not more than three weeks of fight
ing weather remaining, if the aut-
umn season adheres to its usual
schedule in northern France. The sea-
son of the autumnal rains is very
near at hand, and, once they start,
the entire region will be transform
ed into slippery quagmire in less than
a weeks time. Roads will become
impossible, especially for the artil-
lery and supply trains, and the allied
troops will suffer a check from ma
ture, while the Germans will gain
respite to reorganize their shattered
forces.
Generalissimo Foch, however, is
making the best of the good weather
remaining. He is hammering hard
on every section of the front, but
particularly hard on the two TANKS.
British, French and Belgian forces
have been sweeping eastward in
northern Belgium during the week,
retaining hundreds Of miles of Bel
gian territory and taking German
prisoners by the thousands every
day.
What Germany Has Lost.
The German army, since the be-
ginning of the allied offensive on
July IS, not only has lost all the
gains it had made since March 81,
when Ludendorff began his much ad-
vertised victory drive" but it has
been compelled to yield half the
French territory it held prior to
March 81. The Germans now hold
less than 1000 miles of French ter
ritory, whereas they held 5000
square miles on March 21. And in
losing this territory the German
command has lost 100000 prisoners,
5000 guns, uncounted number of
machine guns and millions of dollars
worth of war supplies, to say moth
ing of casualty list that reaches
perhaps 100000 men.
In Serbia the few German and
Austrian divisions left to battle, fol-
lowing the surrender of the Bulga-
rian army, are being driven steadily
northward by Gen. d'Esperey's allied
armies, headed by the Serbians. Nish,
the old Serbian capital, has been
taken, and more than half of the lit
tie kingdom now has been freed from
the invader. The Berlin-Bagdad rail
way has been cut, and Turkey now
is isolated. Meanwhile, the demob
ilization of the Bulgarian army con-
tinues, although Turkey has issued
an appeal to Berlin for help, declar
ing that a Bulgarian army is form
ing to march on Constantinople.