The Raymer enterprise., 1918-10-31


gians, the French and some American
| divisions. drove forward rcientlessly
and before the week closed were chns-
Ing the last of The Huns out of Vale:'.
cienncs. To the south OF that city, In
the direction nf Maubeuge and Mons.
the British made smashing attack,
breaking through he enemy line of de-
fense on a wide front and threatening
to outfiank the line Of the Scheldt
which, further north. Ind held up the
progress Of the allies to some extent.
| by cutting the banks Of the Scheldt
| canal and other waterways the Ger
mnns flooded the country. The cap
ture of Mons and Maubeuge would be
serious 10 the Germans, for those cities
which are united by railroad, have
been the principal German concentra-.
tion and supply points on the Ardennes
front. East OF lie Cateau, where the
Americans are fighting beside the Brit
ish, the allied progress was rather
slow.
The fall Of Client In the near future
seeming certainty. the Germans were
evacuatlng 1t: and the Belgian govern
ment decided to establish itself in the
recovered city Of Bruges.
| Ia
The French In the Laon region
moved forward somewhat, but the ad.
vance there was slowed up consider
ably during the week. In the Cham.
payne the Huns were keeping up the
most determined kind Of resistance
and the Americans in the valley Of the
Meuse were bearing the brunt OF the
severe fighting. 1t was the hardest
kind of work. and at times the Yanks
had TO fall back, but always they re-
turned to the combat and carried their
detectives. Powerfully organized ma
chine gun positions were encountered
everywhere In that region Of ravines
and hills and forests, and to take these
without too much loss 1t was neces-
sary TO maneuver past them and at'
tack from the flanks and rear. Farther
west. to the north of Grand Pre-, the
Americans were engaged In equal,
severe fighting, but there. too, they
were slowly overcoming the stubborn
resistance of the Huns. In this they
wer materially aided by the big bomb.
Ing squadrons OF the air forces which
not only continually harassed the en-
emy In the fighting lines but made re.
peated raids on his bases and suppl,
trains.
-
One-fourth OF Germany's available
military strength has been placed In
TIN, Champagne and Meuse sectors tc
hold back the Americans and French
there. and the task these allied armies
are doing, while not Snowy, is OF tire
mendous importance and difficulty
The Huns are trying desperately tf
save the Notwithstanding railwa.
system, on which depend all theil
communications In that region. II Il
n satisfaction to know that the Amer
leans are giving mighty good nc
count of themselves there and that
while their own losses are not small
those of the enemy are vastly larger
Il r
In the near East matters progressed
fayorably. the allies driving the Aus
trians northward and reaching tht
Danube on the Roumanian border
thus completing the isolation Of Tur
key from the central powers. A fur
ther advance to Orsoya will open tfit
way for an Invasion Of Austria. II
Montenegro the process OF clearing
out the foe went forward rapidly. A
Krushevatz, In the center Of Serbia
German forces were strongly resist
Ing the advent Of the Serbs toward
Belgrade.
| Turkey, which Is more than read!
to make peace, has new scheme
Plans are being discussed to MAKE
Constantinople free port and dis
mantle the Notifications OF the Dar
daneles on condition that the allIes
guarantee the continuance Of Constan
tlnople as the capital Of Turkey. Il
is also proposed to grant autonomy Il
Arabia. Syria. Armenia and the Jew
ish part Of Palestine.
-R-
| The Germans seem to delight In VIC
lating the sense Of decency Of clvilizef
people. The latest example Of tht
propensity Is the naming Of Baron vol
der Lancken as head Of commission
Of neutral residents Of Brussels which
Is to investigate charges of unneces
sary devastation during the retrea
from Belgium. This baron played
leading role In the murder Of Edit
cavel. Ignoring the representations o
Brand Whltlock and refusing to cav
! the nurse from death.