Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-09-21
EVENTS OF WEEK

n dCtlVltles OF the war nave been proceeding
eastward of late and within the past day or two Pales-
tine has been the scene Of important successes by Allied
arms. There the British forces under command of Cen
eral Allenby have administered a singing defeat to the
Turkish troops along practically the entire line from the
Jordan to the Mediterranean, have broken through the
Turkish lines at certain places, have advanced IL to is
miles, and have taken more than 5000 prisoners. The
operations in this theatre, as we'll as in the districts still
farther east have received little attention in the press
dispatches OF late partly because no specially large
movements have been undertaken, and partly because
the operations on the western front have been on such
a scale as to dwarf everything else.
The eastern operations, however. are of great i'm
portance. and, while smaller in scope than those in
France. they have not been discontinued at any time.
1t will be recalled that a few. weeks ago a brief dispatch
told of the occupation by British troops of the. centers
Of the oil region on the shores of the Caspian. To reach
those points the British forces employed had been
obliged to march for weeks Across broken and desert
country, and to~travel long distances by sea in impro-
vised craft. But, while this movement was in progress
the world was in Ignorance of it, and was given no de-
tails when it had been accomplished. In a similar man
ner, while the attention Of the world has been riveted
On the gigantic struggle going on on the west front, the
little army that made its way up the Tigris and captured
Bagdad has been pushing on into the wilderness, and
the army IN Palestine has been plOdding on, their OBJ
jectives being the railroads and railroad centers, the pos
session of which by the Allies will effectively cut Off
the Turks in those distant districts from communication
with their main depots. and will utterly dissipate the
German dream Of an empire extending through Asia to
the sea.
a step farther west are the operations in the Ba1k-
ans, and there, also. the Allies have sent the enemy fly
ing before them. Important advances have been made
on the, Macedonian front, and the battle which began
there early in the week bids fair to develop into an ex-
ceedingly important one: The rehabilitated Serbian
army has been doing gallant work, and the defeat Of
the Bulgarians is SO complete that it seems likely that
either German or Austrian divisions must be called on
for aid if the Turks are not to be cut of from their
Teutonic allies on the north.
The week on the western front has been one Of con-
by the Allies. Along most Of the line the Germans have
reached the old Hindenburg positions, but these are
yielding to the constant hammering from the Allied guns.
The heaviest battles have ragged before Cambria and st.
Quentin, and the latter city has been 50 nearly surround
ed that its capture within a short time seems to be as
sured. Within the past day or two the British have been
engaged in a most important movement in this district,
and on a 2o-mile front they have advanced from one
to four miles, and have taken more than 10000 pris-
Oners. The Germans have been DEFENDING their posi-
tons stubbornly, and the vigor Of rneir defence has
made the advance slow. Nevertheless, the advance con-
tinues, and all the gains made have been held.
.
On the Lorraine sector the Americans have not
only held all the ground gained In their remarkable at
tack on the st. Mihiel salient, but have improved their
positions. With heavy guns the Americans are Smelling
the defenses of, Metz which may or may not indicate
that this great fortress is to be the object Of one Of the
greatest onensives Of the war. AS it stands now Metz
is one Of the best fortified cities in the world. It Is, in
a way, the anchor Of the whole elaborate system OF
German defenses running from there to the North sea
At the beginning of the war its Qualifications, like those
of Liege, Namur and verdun,s were supposed to be Inn
pregnable. The Belgian forts fell. in short order before
the pounding Of the German guns and It was there
shown that fortifications Of . different character must
BE constructed III they were to stand under the pressure
q modern war. The story Of yerdun Is different The
French had proftted by the earlier lessons Of the war
and instead Of trusting to structures above ground, OF
steel and concrete. they had employed elaborate under
grounds systems of defense. with ring after ring Of out.
posts: In spite Of all that German arms could do. Yer
DIM remained and still remains in French hands. Il
Il to be supposed that the defenses Of Metz have beer
readjusted to meet the conditions OF modern warfare
and NJ may also Be assured that Foch and Pershinl
know exactly Whist they are 10 meet IN an EFFORT 10 Re
duce that important place.
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