The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1918-08-17
Prince RuppreCht's Armies Are
Driven From Amiens Salient
With Heavy Losses.
FOCH'S SECOND GREAT BLOW
Allies Force Crossing of the VssIe RiV-
or in Face Of Strong Resistance
Plans for Siberian Expedition
March States American
Army Program.
BY EDWARD w. PIcKARD.

0f GDVN1S W. l~TNFNHt%H
Having thoroughly whipped the
armies Of the German crown prince
and driven them back beyond the
Vesle river, Foch, now marshal OF
France, turned his attention in the
middle of the week to the forces I'M
der the Bavarian crown prince, Rup-
precht. At dawn on Thursday the Brit
ish Fourth army and the French First
army, under command of Field Mar
shall Haig, began an offensive on a
wide front in the region east and south
east of Amiens. The front under at
tack was about twenty-eight miles in
ity of Montdidier
Within "a hours the allied forces had
penetrated the enemy lines to points
from six to seven miles beyond hestart,
had taken more than 10000 prisoners
and great quantities Of material and
many guns, and had occupied numerous
towns. Their own losses We're remark
ably light. Tanks led the infantry in
the attack and did wonderfully good
work.
On Friday Haig's forces drove rapid
ly forward south of the Somme beyond
Chaulnes and its very important rail-
way junction. North of the river the
Germans put up their stoutest resist
ance the British, with whom an Ameri-
lean division was operating, had
bitter fight. However, they finally
smashed through the enemy and took
the whole Of the Chipilly spur, driv-
ing the Huns toward Bray. In this
struggle the Yankees acted with the
gallantry that has characterized them
In every fight they. have had. They
had to make forced march to go over
the top at the appointed time, and
went into the battle on the run. The
days operations brought the number
of prisoners to more than 1900.
BY this time the two German armies
in the salient were in grave danger of
capture or humiliation, and General
Won Hutier was making every effort to
extrfcate them from the trap. Then,
Friday night and Saturday morning,
Marshal Foch delivered another great
blow. The French First army launched
a tremendous attack south of Montdf-
der and that town, which had been
German base Of supplies, was soon en-
veloped and captured, together with
many prisoners and great quantities of
material. The First army did not stop
there, but, in conjunction with another
French army on its right and the
British Fourth army on its left, fol-
lowed closely after the retreating
Huns. BY Saturday night the Amiens
salient had been reversed so that it's
point was directed toward the Somme
south of Peronne, Roye was imperiled
II not actually taken, and the armies
of Crown Prince Rupprecht were in
full flight. Also the fighting had
spread northward from Albert almost
to Arras, with decided gains there for
the allies. In the three days the al
lies had taken some $4,000 prisoners
and quantities Of material so vast
they had not been estimated, together
with more than 400 cannon, and had
recovered large territory and many
towns. Perhaps most important Of all,
they had regained possession Of vital
lines of communication and had re-
lieved from menace and the Paris
Amiens- Calais railway.
I'd
An outstanding feature Of the often
sive was the great use made Of tanks
and airplanes. Instead of long bonn
bardment which would give warning
OF an attack the light, swift tanks in
hitherto unequaled numbers led the
uau clearing the ground for the adj