The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1918-04-04

With the American Army in France,
March 30.-"I am delighted at Gen.
eral Pershing's prompt and effective
action in placing all the American
troops and facilities at the disposal of
the Allies in the present situation"
Secretary of War Baker said in a
statement given out at headquarters
today. ...
1T will meet with hearty approval
in the United States, where the people
desire their expeditionary forces to of
the utmost service in the common
cause" the secretary continued.
II have visited all the American
troops in France, some of them re-
Gently, and had an opportunity to OBJ
serve the enthusiasm with which off,
GERS and men received the announce
ment that they would be used in the
present conflict. One regiment to
which the announcement was made
| spontaneously broke into cheers"
! The news that the force was to par
| ticipate at all was met with cheers
and shouts of delight from one end of
/! the American zone to the other, even
at the front.
The officers and men had about come
to the conclusion that they were to be
forced to sit back and watch the prog
ress Of events and they were glum.
Today they are smiling and demon
stratively congratulating each other.
There was much slapping Of each 9TH
er on the back, while some of the
troops tossed up their hats and dane
ed when the news reached them.
! There is still no news from the
fighting engineers. Secretary Baker,
having conferred with the allied COM
handing officers and statesmen, de-
sires to return to the United States
/ as soon as possible and make available
the information he has procured from
his observations and conferences. He
has completed the inspection of men
and materials which he found very
inspiring task.
With the British army IN France,
March 30.-The wheels of the war mill
continue to turn slowly on the British
battle front today, although there are
many indications that intense speed
ing up may come at any moment.
Just south of the Scrape, near Ar
ras, the enemy late this morning be-
gan bombardment which might cas-
lily presage another assault on that
city. It is written in the books that
such an attack will come, but up to
the latest reports there has been no
infantry action. Further south on the
British right there was hard local
fighting about Mezieres and Demuin,
which was a continuance of yester-
days struggle, but the most import
ant action seemed to be taking place
on the French left, where it was re-
ported the Germans were pursuing
their furious attacks.
Along the rest Of the battle front
comparative inactivity continued SO
far as infantry fighting was concerned.
Onslaught is Slowed Up
! This, then, was the status of affairs
on the tenth day of the battle, and
while no one can forsee what trend
such vast operations will take, there
are many things to support the fol-
lowing Interpretation of the situa-
ton:
For two days past there has been a
cessation along the major portion of
the northern front of the bitter war
fare waged at the outset. Undoubt-
eddy this is in accordance with the
German plans, for it was impossible
for the enemy to proceed further with
out passing to bring forward his sup
porting artillery, re-organize his
fighting forces and establish commun-
icat;ons. These things now are be-
ing accomplished. The main factor
affecting the operations is the ques-
tion Of time.
Delay of Advantage to Defenders
In this, as in any other offensive, de-
I lay gives relatively greater advantage
to the defense than to the aggressors,
because the defense may be assumed
to have better communications. For
this reason the enemy must press his
attack quickly.
The crucial sector which in the OPP
ening days Of the battle lay in the vi
cinity of Albert, which the Germans
hoped to use as gateway to west
ward advance, now appears to have
dropped to the zone below the Somme.
This is due to two reasons. In the
first plact, the resistance offered along
the northern front undoubtedly upset
the schedule and plans Of the Ger
mans command. Finding their prog
ress here too slow, the Germans turn
ed their attention to the southern
sector, where they had continued their
success.
In the second place, the entrance
Of the French into the battle also
raised a large problem for the enemy
and gave the Germans further rea-
son for pushing hard below the Som
me, to divide the Allied armies, if pos
sible. The probabilities are that the
Germans will continue to exploit their
successes on the south. The extern
sion of the front of attack undoubted-
ly is due to the terrain, which is re-
structed by the marshy valleys of the
Avre and the Somme.
Phone No. for engraved calling
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