Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-07-22
GERMANS WILL TRY
TO STAND ON VESLE
Washington Rejoices at Report
OF Piercing of Enemy
Line.
WITHDRAWAL MAY BE ROUT
Allies Will Capture as Many
Prisoners as They Lost in
Marne Drive.
WITHDRAWAL MAY BE RoUT

! "A"hiNGToN. July 21 - Further
reahgnmcnt Of the Marine salient,
boundaries Is expected within , for.
days by military EXPERTS here !, ;s
'o'ni'" cut that the desperate fight
inS oF INC G'rm:tns to tho north of
-hitc'u-Thierry ~ ana on the limo 10
.he east gives every evidence nf ho
'hE r:ar-Euar'l engagements corr,.1
on by picked German units.
me feciing is general here that the
cioSc or this week will sec III. Cor
man f"rces attempting to hold 4 new
me on the Nosl" River some *.
Pef'S "ohic not be surprised .f tr.
| '!ircs forced them to give UP the on
'ire salient and resume The ,ia. on
',.s N"ein'n ts-i'ames. to the north
of the Aisne River
The dispatches repor,irr ,ho
sible piercing OF the German line ~
the northwest of Chatcau-Thierry y,ere
! received here with JOY. Officials point
cd out that the r.port may rre.,-,
the capture OF Orich.-l. chateau.
which commands the railroad along M.
ourcq River. and possession of which
would force the Germans 10 abandon
all territory To the south OF .,rmrr
there's. on ,he Ourcq
Ihat movement back TO the lire
OF this railroad probably IL under way
| Is evidenced by the fact that the Fran
| co-An'erican forces have taken Cha.
'eau-IhicirY. apparently without great
iosS OF lie. Mil.t>ry eXpcrts to -day
stated that the report bearing upon
| the menace by the allies 10 the hi.:h.
way connecting Soissons and Fcrc-.r-
la'dcnois Is OF great signiicaacc as
control or this highway at any point
would prevent the German forces from
-sta blishng Z new line on Erenv. .r
mentiercs Nillcrs-sur-Fcr and to the
northeast to Rheims.
In "the! words. the-c IS great raa.
son now 80 hope that the shirt-s!eeved
Americans. aided by the British aud
French. have d'trcn forward with such
dash and momentum that tho Germans
Will lose far more .han the front ,:r
the salient on tlc Marnc
ALLIES HAVE ALREADY
TAKEN $4,000 PRISONERS
II the allies should force the Ger
mans to retire 10 the line they held
previous to May 81. it would mean
that they would retakc from the enemy
salient thirty miles deep and about
1000 square miles in area The gem
orally accepted theory has been held
among military experts that in driv-
ing their line to the Marine In the
fighting OF May and June, the Ger
mans took $4,000 prisoners 1t would
appear that already the allies have
taken about half that number in their
coun;crdriVe.
should it prove that the Franco
American forces have pierced the Ger
man lines. the German withdrawal may
take on the semblance OF a rout in
which case the number of prisoners
would increase rapidly.
There is every reason TO believe that
before the Germans have again re-
established their line on the Cham
pagne sector. the allies will have
taken enough prisoners to Offset those
lost since May - if the number taken
by the Italians on the Piave are in
cluded
There can be little doubt that the
best German reserve troops have been
rushed to meet the sweep of the
Americans upon Ouichy- le Chateau If
the town should fall to the Americans.
and they could throw a line TWO miles
to the southeast the railroad line be-
ing used by the forces falling back
from ChateauThierry would be broken.
II would appear that if the Germans
can set their forces out of the Marine
region without heavy losses in killed
and prisoners they will have ac-
complished one of the most remarkable
retreats of the war.
The exact obstacles facing the
Americans in their effort to cut off the
retreat OF these forces cannot be
known. however. High ground on each
SIDE or the railroad lines gives assur-
ance that it is undoubtedly strongly
guarded.