The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-06-15

The fourth great drive in the German offen~
sive developed Sunday morning and by Thursday
had spent itself and became d1ssipated into
minor local attacks.
Any lingering doubts as to the real objective
Of the German offensive must have been re-
moved by this time. Paris, Amens the cham
mel ports and Compeigne are but incidental. The
real aim is to overwhen, and annihilate suf-
fcient part Of the Allied army to permit Of a
decisive victory before the Americans make their
full force feltl
Since the latter part of March four great
drives of gradually decreasing extent but of un-
diminished ferocity have taken place. They
must all be viewed as part of the one great Of
fensive
History of Drives the Same.
The first one was the original attack toward
Amiens. This was ON the widest front of all;
employed the greatest number Of men; made the
greatest gain in territory; and took the longest
to check.
Then came the attack in Flanders followed
by the drive toward the Marine between Sois-
sons and Rheims, and this week the attack be-
tween Montdidier and, Noyon.
The history of all four drives has been the
same. The Germans mass great force upon
weight of numbers they able to push back
the Allied line at the point of attack The Al
tes ne. ran @ Dack Ilgh'lg at eSery seep ana f
all ground gained Gradually the pressure of
the push begins to abate, as the losses pile up
divisions are withdrawn, and the diff
ficulties of transport over the broken ground
increase. The wings are the first to be checked,
and the center continues to push forward until
a. deep salient is formed. When this salient
becomes so deep that the two sides Of it con-
verge until artillery threatens the lines of sup
plies, the offensive must stop. Then come local.
lied battles all along the line of the salient
with the opposing forces contending for tactical
attempt to widen the base Of the salient by at
tacking at one or both of the ends of its base
If this fails there is nothing to do but shift ths
entire attack to a new point.
Process Is Repeated.
This process has been repeated in all four Of
the great German drives. The third drive be-
tween scissors and Rheims was the most sue
cessful for the Germans, in that they gained
the greatest amount of territory with the least
loss. Apparently the Allies were caught un-
prepared and when the extent of the drive
was learned, General Foch Withdrew all the way
to the marne, rather than sacrifice men against
overwhelming odds, for ground Of little military
value But when this point had been reached,
the reserves had come up and the Allies made
up for lost time. giving the Germans q very
bad week of it. Moreover, both ends Of the
base Of the salient at Scissors and Rheims were
strong positions, and the Germans were unable
to make any impression on Them after costly
efforts.
Then last Sunday, the Germans suddenly
shifted their attack to the northwest, and struck
on a 20-mile front between Montdidier and
Noyon. But this time the Allies were prepared
for them and their gains during the four or
five days of bloody fighting that followed, were
the Marine. On Thursday they shifted the at
tack again and tried to widen the salient Gre
ated in the third drive but they failed oncs
more, and now the fighting both Of the last
two fields has settled down to local attacks
for points of advantage.
Still Have Striking Power.
While the almost continuous offensive since
last March, has been featured by. four sue
cessive drives Of gradually decreasing size this
cannot be taken as positive proof that the strik-
ing power of the German war machine is de-
clining in the same proportion. They still have
reserves available to repeat the first drive to-
Amiens and perhaps on even greater scale.
They are stalking everything on a decisive
battle. Advances at different parts of the line
may be of tactical advantage to them but their
one great strategic aim is to paralyze the Allied
army-to defeat it SO completely that it can no
longer be a menace to them.
The Germans might be compared to the pugi-
list who finds himself with his powers gradually
ebbing and his opponent waxing stronger. To
score mere points will be of avail. He must
strive for one knockout blow that will end the
fight in his favor, be gradually overwhelmed
and finished off at his opponents leisure. Ger
many has swung four such blows this spring.
They have hurt" in the language of the prize
ring, but they have been blocked or parried so
that they failed to reach a vital spot He still
has the power to strike this knockout blow, but
his swings are becoming wilder and he is leav-
ing more openings. hr
And every month adds 100000 or more Amer
leans and more than 1000 airplanes to the
cause Of the Allies