Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1918-10-05
FALL Of ROULERS
MENACES GE RNAN
HOLD ON 0STEND
While Capture of Menin Would
Be as Serious a Threat to
Lille as Occupation Of Douai
Expert Points Out,
Copyright, 1913, by The Press Pub
fishing Co.

Copyright, 1913, by The Press Pub
fishing Co.
(The New York World)
Especial Gable Despatch to the World
and Albuquerque Journal)
London. oct "A special cores
pondent of the Daily News writes:
after week end unprecedented in
history in this or any other war, moth
ing less than comprehensive sur
vey OF the whole western front, from
Newport to Beifort, will convey an
accurate idea of the vast movements
in progress or impending. The SIT
uation may be summed zip in a word
by saying that from Newport to the
Meuse an almost unbroken battle is
raging, while from Nerdun southwark
into Alsace and the Vosges an tnevi-
table blow is for the moment still
withheld.
Most of Front Engaged.
"If on the western and southern
faces of the vast salient formed by
the Hndenburg line t. haon and the
fighting line on past Vaiily ana
Rheims to Verdun there are many
points at which an active offensive is
not in progress, these points are con-
fined 10 few miles Immediately to
the west Of La Fere and Immediately
to the north and east of Rheims.
Last year the strategy of the al
lies was to go at obstacles. This yea
it is TO so round them.
"Tne fall of Roulers. already re-
ported in press dispatches, will most
seriously compromise the ene,nys
tenure Of Ostend and the neighbour
ing stretch of coast, while the occ1-
patton Of Menin would be as serious
threat to Lille as the capture cf
Douai.
with the penetration and turning
of the Hindenburg defenses luden-
derff must determine the next step
in his strategy. Neither the military
nor the political situationN justifes
q belief in a series of German stands
on IL succession of lines between St.
quentin and the German frontier.
''That would be true, if only the
Allied pressure on the western face
of the salient We're in question.
Mangin's Big Victory.
con the Aisne Mangin's long at
tack which began more than five
weeks ago TO the south of Noyon has
been crowned with success. BY his
capture of Fort Malmaison and Cha
vign6n, he put himself in position to
enfilade not only the Chemin- des-
DANES but the valley of the Ailette
behind it. That is a great achieve
ment, 1t not only robs the enemy of
his strongest defensive positions but
also gravely imperils the retreat of
the German forces still facing the
Americans on the Aisne.
ITO the east of Mangin is Gouraud,
on whom heavy fighting is at present
falling. The Germans have held then
highly fortified positions in the Cham
payne four years, and they are hold
ing tighter to them than they sue
ceeded in doing in the less open coun-
try in front of Pershing's force on
Gourauds right There so important
an advance has been made along the
ton across the river can hardly fai
to be affected.
The American Advance.
The Americans have gone some
eight miles forward down the west
bank Of the river and can therefore
enfilade the German trenches on the
east. That obviously facilitates the
delivery Of an attack between Yer.
dun and Metz where there is an OPP
portunity of cutting one of the most
important railways on the western
front
From there southwark to the
Swiss frontier there are other oppor-
tunities, the nature of which Is clean
enough, though it need not be en-
| larged here.
THAT, to put 1t tersely, is what this
Germans are up against today. And
no one knows better than Ludendorf1
| that tomorrow they are likely to be
UP against something more formid
able still.