Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-07-27
ALLIES BEST DAY
1 AS OULCHY FALLS
Capture of Fere.en.Tar.
denois Now Only Matter
of Time
FOE ABANDONs NEW LINE
Indicated That German Re-
treat Must Go as Ear as the
Vesle

Special Cdblelfo Evening Public Ledger
COPYRIGHT 1913. av New York rimes co.
Paris, July ~.
The official communicate shows that
Thursday was one Of the best days
Tor the Allies since the beginning OF
the NTH German offensive. nearly q
fortnight ago. The loss Of Oulchy.les
Chateau Is a serious blow to the Ger.
mans on the Ourcq, to whom Its pos.
session was a necessity.
The Allied victory here may be
gagged by the fact that the enemyaD
troops had received orders to hold the
town at any cost. The capture OF
Oulchy by the Allies. means that the
Germans now have lost all possibility
Of being able to maintain themselves
more than a short time at Fere.sn.
Tardenois. which is their most i'm.
portant center between the Marne and
the Vesle.
Nor is the Allied success on the
Ourcq confined to the capture Of
Oulchy. The capture Of Armentieres.
Coincy and the Bois de Tourletto by
De Goutte's forces already has made
the Allied advance on Fere.en.Taf.
denois from south Of the river which
they are now steadily approaching.
only matter Of time. With Oulchy
In his hands Mangin's advance on
Fere from north Of the Ourcq will be
comparatively easy Of accomplish.
ment.
Further north. between oulchy and
the heights south Of Scissors. the
battle continued exceptionally severe.
Villemontier, which now has appar.
emily fallen into our possession, has
changed hands several times during
the last day or two
Must Retreat to Vesle
Yesterdays news from the battle
front indicates that the German ct.
fort to establish the new line Of Do.
fense on the line Of plateaus running
across the Tardenois country from
Oulchy to Ville.en.Tardenois already
is being abandoned as impossible Of
execution. and that the enemy's troops
now realize the only possible means
of salvation Is a retreat at least 40
far back as the River Vesle.
Our aerial observers. according to re.
ports received here this afternoon, have
noted many signs to support this view.
Fires and explosions have been observed
at many centers deposits Ct supplies Of
all kinds have been seen in flames. The
| Germans are destroying ammunition and
supplies because they are unable to carry
| them along in their retreat. to keep them
| from falling into the hands Of the enemy.
|
| continued development Of the Allied VIC.
tory and Of the disaster 1t has caused
the enemy.
| Appreciable progress continues to be
made by General Berthelot's army IN
front of the Mountain Of Rheims and In
the direction Of Chatillon. On either side
Of the salient, therefore, the enemy has
alternatives only Of hurried flight or
worse disaster.
The losses Of the Germans during the
first two days Of fighting after the
launching Of the enemy offensive In the
Champagne appear now t0 have been
even heavier than was first reported.
When the Germans east Of Rheims fell
into the trap which Gouard laid for
them they were moved down literally IN
heaps. From where Gouard's guns were
placed it was possible. owing to the lie
Of the terrain. to observe directly the
effect Of the French FIRE, and entire
ranks Of the enemy were seen to crumble
up like paper: French deputy who has
just returned from visit to Gouard's
army narrates striking details Of this
part of the battle.
Germans Completely Deceived
The Germans, ne says, were com.
pletely deceived by Gouard's strategy Of
leaving only scattered machine-gun par.
ties in his advanced posts when ne
wit.tlrew virtually the whole Of his men
to the positions in the rear in which he
decided to fight, and they the usht that
when they reduced the resistance Of these
little garrisons they had carried the prin.
cipal French positions. They were then
seen to deploy without taking the least
cover, in order to advance by assault
against the second line. Large masses Of
artillery even came right out into the
OPT.