Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-23
METZ, IMPORTANT
GERMAN BASE OF
WEST, IN PERIL
City of 10000 Lays Astride
Moselle and Seille Rivers;
Fort Important

London, Sept. Offensive oper-
at'ons toward Metz strike at one of
'he most important German bases in
tne west. The city and the TWENTY
elSht encircling forts conprise what
mas peen regarded as one of the mosf
pJlnliuaple fortresses in the world
MelH .u also is the center of important
non Heios. which before the war
suppneo France and Germany with
hi' h,ote re tnan two-thirds of the ore used
ny thelr iron manufactures.
Metz is on the Moselle. ten and q
halt miles west of the French bor-
oer' The city lays astride the Mo-
seile river as we'll as on both sides
vi the Sellle. Part of the city is on
lsIanus IN the Moselle. To the east.
horth ana northwest are the iron
ana coal fields of French and Ger
man Lorraine. Deprived of these
nelos' Germany could not conduct
the war another three months. it is
asserted. - %
The chief iron field of the Rhine
alstrlct is that of Lorraine, includ
iis lhe Bassin de BAey (the center
Ui whlch Is the little village of
nrIeyl' the greatest iron-pro ducing
region In the world 1t is located
mainly in Alsace-Lorraine and over
laps into Belgium and Luxemburg.
II extends along the Franco German
Irontler for thirty-five miles, almost
up TO Pont-a-Mousson.
Germany's possession of the major
portion OF this productive area fol-
IoWeo the signing of the Treaty of
frankfort in 1871. Previous to the
present war Germany obtained from
1ne mines on her side of the frontier
zI,ooo,0OO tons of her total annual
production of 2S,000,00O. while
france got 100000 out of a total
production of 22,000,O0O.
Germany Got French Share
since her occupation in 1914 of the
mines on the French side of the from
TIER Germany has added to her min
eral wealth the 100000 tons an
nually obtained by the French.
bringing her total production from
Lorraine alone up to 100000 tons
a year.
Inc only practical road to this i'm
portant region, military authorities
agree, is the valley of the Moselle.
AT the head of the valley and bar
ring the way lies Metz, ranking with
Strasspurg as one of the two great
oulwarks of the German southwest
ern frontier. Metz is a city of CO.
wy population, its chief industries
being the manufacturing of weap-
ons, clothes, shoes and hats.
AS fortress Metz has been i'm
portant since the Roman era. Since
tnat time 1t has never succumbed to
frontal attack. Its present system
or fortifications includes TWENTY
eight detached forts which encifcle
the city proper. The outer chain
OF defenses, built within the last two
decades and undoubtedly perfected
since the outbreak of the present
war, extend to Thionville on the
north and Gravelotte on the west.
west and southwest of Metz the
course of the Moselle is lined with
high, wooded hills. The German
fortress also is protected by heights
and woods northward. On the south.
however, the terrain is more open,
with few hills and little wood.
From the American lines south
west of Metz the nearest forts are
Forts Haeseler and De Sonny on
the right bank of the Moselle and
Fort Kronprinz on the left bank.
Fort De Sonny is less than five miles
from the French town of Arnaville.
on the Franco German border, The
forts surrounding Metz were similar
to those at Liege. which were notable
for their disappearing turrets. Ger
man guns, however, overcame these
forts.
The fall of Metz not only would
probably seal the fate of the iron
and coal fields, but, through the sew
erance of railway lines, imperil the
German line west to I.aon and
thence northward to the Belgium
coast. All reports of a possible Ger
man retirement in the west have in
dicated that Metz would form one
# the bastions of the German de-
fense.