Evening star., 1918-04-19
Officers Here Consider Enemy
Must Fight Desperately Even
to Hold Positions.
EXPOSED TO ARTILLERY
FIRE FROM BRITISH ARMY
Fresh Allied Troops, With Probable
Advantage in Numbers, Ready to
Take Defenders Places.

News Of the past twenty-four hours
from Flanders indicates to Army officers
here that the force Of the second great
German drive has spent itself.
This does not mean that fighting there
is anywhere near over. The Germans
must keep on fighting desperately to re-
tain what they have. Therein lies one OF
the hopeful aspects Of the situation for
the allies, the officers say.
Present View Of Outcome.
| As the outcome of the tremendous
effort of the Germans now stands. OFF,
| GERS state, the advantage is with the al
lies. for several reasons. These are:
The Germans in Flanders are IN
most dangerous position; much more
dangerous than that they hold oe1ore
Amiens. Their penetration into the
British lines between Ypres and La
Bassee has been only about twenty
miles long and seven miles deep at the
deepest point. Obviously to remain
there would expose the Germans to ar
tillery fire from the British. especially
from the hills on the north Of the sa-
lient or from Bethune.
1t became known in Washington to-
day. from authoritative allied sources,
that the British reserves now are back,
| ing up the defense of Hazebrouck ana
| the points on the edge of the salient
which the Germans i.,e,.s are seekins sa9a TO
The French reserves have been sent
to the aid of the British in Flanders.
and there is still a belief that the
heavy artillery fire reported yesteraay
offensive on the Picardy Held, some
where between Montdidier and Noyon.
Germans Worn by Effort.
Tti1s nsw ssossls svasa IN sSliies Ia
their defense Of the western front. mill
tary experts held. Tho uet1M6hs are
NOT SxhAustaS hut calculations Of their
forces used on the known, basis Of their
entire strength show that = consider
ana disorganized by the tremendous on
Back Of the British defenders are
fresh British troops, ready to be thrown
borne the brunt Of the defense. French
reserves are there. Likewise the
| French holding the lines in the Picardy
region have had chance to rest up
| after the first German drive, made in
| that region. and are fresh either for q
! counter attack or for further resistance
| Of German efforts IN that locality.
Will Attempt to Widen Lines.
Considerable interest Is exhibited
| here in what the Germans will do next.
It is not considered likely they will at
tempt drive in third place until they
have sought to secure themselves more
| firmly in their present wedge west Of
| Lille.
| Their own activity for the past twen-
| ty-four hours, with fighting reported at
KENNEL and at Givenchy, the northern
and southern corners of their wedge,
indicates clearly that they win seek
to widen the lines at that point. They
| sought to do the same thing after the
major portion of their southern drive
was concluded, and SO far they have
| been successful In neither case.
| Some officers think that the British
strategy is explained to some extent by
the present arrangement Of the lines in
Flanders. The British have managed to
hold on to the region about KENNEL and
| Wytschaete. from the heights of which
the heavy artillery can sweep the por-
ton of the German forces holding the
entering wedge. Should there be a
counter attack in the Somme region the
lGermans either would have to leave a
large force to insure their northern po-
ton, or withdraw II the British ham,
lmered back in Flanders as the French
counter attacked along the Disc.
Numbers Probably Favor Allies.
| The world is still guessing about an
approximately accurate estimate of the
| allied forces, but military experts be-
| lieve-the assurance that British troops
| now are ready to back up the northern
lines places the numerical advantage
| in favor Of the allies. The reason the
men at given points, they explain, is
clear from a study of the broadly ex-
tended lines the allies must hold as the
result of German penetratfons, and q
realization that the Germans, in at
| lacking. can mobilize great masses of
! troops at one point, while the allies
must keep a comparatively strong de-
tense at all points of the line.
| As soon as the situation is stabilized
again. the Germans will lose this ad-
vantage of concentration, and should
the allies begin a series Of counter at
tacks they would have the same ad-
vantage as the Germans now have, for
a strong force all along the line to
prevent a surprise attack.
| Activity of the French in the Somme
region does not indicate officers say,
whether their heavy artillery fire along
nifty miles of their front the day be-
a counter offensive. was designed to
relieve the pressure on the British in
4 Flanders or was merely for the pur-
pose of advancing at local points where
1t was deemed wise to straighten out
their own lines.
p0NE.npY RlI END n n