The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-04-25


Thiepval ridge. The general eleva-
ltion of these ridges is but little more
than 500 feet They form low crest.
extending from southeast to north
west across the triangular plateau
that is bounded on the west by the
Observation-Disclosures and on the south by
the wider trench Of the Somme.
Another point to which our geogra-
ply may we'll be linked Is Peronne,
1.-THE town that lies at the crossing OF
1.-THE Somme with the highway from
Cambrai to Roye and thence to Paris.
At this point the river turns from
Ihorthto west. 1t thus forms a great
salient toward the German lines. In its
course from the south and on toward
the west it flows in broad marshes,
crossed only at long intervals by the
highways which once existed but now
exist no more. And thus Peronne
land the bridge behind 1t constitute
vital point in the retreat of an army
forced back upon that town.
The country southwest of Peronne,
lSomme and bounded on the west by
1.-THE Arve, is in general plat plain,
Iwith few slight elevations and COM
paratively little feature for defense.
1t is now wholly occupied by the Ger
mans.
ST. Quentin is a point on the Hin
tdenburg line, the name of which is
familiar to every reader of the news
papers. Like Amiens and Peronne, 1t
lies on the Somme. The three cities
are nearly in straight line; Amiens
';on the west, Peronne in the middle
and st. Quentin on the east Between
them the Somme makes the great dou-
I'ble bend. first to the south and then
Ito the north, that has been likened to
AN inverted S. This bend has already
played its part in the issue of battles,
and may play a still more important
part in the fighting that is to come.
| Let us now turn farther south to
La Fere and Noyon. Both are towns
on the river Disc, which flows south
of west from La Fere through Chauny
to Noyon. and then turns southwest
toward Paris. The river valley Is
again broad and flat, and is travers-
ed not only by the meandering river,
but by canals. The water courses in
Themselves constitute an important
fline of defense, but in addition, the
valley lies under the slopes of a pla-
Hteau, which extends to the south and
southeast, with an elevation of 500 to
700 feet above sea. This plateau
forms an escarpment that soon dies
out toward the west, but is an import
liant feature from al Fere to Rheims.
1t is the height that has been held by
retreat of 1914. In the present at
tack the Germans have avoided it and
fhave swung around it's northern cor
ner at La Fere.
Northern France is land of chalk
similar to the cliffs of England, and
, fabove the chalk are hillocks of sand
stone. We have seen that there are
two plains, the lower plain of the val
, leys, carved into the chalk, and the
upper plain, which lies near the tor
of the chalk at it's contact with the
handsome. The hillocks rise above the
Natter, as in the case of Vimy ridge
and of the heights won by the English
in the battles of 1916, between Com
, fbles and Thiepval.
The strata lie nearly flat. The chalk
is not pure. but contains more or less
clay and is interbedded with clayey
layers. The sandstone also contains
, more or less lime. Under the wet CHI
mate of the region the lime is dissolv-
Ned out Of the sandstone, leaving an
open warm soil, favorable to trees
while the same process of solution in
1.-THE clayey chalk layers yields a sticky
ilands are surfaced with claye mud
Hard stone suitable for road building
, II sentirely wanting and the soil itself
, does not contain enough sand to form
with the clay a compact embankment
The engineer may imagine what a task
. it Is to maintain a roadway for army
transport during heavy rains such as
. Nare.now reported.
The entrenched character of the ra :
vines and valleys is due in large part
Ito the material in which they are cut
Where a stream has sunk down
Through a chalky layer and come upon
a bed Of impervious clay, its valley
widens faster than 1t deepens. The
chalk, attacked along it's lower edge
breaks off in steep faces and gives ar
abrupt rise from the valley floor to a
height of or even 30 or 40 feet OF
more. The profile then curves gently
back to the surface Of the plateau
Such q trench is invisible from a dis
lance. The eye sweeps the landscape
of a seemingly continuous palm. nei-
ther light nor color suggesting the
,sunken ground that must be crossed
On an advance against the enemy. The
chalk cliffs readily lend themselves to
the excavation Of natural and artifi-
,icial caverns. In medieval times ex-
,tensive catacambs were dug in them