The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1918-09-19
The GREAT WAR IN 1918
BRIEF OFFICIAL REVIEW OF I'M
PORTANT Events.
Germany's Drives and the Allies
Counter Attacks from March
to August.

When the military campaign OF
1918 opened, the battle line on the
western front was about as it had
been established by the retreat to the
Hindenburg line year before
March, 1910. 1t ran in southeF-
ly direction from point on the
North Sea near Ostend, across the
western corner of Belgium, past Lille
and Cambrai to La Fere, on the river
Disc, in Picardy. Thence it turned
gradually to the east, passed to the
north of the battle-scarred cities OF
Rheims and Verdun, and crossed the
Vosges mountains about midway in
their course. The line then dipped
southwark on the German territory
of Alsace, for some 6fty miles to the
Swiss frontier.>
German Preparations.
The collapse of Russia enabled the
Central Powers to gather on the west
ern front enormous forces of men,
guns, munitions, airplanes, liquid
fire and poison-gas apparatus. Their
purpose was to force a military de-
cision in 1918, before the United
States could get effectively into the
fighting. IF the enemy does not
want peace" the Kaiser had said,
then we must bring peace to the
world by battering in with the iron
fist and shining sword the doors of
those who will not have peace"
Five successive drives of the Ger
mans followed, constituting the great
est and most momentous struggle IN
the history of the world. One of their
collateral effects was to force the Al
lies to a belated step for attaining
greater unity of military action by
appointing General Foch (April 15)
supreme commander-in-chief for the
whole western front.
The Battle of Picardy.
The first drive opened on March u
in the region of the river Somme. 1t
is called the battle of Picardy. The
base of the drive stretched for ~
miles from near Arras on the north
10 La Fere on the south. The sue
cess of the enemy was in part due to
the wholesale use of mustard" gas
shells and in part to new wave at
tack" methods worked out by the
German General Hutier. Under this
pressure a British army under Gen.
eral Cough fell back and left danger
ous gaps in the Allied lines. These
were filled partly by French troops,
but mach of the credit for arrestlng
Overwhelming disaster belongs to the
| makeshift battalions hastily organ
lied by General Carey from cooks
and other non-combatant forces, in
Guiding American engineers. Never
theless the Germans penetrated in six
days a maximum depth OF Sc miles;
| but Amiens proved untakeable.
Tne second German driye began
| April 9, in Flanders. 1t penetrated
to a depth of 10 miles on front OF
80 miles: but it failed either to reach
| the Channel ports or to crush the
British army.
Second Battle Of the MarnC.
On Nay 27 the third drive was
launched, this time in Champagne,
| and under the Dersonal direcs on OF
the German Crown Prince. 1t is called
the second battle of the Marne, or the
Aisne -Marne battle. 1t was preceded
bv the most tremendous preparations
ever made for battle. Between So1s-
| SIMS and Rheims the Germans crash
cd through to the river Marne at
Chateau-Thierry, an advance OF about
80 miles. This brought the menace
within A miles of Paris. The Ger
mans announced the capture OF 4o,-
OcG prisoners aid over 400 guns.
June 9Th the fourth drive began
| on a 20 mile front west Of SCISSORS.
It advanced the German line maxi
mum of miles, but at a tremendous
cost in men killed and wounded. The
German attempt to reach the import
ant town of Compiegne failed. 1t
was in this battle on June 6 to II,
northwest of Chateau-Thierry, that
the American marines fought so bril-
liantly.
Fifth German Drive Stopped.
The fifth and last German offensive
was launched on July Is. 1t covered
the whole eastern side of the Sols-
sons-Rheims salient and the line for
some IS miles east Of the latter city
- roughly about 80 miles from Cha
teau-Thierry to Prunay. The 1mme-
date object was to encircle from east
and west the high wooded hills which