Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-10-14
War Summary
fRy The Associated Press.)

|Lr- ~ No,
c.rman forces have abandoned
r.aon and the whole st. Gobain region.
The French, after reoccupying Laon,
have pressed on until their line now
runs from the Disc river above La
Fere to the eastern end OF Chemln
des Danes.
When the Germans began to fall
hhack, oLt of the bag into which they
were being slowly caught by the rapid.
advance Of the Allies on each side,
| they went with such speed that the
change In the battle line In that sec
! ton Of the front during a Few hours
was astonishing. Not until me
French reached the Laon-La Fere
railroad did they encounter any real
resistance. .
Italian troops participated in h
advance and are now engaged on the
hills north Of Ailette river. AT TINS
particular point the German lines
have been pressed back or have been
withdrawn so that a sharp angle NAV
been created.
with the. exception Of the area
north Of dual there appears to have
been a slowing down OF the Alliea
advance during the last couple OF
days. At no point have the British
and Americans swept ahead as they
did on Thursday and Friday last
week.
This may indicate that the Germans
have reached what is known as the
Hunding or Brunhild line. This posi-
ton while much less formidable, SO
far as known, than the Hindenburg
system is still strong enough to re-
strict pursuit by the Allies and per-
haps hold for some time.
The Hunding line runs from Ant
werp to Client and thence to Journal,
Condo, Valenciennes, Solesmes. Guise.
Rethel, Vouzieres, Dun Sur Meuse n
then down the base Of the st. Mihtel
salient to the Moselle, where it joins
the old front running through Lor-
raine and the Vosges to the Swiss
frontier.
French and British forces have vir-
tually reached this line east of Cam
brai and st. Quentin. British units
are reported at Solesmes, while the
French further. south are within four
miles Of Guise.
On the Champagne front, General
Berthelot is less than five miles from
Rethel, while further east, General
Gouraud has taken Vouzieres but has
not penetrated much north of that
place. Americans fighting in the
fKriemhilde line but their progress
there is slow.
Study of the tactics followed by the
Germans during the last week has
shown that they are following the
methods of retreat used in the Marine
and Sonme salients in July and
August. They have held their TANKS
fairly secure and have withdrawn
their center. They have thus, appar-
emily escaped disaster around Laon,
where military experts have said the
Germans had delayed their retirement
too long for their own safety.
In the region of Douai, British
troops are fighting their way forward
against desperate resistance and in
spite of numerous waterways which
serve to hold up their advance. Douai
is virtually reached, while to the
north the line Is sagging off sharply
to the east. Should Douai fall the
British will be able to advance on
Valenciennes. -
The Disc river has been crossed by
the Wrench to the northeast of La
Feref at Origny and they have ad-
vanced close to the river to the north.
In Albania the Italians have cap
tured Kavaya. a town twelve miles
southeast of pugazzo.