Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-10-25
GERMAN ARMY NOT
CRUSHED, SAYS EXPERT
Yesterdays Fighting Shows it to
be Still Strong and Efficient
in Good Dcfcnscs.

Washington. d. c., Oct 25.-An ex-
pert critic on military matters writes as
follows regarding the war situation IN
Europe:
''It would appear from the British re-
ports of the fighting on Wednesday that
the Germans. in the region OF the Sambre
Canal are present IN much larger num-
bers than would be found in rear
guard In fact, ever since the British
reached the Ecaillon River their advance
has been persistently contested In yes
terdav's operation, undertaken for the
distinct purpose of clearing the river,
great many prisoners were taken, indi-
d eating that the Germans were present
in considerable force This lss also IN
dicated by the auckness with which
they reac ed The British report OF yes
terdav not only mentions counter-attacks
as having been delivered IN force, but
laws stress upon the fact that they we're
accompanied by heavy artillery FIRE.
HUNS IN STRONG POSITION.
"If, then, the Germans are not now
fighting rear guard actions, either the
main army purposes to contest further
advances or the general advance has TO
be halted temporarily IN order to make
possible the removal of stores and sup
plies to the rear Germany's present
line of defense is very strong naturally
Even though the front which faces the
British now is not heavily lined by water
courses the British are facing the great
forest of Normal which guards the ap-
proaches of the Sambre Canal northeast
of lie Cateau And experience has
taught us what difficult barrier to
break down a forest is That the British
! ho, tn IN halt
when this forest is reached is almost
certain, and then We shall have another
example of a heavy thanking operation
from the north.
NALENCIENNEs DIFFICULT PROBLEM.
! The action Yesterday was, as | have
stated. an effort to break down the de-
fenscs of the Ecailon River. But it had
/ another objective also the city of Nalen-
ciennes. This city would be a difficult,
if mol impossible, place to take by q
frontal attack from the west 1t Is
! thoroughly guarded by the Scheldt River
and Canal which both north and south
/ of Nalenciennes, are lined with heavy
/ marsh belts The approach from the
south is blocked by the Ecaillon River.
which Joins the Scheldt midway between
Denain and Naletciennes
4 To get 1T Nalcncicnnes. then, II was
! necessary first 10 break the line along the
river This done. the operation would
develop into an enveloplng ono, the
British pushing cast from Nendegles to-
ward lie QucsnoN and the northern
corner Of the Forest Of Normal Thus two
results would be accomplished. First the
1 Germans in the bend Of the Ecailon
south Of its confluence with the Schcldt
j would Id 1ankcd out Of position. Once this
river IS cleared. the approach to Nalen-
ciennes from the south IS opened Sec
ond, the forest of Normal would be al
most surrounded
GERMANS EASILY BEATEN IN THE OPEN.
In Wednesdays attack, he British,
, who were forced to advance over very
! difficult grounds demonstrated that
! without their strong Seml-pcrmanent de-
Tense lines the Germans can he we'll
beaten in the open The front Of the
attack extended from point cast OF lie
( Cateau to Il point on the ECalllon Just
1 north OF Ncndcgics The Ecalllon was
crossed early in the fighting, and the
! British advanced 20 the next stream, the
/ st Georges, which is a branch of the
/ Ecaillon. Tliis too. was crossed IN
+ short order, the British getting astrlde
the river and establishing their lines
I east of Beaudignics Further south, the
British pressed n 10 the Sambre Canal
/ east of the Rois de lEveque which they
occupied
AT Eendegies, the crucial point OF the
attack, the British pressed on beyond the
town and threw a half loop about the
area along the lower Ecaillon still held
| bv the Germans The German command
realizing that this was the danger point
| immediately counteTattacked. though
with small success. Thus the lines at this
point Became for the moment stabilized
| Further TO the north, In an entirely lnde-
pendent operation, the British pressed
forward 10 the Scheldt, completing the
capture of the Raisnes Forest. This
| puts their line squarely along the Scheldt
Canal all the way from DenaIn north.
SERBS REGAIN THEIR LANDS.
In the Near East-that is, in the
Balkans-matters are developing with
great rapidity. Not only have the Serbs re-
covered three-quarters of their own land,
but further west the allied forces have
reached 10 within a few miles OF the
border of Bosnia and herzegovina, two
provinces which were stripped from Ser
bia. but which are still populated for
the most part by Serbs. In the east
operating IN Bulgaria, the French have
reached the Danube, thus cutting the
water route from Austria to Turkey
Turkey Is now isolated from her Allies
except for communication by way OF the
Black Sea Now that II has been made
| clear to Germany that this country de
mands that she lay down her arms and
place herself completely at the will ol
the Allies, Turkey will understand thai
| she has nothing further to gain by al