The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1918-08-17
PROGRESS OF THE WAR

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The most obvious feature Of the
nresent fighting is General Foch's
strategy. The German high COM
mand has not been deceived except
in one respect, and that the most
vital one.
When General Foch succeeded, af-
ter nearly three months of defensive
warfare, in getting the enemy on
the run, he adopted a rule of war
fare which the Germans had been
putting into practice throughout the
entire campaign. When you have
the enemy on the run, keep him on
the run, is military maxim of the
first order. The Germans knew that
Foch would strike elsewhere as soon
as his offensive in the Marne salient
had been halted, but they were in
precisely the same quandary that
had weakened the Allies for months.
They had lost the initiative and could
only guess where the next blows
would fall.
If we may credit the views of the
the correspondents the Germans
made poor guesses. We are told
that the drive in Picardy was COM
plete surprise. Why it should have
been we cannot surmise. For weeks
the Germans had been expecting a
British offensive and had discussed it
in their newspapers. It is true that
some of their observers looked for
the blow in Flanders, and probably
the British were able to give their
movements in Flanders the air of a
great drive. These movements. how
ever, simmered down to local opera
tons which have made life uncom-
Portable for the Germans on atroci-
GUS ground, and have forced them
to correct their positions in the Lys
salient.
The real offensive was launched
from the direction Of Amiens within
three days after the French and
Americans had been definitely halted
at the Vesle river. Before the
crown prince could send back any d.
visions to Picardy the British and
French swept forward irresistibly
with tanks. big and little, as the
the pieces de resistance of their
drive.
When we reflect upon the difficulty
both the Germans and the Allies had
in the earlier days of the war, even
to so much as dent a line, we are as
tonished to find intensively fortified
lines collapsing like houses of sand.
What is the explanation? Those who
have been at the front doubtless
could unravel the mystery for us in
a few seconds. but we are left to
conjecture. We know that it is not
the weight of metal cast upon the
opposing force, because in 1916 the
Allies often shelled the enemy for 72
hours before beginning drive, and
then achieved but little. The British
advance began last Thursday with
out artillery preparation, just as the
Franco-American drive from the for
est of Villers-Cotterets had begun
three weeks before. The German
lines melted away for miles. The
Allies passed over the heaviest OBJ
stacles in few hours and took thous-
ands of prisoners and a hundred
guns. 1t seemed absurdly simple.
Undoubtedly the technical equip
ment of both sides for offensive
operations is much more prefect than
It was two years ago. To-day the
Allies have hundreds, perhaps sew
eral thousand. tanks of various sizes
and capabilities. Apparently they
are the most effective weapon for an
advance yet devised. The British
also sent into the battle scores of
armoured cars. These vehicles were
spotted and quickly blown to pieces
early in the war. To-day the tanks
and the armoured cars are camou-