The Carlisle independent., 1918-09-19

t devices of the Hun.
 tin was the goal of a race between the British and the French, the former winning Vermand, Attilly and Wendell les and closing in on the important city from the northwest, while the French southwest of the objective crossed the CroZat canal and took a number of villages. A little farther south the French forces captured Travecy on the Disc, just north of La Fere, and from it's heights were able to dominate the latter town, which was reported to have been burned by the Germans. This operation, together with the French advance eastward from Ceucy-le-Chateau, threatened to flank on both sides the forest and mas Sif of St. Gobain, the chief defense of Laon. Withdrawal of the enemy frocl that forest, which is full of guns in strong defensive positions, might thus be compelled without direct attack, which would be expensive and diff cult.
 
 des Danes the Germans were fighting furiously in the region of Laffaux, where they were trying to regain pos session of the dominating ridge which the French and Americans had taken from them. Many fresh troops were used in these attacks, but their efforts were all in vain.
 Although the stupendous German re treat of the past eight weeks has been conducted skillfuily and the enemy line has not been broken through, his ar mics maintaining contact with one an other, it has been in every way most expensive operation for the Huns. In addition to the loss of great numbers of guns and immense quantities of ma terial, captured or destroyed, they have lost more than 300,000 men, the majority of whom, fortunately, were killed. The morale of the army is being gradually broken by relentless, continuous and successful blows de. livered by the allies, the supply of fighting effectives is getting low, and the people at home are becoming daily more dissatisfied and restless. Cap tured orders reveal that the wounded men are put back in the ranks before they are cured, and prisoners released by Russia are not given time to re- cover their strength and health. Aus tria has reluctantly responded to the call for aid and in the quieter sectors Austrian divisions are placed between German divisions, or Austrian soldiers are used to fill out depleted German regiments. This is taken to mean that there will be no renewal of the leu tonic offensive in Italy this year, if ever.
 A considerable advance made last week by the Belgians in the sector north of Ypres was significant, inas- much as some military critics expect that Marshal Foch will strike there in force before long.
 -A-
 The war department announced that Americans have been landed at Arch l angel to take part with the other al- 1 lied forces there in fighting the bolshe- wiki and re-establishing order in north ern Russia. These troops are from some of our northern states and many | of them speak Russian. Hitherto the | only Americans there were marines and sailors.
 In Petrograd, Moscow and other 1 cities of Russia proper the bolshevik l government is struggling desperately l against the ever-increasing counter | reyolutiOnaries, slaughtering the latter | mercilessly whenever they fall into i their hands. Petrograd is reported to be given over to massacres and flames and 10 have been captured by revolt l ing peasants; Yaroslav and Vologda l have been burned by the soviet troops, and Moscow is threatened with the same fate by Trotsky. Two attempts were made on the life of Doctor Helf- 1 ferich, the new German ambassador to Moscow, but he fled back to Berlin.
 The soviet rulers, persistent shout CTS for peace without annexations and indemnities have just paid to Ger many 250OO0,00O rubles, the first in- stallment of the indemnity exacted from the unhappy country by the : Huns.
 In Siberia the allies, with the l Czecho Slovaks, Cossacks and loyal Russians have been making satisfac- tory progress, but the Austro-German 1 ex-rrisoners and the bolsheviki are putting up so obstinate q resistance that Japan is contemplating sending a much stronger force in order to in sure the safety of the expedition and
 it's allies before the winter sets in. The Japanese government is convinced that the American government will