The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-08-03

Soissons last nlght ana the Le|s@t ~" '3A0--
way. e ~ + ~
Just one week ago tomorrow the Allies took
Fere-en-Tardenots The line as then established
dropped directly south from scissors to oulcny-
le- Chateau and then directly east to Fere, MAX
ing a right angle at Oulchy. East Of Fere' the
line dropped away to the south, forming a deep
pocket between Fere-en -Tardenois and Ville-en-
Tardenois. t.a ..- -. ...
The fighting during the week has been for the
double purpose of wiping out the elbow or right
angle at Oulchy and correcting the line to run
directly from scissors to Fere and OF cutting off
the troops in the pocket between Fere and Vile
or forcing them to withdraw under the fire of
allied guns.
Both Objects Attained. "j
Both Of these objects have been accomplished
as the week ends and the result was retire
ment by the Germans along the whole line toward
new defensive positions. Roughly speaking,
week ago the line looked like letter "W" with the
central apex at Fere depressed below the two
sides Of the letter. Today both sides OF the let
ter have been flattened out until they have vir-
tualIy disappeared, and the line describes broad
curve north Of Scissors, Fere and Vile. .>a
Neither object was accomplished without ter@
rifle fighting, for both advances brought the Al
lies closer to the German bases Of Bazoches and
Fismes on the Vesle river These two cities are
not than five miles distant ana must
be under constant artillery fire.
German losses are believed to have been par-
tcularly heavy in the pocket between Fere and
Vile for this pocket was deeper than its width
at the opening, and the Germans had to retreat
almost precipitately The Allies undoubtedly
took heavy toll before the Germans were per-
mitted to get away. -
On the other side OF Fere, the retreat was
much more orderly and the Allies apparently
fought their way forward from village to village
General Marohs Statement.
During the week. General March, the chief of
staff of the American army, told newspaper. cor
respondents that. there was longer any pros
pect Of capturing or cutting off any great body
Of German troops in the whole Marne salient,
but that the battle had become a life and death
struggle with each army trying to annihilate the
other A glance at the map is sufficient to prove
the truth of the first part OF General Marehs
statement, for the Marne salient" has virtually
disappeared. If the Germans retreat another
five miles to the VesIe, the line between Scissors
and Rheims will be virtually straight, and fur
ther retreat to the Aisne would bend it back the
other way. g
AS for the second part Of General March's
statement, it is sufficient to note that the Allies
still the offensive and show disposition
to break off the engagement that is aimed to
destroy one Of the armies. They could bring
about lulI in the fighting any time they fit
TO cease attacking, but it is evident that results
justify the effort for the assaults have been al
most continuous for three weeks.
london View of ~Its H,.>~ 81. 5s..-es
Yesterdays dispatches from London dwelt
upon the vital Importance of the capture Of der
tain high ground between Scissors and Oulchy,
and intimated that this might prove the turning
point of the entire battle, if not OF the years
campaign. 1t is not clear from the information
at hand, why this advance is Of such great sig
nificance. This high ground brings back Fismes
and Bazoches under observation and artillery
fire and these are two of the chief supply bases in
this whole sector. If they can be made unten-
able, retreat to the Aisne win then be necessary
but even this would not be a decisive disaster to
the Germans, unless the retreat was turned into
a rout, and the determined and courageous de-
Tense made by the Germans during the last two
weeks, holds out no immediate hope Of such an
outcome. e.
Results OF Battle.
The results of the three weeks fighting to date
may be summed up as follows: H.
"The menace of the great German offensive
has been removed, probably for all time. Paris
is saved. Probably the channel ports will not
again be imperiled by German drive since many
Of the reserves massed for this attack have been
used by the Crown Prince. The initiative has
passed to General Foeh, and if the American re-
Inducements go into battle rapidly enough it
probably will never be relinquished. The Ger
mans have suffered a most severe military re-
pulse and the blow to the morale of the people
at home must be staggering one. The German
army has saved itself by a well+conducteds re-
treat but has suffered very heavy losses, and its
reserves have been so exhausted that another
great offensive could not be organized for many
weeks to come.
The Next Move.
Those are. the results to date. How much more
viii be accomplished, time alone will tell for
the battle is raging just as fIercely as ever If
the Allies could duplicate their advance OF the
last three weeks during the coming three weeks.
they would be in Laon irnperiling all the Ger
man forces in the great Amiens salient. But to
accomplish this they would have to drive a mill
lion Germans back 15 or 20 miles Such a plan
1t would resemble the Hindenburg steam-roller
methods, rather than the dashing tactics OF the
brilliant Frenohman who prefers to strike sud
denly and viciously, winning maximum Of sue
cess at minimum of cost in men.
The Russian Front
Other news OF great Importance has developed
during the week. This includes the reported
rupture between Turkey and Germany; the de-
cision Of the Allies to intervene in Siberia: the
murder of the German commander in the
Ukraine; the Czecho -Slovak success In various
Darts Russia. and fI1a