The Cordova daily times., 1918-09-23
THE HlNDENBURG LINE

The celebrated Ilindcnburg line, or Siegfried line, barring the allies road to Berlin has been compared by the German leaders to the great wall of China Until the British broke it in the spring of 1917 they believed it i'm. prcgnablc to assault, as was once the Chinese wall, and regarded it as the eighth wonder of the world.
 The IIindonburg line as generally defined is about sixty miles long, run, ming in a general north and south di. rcction across the PiCardy plains in France. It's northern extremity was guarded by the heavily fortified bas tion of Vimy Ridge, and by the mining city of Lens. whose underground cor riders and chambers long have barred the British The southern end of the Hndcrburg line proper is in the vi. cinity of La Fere or Laon. That end is protected in part by the forest of St Gobain and the notifications around L.aon.
 Between Nimy Ridge on the north and La Fere on the south the line passes west of Cambrai and St. Quen- tin, so as to protect those two i'm. portant industrial and railway cen. ters, which are routes for bringing up supplies for the German army.
 Some war correspondents describe the German line as continuing south. eastward from La Fere to the Aisne river and Rheims. following the line of the Chcmin des Danes. They call that part of the line southeast of La Fcrc the Albrecht line This would add about forty-fvc miles, making q total length of more than 100 miles Generally. however. the IIindenburg line has been described as running only from Vimy Ridge to La Fere.
 Fearing that the northern end of tlr line might be turned. the Ger mans established a "swtch" line con meeting with the Hindenburg line at OLcant and running north about twcn- ty-fivc miles to Droucourt They caled this switch line the Woten line.
 The northern end of the Hindenburg line and the Wotan line have been broken more than once by the British armies, and both are now in posses sion of the British. Long ago the Ger mans lost Nimy Ridge and have failed to rctake it.
 The Hindcnburg line is not trench but a system of field Notifications. In places it is said to be ten miles deep, consisting not only of the trench sys- tems but of multiple lines of barhed wire cntanglements. concrete posi- tions for artillery, deep dugouts capa- blc of housing a battalion of troops, numerous pill boxes" for machine guns and, in fact, every device the Germans have been able to assemble 10 DlOck the way to bel many
 Near Bullecourt was formidable underground fortiiication known as the tunnel trench" which the Ger mans believed to be impregnable, This tunnel, connecting with the trenches, was more than a mile long and was mined for it's whole length, lighted with electricity and had en- frances at short intervals. It was re- inforced by concrete pill boxes and support trenches. The British cap tured 1t in November, 1917.
 Below Graincourt the British troops found great catacombs along the Hin denburg lines. These were elabo' rately fitted up as battalion headquar' ters. electrically lighted and protected by con, iete trenches. In front or Cambrai the villages behind the line had beneath them great chambers which il would be a islander to call dugouts They were more like hotels, fitted with electricity. water, sewers, drying rooms and kitchens. They