Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-14
Victory Facilitates Maneuv.
ering on Front South
of Verdun
TOE MUST DEFEND METZ
Can. Maurice Expects Hin.
denburg to Re-enforce Line
u. S. Troops Attacked
By MAI. CEN. SIR FREDERICK
n. MAURICE
FORMER Director Of Operations Of the British
Army.
Special Cable to Euening Public Ledger
4 Copyright. 1918. bv Neto York Times Co.


The scope and methods Of the first
stage of General Pershing's offensive
are now becoming clear. The main
! attack has been made on the south
erp face of the St. Mihiel salient be-
tween the Moselle and heights of the
Mause and has been designed to cut
ofY the defenders of those heights, or
at least force them to retreat pre-
cipitately.
a subsidiary American attack has
been made from the western tace OF
the salient directly against the heights.
doubtless in order to occupy the at
tention Of the Germans on the rius"'
while the main attack came down
upon their rear.
These two attacks have been con-
nected by a French attack on the
roint of the salient of St. Mihiel and
the famous Fort du Camp du ROMANS
one OF the original permanent defenses
81 the heights of the Meuse, captured
by the Germans in September. 1911,
ana held by them until now.
The American attack on the western
face has been extended by the trench
attack further to the north. the whole
operation being directed by General
2 Pershing.
Salient All But Gone
News of the progress made by our
allies continues to be most satisfac-
tory. and that of the main attack has
been as rapid as we had any right to
hope. Bv continuing to advance from
the Southern front north nnd north
west of Thiaucourt. Nigneulles and st.
Benert. have been gained. Thus the
ridge has been turned and tho salient
has already disappeared The Ger.
man. defenders of St. Mihiel have had
to fall back in hurry, and the French
have occupied it without opposition.
1t is remarkable that the little town
OF ST. Mihiel. situated in a cleft Of
a ridge, should have been protected
by an accident of ground from destruc-
tion during four years of the war
and that the French inhabitants
should have lived there safely all this
time within 1000 yards of the front
4 fine.
The Americans are now advancing
\ victoriously over ground which has
not been trodden by Allied troops
since the failure OF Joffre's offensive
into lorraine at the very beginning of
the war. and we may see some Of them
before long on German soil as their
comrades in the Ncsges already are.
Pershing has established front
across the base of the salient, and we
have now to wait and see whether
that is his final objective or whether
he means to advance into the Woevre
We must assume that the enemy has
n fensive lines prepared behind tho
4 .4lient and it would not take very
large reinforcement, added to the
troops who may he thrown back or
may escape to much shorter front
to enable the enemy to re-estabish
- -tetn In, ,o1, l.
depends upon whether German divi
sions which have been fighting at the
head of the salient have been cut off
or not.
Though the enemy is being kept
busy opposite Douai. Cambrai and st
) Quentin by Sir Douglas Haig and
General Debeny, and he cannot afford
( to take any risks on this vital front.
yet he will probably make q great ef.
fort to get together re-enforCements
In order to check General Pershing's IS
advance, for he will not willingly al.
low his communication with Metz to
be endangered.
II they mean to go farther. FoCh
and Pershing will have made their
plans for meeting such a maneuVer
and for the present we must leave il
at that.
$50 far the most important result
>achfeved, next to the loss inflicted
upon the enemy, which, in the present
4 state of the enemy's man-power, comes
nrst, is the clearing of the main line
4 Of the railway which runs along the
+ valley OF the Meuse and connects Yer.
dun, Toul and Nancy. When the line
Is again in working order, as il shortly
will be, our facilities for maneuvering
on the front south of Verdun will be
greatly improved
Hitherto the enemy's railway com
munications on the western front have
been better than our own, and wher
by his March offensive he put the
main lines running through Amiens
out of action. they were immeasurably
superior. One of the most satisfactory
features of the Allied offensive Is that
IL IL gradually restoring their position
In this most important respect.