Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-09-21
KAISER is BEATEN,
SIX MONTHS AGO
SURE OF VICTORY
Driven Back to Old Line and All
Ground Captured is Lost, Long
Record of Battles Shows.
ALLIES BACKS TO WALL"
TURN TIDE OF WAR
Foch Now Supreme Master of the
Situation, Shown by Events
of Half Year.
The Associated Press Review

Six months ago today the great Ger
man offensive began For weeks victory
seemed about to perch on the German
banners To-day the allied star Is m tho
ascendancy.
Anxiety and encouragement, depression
and loy. have succeeded each other since
II dawn on March = the greatest battle
of history began II has been period
Of almost incessant fighting and Of be
wllderine changes IN the situations that
Developed from day to day and from
week to week
Tho allies knew Il and faced Ter
manv's mightiest effort last March Re
leased bv The absolute collapse of RuseIg
as n bellgerent power vast numbers Of
German veterans had been rushed tn the
western front and been given intensive
training for the offensive hv which the
Tettnnic war lords dreamed that they
might force upon the world o German
t,eacc Germany shade no secret of her
intention II was known great bodies
of men and tremendous stores 0f munitions
bad been concentrated nj strategic points
hehtnd The German lincs II also was
known where the Germans would launch
their first attack. and for weeks before
March u the eyes of the allies had been
fixed on the long curvng line from la
Ferp 10 Arras rs the stage where the first
act of the grest drama would he enacted
FOUGHT wtrH BACKS TO wall
With 4 swiftness that carried concern
to every entente nation, the German
forces swept over the British lines IN
P,rardy and rolled westward like = tidal
wave during the closing days Of March,
until ut last he British reached positions
where they could stand 1T bay and the
French had come to form q living wall
before the gray-clad host Of the German
emperor Then the offensive stopped
fIardly had It's rush been checked than
tn, line between Lens and 1prfs was
attacked by the Germans and again the
prltIsh lines 4waved backyard Tins
advance If the enemy went on untli u
rearFied the high ground to the southwest
of Yprea and then it. too, was stopped by
the stubborn fighting ol the allied armies
4 pause followed for nearly month and
then. ON Nav -. the Germans suddenly
broke through the French lines north of
IN, Aisue river and smashed their way
southwark until they had reached the
Marie over a wide front east Ot hateau-
Thicrry
No sooner had the momentum Of this
drive been taken mp by the yielding de-
Tense of the French troops than new
assault was made by the Germans, who
this time tired to break the French lines
between Nontdidler and Novon and
link up the Picardy aud Marne sectors.
FocH TURNS TIDE or WAR
II was here that the world had the
first lntlmaelon that the allied armies.
which since late in March had been under
the supreme command OF Marshal Foch,
had been pursuing definite policy and
had conserved their strength against the
time when it might be used with good
effect The German attack east Of
Montdidier came u pause after SIX
davs oiJcrrible fighting IN which the Ger
mans suffered frightful losses and the
French. for the first time since the Ger
man offensive began, struck back at the
invaders.
AMERICANS FIRST BLOW.
American forces had taken. part in the
final phases of the battle along the AiaTne
and had been instrumental III stopping
the Germans at Chateau-I Ihlerry. In
this battle came the first notable con
tribution of America to the military for
tunes of the Allies Since March, how
ever. there had been a food tide of khaki
clad men crossing the Atlantic and during
MAY and June and the first part of July
they rapidly moved up TO the battle zone.
The sangllnarv check of the German
offensive cast of Montdldier gave the
allies hope that the German tide would
toe safely stemmed, and this feeling was
heightened during the succeeding three
or four weeks by a series of local actions
along the front from Solssons to Chateau
Thicrrv by which the Germans were driven
back steadily from points OF tactical
value. What was not known by the lay
world was the fact that, by these very
actions, Marshal Foch virtually forced
the Germans to attack somewhere IN the
Marne region, where preparations were
made for a new phase OF the struggle.
ALLIES sMorHEREp OFFENSIVE
On July Is the Germans made a
new drive, called by them ''the offensive
of peace" from Chateau-Thlerry east
ward far into the Champagne sector, No
sooner had the news of the attack reached
the world than the tidings came that the
French, Italian and American lines sub
iected to assault were standing firmly
in every vital part of the front and that
it was only by the greatest effort that the
Germans pounded their way ahead In
the region southwest of Rheims and astridi
the Marne west of Epernay 1t then was
known that the Allies had solved the
German system of offense and were able
to hold their ground.
GERMAN LINES TORN TO PIECES
On July Is Marshal FCch launched an
attack which has changed the whole
complexion of the situation From
Fontenoy, on the Aisne, west of scissors,
10 Chateau Ihierry, on the Marne, the
| German lines were torn to pieces and
the Marne salient threatened to collapse
1t was only by the most savage fighting
that the Germans succeeded in saving
/ their army from disaster and finally sue
ceeded in retreating across the Neslt
/ river.
On. August 5, the French and Bntisf
stormed the German lines in Picardy
TN, tk.n 1919 ri.-... Afarn.,sl ...arah -