The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-09-04
DOUAI AND CAMBRIA
NOW ARE MENACED
British Army Probably Has
Had Its Best Day So
Far in War.
BY H. sIDEBOTHAM.

One of tho Foremost Military Critics Of
Europe.
Special Gable Despatch TO THE Sun from the
London Times Scrpice.
Copyright. 1918; oil rights reserred.
LONDON, Sept. 3.-This is perhaps the
best day that Great Britain has had in
the war. In sinking its provinciality the
British army has found itself and has
achieved new distinction. Now It can
threaten Douai or Cambria
= Without Cambria the Germans cannot
hold st. Quentin. With St. Quentin
. would so Laon and La Fere and the
Gobain Forest. Douai is one road to
Lille.
The enemy's alternatives are to hold
= the extremities of the line or to evacuate
almost all OF France. Does Germany in
tend to evacuate France as preliminary
to peace offensive? The next fort
night will show.
< The fighting the latter part Of last
week showed that the enemy fully
i realized the danger to which our capture
of Bullecourt and Riencourt would ex-
pose him. and that ne meant to hold the
Drocourt-Queant line IL possible. To-
days news shows that he failed to do
this, despite heavy achievements.
In the north We are steadily gaining
ground. KENNEL has been a ruinous in
heritance to the enemy from the first.
- Better still. the ground just south of
,Spres is once more in our possession.
sThe enemy front now follows roughly
the line Of the Lys River. On the south
end OF the battle line we continue to
make progress over the old Somme bat
tlefeld.
Somme Fighting Secondary.
The fighting on the Somme battlefield
In. strategically speaking. of secondary
Importance to that in the north. These
places on the old Somme battlefield were
sure to fall into our hands without seri-
Gus fighting. but the fighting with which
I'VE won Mount st. Quentin was of
strategic design.
The pincers appear to he closing
around the old Somme battlefield and
over the whole area of the German
retreat. Early last year one jaw of
the pincers was threatening great
length OF the Arras-Cambrai road be-
tween Monchy and Marinucon. The
other was beginning to thrust outward
from Peronne.
though heavy German reenforcements
might wrest from us the advantages we
had gained in the Bullecourt region,
|, but this menace now seems to be over
n The most important result OF the
L Scarpe battle is the fact that we broke
through the Drocourt- Queant defence
3 line. This break Is the most useful to
us at the point where 1t Joins the old
Hindenburg line-the most useful be-
cause at this point our break turns the
rHndenburg line too.
II Second Switch to he Faced.
= The Germans have not been caught
mapping, because there is another
|. switch behind the Drocourt line cover
Ing Douai and Cambria. but this switch
cannot be as strong as the first one
and the enemy's purpose in resisting our
I attack last week was to gain time to
strengthen these defences. In this OBJ
/, iect he was badly defeated, and his
hope now Is not to hold this northern
tend of the line but to slacken the rate
of our advance by narrowing the salient
!; as far as possible.
Meanwhile the French right Is keep
ing up the pressure in spite OF difficult
ground, and German comments on the
hattie, while naturally they put on the
best face possible, justify us in calling 1t
"a disaster. The Germans are agreed
that the unified allied command has been
She chief factor In their defeat. To con-
vince ourselves that they are right in
this we have only to contrast the pres
emit Somme battle with the other strug-
gle there. There was cooperation then.
to be sure. but It was the wooden, me-
ehanical kind,
May Abandon Laon-La Fere HIS.
~ The very fact that We had to act with
The French on our right limited the area
within which we could move There was
mo element of surprise. and the Germans
could approximate with great accuracy
the exact spot where our blows would
. fall
- Now there Is greater freedom and
I elasticity of movement. but great as are
tfhe advantages OF united command they
talope would not change the fact that
sthe German intelligence department has
sbeen completely at fault. The Germans
made up their minds that Foch had
used ,up his reserves and they were thus
deceived by the conceit which Is the
principal vice Of the German military
mind.
4 They are now paying the penalty, and
nile the battle Ia not over the issues
+vor the enemy are so serious he must
throw in his whole strength 10 prevent
a development that would ruin his
vhoje military structure. In word.
sthinrs are going 80 badly for him that
: Tor the fret time In the war he is in
! Ao,ibt whether TO abandon the Laon-Le
. Fere hills, positions which have been