Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-09-07
EVENING. SEPTEMBER z. 1918.
EVENTS OF A WEEK

EVENTS OF A WEEK
The week just passed has witnessed the complete
consolidation of Marshal Fochs great offensive, ana the
linking up of the activities on each sector until, from
Rheims to north Of Ypres the great Allied machine is
working with the swiftness, precision and force Of a trip
hammer, the blows being delivered at will by the Allies,
and the harried Germans being on the retreat along the
entire line.
CHANGING back a little We see that the Allied ad-
vance south of the Vesle was halted for some little time,
while new attacks were made in Flanders and Picardy.
Heavy forces of French and Americans were thrown
into action in the old Noyon salient. and presently,
through the progress there, the German positions along
the Vesle became untenable, and the long expected re-
treat to the Aisne was begun, with the Americans in
hot pursuit. Only a little Of the territory between the
Vesle and the Aisne is now held by the Germans, and
1t is evidently their intention to evacuate that as rapidly
as they can.
The dispatches of each day have told of fresh gains
by the Allies, and village after village has been regained
by them. The progress has been so regular and I'M
broken that the recital Of it tends to become montonous
and. whereas some months ago the gain of a few hun
dred yards was considered quite an event, the reader
now g1ances over the story of the days gains in miles,
not without interest, but certainly without a sense of
novelty.
~~ss>
There has been a feeling for some days that there
were impending even greater events than those which
we have Just witnessed. It is taken for granted that
Foch will not be content to drive the enemy back to the
Hindenburg line, or any other line where he can either
occupy old defenses or construct new ones, and have
the campaign settle down again to a series of trench
raids. The farther back the Huns are driven, now or
at any other time. the better, but the object of this, as
of every other campaign, is the destruction Of armies,
and not the capture Of the ground which the opposing
army occupies. At times this latter is necessary and
desirable, but only as incidental to the main object.
Foch aims to destroy the German military strength, and
in order to do that he will capture entire armies if he
can. Failing that, his effort will be to bring about re-
treats Of such magnitude, and in such haste, that the
German armies, though not captured entire, will be de-
moralized.
This being true, men who are keeping closely in
touch with the situation are wondering where and when
the next blow will be struck, and if it will be on a scale
as much greater than what has been done as that is
greater than the battles Of the first weeks of this cam
pagn. The strategy of Foch has been to compel the
concentration Of the enemy's forces by hard hitting in
a particular spot. and then to switch his offensive sud
denly to. some other point and thus to tax all the IA.
cilities Of the enemy. AS a result Of the Allied attacks
of the past few weeks the Germans have, presumably.
massed their strength on the sectors which have been
most heavily attacked. If General Foch follows his usual
course. he will presently launch another heavy blow on
some new part Of the line.
There are three sectors on which the activity has
been slight Of late The first Of these is that in Bel
gium from a few miles north of Ypres to the sea. Pre-
sumably the area involved there is too limited for a
major offensive. The second is in the Champagne dis
trict lust to the east Of Rheims, The third is along the
Lorraine frontier and for a short distance through Al
SAGE /. Somewhere along one OF these sectors the main
American army is waiting for the word to go ahead,
and opinion in Washington leans quite strongly to the
view that the word will be given very soon.
. +
The smashing defeats which the Allies have inflicted
on the Germans have apparently had an influence on the
expressions Of German public men. The kaiser, the
crown prince, and Generals Ludendorft and Hindenburg
have all made speeches or given out Interviews within
the past few days, and in all Of their expressions there
has been a marked departure from the turbulence which
has characterized German statements in the past. Each
OF these men has omitted all mention Of. victors as that
term has heretofore been understood in Germany, and
the victory which is now discussed is the victory of de-
Tense. There is no talk Of the forward march of the
German armies. but emphasis is rather placed on tn.
fact that the Allies have not been able to break through
The kaiser and Ludendorn both refer to the great battle
now raging on the western front as decisive which
IL may we'll be-
Financial legislation will be to the fore in congress
III same time. % the ways and, means committee ha.
HNS5Ebcsrted the revenue bill Jand discussion will be in order
hin provides for the raising of twenty-four billion
a#A Diiars, one-third In taxes and the remainder from the
Nj 81 bonds. The bond feature OF the subject u rela,
x11lsssiy sinspis, but the distribution q the taxes BY which