The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-08-12
VICTORIES REVIVE:
SPIRIT Of FRENCH
Confidence Sweeps Through
Country as Armies
Make Gains
FARMERS RETURN
FOR THEIR CROPS
Many Now Back in Territory Recently
Held by Enemy-Much War Material
Captured by Allies Found to Have
Been Furnished by Russia.

captured by AI1eS Found to Have |
Been Furnished by Russia.
PARIS, Aug. 9. ASSOCIATED Press. |
Aside from the direct military results, |
the effect of the allied offensive move
ments on the morale of both the French
army and the CIVILIAN population can
not be overestimated.
An Associated Press correspondents
has just concluded a trip from the Vos-
ges to Scissors. He found a wonderful
reaction behind the lines The urban
and rural populations display renewed
spirit of confidence. Already in the bat
tie region the farmers are returning to
gather the harvest left standing, and
the villagers are making their way back
to what remains of their homes. In the
towns the stores and inns are reopen
ing, and Paris looks upon the mutter-
ings of 'sBig Bertha . as the last spite
lful effort of an exasperated enemy
The Franco British offensive in the
Amens region inaugurated the fourth
phase of the 1918 operations, which be-
gan with the German drive against the
same sector in the closing days Of
| March. The Champagne drive was the
third and the great peace offensive.
while that delivered against the Sois=
sons Rheims sector is classed as the sec
ond phase. 1t came after the first blow,
which brought the enemy into the
Amiens region, temporarily forcing the
British back from long-occupied terrain.
Reviewing these four months of bat
4 tie the allies may; feel content. The
German objective now is clear. His
strategy has followed the obvious
course. In March his purpose was two
fold; first, to cut the northern rail
: communications to the Channel ports,
and, second, to establish a western jaw
in the Champagne scissors Rheims vi
entity and close slowly on Paris. His
one success was toward Amicns. The
last forty eight hours proved that that
, was but temporary, as time counts in
this var. Elsewhere the enemy not
only has failed, but he has met with
, reverses.,
In the Scissors Rheims and Cham
/, lpagne operations the enemy sought t.
! intrude the eastern jaw of his. piueers
p and by dominating the Champagne
+ Heights to force himself in between
Paris and Ferdun and mt the same time
open direct southern route to the
. capital. He met with a resistanc,
which in both physical and moral as
poets he apparently was not prepared
: for. His quick recoil in the scissors
: Rheims sector after the FrancO-Ameri
> can counter-offensive, later splendidly
supported by quickly moved British
units, is regarded by the military au
thorities here as demonstrating not onl,
the superior Intelligence service of tn,
: allies, but the enemy 5 underestimatiol
{ of his opponents. At the same tim
Z the stubborn German rctreating actor
S in this salient shows that his own arm,
n morale is far from being demoralized.
t French, American and British troop
4 who fought the enemy in the last tw
S weeks over the bitterly conteste,
l. ground from the Marne to the Vesl
give testimony not only to his valor, bu
It also to his strategy. He had prepare,
IS for victory, but had not neglected tn
II possibility of defeat, ard compelled tn
: allies to pay a commensurate price 70
l. their gains.
r Day by day dispatches have told tn
e story of the hard fighting in this hi
and valley region where belts of fores
"a crown wheat fields and hills slope t
! creeks and ravines. There were road.
i, entertainments, and natural defenses eN
). erywhere, making perfect fightin
; ground, and every village was tough
for. The salvage dumps accumulatin
behind the allied lines testify to tn
y size of the enemy efforts and the great
= ness of his hopes, but extensive as the
: are they do not amount to a fractio
= of that which he destroyed during tn
slow move backward toward the Aisn,
ID In this fighting the allies felt tn
N first physical effort of the downfall Q
r Russia. Much of the war materi9
which has fallen into allied hands wa
ne that supplied to Russia by the allies i
he happier DAYS. Officers who inspecte
~ the dead and questioned the prisoner
is say that the German clothing was q
Ill good quality. that the arms We're in O.
Mt cellent condition, and that the ration
a taken from the dead and wounded q
n the allies advanced were plentiful an
10 nutritious.
IN The effort of the Amiens success 0
the scissors Rheims situation is VI
problematical. but the best belief
that it will accelerate the enemy's witt
druwal, and possibly determine him /
make a stand behind the Aisne, whel
his heavy artillery already is in plae
M instead of holding the belt between IL
l0i Vesfe and Aisne, with one river
in front and one behind.
lie Whatever the German plans, it
wv now established that the allied success
70 es of the last few days free Paris fro
n the enemy menace and restore IL
90 northern railways to the Channel port
to In the opinion of military men, Il
he Germans may re-establish the battl
To lines of last winter (the Hindenbul
re line.)
or