The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1918-09-20
GEN. FOCH WON'T
LET UP ON HUN
Unless All Signs Fail, Next Few
Days Will See Extensive
Drive, NJ.
BEST REPLY TO PEACE MOVE
BY Austria as German Catspaw
as Shift to Regain
Initiative.
BEST REPLY TO PEACE MOVE
(By Frank II. Simonds.)

New York, Sept. 20.-(Copyright N
Y. Tribune e.)-Within the next few
days we shall, unless all signs fail
see another considerable attack deliv.
cred by Foch. Up to the present hou
he has succeeded in creating three
separating spheres of gravest anxiety
| for the Germans.
Horne's First British Army. menac-
| ing Doual and Cambria. is an ever
present evil for Ludendorff; Mangli
| thrusting at the st. Gobain plateau
| which Is the keystone of the German
arch in France, is equally menacing-
, he threatenssthe flank of the Chemin-
| des- Danes position and quite as ac-
| lively menaces the st. Gobain position;
finally, Pershing, before Metz is now
| within striking distance Of the Driey
iron region.
Ludendorff now confronts this situa-
ton: A break in Flanders would cost
him Cambria and Doual, with their
vital railway network; would compel a
retirement out of France and to the
Belgian frontier.
A successful thrust around the St.
Gobain plateau, a break between il
and the Chemn- des- Danes line, would
have exactly the same effect, whilo an
advance by Pershing, which deprived
the Germans of the use of the iron
mines in the Briey district, would Grip
pie all essential German war industry.
Now this is exactly where the ad-
vantage of possessing the initiative
counts and counts tremendously. Lu-
dendorff has to look out for three ex-
posed sectors; Foch has only to strike
where he chooses, to strike one of
thoSn IN cti
front and add to Ludendorff's anXleties
and perils.
Having so much of his own to take
care of, Ludendorff is in no position to
undertake an attack upon F'ochs lines;
his own initiative is paralyzed by his
anXieties. and Foch is cleverly playing
upon them all the time. While there
is no great show OF anxiety above the
Aisnc or in Flanders, every official re-
port discloses activity which may at
any moment rise to serious fighting.
Foch Will Not Let Up.
We may then conclude that Foch
will not let up completely on any one
of the sore points he has created. But
some fresh field as to make any new
effort exactly where Ludcndorff is la
boriously concentrating reserves and
guns against such a thrust
And there are at least two sectors which
both recent events and the general situa-
tion seem to indicate that we may watch
with new interest andNeXpectation. These
are the La Bassee sector. IN front of
Plumer's Second British army. and the
Muelhausen sector. in front of an Ameri-
can force. east Of Belfort.
Pifmer's army aile not yet been active
ly engaged ir fighting since Foch took the
and his is the only British army
of which is true. But in recent days
Pumer has heer feeling his way forward
a little in the La Bassee sector. making
exactly the moves which ordinarily pre-
ceed thrust--moves such as we saw
along the Albelrt and Arras fronts before
Byng and Horne went into action.
A successful advance by Plumcr not
greater than that OF Pershing at st, Mihiel
or Rawlinson In the Somme region, on
Aug. g. would give the allies Lille comnel
the Germans to evacuate all the coal dis |
lricts about Lens and the industrial re-
gions Of Flanders and get behind the
5cheldt; 1t would infallbly involve the loss |
IF Douai and Cambrai and retreat to |
The frontier
As to a move into Alsace. there Is this |
10 be said Ever sirce 1914 the French |
nave occupied east OF Belfort and Thanh |
4 considerable stlip of German territory |
and an admirable jumping-off place for |
rrsh through MuelhruSen to the uprer
Rhines Hartnrrs- Wellekorf and tho 4
high ground are in French