Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-08-10
GERMANS OFFENSIVE
DAYS ARE PASSED
While Not Wholly Beaten the Hun
is Doomed and Will be On
Defensive to the End.

Washington. d. G, Aug 10 While
declaring that the Germans are far from
being beaten, a military expert here dec
lares the future ls up 10 Foch and that the
Allies cannot fail to win the war ultimately
The Kaiser must be on the defensive TO
the end of the war he says, and adds
"rhe Germans are vet far from being
beaten But it is beginning TO appear
that as an offensive power they have
finished for all time. No one can be
positive as to Just what plans the Ger
man general staff may have had Toe
this wear, There was much clustering
and swashbucklIng and fanfare as to
the grandiose purposes of their great
offensivcs. They were going to be IN
Paris by April /, and somewhere else
bv another abitrarv date, and at another
place at still another date. How much
of this was part of their plan and how
much was German boast no one can
bc certain. But what is certain is that,
no matter what plans they may have
had for this year, they have been com
pletely smashed.
HUNS DRIVES ARE DONE.
at is practically certain now that, ex-
cent as an absolutely defensive mea-
sure. Germany will never launch another
great attack The privilege of planning
has been taken from her II rests entirely
with General Foch II is for him to plan
what he will do next, for him to launch
the great offensives. II is for the Germans
10 try TO stop them This, and this only,
will be the German role until the German
army surrenders or is destroyed.
Not the Germans alone but the allied
world has apparently been deceived as
TO the strength the allied commander has
had at his disposal The American
troops. whom a European disaster has
tened across the water, have, 1T Is true,
added much to the reserve.
FoCHs ARMY OF RESERVES
But the reserve is very much greater
than the number of Americans whose
training has reached the stage where they
can 90 INTO battle. The difference is the
army of manoeuvre which Foch had one
dav and did not have the next, depending
upon how things were going at the bat
tie front Foch had had this army at all
times. But having used 1t he had moth
ing with which TO replace 1T. lhIs lack
We have filed in good measure.
with all regret for the great losses,
nothing more fortultous has happened TO
the Allies than the series of defeats
which they have sustained since March
2l. The war can be ended IN but one
way-the destruction OF the German
military machine, the killing OF Its m
dividual units. While in the so-called
Hindenburg line there was little oppor-
tunitv to infiict really serious damage
up0n them without suffering IN proper
tion ourselves, the situation now is
entirely different There is room now
for strategy. strategy of the old school,
of the classic school of Napoleon. Masses
Of men NAV be killed or captured with
relatively small loss on the part Of the
attacking troops. This is the meaning
of the war in the open, a species of war
fare which all Germany claims is the
German forte.
GETTING ENOUGH OPEN WAR.
''We can but trust il is Ii Germany
excels in open warfare and the Allies
can win against her in that phase OF the
fighting. Germany's chance OF return
ing a winner IN the war as a whole Is
not particularly brilliant Germany since
July Is certainly has been getting enough
of open war TO satisfy even the most
ambitious PanGermanist. No one could
claim that il has proven very greatly TO
her advantage.
In the fighting Yesterday on the Somme-
Aryo front, the Allies continued to make
important progress North of the Amens-
Nesle Railroad the net gain for the day
was about two and half miles
YESTERDAY S GAINS IMPORTANT
But the gain along this railroad is the
most important of any section OF the
front on account of the strategic impOr-
tance of Chaulnes, Just three and a half
miles from the location OF the present line.
If Chaunes can be taken there is no
railroad out of the salient. Full reliance
will then have to be placed upon the main
highway from Amiens, through Roye, to
Novons South of the railroad, the French
| forged their way forward for a consider
able depth nearly five miles.
The Montdidier salient Is still held by
the Germans, but just why is not APP
parent, unless il is TO give time for the
| forces behind either to make good their
| retreat or to get material out of the
way. The entire situation about Mont
| didier is fraught with danger for the
| Germans, since with the lines in such
| a fluid condition, disaster hangs over
| them unless they get out within the
next day or two.
MUST QUIT MONTDTDIER SECTION.
"They will certainly not be able tc
maintain their present positions south oi
| the Amiens-Roye Road, but will have to
break to the east on the entire front as
| far south as the southern arm of the
salient 1t would seem that they will have
to take up a position as far east as the
| Matz Valley and turn their Ine TO the
| north from this point
The prospects here are much mort
| brilliant than they were in the case of the
Marne salient, when Foch attacked
south of Scissors. The French are within
five miles of Roye, the centre of the
salient and the great German base, and i,
is significant that the greatest gains of the
day were made directly along this road