The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-10-21

The branch that crosses the Mouse is the first that must be broken by the allies. In fact, recent British and Bel gian victories in Belgian Flanders seem to have rendered large part of this line untenable as a permanent defensive position.
 This line crosses the Mouse at Dun, goes through the Argonne forest and then follows the Aisne river as far as Bethel, where it turns north and passes near Grise and Solesmes It continues north ward past Valenciennes and reaches ths Scheldt at Condo It runs along the Scheldt past Tournai and Ghent, where it turns to the eastward and reaches Antwerp. This is the "Hunding line The second line, known as the .line of the Meuse,' is established on the east bank of the Mouse river, northward from Dun. It passes Sedan and Mezieres and enters Belgium just to the southwest of Dfnsnt. At Namur it leaves the river and runs to Brussels. continuing on to Ant werp, where it joins the "Hundng line'' and continues on to the Dutch frontier
 The third line is the original defense zone along the German frontier. South of Metz, 1t Is centered around the s7 permanent forts about Strassburg. It runs over the high and precipitous hills on the Vosges mountains and is several mes deep.
 At Metz the Germans have construct ed s great forts, which are so located as to command all approaches and at the same time capable of concentrating their fire on any one fort which happens to be entered by the allies
 Northwest of Metz is the great iron field of Briey. The importance of this iron deposit has compelled the Germans to convert the whole country there into veritabe fortress. This line runs along the boundary between France and Ger many, bending to the northeast until il reaches the Luxemburg line.
 If this belt should be pierced the Ger mans may fall back to the Saarbruecken and kaiserslauten regions. which are in- terspersed by rivers and high wooded hills, which lend themselves admira bly to defensive operations.
 { East of Ihxemburg, it is reported. the Germans have devoted a great deal of time and labor to the construction of permanent fortlfcations.
 The country along the Belgian frontier between Luxemburg and Holland. is dom.
 
 considers the key to Germany. Ill this area is Bonn. a fortress of the first class; Cologne. which is protected by broad belt of entrenchments and series of strongholds running along the western side of the Rhine until that river passes into Holland.
 Should the three lines mentioned be broken, or if the allies should break through between Metz and the Swsa frontier, the Germans would be com peled to fail back into Germany proper or to the south. to cross the Rhine. This historic river is really the western moats of theNTeutonc castle, It's whole eastern bank is strongly fortified and would he capable of a protracted defense. This line of resistance begins at I.ahr and runs down the Rhine through Offenburg. Rastatt, where American prisoners ot war arc auartered; Karlsruhe. Mannheim Darmstadt. Wesbaden, Bendorf, <alk, Denshurg and Wesel.
 In their retirement from their present positions. the Germans will be able to shorten their lines materially and thus increase the number of men available for resistance along their new front. The Funding line is about 70 miles shorter than the Hindenburg system, which is now but memory. The line of the Mouse woald shorten the front by 2a more miles, while the Germans. if they should retire to their own frontier. would be able to still shorten their iron, by B miles.
 This shortening of the line will be ot tremendous importance in future opera sions by the allies. It would make up, to large degree, for the heavy losses inflicted uponN the Germans during the campaign ot the past summer and give them man power that would be for midable barrier to an allied advance.
 The Mouse, the Aisne and the Schedt rivers and the canals in Belgium, in the vicinity of Brussels and Antwerp, will alsc by valuable adjuncts to the conduct of defensive fighting by the Germans, With the development of the tank az an offensive weapon a river as a first defense line adds tremendously to the strength of a position.