The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-09-21
The Var foa. the Week

AS one attack followed another during Aug
ust, students of the war thought they saw in each
the supreme effort Of the allies to break
through. The wiping out OF the Marine salient
was the first attack and it was not generally
viewed in this light but when it was followed by
the Picardy offensive, many thought this was
the" allied offensive, and that the object was to-
drive through and smash the German lines in
France. Then came the Aisne attack and the
st. MihieI action.
But after another these attacks were
broken off after achieving limited detectives and
the conviction is growing steadily that such OBJ
jectfves as lines" and cities are but incidental
to the allied commander. His real objective is
the German army The main object is to weaken
it, exhaust it, destroy its morale, and give it no
rest or chance to reorganize shattered units until
1t is in condition where a knockout blow can be
administered. ~
Must Prevent Leisurey Retreat.
The one thing General Foch has to fear is
leisurely retirement Of the Germans to the border
If they were permitted to Withdraw in good order
and without interference, they might shorten
their lines by 100 miles and by getting behind
strong defense positions make available a big
army of maneuver to meet allied attacks The
fighting of the last week appears to have been
designed to prevent this 1esurely retirement by
the capture Of strong defensive positions now
an extensive retirement this fall, possibly evac-
uating very large part of France. But they
want above all things, to make this retirement
in their own good time. If General Foch could
capture such important centers as Lille, Douai,
Cambria, st. Quentin and Laon, this retirement
would be far from leisurely. It would become a
scramble for safety, in which German losses in
men and supplies would be terrific
That probably is the reason why the attacks
n4yn> T
bitter fighting this week The British and French
have literally crept forward on their hands and
knees through woods and ravines strongly de-
tended with machine guns They have advanced
steadily toward st. Quentin and Laon. The for
mer city seems to be well within their grasp with
the British to the north of it and the French to
the SOUTH each less than three miles away 1t
may fall during the coming week Laon appears
to be a harder nut to crack, for its natural de-
lenses are probably the strongest of any city in
France. The fall Of these cities probably would
force an immediate readjustment of the line all
the way to the coast, for Douai Cambria and
Lille would be endangered.
Realize Their Importance.
The vigor with which the Germans are de-
Tending these positions is sufficient proof of the
value they place upon them. They probably have
abandoned any intention of holding them perna-
nently, but if they are forced to give them I'D
before they planned to do so, the entire German
army will be in full retreat with every prospect
of the retreat being turned into disaster of the
first magnitude. ~
en- the other hand if they can hold long enough
to fully develop their plans and withdraw in an
orderly manner they might take their new po-
sbtions with their army reorganized and reserves
made available by the shortened front.
The st. MheT Attack. sIg
~ The st. Mihie1 attack has been broken of after
, its immediate detectives were attained in re-
markedly short time.
Whether or not it is the forerunner of an Of
fensive aimed at Metz and the Briey coal fields
remains to be seen. Metz is under fire now but
in all its history since 1852 it has never been
taken by direct assault, and it has been the CEN
ter of some Of the greatest wars in history In
1870 General Bazaine surrendered it to the Ger
mans beca'ise French defeats in the field had
permitted IT to be surrounded. The present city
is surrounded by twenty eight forts. each brought
to the last stage of modern efficiency by the
Germans, with total perineter OF about 125'
miles and with guns commanding every foot of
that ground.
But the steel and concrete forts of Licge
crumbled beneath German guns. and allied guns
Of 9-inch calibre and larger are now playing
upon Metz. The most likely plan of attack on
Metz, however, would seem to be a 'pneers"
movement, with one army advancing straight
north toward Brley and another striking east
between Metz and Saarburg. In August 1914
General Casteenau penetrated as far as Saar-
burg, but had to retreat with the German adj
vance to the Marine. If that movement could
be repeated in conjunction with an advance to
Briey Metz would be menaced from three Sides.
The capture of Metz and the Briey fields would
be a staggering blow to Germany, for it is esti-
mated that so per cent of the German iron comes
from this region, and Metz is the key 10 the
whole district
The Macedonian Front.
The Macedonian offensive begun Monday gives
every promise Of developing into one of tremen-
dous Importance. 1t is in full accord with the
general plan to harass the enemy at all possible
points and keep him from concentrating forces,
but it has wonderful possibilities aside from this
There have been many rumors of disaffection
in Bulgaria, of friction between the Bulgars and
the Turks, and now come reports Of uprisngs
against the Germans in Runnania. just how
much reliance can be placed upon these reports
is undoubtedly known to the allied commanders
IT they can be taken at their face value there is
the possibility of driving into Bulgaria, crushing
the Bulgarian army the Serbian army was
crushed, and separating Turkey from her allies
With the lately reorganzed and now highly eff
ficient Greek army with the Serbian forces re-
fitted and reorganized and lighting on their own
soil again, and with the support of French and
British forces, the allies must have at least 70o
600 electives on the Macedonian front with $780,
600 Italians on their left in Albania. The Bulgars
have about 100000 men and are supported by
Turkish, Austrian and German units of unknown
HHan not a1ann{s