New-York tribune., 1918-03-24
Germans Striking
Heaviest Bfo1us i'm
St. Quentin, Region

LONDON, March 23.-A letter to
THE Daily Dispatch" which is under
stood to have access to sources of in
formation not generally available to
the press, says:
"It is in the region of ST. Quentin
enemy advance is most serious. 1t is
here also that he is making his big
junction Of the British DuuI0IS and French ach
armies is in this neighborhood."
The enemys plan, as disclosed so
far" adds "The Dispatches" letter,
aimed in the first instance at scissor
ing our Cambrai salient much after the
attack of Novemper 80, although on an
increased scale. In the second place,
from ST. Quentin and its ervirons he
me and the road to Amiens.
Fooled in the North
"In the north he was almost COM
pletely foilcd, although a slight recti-
hcation of our front has been imposed"
Following up his allusion to the enc
my effort in the St. Quentin region,
the writer says:
fortunately the wedge driven into
our lines is very narrow and danger
Gus for the enemy himself, and the
stitutes an excellent position for de-
fence.
There seems to be no doubt that we
are in for an intense and protracted
struggle, although if the enemy goes on
losing practically three men to our one
as he has been doing, exhaustion may
we'll supervene.
at may be some days before the
enemy's onrush can be even tempo
rarily stemmed, and longer before a
counter offensive can be thought Of
source and the general Allied reserve,
the position cannot be regarded as un-
satisfactory.
Tanks Looked For
"I gather that in military and other
well-informed circles the appearance
on the scene Of German tanks is be-
lieved to be imminent"
Serious, but not alarming" sums up
the reception by London of to-day's
news from the Western front.
1t is pointed out that in battles of
such dimensions the attacking forces,
of sacrifices, are nearly always enabled
to force first line positions.
"The Evening News" in its comment
on the situation refers to the failure
Of the British report to say anything
about prisoners, and adds: "In the
matter of figures, our opponents have
been notoriously inexact."
The military expert of "The West
minister Gazette" says that the Ger
mans began their offensive partly
through excessive egotism and also in
desperation.
eve had upset the calculations of
the enemy's defensive by our ascen-
dancy in the air, which, not being tenn
porary, portended situation likely to
become intoerablc if by bombing the
come intolerable already" says this
writer. Were that state of affairs to
continue, the morale Of the German
army on the defensive would be de-
stroyed. 1t is not the enemy, it is we
who have forced the pace"
Public Is Confident
The newspapers warn against undue
optimism. But they point out that the
fighting instinct still lives in the Brit
ish breast, Notwithstanding the long
years of peace and ignorance of mill
tary training, and that when tn; fight
ing instinct dies the world will see the
death Of the British nation.
Since it has developed that this is
indeed the great heraldcd German of
fensivc, the most colossal struggle III
the worlds history, the public and
press are unanimously of the opinion
that its failure will mean the end of
the war "Thc Times" says Germany
evidently is resolved to stake all her
chances on the Western front, and
adds:
"She has committed herself to the
greatest gamble in history. We believe
she will fail, and it is precisely because
the failure Of the present attack must
react disastrously upon Germany that
we derive encouragement from the
military position IS 1T IS disclosed to-
day"
i'Thc Morning Post" cautions the ma
ton "to keep cool head and allow nu
plausible augmentation upon scanty
facts to persuade it to premature con
clusions."