The Washington herald., 1918-10-20
800 MILES WON
IN ONLY 4DAYS
ON YANK FRONT
Gen. March Shows Notable
Effect of Foch's Policy
of Hammering.
RETIRE ON LONG FRONT
Enemy Clings to a l5-Mile
Salient at Fork of Oise
and Serre.

Eight hundred square miles of ter
ritory has been recovered from the
German armies in France within the
short period of foux days by the
Americans fighting shoulder TO shoul-
der with the French. according to a
statement made yesterday by Gen.
March. chief of stan. This is the
most extensive area yet announced as
the prize of the policy of Gen. Foch.
Gen. March repeated that the French
commander-in-chief is continuing his
pressure upon the enemy at all points,
giving him no rest whatever"
Announcement was also made that
the retirement of Germans from the
Disc leaves the entire Hindenburg
line in our hands" and Gen. March
recorded as a report that British
troops have reached the frontier Of
Holland opposite Bruges.
In general review of the military
situation Gen. March pointed out on
the military maps that while on Sat-
urday last the Germans were retreat
ing along a 6O-mfle front they are now
going back on a front of 80 miles,
making resistance apparently in a
small salient of Is miles.
Foe in Wide Retreat.
Describing in detail the operations
on the various fronts, Gen. March
said:
while our American army is fight
Ing its way across the KriemhiIde line
on the wooded hills between the Ar
gonhe and the Meuse, in spite of a
strong concentration of enemy diyi-
sions. the enemy has retreated rap
idly from the st. Gobain highland.
the Chemin -des Danes, and the
Champagne as fat as the Hunding
line. relinquishing 500 square miles in
that sector in four days. This devel-
ops a sharp salient in their line
southeast of St Quentin at the fork
! of the Oise and Serre Rivers. Re
newed attacks by British. American.
and French forces south of lie Cateau
on Thursday forced the enemy back
from his positions on the east bank
of the Selle, making the salient
/ longer and narrower, so that the en-
emy gave up all attempts to hold il
and retired toward tine northeast
From Cateau northward the Brit
ish have reached, but hfve not vet
attempted to cross, the German de-
fense line. which there follows the
east bank OF the Selle River up to
the Sensee marshes.
THE drive in Flanders. renewed
with vigOr by Belgian. French, and
British troops on Monday. spread ra-
daily toward Bruges, Ghent and
TurcOing at an increasingly rapid
rate and forced the enemy to evac-
uate Ostend and Zeebrugge and to
draw back from the dangerous salient
around Lille and .Douai. This retire
ment is still in active progress.
British troops are reported to have
reached the frontier of Holland op-
pOsite Bruges.
In the East the Serbians. since
the reoccUpation of Nish. have adj
vanced in both directions along the
COnstantinOple Railway and now hold
! it for a distance of about - miles.
They are advancing nOrthward to-
/ wards Belgrade"
Better Casualty Reports.
The efforts the War Department Is
making to get all news about our SOL
diers in France. no matter in what de-
| gree they are wounded or suffer cas-.
ualties. were given in detail by Gen
March. An arrangement which he
| thought would relieve all arx1er .es,
! has been made, the principlI details
! of which he announced as follows:
! The salient features of the present
! by cable and prompt publication of
! the names CT the dead and missing
! second, the receipt by courier-letter
and prompt publication of all other
! casualties, including cases of serious
( illness.
: THE adjutant generals office is now
7 able to give the nature and degree of
/ the wound and details not heretofor @
/ Obtainable. At once upon the receipt
I of information notifications are sent
/ by the adjutant generals Office, fol-
! lowed by letters giving further infor-
nation as soon as hospital records are
received. and in many cases additional
! letters from the bureau of communi-
cation of the Red Cross giving the
more intimate details. dictated by the
men themselves or written by the Red
Cross casualty searchers. The War
Department, however, assumes in
every case the responsibility for the
direct and immediate notification of
relatives. In carrying on their rart
of the work the Red Cross has full
access to the War Department records
and is furnished with copies of the
hospital reports"
Location of Units.
Announcements as to the location
and operations of various units in
France were these:
The S50th Infantry on September %
was still in training sector in
France. The 136th Field Artillery. late
| ly in the Vosges, was withdrawn on
September 2S to place not yet re-
ported. The Fifty-eighth Coast ArtiI-
lery is with the First Army Artillery.
The Fifty-seventh Infantry is in the
Vosges.~ The 30sth Trench Mortar Bat
terry is in training. The Eighty fifth
Division has been assigned to duty as
a depot division on the line of COM
munication. The Twenty ninth Di-
vision is in action just east of the
Meuse. The Eighty-fourth Division is
just arriving in France. The Eighty
sixth Division is not yet reported as
having arrived in France.