The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-11-30
German Line Was Almost /
 Broken by Allies in 1917
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 mander of the Second army, General von der Marwitz. had collected enough troops for a counter attack. The main effort was to be made on the southern part of the battlefield. in the direction of Bauteux and Gouzeaucourt, while a subsidiary attack was to be made west of SBourlon in a direct southerly direc- tion.
 This time the English were surprised. Our attack on the 30th was well sup ported by artillery and succeeded, though not quite as well as had hoped. But it was at any rate at-last an offensive on the western front The foresight of the chief of staff of the Second army, Lieutenant Colonel Stapff and the energy of the commander had earned their just reward. The success was the more remarkable because it was in the main achieved by half-tired troops who had not been specially trained for attack.
 There was only one serious feature The success had not been as complete a sit might have been, because good division, instead of pressing on stopped to go through an enemy sup ply depot.
 GOT GOOD HINTS FOR 1918
 The English brought up reserves and counter attacked. The battle went on until December 5, and during its course we regained good deal of the ground we had lost and some new ground as well. We had won com plete victory over considerable part of the British army.
 It was a good ending to the ex- tremely hard fighting of 1917. Our ac- ton had given us valuable hints for an offensive battle in the west, 1T we wished to undertake one in 1918.
 Neither the English nor the French attacked again in France. A quiet pc riod. which our exhaustion rendered so imperatively necessary, supervened at last in the west.
 The great entente offensive to which we were intended to succumb in 1917 had petered out; owing to the Russian revolution there had been no concert ed action, When the Anglo-French- Italian advance was made Russia fell cut, and when Russia tock the offensive the western front had weakened. We had held out, though we had suffered heavily, and on the eastern front we lad won a notable success. The mili- tary collapse of Russia was patent to the whole world.
 The submarine campaign had ac complished much; according to mere numbers more, but in it's final result less, than had been anticipated still hoped that the expectations of the navy would be realized in the near future But I began to wonder whether as many U-boats as possible were really being built. It was imperative that ev- cry effort should be made to increase the effect of the submarine campaign. It is true that in view of the anxious military and economic situation, G. H. o. was not in "a position to transfer skilled workmen to any great extent tail the Hindenburg programme for the sake of the latter.
 Troubles he had with the Aithu- anians, who refused to fall in with his schemes for making German colonies out of the Baltic lands are told by Ludendorff tomorrow. He found him self in disagreement with the governs ment at Berlin on this point, as it was not wiling to take the full militarist point of view
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