New-York tribune. [volume], July 20, 1918, Page 2, Image 2

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The Great War?1445th Day
g ion in the north, but the expected counter attack had not appeared up
to an early hour ?his afternoon. American troops continue to hold the
plateau southwest of Soissons, where on Thursday the Germans made
their first organized counter attack. This fell down, however, as soon as
the American heavy artillery got into action.
This was one of the fiercest struggles in connection with the Franco
American offensive. The battle raged southwest of Soissons for some
time. It resulted ir the Germans finally falling back under the rain of
the heavy gunfire of the Americans.
More Americans Now Participating
Than in Any Battle Since Civil War
(By the Associated Pr?t*)
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
FRANCE, Thursday, July IS, ? P. M.
(Delayed). With nightfall of the
fourth day of tl\e battle east and west
of Rheims a fooling of confidence per-,
vade? the Allied lines. After eighty
hours of assault along lines of his own
selection the enemy's offensive seem?
ingly has failed. He is still behind the'
objectives set for the first day's attack.
Furthermore, his gains during the!
entire operation were considerably:
smaller than those of any of his pre- i
vious offensives during the present
year. i
Although :he American force engaged
in the battle is small in comparison
with the total Allied strength, it may
be said that it is greater than any par?
ticipating in a battle since the Civil
War. and the conduct of the men is
eliciting commendation of the French.
They have performed the part assigned
to them with steadiness, courage and
skill.
To a large part of the Americans
those four days have beep, their first
real lighting. Reports from along the
lines indicate a great deal of clean,
open warfare, some spontaneous local?
ized actions being undertaken without
a preliminary barrage, and it is in ac- i
tions of this character that the Ameri?
can units, have won the praise of the
French.
The tone of Thursday's communiqu?s
and likewise the success of the counter
attacks begun early to-day have infect?
ed the French and American troops
with high confidence in the outcome of
the great enemy offensive, which is now
believed not only to have been effec?
tively checked, but in at least a small
measure thrown back.
The American transport, both of mu?
nitions and of the hospital service, is
working smoothly and efficiently. Be?
hind the line the correspondent en?
countered ambulances and trucks filled
with what are known as sitting cases
which had already been attended to at
the advanced dressing stations. These
wore on their way to the rear, and fre?
quently in their passage they forced to
the roadside groups of German prison?
ers being escorted to the pens.
The wounded were comfortable and
cheerful. The men in one truck were
making an attempt to sing as they
passed. Further to the rear long Amer?
ican railway hospital trains, shining
with their newness, moved slowly
the ripening wheatflelds and the cool
forests to the bases, the wounded wav?
ing cheerfully from the windows.
Germans Relieving Front Line Forces
When Franco-Americans Attacked
(Special Dispatch to The Tribune)
WASHINGTON, July 19.?An official
French dispatch to-day transmits the
following telegram from the French
front by the correspondent of the
Havas Agency :
"The Germans in their turn are hav?
ing to experience the effects of a sur?
prise and to suffer the consequences.
Thursday morning, by the first glim?
mer of daylight, at 4:30 o'clock, the
French and American troons. over a ;
front of about forty kilometres, i
stretching from Fontenoy, on the
Soissons-Compiegne road, up to the '
environs of Chateau Thierry, rushed
forward to the assiuilt on the German
lines.
"The surprise was so complete that
soldiers and officers were caught in a
deep sleep. A group of, Germans were
surprised while they were cutting bar?
ley. Some prisoners taken the preced?
ing day in a surprise attack declared
their officers had assured them that
there was absolutely nothing to be
feared, seeing that the French were
incapable of attempting the slightest
offensive for some time to come.
"Certain enemy divisions were re?
lieving each other. Our attack was
powerfully supported by tanks, which
we were able to bring up in the midst
of a storm near to the scene of the
combat. This circumstance contribut?
ed in not giving the alarm to the
enemy.
"The help given by the aviators was
of i. very active nature. They spotted
enemy positions and bombarded his
concentration points. It was thus that
trains loaded with German troops
bringing up reinforcements were
stopped.
"German prisoners evidenced consid?
erable surprise on learning that there
already are more than 1,000,000 Ameri?
cans in Fiance.
"It is permissible to make a' brief
comparison between the German of?
fensive of July 16 and those of March
21, May 27 and June 9. During the
course of the first two the enemy kept
the initiative in the operations, and
his progress could only be checked at
? the end of about a week.
"The offensive of June 9 wa,s stabil
izei' at the end of three dayR only by
our relatively restricted counter of?
fensive of June 10. This time the
? enemy cannot realize any progress over
? half of the attacking ground, and only
1 succeeds at the price of extremely high
losses in advancing a few kilometres
to certain points in his attacking sec?
tors east of Chateau Thierry.
"Further, on the fourth day, we al
i ready wen in a position, while paralyz
. ing the enemy on the very front of
1 his offensive, to launch at another
point a powerful attack of ab ut forty
kilometres in extent. It is we who ure
taking the initiative in the operations
1 by forcing the Germans to abandon
their plan- and to follow ours."
Germans "Pocketed"on South Marne;
Must Fight Hard or Face Utter Rout
LONDON, July 19, French troops,:
in their counter offensive on the bat
tle zone between the Aisne and the
Marne, captured If),ihm? prisoners yes
terday, according to news reaching
London this afternoon.
Forty-eight guns were captured by
the French on the first day of the at?
tack. The maximum distance of the
advance was six miles und the mini?
mum two.
According to advices received here to?
day, the French are again advancing,
and it is probable the Germans will
have to make a big readjustment in
their line unless tlu-y can immediately
throw back the French.
On the left wing, which includes the
Soissons sector, the Allied troops have
cut or have under fire the highroad
from Soissons to Chateau Thierry, says
a Reuter dispatch from the French
front, dated 11 o'clock Thursday. The
railway from Soissons to Villefs-Cot
terets also has been cut.
At several points infiltration move?
ments have been carried out by cav?
alry. They advanced through gaps in
the retreating enemy line and estab?
lished themselves in villages further
ahead.
(American troops have been reported
Unofficially as having reached Buzan
Cy, an advance of six miles, which
would bring them across both the road
and the railway mentioned.]
The success of the Franco-American
counter offensive has altered the en?
tire situation on the Champagne front.
The whole German line from Chateau
Thierry to Rheims, the dispatches
from the battlefront point out, is tie
pendent on the railroads which the
French now dominate. Supplies for
the German forces around Ch?teau
Thierry now must be carried twenty
to thirty miles by road.
It will be a very serious business
for the Germans to remain in this
salient, according to all accounts. They
will not only have to discontinue all
their plans for the offensive here, but
will probably be forced to fall back
a considerable distance to a new line
where the problem of supplies can be
handled easier.
Big German Repulse
The German offensive thus has been
turned into a repulse, the advices from
the front say, and may now be turned
detiniUly into a German defeat.
The initiative now is in the hands
of the French. The tables have been
completely turned by General Foch's
brilliant stroke und the whole Ger?
man .situation between Soissons and
Rheims is endangered.
The Germans, it is contended, will
have tc fight hard to stave off a rout
and to extricate themselves. This
means that the Fr?tente Allies defi?
nitely have settled with the Crown
Prince and have completely neutral?
ized his Ki'ouffi. of armies. It is stated
that he will h?ve all he can do to ex
tr?cate himself from his present posi?
tion.
In the last week the Germans have
used more than thirty divisions, of
which number twenty-three were from
the general reserve. The using up of
these twenty-three general reserve di?
visions is one of the most satisfactory
features of the week's work, for they
have been used up in a wholly abor?
tive enterprise and have lost very
heavily.
Rupprecht's Force Intact
Crown Prince Rupprecht's group of
armies in the north, on the front, from
Mor.tdidier to the English Channel,
however, dispatches from the front
state, remains almost intact. Only a
few of them have been used in the
offensive of the last week anil the
most likely rtrategic effort by the
Germans at die pr?sent time is to
speed up a big offensive by these
troops against the British front.
The Bavarian Crown Prince Rup
precht will presumably lend only
enough troops to the German Crown
1'rince to avert disaster in the south.
reserving? his own fresh forces main?
ly for a big counter attack elsewhere,
This is not. only sound Btrategy, but
is sound common sense.
New Blow Likely to North
The Germans never intended to stake
everything on the Rheims blow, bul ex?
pected, military officers say, after
shattering the French there, to fol?
low it up with an immediate offensive
against the British in the north.
The effect of the Rheims failure,
dispatches from the battlef'ront say
probably will be to accelerate a blow
somewhere on the front between Mor.t?
didier and the sea. Although tin
Allied line has many vulnerable points
on this long front, and restricted roorr
for manoeuvring always is a dangei ,
yet it remains a fact that the Allie;
now have used up half the fresh divis
ions in the Gorman reserve and tin
blow to come must be proportionate!}
less severe
Pershing Confirms
Report of Great
U. S.-French Success
WASHINGTON, July 19. Genera
Pershing's communiqu? for yesterday
confirms press reports of the comploti
success of yesterday's attacks betweei
the Aisne and the Marne by combinei
American and French forces.
The dispatch follow?:
"Section A?American troops, coop
crating with the French in an attack 01
the enemy's positions between th?
Aisne and the Marne, penetrated hi
lines to a depth of several miles, capt
uring many prisoners and guns.
"Section B?On the night of July 1
to 16 a platoon of our troops operating
east of Rheims was attacked by a raid
ing party <fc.' twenty-one Germans. Ou
German Dead Clutter Roads
Miles Behind Marne Lines
Fourth Day of Ludendorffs Great Offensive Clinched Its
Failure and Is Expected to Mark Turning
Point in World's War
By Wilbur Forrest
(Special Cable to The Tribune)
(Cojiyrtght, 191S, hy Tho Trlliiiiii? A?BOclatlon)
WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES. July
IS (Delayed). Almost torrential rains
having fallen for many hours during
Wednesday night, the fourth day of the j
Cern?an offensive seems to mark the
end of the first, phnse of the great bat?
tle and the beginning of the second, in
which important events arc not improb?
able.
Wednesday's fighting opened cuv?our
ly under muggy skies and in humid at-j
mosphere. ?As the day dragged on, the
?most powerful concerted efforts of the
Teuton armies both north and south of
the Marne weakened, and during the
intermittent rainstorms deteriorated in
the afternoon into local attacks and'
counter attacks.
Many positions in the woods and vil?
lages in the broad Marne Valley and
in the contiguous countrv on both
sides from the south of Dormans far
down the river in the direction of Eper-1
nay found the enemy dominated every?
where before dark. This same night?
fall gave proof of what, appeared to be
evident at midday, that the enemy was
rapidly weakening his blows and losing I
his force, while the Allied counter ac- j
lions everywhere were having increas- ;
ingly successful results.
In the early hours of the night the.
battlefield was drenched with terrific |
rainfall, which in itself would have]
been sufficient to slow down the enemy
advance if the hard fighting of the ,
Allied reserves had not mastered the
gray-green adversary before the skies
played their part.
The first phase of the bnttle just j
ended finds the German armies locked
in a struggle which they cannot aban?
don. They hfive tailed utterly, with
tremendous sacrifice, to gain even their
initial objective?the seizure of the
line on the Marne as far as Charons,
with the resultant pinching off of the
Rheims salient from oast to west. The
German general staff planned to seize
the Marne line and use it as a flank in
a grandiose attack in the direction of,
Paris.
Enemy divisions that crossed the fa?
mous river with such bloody cost now]
find the stream at their backs, their at- i
tack spent several .miles south of the |
river and facing Allied reserves who
are impregnated with a spirit of com?
bat which bids fair to be irresistible.
The stage setting could possibly be
compared favorably to that used with
men went over the top to meet them!
and killed the entire party with the i
bayonet, without loss to themselves.
"One of our regiments in this same
region reports that a party of Germans
with French helmetsi and coats at?
tempted to penetrate one of our
trenches. The leader succeeded in ap?
proaching our machine gunner posted
at this point, saying that he was
French. When within a short distance
of the gun the German threw a gre- j
nade, which wounded our gunner.
The gunner's teammate seized the gun,
turned it on the Germans and put j
them to flight.
"Another of our regiments in the
same locality reports that an officer in I
French helmet anil coat approached an
outpost . guard, saying that he was
bringing back a detachment of French !
from further front and requested the ;
guard not to fire. The detachment
proved to he Germans in French bel- i
mets and coats."
French Fliers Drop
43 Tons of Bombs and \
Fire German Depotsl
WASHINGTON, July 19. ? Official j
dispatches from Paris to-day, discuss?
ing the achievements of French avia?
tion in the present operations, says:
"Yesterday our airmen, in collabora?
tion with British squadrons, continued
their work along the whole battiefront.
Twenty German machines were brought
down or put out of commission by our
pilots and two captive balloons wer"
burned. The British airmen destroyed
seven German machines.
"Our bombing groups continued their
expeditions against the crossings of
the Marne. A foot bridge west of Reuil
was bombed and demolished. Canton?
ments and troop concentrations at
Oulchy le Chateau, in the Vauxbuin
ravine, at Fere en Tardenois and in
the region of Oeuilly were attacked
with machine guns or bombs, the troops
being dispersed. Stations in the roar
arfas were sprinkle?1, with projectiles.
Fires broke out in the stations at
Amifontaine and Fismes. Heavy ex?
plosions were observed at Pontaven.
Twenty-two tons of bombs were util?
ized in the day and twenty-one the
following night.
"British squadrons dropped two tons
and a half of explosives with excellent
results.
"Th?' French aviators continued to
play a brilliant r?le in the buttle dur?
ing the loth and 17th of July. On the
DUh the bombing squadron attacked
ceaselessly the bridges on the .Marne
and hindered the passage of the en?
emy tioops. The latter, attacked with
gunfire and uumbs at the moment when
they were approaching the northern
and southern hanks, suffered serious
losses and had to disperse several i
times. The bridge opposite Dormans,
thrown over the river by the enemy,
and on which projectiles were copious ,
ly poured, gave way. The convoys t
that were crossing were swallowed up
in the river.
"The French bombardiers also, sent
out expeditions against cantonments, i
stations, ammunition dumps and mus?
tering places in the rear of the enemy
front line. Twenty-one tons of explo?
sives were thrown during the day and
fourteen during tho night. Important '
damage was reported as well as a vio?
lent explosion at the station of Maison
Eleu and fires at the stations of Coucy
les Etapes and Baaoches.
"The French chasing 'planes, with
their usual dash, carried out numerous
combats above the enemy lines. Twen?
ty-nine German machines were brought
down or put out of action and five j
captive balloons were set on fire.
"On the 17th. ln?splte of a violent,
wind and torrential rains, good results !
were obtained. Twelve German nir
planes were brought down and four
captive balloons were destroyed. In
the course of the attacks on the posi- ]
tiops of the Marne 5,06o kilogrammes
of explosives were used."
great success recently in the Italian
battle of the Fiave.
Further details from the Champagne
battleground of Fast Rheims to Main
de Massiges, where about twenty-five
German divisions suffered a shock at
tiie hands of General Gouraud's mag
nifieent army Monday, tend to elimi- I
nate tliis sector from battle calcula
tiens for the immediate future.
German losses here are probably ,
greater than at first believed. Observ?
ers report that German rear lines are ?
still .so cluttered with the piles of
dead men and horses that they are
visible to the linked eye from a con?
siderable distance.
When the divisions leaving the front
line at -1 o'clock on Monday morn?
ing failed to penetrate the French
American battle positions reserve |
units were brought up and massed ?
thickly in the immediate rear of
the (i-rman front line. Horses,
transport wagons und artillery were j
packed together, giving the French ar
tillery a slaughter in the west. Can?
non mowed them down in heaps, which
ar? yet unmoved or being buried to- j
day. Such is the state of the enemy ;
on the Champagne front, leaving the
famous Marne Valley again the cock?
pit of a battle on the spot where Joffre
delivered the first blow in the colossal
task of saving France.
Fussing over portions of the old bat- !
tleground two days ago, the most no?
ticeable objects were the weather
beaten graves of the heroes of August,
1914, who were buried where they fell.
Rattles to come again may sweep over
these graves here and there, but free
dom's enemies are far from being the
exultant hordes who flooded across the j
Maine nearly four years ago.
Th?> first phase of the enormous bat?
tle, beginning four days ago and end?
ing Wednesday in darkness, 1 believe
marked the turning point of the Furo- I
pean war, whence the light, of freedom I
grows hourly brighter. During the
past two days on the picturesque i
French roads, here, there and every?
where, 1 have seen the uniforms of
France, England, Italy and America.
They are moving in and out with the
tbb and flow of battle. This uni
formed "union sacre" is ready for
still a harder struggle to come. And
possibly they'll all play a part in the :
second phase of the enemy's chosen
march for German victory.
?The foregoing dispatch was written i
before the great Allied counter offen- :
sive was launched.]
Prince Relies on
Rupprecht to Free
Him of Allied Trap
Continued from page 1 .
dendorff must fight on, while Foch
can wait on his trusted ally, Time, .
which is a synonyme for America.
Ludendorff must win in the next I
two months. He has seen his chances f
decrease materially since Sunday.
Failing a decision Ludendorff must
fall back on the defensive until the
war ends.
Foe Must Strike Again
Just as a gambler doubles his bid
as the f?ame goes against him, so
Ludendorff may be expected to re?
double his efforts after the disaster i
which the last week has brought to i
German arms.
To stop now, to remain passive,
would mean an admission of the fail
ure of Prussian militarism. The
German militarists acknowledged ?
weeks ago that Ludendorff's spring
campaign had fallen short of a de- ;
cisi?n. The summer offensive thus ?
far lias been a failure. Ludendorff
must continue if only for the moral ;
effect in Austria and Germany.
Von Kiihlmann's pessimistic words
must ring in his ears and bring
anxiety and fear of disaster to the
minds of the German people, who '
have been goaded into action through j
promises of fruits of early victory.
The Austrian reverse on the Piave, I
von Kiihlmann's prophetic statement I
in the Reichstag and now the check
in the Champagne and Foch's retort
on the Ourcq are n combination of '
developments hardly calculated to in-1
spire the peoples of the Central !
Powers with faith in the ability of
the militarists to attain the goal of
their desires.
Two new elements have brought :
about this change in Allied fortunes:
First, Foch, and then the American
soldiers. Foch gets the chief credit
because a poor general might waste
his material just as a poor baseball
manager might fail to mould star
players into a championship team. :
Loch awaited the psychological mo- I
ment and stood unmoved, even though
his friends doubted the wisdom of ?
his delay and caution.
For four months Ludendorff was j
permitted to develop his plans, and
then Foch, in supreme command,
counter attacked against the enemy's
weak flank. He struck because there !
are a million Americans In France,
and fine fresh Yankee divisions were
ready to advance shoulder to shoul?
der with his tried countrymen, while
others released French soldiers from !
the trenches.
Territorially, the change of the
week is highly important. The
Franco-American counter between j
English Take
Meteren and
Dom?nate Lys
Observation Post Gives the
British View of Entire
Battlefield
</!i/ The Associated Press)
WITH THE BRITISH ARMY IN
FRANCE, July 19. The German high
command will not be pleased with the
news that the British captured a val?
uable piece of ground Meteren this
morning, with more than three hun?
dred prisoners. It is but a trine com?
pared with the big events on the
French front, but in war trifles count, ;
and Prince Rupprecht, at least, will \
not underestimate the loss of a posi?
tion which now gives the British an
observation ground on the Lys battle?
field, whene he might wish to keep his
doings secret.
Scottish troops, among others, made
the assault, which extended south of
Meteren and in fro.nt of Merris. They
formed without the Germans getting a !
hint of impending trouble and moved
forward in full daylight.
It wps nearly 8 o'clock in the morn
ing, ard the Germans were down in
cellars, with a false sense of security ]
after the dawn lookout. The Scots
were on them so rapidly after the bar?
rage that they were unable to organize i
a machine gun defence, and most of j
them seemed to have surrendered j
easily.
The Australians, with artillery help |
which opened ahead of them, pounced j
upon the German outposts, and in a I
very short time sent in seventy pris- I
oners to add to the sixty taken in tiie
ruins of Meteren.
Briti?h Down 9 'Planes
And Drop 14 Tons Bombs
LONDON, July 19.-?The official1
statement dealing with aerial opera?
tions, issueil to-night says:
"On the 18th inst., in spite of very
changeable weather, a good deal of I
work was accomplished by our air?
planes in reconnoissaneo. nhotogra-\
phy and bombing. Much of the bomb'
ing was done from a low height, the
targets including ammunition dumps,
around Armentierres and Mericourt, the- ]
railway stations at Rosi?res and Bray
and the docks at Bruges and Ostend.
"Eight hostile machines were brought
down in fights, and one other was shot:
down by our anti-aircraft fire. Seven,
of our machines are missing.
"During the night our bombing ma?
chines dropped eight tons of bombs on ,
the Mons-Valenciennes Railway, and an
additional six tons on the railways at!
Courtrai, Seclin and Lille. Two of the i
machines failed to return."
Belleau and Vingre, which drove the
Germans off the whole ridge west of
Soissons and exposed their railways i
to the Allied guns, has turned the
tables on the Grown Prince and
thrown him into a pocket.
Utter Rout Threatens
The whole of the U-shaped salient '
in which the enemy is fighting is em?
barrassed, and there is a possibility
of turning the repulse into a serious
retreat. No longer does the Grown I
Prince offer a serious menace to
Paris, nor does the Champagne front
remain an anxious part of the line ;
for the Allied command.
Paris can breathe easier. The bat- j
tie is half won for the Allies and the I
tide has turned. Before Foch fin- j
ishes with the Crown Prince the I
latter will have employed all his
divisions. But Crown Prince Rup
precht retains a formidable force I
north of Montdidier and it is well to \
expect activity in this quarter soon.
Though the Crown Prince has used j
at least thirty divisions, he has re- J
ceived little assistance from Rup- ?
precht, who has his divisions for use '
north of Montdidier. To save the
Crown Prince, Rupprecht may strike !
sooner than he expected. The British
undoubtedly will feel the weight of
the next blow, and it probably will
not he long delayed.
French General
Smiles at Victory
Gen. Mangin Called "World's
Happiest Man" by
Clemenceau
BARIS, July 19.?"Last night when'
he saw his troops on the heights dom?
inating Soissons on the southwest, Gen?
eral Mangin smiled," says the corre- .
spondent of the "Libert?." "Premier
i
Clemenceau was there and warmly
shook the general's hand. Was it the
presence of Americans in the neighbor?
hood which gave his handshake espe?
cial strength, evincing emotion and I
confidence ?"
On his return from the front Premier ;
Clemenceau said to his friends:
"I have shaken the hand of the hap- j
piest man in the world."
Teutons Admit Heavy
Losses on the Marne
AMSTERDAM, July 19.?War Corre-1
spondent Schuennann, telegraphing
f'-om German army headquarters on ;
July 16, tells of some of the difficulties
the German troops had to contend with
in their offensive in the Marne region
and indirectly admits that they suf?
fered heavy losses.
"Certain vantage points," the corre?
spondent says, "were held by enemy
machine gun crews to the very last. I
And our artillery, crossing the crater
zone ground under enemy tire, had the
most difficult, task
"The majority of the prisoners were
taken on the Marne, where the enemy
made a big effort to prove that the di?
rect road to Paris was well guarded,
He poured a terrific five on all ap- ;
proache? to the road and concentrated ;
his shells on the pontoons we were try- i
ing to throw across the river. Again I
and again the work of our pioneers was
smashed by the heavy shells. Never- j
theless- a crossing was accomplished." ?
Military Comment
By William L. McPherson
Copyright, 1918. bjf '/'he Tribune Association (The New York Tribune)
IT IS now Foch's offensive. The j
Ludendorff offensive has "gone
West," as they say in the Brit- j
ish trenches. It is dead. It was j
Ludcndorff'a fifth effort?the most'
pretentious, most confident and most i
venturesome of them all. And his i
tory may be preparing to write it
down as his last offensive.
The chief military vice of the]
German strategists is arrogance.
They put too low a value on the en?
emy. At the beginning of the war!
the German General Staff was ^
swollen up with a sense of its own'
infallibility and invincibility. It:
made two grave mistakes in the j
opening campaign. It underrated ?
Russia and also greatly underesti-?
mated the efficiency of the Frenen
armies. The Russians upset Ger-?
man calculations by breaking into
East Prussia, smashing the Austro
Hungarian offensive in Poland and
Invading and occupying; Eastern and]
Middle Galicia. In France von
Moltke heedlessly sent the German
armies into the trap at the Marne.
Thereafter, for three years, the
Germans fought warily in France.
But the glittering German successes
of the spring of 1918 finally ob?
scured the lesson of the Marne. Lu- !
dendorff evidently became as puffed
up as Moltke. He began to believe
that he had broken the spirit of the
enemy and that the French and
British would accept for the rest of
the year the strict defensive which
the ?logic of the situation seemed to
have thrust on them.
Probably they would have if unity
of command had not been achieved
under Foch and large masses of
American troops had not become
available for use in July and Au?
gust. Ludendorff overlooked these
two factors in the equation, just as
von Moltke overlooked the possibil?
ity of a French army coming out of
Paris in September, 1914, and fall?
ing on von Kluck's flank and rear.
In the last German drive masses
of troops were rushed down into the
apex of a dangerously prolonged
salient without sufficient provision
against an attack from the inactive
west side of that salient. The at?
tack came like a thunderbolt. In
twenty-four hours it had wholly
transformed the strategic situation j
Ludendorff lost the offensive. He j
liad to drop it and turn his attention '
to securing his right and extricating ;
his armies from the bottom of a
sack whose mouth Foch was trying
to close.
Ludendorff sneered at Boroevic
when the latter's offensive went
wrong a couple of weeks apo in '
Northern Italy. He sent a German j
general south to replace Boroevic. ?
But he has now got himself into
a worse fix than the Austro-Hun
garians were in on the west bank
of the Piave. They had no Allied
armies on their flank. Their retire?
ment was unhindered, except by a
river in freshet.
Ludendorff's retreat is threatened
by a loss of communications in the
upper half of the Aisne-Marne sa-!
lient and by violent enemy pressure
on both sides of the opening of the
bag into whose depths his armies
have been pushed.
He is a better soldier than Boroe?
vic and he may extricate himself at
a moderate cost. But if things1
break badly for him he may have
good cause to envy Boroevic's com?
paratively unembarrassed retreat.
The Foch offensive developed ,
steadily Thursday nijjht and yester
day. There was a strong push east
along the Soissons-Ch?teau Thierry !
line, in the face of German counter
attacks, and a cooperative push
westward from the Rheims-Marne ;
side of the salient. The French
progressed on Thursday evening '?
down the Marne Valley, on the south
bank of the river, as far as Oeuilly.
lost by them on Tuesday night or|
Wednesday. North of the river they
recovered a part of Courton Wood
and a part of the Bois du Roi. A
gain of two-thirds of a mile was '
made above Pourcy, and along the
Ardre River the Italian forces took
Ardre Mill and advanced near '
Bouilly. -
On the Soissons-Ch?teau Thierry
front the fall of Soissons was un?
officially reported. The French
night communiqu? did not claim the
capture of Soissons. But this city
has become more or less untenable
since the heights dominating it from
the west and southwest were seized
on Thursday by American troops.
On the plateau below Soissons
German assaults held up the Allied
advance for a time yesterday. They
all broke down without gain. Fur?
ther south the Allies pushed their
lines forward to a depth of nearly
two miles. A late unofficial dispatch
said that a further average gain of
a mile and a quarter was made late
yesterday afternoon. Paris reports
officially the capture of 17,000 pris?
oners and 360 guns.
All the way down the west leg of
the German salient the Allies are |
driving resistlessly toward the high- j
road connecting Ch?teau Thierry.;
with Soissons, which has already !
been crossed and cut southeast of!
Soissons.
I.udendorff's western line was
broken to flinders by the first shock
of the Franco-American attack. He :
has already reinforced and counter
attacked on this side. But it is not!
easy to halt a movement which has
acquired as much momentum as
that achieved Thursday and yester- '
day by the Franco-American drive.
Allied morale and hopes are now
very high. Without being exuber?
ant, it is permissible to think that
we are at the turning point of the
campaign on the West front. The
initiative has been suddenly wrest?
ed from the Germans. And the ini?
tiative is of priceless advantage to
armies eager to use it and entitled
to do so by their numerical strength
morale and leadership.
The Official Statements
FRENCH
The battle begun yesterday be- j
tween the Aisne and the Marne con- !
tinued all day with extreme violence,
the enemy reacting along the whole
line with large reserves in an at?
tempt, to stay our progress. Despite
his efforts, we continued our ad?
vance over the greater part of the
front.
On the left we maintained the
plateau southwest of Soissons and
in the region of Chaudun. In the
centre our advance exceeded three
kilometres at certain points along
the front of Vaux-Castille, Villers
Helon and Noroy-sur-Ourcq. On the
right our troops occupied, after bit?
ter fighting, the plateau northwest
?)f Momies and the height north of
Courchamps and advanced beyond
Torcy.
The number of prisoners counted
up to the present exceeds 17,000, in?
cluding two colonels, with their
chiefs of staff. We have captured
more than 360 cannon, including one
battery of 210s.
Belgian Communication. ? Our
artillery shelled the enemy's com?
munications between Iloutholst For?
est and Staden. Bomb fighting took
piace near Dixmude. There were
patrol encounters east of Nietiport,
and an enemy reconnoitring party
endeavoring to occupy one of our
post*-, north of Nieuport was re?
pulsed.
PARIS (DAY). ? Between the
Aisne and the Marne our troops,
surmounting the resistance of the
enemy, which was increased by the
arrival of new reserves, realized
sensible progress at the close of
yesterday. The number of prison?
ers counted is being augmented. The
battle continues with violence along
the whole front.
West of Rheims and south of the
Marne our troops yesterday, by a
vigorous attack, retook Montvoisin
and threw the enemy out of the
outskirts of Oeuilly.
To the north of .he Marne we
have made progress in the Roi Wood
and the Courton Wood and carried
our line a kilometre to the west?
ward.
Further north the Italians have
taken Moulin d'Ardre and conquered !
ground in the region of Bouilly.
In the course of these actions the
French have captured four cannon,
thirty machine guns and 400 pris?
oners.
Between Montdidier and Noyon,
and also in the Woevre region, in
raids against the German line.? we
captured 100 prisoners.
BRITISH
LONDON (NIGHT).?By a success?
ful minor operation carried out by
us this morning in the Bailieul sec?
tor Scottish troops captured the vil?
lage of Meteren, gaining all their ob?
jectives and taking over 300 prisor
ers, with a number of machine guns.
Under cover of this operation Aus?
tralian troops pushed their line for?
ward a short distance south of Me?
teren and captured over eighty
prisoners and ten machine guns.
We also secured a few prisoners
during the day in raids and patrol
encounters in the Nieppe Forest sec?
tor.
LONDON (DAY),-Hostile raids
were driven off during the night in
the Yillprs-Bretonneux and Morlan
court sectors. We carried out suc
cessfu1 raids in the neighborhood
of Bucqu'jy, Vv'iTervai and Locr?i and
captured a few prisoner?.
Clemenceau Outlines Plan
For Aisne Drive Inquiry
PARIS. July 19.?Premier Clemen?
ceau to-day laid before a Cabinet meet?
ing, presided over by President Poin
car?, an outline of the disciplinary
measures that have already been taken
in connection with the mil'tary opera?
tions of May 27. when the Germans be?
gan their big offensive on the Aisne
sector, and the means by which he pur?
poses to carry out a complete investi?
gation.
"* ?Hit a*?JWPl7*i i roI!
_^~ 6 Bell-ans !
??# ^ Hot water
dK Sure Relief
ELL-AN S
FOR INDIGESTION
Native German
Proud of Wounded
Son in U. S. Army
Says Boy Will Be Fighting
Again as Soon as He
Is Able
"Private John J. Goll, twenty-three
456 West Thirty-seventh Street, se?
verely wounded."
No name appearing in the casualty
list yesterday tells better the kind of
an army Germany now faces than that of
Private Goll, whose father was born at
Frank fort-on-the- M air.
At his home yesterday Mr. Goll said
that he had no otner information re
rarding his son tl contained in
a brief message from the War Depart?
ment saying he had been wounded.
"He'll come through, though," ga?,j
Mr. Goll, "and he will be in there again
fighting. So will my other boy. too, if
he passes the physical examination. He
just left a few days ago for Camp
Deven s."
Private Goll enlisted in June of last
year. A letter received from h:m a few
days ago urged his parents to kee>
cheerful, for. he said everything wonll
come out right when the cause was at
just as that for which he was fighting
Another soldier listen among th*
wounded is Private Martin M. Kelly, of
419 Hicks Street, Brookhn. Up to the
beginning of the war Private Kelly was
listed as one of the best lightweight
boxers in the city. In the ring he was
known as "Bobby" Kelly. He enlisted
in May, 1917. A brother is in the 3fJ6tb
Infantry.
The address of Corporal Edward J,
Wills, who was mentioned among th?
wounded, was 193 Hancock Street,
Brooklyn. The house was boarded up
for the summer, but Harry F. Wills
who is employed in an automobile fac?
tory at 123 DeKalb Ave: ue, Brooklyn,
said he was certain the man named waa
his brother. Corporal Wills is thirjr
four years old and enlisted last Au?u*<.
The family of Private Donald Munro,
of Kings Park, Long Island, who was
killed in action on June l'i, received a
letter from Father Duffy, chaplain of
the 165th Infantry, giving them the de?
tails of the sold?er:s death. Confirma?
tion was not received from the War
Department until yesterday, h?>wever.
Private Munro was twenty-six years
old. He was a crack marksman anil had
been previously wounded. A brother is
in the United States navy. Two other
brothers met soldiers' deaths, one in
the Spanish-American War and the
other in the Russian-Japanese War.
Private John Daly, of f>2 Tuers Ave?
nue, Jersey City, who has been severely
wounded, is thirty-three years old. He
enlisted a year ago. He was born in
Scotland.
?
Hilaire Belloc's
View of Battle
By Hilaire Belloc
(Cowrlulit. l'Un, t'y The Tribune AasorUtlai)
(Special Cable, to The Tribune)
LONDON, July 19.?Yesterday's
counter attack has its principal in?
terest in showing graphically the
gradual restoration of balance in
numbers. Quite a short time ago it
would have been impossible because
all the available strength of the
Allies would have been gradually
drawn into the arrest of the enemy's
pressure all the way from Massiges
to Ch?teau Thierry, and particularly
at the danger point, Montvoisin, on
the Epernay road, where the enemy
threatened to turn the obstacle of
the forest of Rheims .Mountain only
as late as last Wednesday.
As it is the rapid increase in the
American contingent which has al?
ready so nearly re?3res.scd the bal?
ance, there was a margin in hand
for yesterday's blow against Sois?
sons, despite the heavy calls upon
the defensive forces south of the
Marne.
The geographical value of the at?
tack is clear from the simplest map.
The Germans after their great suc?
cess of May 27 occupied the deep
pocket of which Soissons and
Rheims were the two mam points
to the west and east of the mouth,
while Ch?teau Thierry marked the
extreme point of its depth to the
south.
The enemy's great offensive last
Monday was facing the eastern side
of this pocket between Rheims and
Ch?teau Thierry. There he threw
the whole weight of his men in this
region.
The Allied command consequent?
ly struck on the oppo?ite Bide, which
was more denuded of men, ami their
attack, which had the complete ef?
fect of a surprise, enabled them in
the first blow, i. e., in the first six
hours before noon Thursday, to re?
duce the width of the mouth of the
pocket by nearly eight miles and, all
along the western side of the
pocket, to push it in and narrow it
The immediate effect of such nar?
rowing is to increase very frreatiii
the difficulties of the enemy forces
within the bend, lie has been at?
tacked directly hehin ! vh^re he is
making his main effort, and his room
for manoeuvring, already restricted
before the Allied attack, has now
been very seriously reduced.
It is worthy of remark that the
effect of the surprise with tanks and
without artillery preparation was a
repetition of the tactics -so success?
fully first used by General Byn?
against Cambrai last year.
Zeppelin Falls in F?arne?
AMSTERDAM, July 19.?A f*Vgi?
fell in ?amo? at the German *ront 1 '
near Dalheim. on Monday evening. -"
"Rotterdamsche Courant" ?imouncf?
to-day.