The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo. FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 1918. THE GERMAN RETREAT.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 207, 30 August 1918, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News and The Echo.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 1918. THE GERMAN RETREAT.

/'or Mc cause that lacks asiittanoe, for the tcronrj that, iirrrfs resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we ciln do, FRIDAY, AnasT an, mis.

The situation on tlie Western front is developing rapidly. The- quick Kreneli advance from Clmiilms to Netle and points not far west of (lie Snmmc line lias boon followed by the capture of Xoyon, a place of jjfreat importance, in the nose of the great enliont. r.apaumc ha« again fallen to the British, after having been turned from the north, and c7i the .Arras front our troops are -well into Ihe Hmdenburß , system of dpfencu. Tlic question Iβ, where will

Uie retreat sto|). an.l what are the

(.ipnnn.il plaits? From thp coast to La Raesee thp (Jermans havo most c! tlip advantages in Hip way of ground, but from hero to Dip Somme \vp arc pushing them ofl' thp hi«li ground, ami if they are forcpd on to the Dotiai plains they will have to retire a further live miles before they reach high ground ugain. and this would endanger the safety of Lille as well as the strong defensive positions of La Bossee and Lens. For this reason the operations on the whole front to the east of Arras are of more than local importance. If the Germans werp driven across the Douai plains they would lx< almost compelled to fall back on the line from (•hpiit to .Mezieres to Verdun, and thoii!ili this line would be much shorter it would mean abandoning the Belgian coast and the rich industrial area of northern Kranee. They mipht in that case elect to retire to the line of the MeUBP, tho strongest and shortest line available for thpm. hut one which would involve the giving up. of almost the whole, of their conquests in the West. They arc being harried in their retreat, and the frequency with which we nttnck on new parts of the line has prevented their stabilising any one part of it.

It ttua suggested some littlo time hack thnt the Germans intended to retreat to a, line running from the Soinme to Voyon. This would have made a strong lino of defence, but it was threatened by (leneral Mangin'e rapid advance between Ihp Oise and tile Aisne, which reached a point east of Noyon, and by the iidvnnec to Neslc. Now that Xoyon lias fallen, the Hermans will have to go back at least t>) the llam-Guiecard line, and it is dilliuiilt to see how they could hold that for any length of time. This retirement must affect their dispositions from Xeele north-wards to Bapaume: already their line in the Noyon region is well east of their line north of the Somine. It looks as if they would have to go back to somewhere in the neighbourhood of the line from which they started their offensive in

March, und of course tin- Allies will do their best to prevent them reaching that line without heavy loss. Already about lull" I In- ground raptured in the spring between St. yuentin and Montdidier has bern recaptured. As we pointed I out some days ago, tlie conditions under which this retreat is being made are very different to those attending the retreat over the same ground last year. They have just Buffered a. scries of severe defeats, we :\r«> pressing them closely everywhere, there must he a good deal of confusion in the retreat owing to the success of our attacks, and in the north, in and near the vitally important hinge of their line, we have entered their position*. Another important point ifi this, that the <lermiliis' whole position between Xovon and the Aisnc. on the flank of their retreat, is clinch lees favourable than it was during the retreat last year. Not only do the French at Xoyon threaten the retreating enemy from the 0&e to the Somnie, but General Mangin's thrust neroSß the Ailette olTera a serious threat to the (ierman line north of Soissoiß. and unless the (iermans can in some degree retrieve the position here by a vigorous counter-attack it is dillieult to bee how they can avoid an extensive retreat Unit may uncover the plateau behind Fismes and so compel a retirement across the Ait-ne and even beyond the line of the Chcmin ;de.s Dailies. We are exerting a steady pros-

cure against the whole of tlie German line from tho valley of tho Lys to the Vcsle Hiver. and the Germans will not lind it easy to spare troops from any one part of their front to defend any other part. This nicaiw that they must draw on their reserves for counterattacks, and one of our main object* is to compel them to use these reserves in the firing line, ami so lose the initiative and die rendered impotent to launch another offenßive on a large scale. On the whole front from the Lys to the Vcsle the Cieminiiß are dependent 'on linos of communication that cross rivera immediately in their rear, and our constant bombing of the river bridges hart doubtl&=6. largely contributed to the success we have achieved. This i s no leisurely retreat, covered by strong rearguard actions, but rn.ther one in which the 'whole of the initiative has passed to the pursuers.