Progress of the War.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16274, 26 July 1918, Page 6

Progress of the War.

The position between the Marne ani the Aisne has not greatly altered. 'Ihe enemy is still resisting very stubbornly on both sides of his shrinking salient, but it is satisfactory that although tfie necessity for ccasing to retire was impressed on the enemy troops on Sunaay progress continues along the Ourcq valley. On the German left the British forces are now well across the Rheims-Ville-en-Tardenois road, and the bottom of the salient, in the Jauigonne area, is being pushed in. There is no strong reason why Foeh should desire to throw the enemy back beyond the Vesle or the Aisne, for his strategy is to hold the enemy until the Americans liavo reached their full strength. Th*» enemy's pinna have been com-;

pletely upset, and there is now no longer any danger to Paris remaining. South of the Somme our recent gains at Villers-Bretonneux have been reinforced by a French success north-wedt of Montdidier. North of the Ancre, between Hebuterne and Gommecourt, Haig continues to harass the enemy. The importance of these actions is their prohibition to the enemy against transferring many more of his reserves to the Soissons-Rheims sector. We hardly need the correspondents to tell us that the complete check to the offensive is causing uneasiness in Germany. If it is a fact that the enemy is thinking of resuming the old system of heavy entrenched defence, this uneasiness will turn to horror. When the March offensive began the German people were promised that victory would come by the capture of great military objectives, and they were consoled later by the assurance that by a series of blows the British and French armies could be destroyed or exhausted before the Americans arrived. The policy of the hammer-stroke is now visibly fruitless, the Americans are pouring in, and to the worried German people entrenchment will appear to be little better than a last stand before final defeat. While everything is going well on land, the position is good on. the seas. Captain Persius is again striving to jersuade the German public to abandon their foolish expectations of a victory by means of the submarines, and his warning is supported by official figures whirh show that the losses of shipping through submarine action continue to decrease.