THE WAR

Evening Post, Volume XCV, Issue 140, 13 June 1918, Page 6

THE WAR

Yesterday 'we discussed, the ■gosition in the salient held by the French on both sides of the Oise river. The latest news is, that the portion of the salient west of the Oise, a strip three or four miles wide, has been evacuated, bringing tho French back to the river Matz, which joins the Oise a little below Ribecourt and eight miles south-west of Noyon. The business of supporting and.supplying the defenders of this small strip of broken ground had probably ■" become very difficult. Now the Germans hold the west bank of the Oise between Noyon and Ribecourt, and as nearly as can. be judged have the advantage of being on higher ground than the French in the large forest area on the opposite side. In the northern extremity of this eastern salient, south, of Noyon, the French . hold Mont Renaud as a key position, which has played an important role in dominating the adjacent parts of the Oise Valley since the March offensive began. The new position threatens the tenure of the hill, for it is badly outflanked, and the forest salient, or at least its northern part, is in a dangerous condition. Yon Hutier's offensivo has therefore gone well along the road towards its immediate object, the straightening of the line from Montdidier to Soissons. The western half, is fairly straightened already; the eastern half can scarcely be long maintained where it is.

The pressure on the whole front of the new salient continues to be most intense, but while the Germans have made some progress on their left, resulting in the French withdrawal already described, they have fared worse on the western flank, where the French have recovered some ground on that part of the line which runs south-east from Montdidier. A nasty break occurred in the new line, along the .road running south to Estrees-St. Denis 1. Here the Germans, by the use of their rapidly-moving tanks, succeeded in breaking through tho line and reaching the little river Aronde, three or four miles south of the main positions. Fortunately the break appears to have been very narrow, and it was quickly rectified by a charge in which French African native troops cleared the enemy right back to their old lino. The successes on the west flank, and the counter attack in tho centre, show that the French have good strength and plenty of spirit for the battle, and Ahese go a long way towards taking the danger out of the enemy's advance. So long as -Yon Hutier's progress, if it cannot be stopped for the present, can bo controlled and "shepherded" in direct tions where no great barm can result, the battle will go on satisfactorily.

One of to-day's messages sums up the position neatly by pointing out that the German fosses, excessive though they may appear, will have been justified if the objectives are gained. Those objectives are far greater than the mere winning of a little ground. If JPoch is compelled to weaken his high defence in order to hold the Oise Valley, By putting in his reserves, Lud'endorff will immediately launch a staggering attack in the_ direction of the Channel ports (that is, either in Flanders or towards Amiens). An almost exact parallel can be drawn in the cage of a boxing match, in which the aggressor is raining a storm of blows at his adversary's head. One hand works with the utmost vigour, but the other is in reserve; aria his opponent knows that if he raises his own right hand to help guard his head, the waiting fist will land with decisive force in his aolar plexus. Foch is the defensive .boxer; his reserves are covering his solar, plexus; and he must grin and bear the hammering of his head until Ludendorff, having exhausted one hand, is compelled to bring the other into action. What course Foch can then take depends upon his condition after the amount of punishment he has accepted.

Yon Tirpitz, who since a spell of oblivion after his retirement from "the German Admiralty has become chief propagandist of the Pan-Germans and an occasional advocate of a vast naval aggression, has been inspired to talk of a great victory at sea. He believes that Germany is now in a position to measure swords with the British fleet, and there is talk of preparation for an attempt to take the offensive. Some weeks ago reference was made in these notes to the increased naval strength gained by Germany for use in the North Sea as the result of the Russian "peace." There is no sign yet that any Russian units have been added to the German flag, nor was any such transfer stipulated for in the Brest Litovsk peace treaty; but the indirect benefit duo to the release of German ships from tho large amount of work in ■ the Baltic Sea is considerable, especially in smaller units. A few warships have no doubt been added to the German navy by new construction, and undoubtedly tho enemy relies to a large extent upon what may be' called the "floating wastage" of the British fleet, necessarily due to the continuous service imposed upon it in contrast to tho comparative inactivity of the German squadrons. None the less there is no possibility of the* enemy's fleet being yet even approximately equal to the British, even without the other allied detachments available in tlie same naval area. If there were any such danger, there is no reason to suppose that it could not be promptly averted by the despatoh to European waters of the dozen or so firstclass American dreadnoughts.