THE WAR

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 18, 20 July 1918, Page 6

THE WAR

The fall of Soissons to the French, officially reported to-day, is an indication of the success of the counter-offensive directed against the German salient, of which the town formed an important nodal point. An advance of nearly ten miles was necessary for the occupation of the town, and considering that the salient thus attacked had a depth of roughly thirty miles, and was only forty miles wide (from Reims to Fontenoy, west of Soissons) it is plain that the German wedge is already badly pinched. It was explained yesterday that the railways within the wedge were connected with the German system generally by only one line, and that runs through Soissons. Unless, therefore,' • new lines have been built, the enemy has now no railway communications between the armies' in'the salient and the country in the rear, in which the chief base is Laon. Possibly, however, new military lines have been constructed. Of the prewar lines, one traverses the valley of tho Aisne, joining Soissons and Reims; another joins the same towns, following the River Vesle, a few miles further south. The latter sends a branch to Chateau Thierry; and if these railways remained connected with th,e northern systems they would provide good transport facilities. - From Laon there is ,;a railway to Reims, and-it is probable that the enemy has long ago joined this track with the Aisne valley line by a new short railway in the flat valley of the Aisne eastward of Craonne, and north-west of Reims. But that will not solve the problem unless in the past month he has also connected the Aisne line with that in the valley of the Vesle, for these join only at Soissons and Reims, both of which are in French possession. For ten miles east of Soissons, however, the two railways run "parallel-on opposite sides of the Aisne River, within two or three miles of each other, and if the Germans have not yet built the necessary link it will not take them long to do 60. None the less, the capture of Soissons is of the highest importance, and even if such a link railway has been built across the Aisne it should 1 soon be under fire.

The German official reports at present to hand make only a brief mention of the Allied offensive, including the significant statement that "our reserves .took part in the battle. "\ There is no reference to the severe losses in prisoners claimed by the Allied reports, which give a total of 30,000, or to the loss of Soissons; but the announcement of that event is of later origin than the German* communique. It may be noted, however, that the enemy reports a big general attack south of the Marne. They naturally . and habitually declare that it failed ;'but the reference is probably to the operations reported yesterday, which were described as having driven, the enemy back across the Marne. In all probability this effort was made with the specific object of entangling and holding as many Germans as possible on- this faradvanced sector while the new attack was being delivered twenty miles behind them against their' route of supply and withdrawal. Hence the significant German admission of the engagement of reserve troops. " Jt is also to be noted that there is no news of further German' aggression on other sectors. If the French and American advance threatens the' safety of the whole salient in the degree which is suggested, it is useless for the enemy to persevere at Reims for the present as a means of saving the position, because if the city were captured the communications could not be restored through that channel in time to be of service. The Kaiser is reported to have spent a day watching the attack.on Reims—an incident pointing to the importance the enemy attaches to its. early seizure ;\ but he has seen a quite unexpected 1 reverse of fortune.

This is the biggest single affair the Americans have yet been engaged in, although the protracted fighting on the Marne recently has probably given them a good deal niore work in the aggregate. The excitement of New York over the news is therefore easily enough understood, but the opportunity has been taken _by General March, the Chief of Staff in Washington, to point out that the offensive is not of the first magnitude. He says that the Americans on the Aisne front do not exceed 160,000, and that the Allies have planned a great drive for later in the year. There was a time when the latter statement would have called down accusations of indiscretion, but it is hardly to be so regarded now. Much more important is the number of troops engaged on the Aisne sector. This single American . army is about as big as tho "Old Contemptibks," and it must be remembered that the Americans have a large force on the Marne sector, twenty miles to the south; and another force east of Reims (or so it was reported a few days ago), and that they are occupying an important section of front south-east of Verdun, another in Alsace, and possibly other " bits " elsewhere. That the American Army is able now to send 160,000 men into a big and successful offensive operation is an illuminating fact which will have a disturbing influence in Germany if the news'is allowed to get out.