The Marne Offensive

Manawatu Times, Volume XL, Issue 13948, 29 July 1918, Page 2

The Marne Offensive

.j. 4 EMY 'a .-:MOTIVES. jjj % FiJDili'i kix* : v i x ALLIES. i • .NUU*N, July 16. M;aines U.n,.i«;i! ; correspondent of um ‘‘Time-., '■ w 1 «:I* the French , liuos tiiill i' ilia- chosen for barman advance ids a dangerous iiuiii.t, attack on • in- Mountain of Uaei .. iiio m*c«; s-t j, lor occupying . iio ... a.wu Mass!i, j Moronvidiers, ..in vo the c-uerny : s chief obstacle asl. .v.s, unless a la.-niug movement a iut; ,:..od. country to rm southward, of . hie,, me Champs d.- Chalons forms ;h- 0 ten re. Is ah fiat. Suippc and Voslc are the only natural defences north of the Marino but the defensive works in this urea hr.- strong and elaborate. I went over a portion of the field on the eve of the March offensive, the correspondent says, and I believe the wire entanglements and machine-gun positions arc as strong as they can be made, considering the openness of the country, which is broken only by small and scattered pinewoods. Even if he penetrated the front defences here, the enemy would be raked by the artillery in position on the Mountain of liheims, and he would also suffer severely during his advance towards Chalons. On th e whole, it seems most likely that the Germans will make their most stubborn and most dangerous effort on the west sector, with a view to increasing the size of the pocket produced by the Aisno offensive, forming a wider front for an advance towards Paris, The French splendidly resisted these attacks, and calculated with extraordinary accuracy the enemy’s choice of time and positions. We have undoubtedly to be prepared for an onslaught more violent than any yet made. It is impossible to know the total strength of the enemy at present, but it can be assumed that he is stronger than the Allies, Taking everything into account there is no reason why wo should not face the next few days with perfect confidence, even if the enemy gains some ground.