THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1918. BRITISH ATTACK.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16925, 10 August 1918, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1918. BRITISH ATTACK.

The British offensive east and southeast of Amiens renews the western

battle at a point where it was broken off by the enemy at the end. of the first week ;. of April. After piercing 'the \ British front near St. Quentin on March 21 and 22, the" Germans advanced , in ; nine days nearly 40 miles,' creating a great salient, with its ; principal ■ face towards Amiens, and its southern face swinging, off almost at a right angle a miles south of that town. This sensational advance brought the enemy to within 12 miles of Amiens and six miles from the railway. It failed to separate the British and French armies, but at the end of the ninth day the allied line had been so deeply dented that the German command was encouraged to make a new attack. It threw in 20 fresh divisions, but the allied resistance had stiffened so much that, after fighting violently for eight days, the Germans had advanced only another three miles. Ludendorlf then abandoned his effort, and commenced the battle of Flanders. In local actions since then the British and the French have driven the Germans from forward positions cast and south of Amiens, and the offensive which has now commenced will further remove the menace to the town by driving in the westerly face of the German salient. This will be a very substantial accomplishment. Amiens is' an objective in itself, far more so than most geographical points, because there passes through it the principal railway connecting Boulogne and Calais with Paris, because it. is a focus of great roads, and because it is a distributing point, and possesses the shops : and : sheds of an important railwayj centre. There are alteram

tive routes between Paris and 'the coast, apart; from any that may have been improvised aince the German advance, but the nearest double line existing in peace time was a considerable distance further'west, ani lacked many of the advantages of the Amiens railway. . /

In the attack which has now been launched the British have certain advantages of ground. The tide of German invasion spent itself, as was natural it should, against strong defensive positions. It is unfortunately true that several excellent lines of defence were lost in the British retreat, but it is equally true that when the Allies were reinforced they were able to select the high ground and retain it against the enemy, who is in an inferior position along practically the whole salient. On the sector which Sir Douglas Haig is attacking the British hold the great glacis sloping down to the Avre and an important height west of Albert, which is about the northern extremity of the present battlefront. Tho ground is open and the only natural obstacles are the Avre, which flows into the Somme near Amiens, and its tributary streams, the Luce and the Doras brook. Between the Avre and the Luce are marshes, which appear to have been crossed, but the banks of the Avre are higher, and Moreuil, one of the villages captured, stands on a wooded height, which was a centre of German resistance. Added to such advantages as the higher ground gave them the British had the great element of secrecy in their favour. The concentration was perfectly screened. The preliminary bombardment, lasting only a few minutes, permitted no time for preparation, and tho tanks overwhelmed resistance in the front lines. In these features the advance resembles the initial success gained at Cambrai last November, and is a further vindication of the tank as a weapon of offence. It would appear that in this instance the tanks.were employed in almost ideal conditions. The ground is favourable, and as this line has been in the possession of the Germans for only four months it cannot have been as heavily fortified as was the Cambrai front broken by tanks last year. While the immediate object of Sir Douglas Haig's attack is to remove a serious menace to his lines of communication, it is possible that there are larger strategical objects in view. : The advance is on a comparatively short front, and this, in itself, should be a caution against extravagant hopes, but it is also on a vulnerable front. One of the penalties the Germans have paid for their rapid advances is that the salients they have created, both in Picardy and Flanders, are, vulnerable at many points. The southern face of the Picardy advance is even more exposed than the western face, which the ' British are now attacking, and this successi may be followed by an attempt to drive in this salient as General ; Foch ?, drove in • the • Marne salient. It is '•> abundantly evident that the allied command has no intention of permitting the = Germans to resume the initiative, but seeks to compel the enemy to exhaust his reserves in defensive fighting. ■' The influence of , the battle of the 'Marne salient on the whole situation appears {to grow stronger every day. Three weeks ago the Germans had a large reserve opposite the * British front, ;: waiting ? for the signal to launch an offensive. . That reserve has been heavily drawn upon to ex tricate the German army south of the ■ Aisne from a difficult position, and appears to; have lost its opportunity 'of attacking '% the "v British The advantages of the offensive are so great in the light of recent experience, that the Allies,* whose strength \ increases daily, will, not readily resign the initiative. The employment of Canadians, who have I taken but little part in this year's fighting,, indicates ' that fresh troops are being released from the rapidlygrowing ; ';, reserves, while the French are giving . their usual splendid ~ co-operation. - The new situation is eminently satisfactory. The .German effort has not only reached high-water ' mark, but the tide has turned. •_ It is now receding slowlyi and almost imperceptibly, but before long it may be running strongly and swiftly to the inevitable end. y. , /"-'.