Evening Star Newspaper, September 6, 1918, Page 1

WI Falr, cooler t elightly warm Temperature ending 2 pm. to 4:30 pm. yesterday; am. today. Full report on page 17. ATHER. night; tomorrow fair, r for twen ‘-four pours Highest, at lowest, 62, at $ tH Closing New York Stocks, Page 17. Che Lvening ee 7 \ a ara Star. Member of the Associated Press ‘The Associated Press ts exclusively entitied to the use for republication of all news dispatches credited to it or nbdt otherwise credited im this Paper and also the local news published herels, al ita of cation of special Gispatthes herein are ‘aloo reserved. \. i. Yesterday's Net Circulation, 100,367 o. 27,16. P.W.NIGHOLSON SECTARIAN BODIES S DEPUTY CHEF SHOULDO-OPERATE OF FRE FIHTERS YM. A., Salvation Army, Knights of Columbus, Etc., Lap Over in Activities. Commissioners Prepare to Put Two Platoon-System in Operation. CHECKREIN ON RIVALRIES | BY DAVID LAWRENCE. G. S. WATSON MARSHAL, (Copyright, 1918, by N. ¥. Evening Post, Inc.) E. R. PIERCE HEAD CLERK |..™ ‘2 United States government had | | it to do over again there is every rea- son to believe that the sectarian or- Four nizations now incorporated in the | American Army in France would not be given the same privileges or free- | | Gom they now enjoy, but that a much | tisfactory form of control by! Other Promotions Provide New Battalion Leaders—Men From Camps for Department. more s the military authorities would be de- vised. ‘That in itself implies no criticism of the different organizations which |are trying to furnish our troops with | religion, recreation, cigarettes, dough- | nuts and coffee at the same time. It! Is largely the result of the intense irit of rivalry and competition | whicn the different institutions now |recognized by the War Department) | have developed in their natural desire jto show the folks back home that) ‘their respective organizations do most , for the American expeditionary force. | In Way of Military. But while such zeal is commendable! it interferes with military effective- hess, since all the organizations can- not be ‘allowed transportation facili-} ties in the crowded areas at the front. | Certainly no more representatives of | welfare societies, charitable organiza~ | tions or state commissions or self-ap- pointed guardians of the morals of; jour troops will be permitted to go to France. Gen. Pershing himself emphatically | PHILIP W. NICHOLSON. says there are enough organizations now | to care for every race or religion. There: Aypointing an additional deputy fore, it can be taken for granted. that | : an additional deputy tie Red Cross,the Young Men's Christian chief and four battalion chiefs, the Association, the Knights “of Columbus | and the Salvation Army will be the only non-military units hereafter recognized ary authorities. issioners t made < in the personnel of This m that any additional fea- SEG BE MOTE EE ation tures of recreation or religious, Instruc- | for the installation of the two- tion must be handled through the exist- | Wation ef the two- ile institutions. ‘Thus, the Jewish wel- | platoon system authorized by Con- ard and the Young Women's | ress. ‘ an Association are affiliated with | Kila : |the Young Men's Christian Association | Philip W. Nicholson, fi rshal, and several Catholic yelief societies are | comes the new deputy chief. George | merged with the Knights of Columbus. | és : 2 PN But even as between the four institu- S. Watson, chief clerk of the fire de- tions that are recognized, it is difficult | : sted to fire marsh wand clerk, to th to be vacated by Mr. Watson. ye and men prom and the other ends. Strictly speaking, | the military authorities might have dealt | ‘forcefully with the situation and pre- | vented overlapping and duplication, but | the military commanders preferred not into sectarian questions and jeal- | Vierce New Battalion Chiefs. - 7 : to mix The new battalion chiefs are to be gusies. As a consequence, they adopted | T. O'Connor, No. 1 engine com-' the principle of dealing with different phases of the problem as they arose and | P. R. Dav . engine; J. . | inion, Now 2 engine, and Seret, 2cording.to the equipment or personnel | emi of the department. repalr the various organizations had | Che Peres ue able to do the necessary task: . M. C. A. was first on the | job and was handed the canteen service. | something which has not helped the popularity of the organization with the soldiers because in the effort to sell at} cost there has been much confusion. The thought many articles _ they | Wes aE truck. and © troops a i iNoied to leutenents, bought were too high. Many radical | ma ant Haieht '*|changes have been instituted by the T. Leahy. CW. t ¥. M. GC. A. to correct that situation. 3. and CL ¢, re promoted to be se General Staff Controls. Saree pees Sen Control of the Red Cross, Y. M. C. A., trict appropriation Knights of Columbus and Salvation : of course, in the hands of the xeneral staff of the American ex- peditionary force. Questions of ton-/ allotments, transport and other R 1s are passed upon with no ef de to supervise the pro-| gram or work of the sociéties except where it interferes with military dis- cipline; nor is it sought by our general staff to adjust the relations of the promot rtment sinc hen he en- as a private in 1. Chief Watson has been Chief Wagner's nt-hand man for many y ‘Sergt. Gull hurdles the ranks of lieu- Nos touteachurothen a: The || tenant and captain to become battalion iccepts what each of the four | chief. Th sis un ood to be in line so 's offers and leaves to the good with the Commissioners’ policy to get Will and sense of fairness of these non- young men to the front in the depart- military societies the development of Ment. Gill hag had a_ brilliant 4 harmonious program to satisfy the in the District fir htin ervice, needs of the troops. wmerly was aid to Chief Wag- Unfortunately there isn't as much , With whose successful methods of team work as could be desired. The, spirit of competition is particularly | noticeable in the operations of the | Y. M. C. A. the Knights of Columbus | and the S ation Army. i ‘The Y. M. C. A. aims to cover every | unit in the Army no matter where lo-| cated. Perhaps this is necessary be- | se of its obligation to run the post | ange. he Knights of Columbus haven't; tried to cover the whole field but, to-| gether with the Salvation Army, have ded their respective programs in nding officers. Some officers are nstuking enough to see that all) three organizations are represented. hers are not so much interested in sreation and religion as they are in ting. | ‘Sometimes only one organization is/ represented, sometimes two, some- |times all three. Each looks ‘askance | at the other. General orders from | hadquarters have tended somewhat to eliminate the duplication, though in many cases more than one organiza-., tion is vieing with the other in the distribution of hot chocolate and, cigarettes at the front. Front Not for All. But all organizations cannot be per- mitted to work at the front. All want ‘to be there naturally hecause of its {dramatic possibilities. But the roads/ are crowded, and they ought not to be- traversed by so many people “with | similar errands. This does not disparage in the least GEORGE S. WATSON, hand iliar than 2 fires he probably is more fa- iy member of the depart- aa. i \by all the non-military organizations| jications are that the two-platoon |i) France. “Thi will be put into effect within two weeks. It is a question of can soldier with far more facilities men, aud this problem ap- and freedom than the same kind of | pears to have been solved. organizations are permitted in other n armies. But the greatest necessity to- Needs About 140 Men. day, based upon such authentic re- | ports as I have been able to examine, ' The adjutant general of the Army | is co-operation H has authorized the commanders of is not practicable to merge the anizations and retrace the steps ready taken. If the situation were to be approached with a clean slate that might be possible. But to make Beveral a en now in ited service amps to furlough indefinitely the Army and on the list who are physical- jy unfit for overseas duty and to per- existing facilities accomplish the mit » men to { positions in|maximum good there must be co-! District fire department. While eperation. ughed they will not be paid The military authorities may be but will be put on the compelled to enforce harmony by de- t pay rolls at $S0 or $¥5 | lineating the work of each organiza tion. Possibly as the Red Cross grows | | in personnel it will tend to become the! principal organization abroad. The military commanders are not too | well pleased with what. they deem an | nth, The department has several vacan- cies in its personnel now and will require about 140 men in addition to the normal force to» : Setcon aatemuintolenect. n> [excess of religion foleted upon the | poles chen Cod troops in moments when they ought | Cee eee ee a peoited to have recreation. Some thoughtless ||} ass 2 W. G Jenkins, | secretaries have believed it was a fine | thing to invite troops into moving pi ture shows and then convert the as sembly into a prayer meeting. ‘Although the troops do not openly 3 protest, they do not like that sort of 1. Class 2 thing. And if one organization starts | nd class 1 $1,080 out to apply itself intensely to re- are still vacancies | ligious questions to the subordination ch means that the next|of other needs, the second or third ued-on Second-Page.) (Continued.on Second Page.) np Sw = and F. M. Frit- st time since’ 1901 one into class positions per ine §] ‘SENATEFOR PLAN to say where the work of one begins | m | was impossible to build houses here fast | ‘enough to house the employes the de- | | with one anothe the excellent work that is being done. |! ‘YY are ministering to!]| the needs and comfort of the Ameri-||) WASHINGTON, D. C., TO MOVE WORKERS Adopts Mr. Thomas’ Resolu- tion Requésting President to Take Action. ; BECOMING “AWFUL” HERE Senate adopted resolution The the Thomas requesting the President to transfer from Washing- com- today ton to other cities such bureaus divisions whose func- ions and tions can be just as well performed outside the District of Columbia, in: congestion of order to relieve the population in Washington. Senator Norris of “Nebroska sug- gestéd it was hardly proper to make this request of the President with- out further consideration, and he asked that the resolution be referred + to a Senate committee. He said that the President knows the situa- tion here as well as the members of Congress, and that it might be embarrassing to him to have this request made. ‘Need of Quick Action. Senator Thomas replied that, new officeholders are coming here at the rate of 500 a day and that the pressure. for places to live is becoming “awful.” | Something must be done, he said. To} refer the resolution to a committee | would only cause delay and something shomid be done before October 1, which is the beginning of, the new rental year. Senator’ Kellogg of Minnesota urged adoption of the resolution. He said it partments are bringing in. He said the departments are now scouring tie city for stenographers, and. are competing There is no reason, he said, why some of these bureaus should not be removed to some other cities, where, because of the war. office buildings other structures are standing Vv: Men of Draft Age, Class 1, 31 With Those Who Are Disqualified for Fighting; Some Exceptions. ceptions are to be made only indispen- Secretary Baker has ordered the chief of each bureau in the War Where incumbents are Department to replace, by Decem- sable and where men not within ber 31, all men within the draft the draft age are not available to age who would be classified in take their places. class 1 and who are now assigned { The chiefs of burdéaus are in- to duty in Washington or in War | structed to report to the adjutant Department branches elsewhere general December 31 the number with men physically disqualified and names of all men within the for general military service. draft age then employed in their The positions thus vacated ma bureaus ~and to furnish a certifi- also be filled by men in the de- cate that each of these is indis- ferred classes, where such defer- pensable and that others not with- ment has been granted on the grounds of dependency. GERMAN RETREAT WILL NOT STOP SHORT OF BELGIAN LINE Mr. Simonds Deems Fall of Douai and Cambrai Certain—Fronts From Lens to Rheims Dislocated. Bri in the draft age are not available to replace them. BY FRANK H. SIMONDS. The present German retreat will £0 to the Belgian frontier. Whatever the temporary pauses, such as we have seen at the Vesle and the Canal du Nord, there can be no permanent pause for the Germans now short of the line of Lille-Valenciennes-Maubeuge Mezieres and the Meuse from Mezieres to Verdun. The advance of the British and par- ticularly of Horne’s First British army astride the Scarpe has been decisive. By forcing the Drocourt-Queant line the first army has insured the fall of h e there. or be isolated, and isolation spells capture. Today Ludendorff faces the situation of the da: following the second Marne in one in Ze. s His troops oceupy a salient between Rheims and The British have broken in one side of the salient as Ma side of the Marn alient between e. Horne and By Jerman lin ation than are the Germ: far down in the nose of the salient east of Noyon, just as Mangin’s troops Were nearer to the vital roads in the Marne salient than the German of the Marne. communi: Have Avenve of Retreat. Might Inconvenience Some. Senator Norris said he did not wish to appear as opposed to this resolu- tion, but that if the President com- plied with it it might work hardships ance with the invitations from on many of the people employed in] ang the Belgian coast for the balance who have the government bureaus e here and made arrangements to li assumed financial obligations. Some of these employes, he,said, might not be inclined to go to other cities. RED CROSS WAR FUND SUBSCRIPTIONS DUE Subscriptions to the second Red Cross war fund are now due. Please send them ,at once’ to Cuno H. Rudolph, Réd Cross cashier, Second National Bank, 7th street between E and F streets. A HISTORY OF THE WAR THE PLANOGRAVURE i SUPPLEMENT OF | The Sunday Star. By following the photographs and filing them for future reference. one may possess a valuable record of the fitenic’ struggle now going on in France. Pictures prin ry en tinuity, one it event fol an- Stherand belng reproduced through « Femarkable process. They will be inestimable value in the future. “Jn the Zone of Battle’—Pictures of American soldiers en route to the front lines and in battle, ; “At Bolling Field, Near Washing- "The capital now has its own #7 ing field. new De Haviland air planes ana their Liberty motors. “At Walter Rood Hospital”—Re- construction work for American heroes. “The War Department’s Mail”—It is now being handled by soldiers. ‘Movies_and Fashion,” ‘Here and There.” ‘Local Boys in the War,” in the Pianogravure Supplement of | SUNDAY ‘STAR. | | | \ \ [ again. ijaying an ax on the rope between Douai and of Cambrai, and with them will go the safety of all the German line between Lille and Verdun. Lille Is Threatened. it by any means certain that 1 be able to hold Lille \The Germans in the great between Lille and Rheims are not yet threatened with envelopment and cap- ture as organized armies. They have Nor, i the Germans but they can no longer hesitate about taking that road, and when they take it they will surrender most of all the French soil they hold and have held since August, 1914. : Unless signs fail the German already beginning. The ikely to the prelude to a far greater . 1 from south in July was only the of-the present campaign, for the ation about Lille is. becoming , very grave and the possibility of the loss of the southern: defenses of: the city from Neuve Chapelle to La Bassee is plain. The truth is that the German situa- tion on the whole western front from Rheims to Lille is highly critical and Foch has it Still in his power to widen the area of active operations by at- tack between Verdun and Rheims, or mn withdrawal is retreat north of the Aisne be only retreat, as the withdraw of the Marne first step in the retreat to the Vesle. While this new retreat is in progre: between La Bassee and Dixmide.}the German m. a matter of life Suecessive attacks on the fronts of;and death. hold fast on his flanks, just three German ‘armies have already {as he held fast between Soissons and rne time. We shall s ance about Cam- . While the center b St. Quentin and: Soissons drawn in’ relatively rapidly. Finally the flanks, too, will swing back.” Must Leave Northern France. But the details are of relatively minor importance after all. The fact is that the German must leave northern France from Verdun to La Bassee. He may have to retire behind the Meuse ahd the Scheldt, but he has now ‘no clicice to quit all of France south of the Lille- Mezieres line. He is certain to lose produced a dislocation of the front from Rheims to Lens, but cation is extending northward westward rapidly. The decisive thrust of what has now become the battle of northern France was Horne’s. A simple fi ure illustrates the episode. The Ger- man front hangs between Rheims and Lille, much as a hammock hangs from two posts. The attacks from the Somme to Soissons were to be compared with the operation of push- ing a hammock with some one.in it, backward. Always there is a chance that the hammock will sway forward But Horne’s push was like the hammock and one post. ,Tocut the rope was to bring the hammock down, and the rope has been cut. Moreover, Mangin has been cutting the other rope toward Soissons, al- though he has been less successful. But one: rope gone upsets the ham- mock and spills its contents ‘Will Cut Railroads. Laying aside all figures, what has happened is clear. Striking at that portion of the Hindenburg line east of Arras, the British have driven through all systems of defense and are rapidly approaching Cambrai and Douai. When they reach these towns they will have cut. many important railroad lines serving the Germans both to the south and to the north, and will directly threaten the remain- ing lines on whichshe Germans from Laon to St. Quentin depend for sup- plies. The threat moreover will com- pel the-Germans to retire to the Bel- gian frontier, to re-establish the se- curity of théir communications. In other words, they must get north of the point which the British are ap- -proaching their. main lines of com- tmunication. with Germany-before the. dous store of munitions and supplies. He may meet with supreme disaster: he is bound to suffer a degree of de- moralization in any event. As to the effect upon the German people of such a reversal of fortune, it ‘must be enor- mous. Foch “has won the battle of northern France, the greatest battle.of the war. It was, in fact, not one battle, but a series of battles, begun on July 18 and still incomplete, althogh’ the decision has been. had, and all that-ts hidden is the extent of the victory. We shall be at the Belgian frontier from the Meuse to Lys before snow flies, and we may be even. farther. (Copyright, 1918. the Tribune Association, New ‘York Tribune.) Wilcox Now Leads in Wisconsin. MILWAUKEE, Wis., September 6.— Returns from a few missing precincts during the forenoon switched standings of Gov. PhiHipp and’ Roy P. Wilcox, contesting for the repub- lican gubernatorial nomination in Wisconsin, the latest figures favor- ing Wilcox-by-sixty-seven votes. to Be Barred in War Office Secretary Orders Places Be Filled by December uly—the only difference is} Douai. | ngin broke in the/ outh | salient | still a wide open avenue of retreat, | thousands of prisoners and a tremen- | the | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1918—TWENTY-TWO PAGES. FOE RETREATS ON 150-MILE LINE; FRENCH HAVE ENCIRCLED HAM; MERICANS MOVE TO THE AISNE. FRANCO-AMERICANS; HOLD EIGHT MILES ON BANK OF AISNE Yankees Take Dhuizel and Barbouval—Great Strateg- ical Victory Scored. THOUSANDS OF LIVES ARE SAVED BY FOCH French Blows Along Ailette Re- duce Cost of Taking Vesle Line. Allies Steadily Gain. By the Associ \ WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN] FRANCE, September (iL p.m.).— Franco-American troops reached the south bank of the A ed Press. ne tonight be- tween Conde and Viei an eight- this aft- mile front. American forces |efnoon occupied the towns of Dhuizel and BarbOuval virtually without op- position. There probably never was a neater instance of a strategical offen: \than the fashion in which the Ger- mans along the Vesle were put to | flight by a blow struck many miles to | the west of them. Had we attempted} | to force the line of the Vesle tactical- | ly we should have lost at least 10,000 |men, and possibly threé times that number. Far-Reaching Effects. By the blow struék on the Soigsons plateau, however—a blow which in |any case was inevitable—the Vesle has been cleared in the operations along the Ailette. By those same operation’ some of the finest divisions of the German army have been pre- ivented from holding up the British advance, and the. Hindenburg line (thus has been broken by a battle nearly 100 miles away from it. Though the German from the Vesle is the most showy event in this , By t withdrawal } ector, by far the most} TWO CENTS. Foch’s Men Close in on St. Gobain Bastion, German Key- ‘stone Position in West. BRITISHCROSSCANALDUNORD; TOWN AFTER TOWN TAKEN e Associated Press, PARIS, September 6, 3:35 p-m.—Gen. Deboney’s army is steadily advancing in the direction of Ham, which has been completely encircled. Gen. Mangin’s troops are now in sight of Laon, hav- ing reached positions within ten miles of that city. Gen. Berthelot’s soldiers have reached the Aisne on a large front. * Associated Press. Continuing their pressure along the front from Rheims to Ypres, the allied forces are pushing back the Germans on virtually this entite 150-mile line. Telling progress has been made in particular by the French and Americans along the southern part of the front. The French are before the old Hindenburg positions along a considerable stretch in this sector, wyere they are closing in upon the bastion of St. Gobain, the keystone of the German defensive system in the west. Farther north the enemy armies are still in retreat before the French and British, who are capturing town after town as they make rapid strides toward the line from which the Germans at- tacked in.their offensive of last Marcl, Ham is almost within the allied grasp and Ghauny is seriously threatened. The Americans have moved up along the Aisne line, reaching the ground immediately south of the river. The Germans north of the stream appear inclined to halt temporarily, but there seems to be no question that they will speedily be forced to resume their rearward march and not halt it again until their old line at the Chemin-des-Dames is reached. 4 ' north may be rendered futile. enemy left flank on the canal Havincourt is menaced by the drive far- ther south. On the Flanders front the British pressure seems likely to drive the Germans further than they apparent- a May Outflank Chemin-des-Dames. j Through the continued French prog- ress on the German right flank north of the Aisne. however, even the Chemin- Dames, line seems virtually out- | des eri vas. thel veen | 5 , han they a serious one was their defeat between | punked and the retirement may not stop|Iy had intended going in their retire- jae ees ceey that their troops avere |snortol the Allette: i ment. Field Marshal Haig's troops - The campaign for Cambrai h: halted | are pre: ng in upon Armentieres |commanded to resist to the last man. since if they are unable to hold the deck of the hill to the south of Vaux aillon they will have to withdraw {their entire garrison from the Pont | Rouge plateau and fall back to the jlast ridge from which the flank of the Chemin-des-Dames can be de- | fended. | Use Machine Gun Cars. In their endeavor to keep up with the Germans who are retreating be- yond the River Aisne, the Americans have organized automobile machine gun detachments, with three men to each car. More than thirty cars were operating north of the Vesle river early today. AS not much German infantry had been sighted the automobile machine gunners wore uncertain just where their advance might lead them. The outfit had supplies of food and equip- ment. to enable them to keep after the Germans for days. As the Americans pressed for it was a different sight than that w greeted them in their advance from the Marne to the Vesle. From the Vesle northward over tne plateau | the Germans had cleaned up v! leverything, taking with them lvalue or of use, and were burning that which they could not move north- wwatd or. which might be of use to the rench and Americans. Between the Marne and the Vesle the Germans had left great stores of supplies and am- munition because of their hasty with- érawal, Press Steadily Ahead. ‘The roads on the plateau north of the Vesle were in fairly good condition, although in some places over ravines the Germans had endeavored to de- stroy small bridges. Engineers quick- ly repaired the roads and Americans on foot and on horseback and mule teams,. automobile trucks and motor cycles went ahead along grain fields overrun with weeds and passed vil- lages with houses shot to pieces, but nowhere encountering anything of military value. eae | "The plateau for every few miles ' dotted with frames of German | airdromes, from some of which, the ‘Americans say, the German raiders who bombed ris\ evidently oper- ated. stand in aviation fields at a score of | places. The American officers believe ‘that this plateau must have been \the principal. German aviation site for operating against Paris and the districts in between. "The canvas coverings for the han- were taken by the Germans i Te Ny of all | gars G when ‘they retired, and the wooden frames were so damaged by shells that they are virtually worthless. Before the advancing Americans in the desolate valley of the Vesle be- tween Bazoches and Fismette the Germans the. freight cars along’ the railroad, and the twisted i skeletons of the cars are standing lon the tracks. The trees along the roadway between Bazoches and Fis- mette had been cut down by German saws and German shells. The stone houses in Fismette have shell holes in their sides and roofs, and -some were smashed by German bombers, Who vainly endeavored to drive out the Americans. Work Way to Lowlands. Long before nightfall the Americans had worked their way down into the lowlands, toward the Aisne, off the plateau from which they had been able fo look over the next valley at the ca- thedral towers in Laon, not fifteen miles a | | way. It is at that point where is located the heart of the present German opera- tions. Laon'is a great communfcation center, and must naturally be defended with the utmost determination if the allied forces are to be prevented from driving back to it the German lines from west ang ‘south. ‘The retirement of the Germans to po- sitions north of the Aisne is Yegarded as only preliminary to their reoccupa- «Continued on Ninth Page.) 3 ‘Thre or four of these frames | both from the north and south and their thrust seems likely soon to be considered as threatening Lille, the great manufacturing center of nort ern France, southwest of ‘Armen- tieres. In this sector the British ar moving east from Neuve Chapelle and ltave pushed at several points beyon@ the old German line. far as the push on the direct line for city is concerned, but the the Anglo-French forces ing southward along the line a culated to work notably toward the suc- cess of the main drive. The Somme and the Canal du Nord water barriers have been din this sector, and the Ger- man stand back of the canal in the French Sweeping Foe Back Between Somme and Vesle town of Glennes, southeast of Bevile lon, and have advanced their lines aw far as the outskirts of Villers-ene Prayeres, on the Aisne. | By the Associated Press. PARIS, September 6.—French troops last night continued to push forward fon the entire front between the !somme and the Vesle, today’s Thirty_ Villages Seized. i war office report. = PARIS, September 5:—The French South of Peronne French troop8| troops made important advances toe day, both along the Canal Du Nor@ and north of the Vesle, according te , the war office announcement tonight. During the course of the day thirty Villages were retaken along the Ailette river. made further crossings of the Somme in the regjon of Epenancourt. Farther south the Ham-Peronne road .was reached at several points. Several Towns Captured. South of Ham the towns of Le Ples- Isis, Patte d’Oie and Berlancourt were \captured. and still farther south the lrench pursuing troops pushed be- lyond Guivry, Caillouel-Crepigny and Abbecourt. In the region the French reached the outskirts of French Near Hindenburg Line. ~ LONDON, September 6 (1 p.m.).4 The French have secured a good hold on the northern bank of the Ailette and on the terrain between that rivet and the Oise. They are approachings if they are not actually on the Hine north of the Ailette {he Sinceny and the plateau north of | denburg line at St. Gobain Massif. {RSaricourt, and south of the Ailette| Between the Somme and the Oise the advancing forces are along the} French troops have captured the |Vauxillon ravine. block of hills known as the Qutres The American troops. advan ne core Massif, which is within threp from the Vesle, have captured the| miles of Chauny. Line of the Chemin-des-Dames May Be Untenable for Huns sensational events farther north. It now is seen that the important gains aes eat err 1, |Tecorded in the French official communis and American advance on a fifty-mile|(ation are the reward of the incense front, in the Aisne region, with the re-j combats in the last week, in which the covery of a great extent of territory asiFrench and Americans had to overcon ene sees vag {the desperate and tenacious resistan well as important enemy positions, was | Orsome of the best German troops. the main feature of the battle news up| The Ameri ‘on the heights to the jto this morning. The expectation that |south of the River Alsne were reported i ste ee : cn Thursday to be encountering a some- the French and Americans would be What increased machine gun and artil- | able to enter on the work of driving back [lery resistance, but they were able to |the Germans when the necessary slack-| push forward and to contribute in am i iti important degree to the day’s successes. ening of the British advance took place | "Pnere now is a colfident expectation has been amply fulfilled. that further progress will be made, and ‘The severe character of the fighting along the southern end of the 150-mile line, on which the Germans are retreat- it is believed here that the enemy will es compelled to retreat even beyond the ing, hardly has been realized here, it be- ing temporarily overshadowed by the Chemin-des-Dames. The situation seems \Germans Prepare for Retreat Back to Old Line Near La Fere rest. heavy losses from shell fire. . Between the Ailette and the Aisne, French troops advanced to a line from Margival to Quincy and Chivyes, while to the north they occupied” Coucy le Chateau and Coucy le Vite, approaching their old line of 1917 around the edge of the hilly wood region of St. Gobain. There they will encounter the formida: j ble defense “works the Germans pre~ to Barisis. Today! their retreat con-|Pared #8 part of the old Hindenbs z ; and wh haps have been timuedin daylight feast. of.the Ailette | POLO” Sit, Whened since Dea river ‘and their columns suffered ver~ | their retreat. By the Associated Press. LONDON, September 6.—The French By the Associated Press. = WITH -THE FRENCH ARMY ID THE FIELD, Thursday, September 5.— The Germans tonight are destroying bridges and flooding the country be- tween Chauny and La Fere, which is a good implication that they do not expect to remain much longer in advance of their old line, whick ran from La Fere further ’ strengthened since beginning