Newspapers / Asheville Citizen (Asheville, N.C.) / March 27, 1918, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE WEATHER: Fair Wednesday and Thursday, little; change In temperature. THE ASHEVILLE CITIZEN CITIZEN WANT ADS . BRING RESULTS .VOL. XXXIV. NO. 153 ASHEVILLE, N. C, WEDNESDAY MORNING, MARCH 27, 1918. PRICE FIVE CENTS 1 VJ MY HOUR mn f SEE S COUMTER OFF EMS! ME TART OF TH BY BRIT IS I GERMAN DRIVE BEGINNING. TO SHOW SIGNS OF LOSING MOMENTUM AND BECOMING WEDGE At Apex, Wedge Has Gone Beyond Albert, But Has Lost the Broad, Straight For Ward Movement That Characterized the First Hours of the Drive Toward Paris by the German Hordes. AMERICANS FIGHTING BESIDE THE BRITISH Ail Authorities Agree That German Drive h About Exhausted and That Counter 0 tensive Will Repeat Bitter Dose HmdedtoMcnKluckinim. OA L After six daj-s of terrific fighting, the German of fensive in France is beginning to show signs of losing its momentum. The progress ot the enemy has materially slackened and the form of the dent made in the allied line west of Cambrai has begun to resemble the familiar wedge-like salient, instead of the broad straight forward movement of an offensive which carries all before it. Apex of Wedge. At its apex this wedge has gone beyond Albert, to the south of that place and is to the westward of the old allied line as it stood a year ago when Von Hmdenburg bej gan his "strategic retreat." From this point the line runs off the northeast at a gentle angle, With the line to the south running back until it reaches the Oise river. In spite of the tremendous exertions and terrible losses, the German efforts to widen the tip of this salient were defeated on Tuesday. The British lines have stood firm to the north and have forced the Germans to turn southward toward th point of least resistance. Americans in Line. Official statements issued at London confirm the re port from Berlin that American forces are engaged in the struggle. They are reported as "fighting shoulder to shoulder " with the French and British in 'the region of Rove, on the southern side of the salient driven into the allied front. There has been no official report sent to Washington as to the identity of these troops who are tak ing part in this greatest battle in history. Ready to Strike Back. With the slackening of the German pace there come indications that the allies are ready to strike back some ' where along the front. Just where this blow- will be h launched will not be known until it is struck, but it may he expected that its impact will be terrific. It is known that the allied war council at Versailles created a great strategic reserve of men to be used in just the contingency which confronts the armies which have borne the brunt of rflic fighting since last Thursday morning. 1 V i This force probably will be launched when and where it is believed it will break the force of the German on slaught and send the enemy reeling back over the desert from which the British have slowly withdrawn. Each succeeding day reveals the plans of the Germans absolutelv to crush the allied lines west of Cambrai, a ter rain which could not be defended by Von Hindenburg a .year ago. .Each official report shows that this sector is valueless from a military standpoint and that the tier ; mans have paid a terrible price for their advance to. the lines established by the allies during the first two years of warfare. Itis officially reported that seventy divisions, of 840,000 men, have, taken part in the fighting and that troops have been moved from every part of the western battle front to reinforce the armies which have been forc ing the British to fall .back. Observers at the front say that the German losses havebeen frightful, and that the enemy has, lost from ten to twenty per cent of his men, by the most conservatice estimates. - The situation as it stands seems to be a repetition of o . Hold 'EmTige! I - -Z I I. II I - I III I I I ! I I II I I II! H CANS TH nK MOMENT FOR THE COUNTER OFFENSIVE IS AT HAND, ALL REPORTS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD IN FRANCE INDICATE Frank H. Simonds, Celebrated Writer, Declares That the Germans Are in the Same Shape As When They Started the First Battle of the Maine, and They Lost That Battle Situation Grave, But Plenty of Room For Hope Exists, TURNING POINT IN DRIVE ISJEHCHED Air of Expectancy Apparent Among American Of ficers at Washington AMERICAN TROOPS FIGHTING IN DRIVE No Guess Hazarded as to What Part They Are Taking in Battle WASHINGTON, March .26. An air of expectancy Was apparent tonight among American and other military officials here who are following mott cloaely the, development of the battle in France. They appeared to , feel that a , turning. point in' the terrific struggle, wu close at hand. , Ftess re port from the British front hinted At the -same' feeling, there.- ... , ' Battle Closer, Home. 1 For-the people of the United State, the announcement by the British au thorities that American troops are fighting side by side with French and British defenders brings the , battle closer home. War department of ficials had no word from General Pershing on the subject, but were ex pecting at any moment reports shew ing the extent of American participa Attention centers here now on the French front rather than on the progress made by the German against the British lines. As the battle proceeds, officers here are be- EXPLOSIVES AND MYSTERIOUS FIRE DO GREAT DAMAGE AT JERSEY CITY Jarvis Warehouse Company Building Wiped Out;" by Flames ERIE REPAIR SHOPS ARE BADLY DAMAGED Damage Will Reach Million and Half Origin Still -V Unexplained . (Continued on I'ega Four.) NBTW- YORK, March . Fire foV lowing ,a ,srtesv ot unexplained, ex-. Dloalona destroyed the slx-starv build-! ' ing of the Javrvli Warehouse company,. Inc.. near the Erie-railroad terminal, to. JeryCtty late .tpda;n!L badly r damaged the Brie repair shops.,, No ; loss of life, had .been reported tonight. The material damage wa . estimated : by Jersey City policemen and Are of-, flolals at close to $ 1,100,000. i The goods stored In the warehouse, said to have Included a quantity of churn- !cl. were a total loss.. 'r cause a ot Determined. , The ' cause of the explosion has not yet been determined though a rigid Investigation was begun at once by federal, state 'and city authorities. The first of the terrific detonations, , which occurred shortly after o'cl oek (Continued on page Four.) iaxumxuED cur pace two.) (BY FRAJfK H. SIMOXDS.) KtiVf YORK, March 26. While there has been no major change in the situation In the past twenty-four hours, three circumstances of real Im portance are to be noted. First, the battle to the north of the Somme, be tween Arras and the old Somme bat tlefield, has more and more tended to stabilize itself. Second, there has been a marked Increase in the intensity of the Ger man effort south of the Somme, be tween that river and the Oise, par ticularly In the plain of Santerro, east of Chaulnes and Roye. where Caatel- nau won the great battle of Royein, September, 1014, after the Marne. Third, the position or tne tsritisn nd the French, who are now prac tically baclc upon the lines from which they began their attack in the battle of the Somme, and the hints coming from Brittah headquarters In France both seem to indicate that the mo ment for the counter offensive Is at band. .Not Actually Stooped. Now, examining these three circum stances In detail, it is essential to recognize at first that the German at tack has not been actually stopped at any point. It has merelj slowed down, at least temporarily, to the north, and this may not prove to be the prelude to a return to positional warfare, to the old trench .deadlock. I But from the start the German suc cess north of the line of the Somme hss been far less complete than to the south, and British retirement to the south, in this sector, nas Deen con dltioned upon the pressurs further down. If the British have stopped the Ger msn attack to the north they wilt And themselves about in their old lines of June 1916, and a failure to hold these lines would mean the opening- of a very wide bulge in their center and an Immediate menace to Amtsen, not much more than twenty miles behind Albert, which is now Just behind the British left flan. ' Thrust Worn Out? Conceivably, just conceivably, the German thrust has wore itself out to the north. In that case there would naturally be an intensification of ef fort to the south, where the German- advance is still steady and fairly rapid. Then the derision would come between the Oise and the Somme and In the plain of Uauterre, about Koye the territory evacuated naa oeen sye-. '! Chaulnes. which were both . In tematically ravaged by the German German hand throughout the battle of the Somme. It ia clear now that the worst break in the British line was at the extreme south, between the western outsklrt of St. Quentin and the bend of the Oise, In front of Laferre. Here the British hold lines just taken over from the French and they seem to have held them with Insufficient force. In any event, the German advance here promptly smashed the British, and the French, who came in on the third day of the battle, have not yet been able to beat down the German rush which has entered Noyon and reached Roye. The occupation of Doyon Is of little but sentimental importance. It was the only town left intact by the Ger mans when they retreated a year ago and It was the point in their line nearest Parts. But the real military position is in the hill east and south of the town ' which the French are still occupying and beyond these hills are other hills which constituted the French position. Before the great re treat, RIbecourt, on the river, wa just Inside the French line. The real center of the German push, therefore, must be north of these hills and be tween Noyon and Chaulnes with Roye ae the objective. Straightening out Line. ' Now it IS necessary to face the situation-that exists with absolute frank ness. So far the British retirement hss been In the main a straightening out of their front from the Oise to the outskirts of Arras. Today the line : west of the Oise is much shorter and I stralghtsr than at the outset of the German attack, and sines the French have. held the somewhat lengthened line south and east of the Oise with out difficulty the consequences have not been serious. But any further British and French retirement north and west of the Oise will lengthen their line, it will change from a straight front to a front badly bulging in.- In a word, the Germans will begin to drive a broad and deep wedge between- the British armies weet of the-Oise and the mass of the French armies from the Oise to Switz erland. As the British line bends It will lengthen- and demand more men to defend It and the British have been heavily outnumbered. . If they can hold the present front the British wilt have lost no ground defeat, and such beginnings of re storation as have been undertaken since have disappeared under the new Invasion. And If the Germans are stopped upon their present positions their supreme offensive will have netted them no territory of import ance, only the ruined region between the Somme and the Oise, the Scheldt afid the Scarpe. Will Become Serious. On the other hand, if the Germans still ptees forward for a few miles the allied situation will become more serious than It has yet been and the danger of a successful interposition of German troops between the French and the British cannot be blinked. In a word, the British and the French are. now In another such position as they occupied at the Marne; then their flanks were still safe, resting on Paris snd Verdun, but any further re treat then ment the loss of contact with these anchorages of their line. Accordingly the Intervention of the allied reserve srmles, the delivery ef a major counter-attack, would eeem to be Inevitable. The Germans have been on the move for six days: they have outrun their heavy guns and much of the munitions for their light artillery. Their losses have been en ormous and their condition must ap proximate that of the Germans who came upon the decisive field of the Marjie, well nigh exhausted. So far the British hare been beaten aa the French were beaten in the opening battles of the war. They have suffered the greatest reveres in west ernwsrf sre since the Marne cam paign. They have been driven nearly twenty miles from their prepared po sitions, which they believed would hold the whole weight of German ar tillery and infantry attack. They have lost thousands of prisoner and hun dreds of guns. , - ' . But all this hsppensa to the French in 1(14, and, in 111 the French armies, although beaten, were not dis organized nor routed; they kept their alignment, preserved an unbroken front to the German and held up the advance until the strategic re eerve. two new armies, those of Mau noury and Foch, had been conoentrat ed and were able to enter the battle with decisive consequences. Haa these armies failed to turn the tlda then the war would have been loet and Joffre therefore delayed using FINANCIAL PUNS FOR IT MONTHS After Third Liberty Loan No More Loans Until Next Fall. M'ADOO'S PLANS me csmisn wur nave iom no irounair; - , ,h. .... hour f permanent military value, b.caus. ,th J , uM WASHINGTON, March 2. The government's general financial plans for the next eight months, disclosed tonight by Secretary McAdoo, provide for a long period of rest from bond Issues after the third loan of $3 000,000,000 next month, and for float ing of the fourth Liberty loan next October or November. The amount of the fourth loan probably will be greater than any of those that have gone before, and to prepare for it the treasury next sum mer probably will start the issuance of certificates of indebtedness In con siderable amounts. Loans to allies will be continued and although more than $2,000,000 000. authorization for this purpose still remains, congress Is expected to approve extension of further credits to the sum oi ii.boo.vuo.uuu. Air. McAdoo estimates that this will be sufficient to fill allied needs until Oc tober. Actual credits snd paymsnts srs made at the secretary s dis cretion, subject only to congress. In the same way. the amount of certificates of Indebtedness actually to be Issued depends on Secretary McAdoo's decision. Those are issued usually for ninety-day periods, and are redeemable at time when re ceipt from Liberty loans or taxes are heavy. Secretary . McAdoo will appear to morrow before the ways and means committee to explain further the de tails of the bill. The secretary tonight explained that the plana to Issue third Liberty bonds In denominations of ISO, $100, $500 and $1,000, as In the first and second loans, and that terms of pay ment In Installments will be sub stantially the same aa In the past. The secretary' statement disposed of report thst.the $i0 "bsby bond" might be abandoned In the third loan IE-PBESIOENT OPENS Will FOR DAVIES IN THE WISCONSIN RACE Marshall Urges Republicans to Lay Aside Party Politics SCOTCH LA FOLLETTE MADISON. Wis., March It Vice. President Thomas R. Marshall, open ed his speaking campaign In behalf of Joseph E. Oavies, democratic, can didate for United State senator in Wisconsin here tonight by appealing to the republicans. , , , . "I come to Wisconsin to learn whether 100,00.0 republicans will not count the loss of , partisanship cheap If thereby Wisconsin may be saved to the union." the vice-president said. "No republican can come to the senate from the state of Wisconsin, without a feeling on the part of the Imperial German government- that that senator, having changed hia mind once, may, by the shifting of a few hundred votes in Wisconsin, be in duced to change it again. . . ; "Your state is under suspicion. You republicans have made the is sue here In Wisconsin. If the vote at the primary is based upon the chsrgee and counter-charges which you have made each against the oth er you are about half for America, half for the kaiser and all acalnat Wilson. "It makes no difference how nurs and patriotic the purposes of the re- . publican candidate- may be. to be sleeted he is now bidding for the -vote of the German sympathiser, for the vote of the traitor, for the vote o( the esdltionists, for the veto of the aciflat. for the vote ef the man ma hide-bound In politics that be rejoices - at every mistake made by the presi dent or his advisers, for the vote ef the man who is willing to -make an inglorious peace, for the vote of the disappointed proflteeer and the -vote -of the man who wanted our rltluna and our ships te stay on the high eeas and who .wanted an embargo placed upon the sale of munitions of wsr in the markets of the world. By these votes and these vote alone can the republican candidate hope to be elect- ed. for Mr. Davie would. 1 believe. scorn to receive them. It Is up. to you Mr. Loyal -Republican to anawsr whether you, are for the party, or whether you are for the state. "Wisconsin is not enly on trial re- fnr (hi nki of ncourasinar Invest- Now the situation would seem to be) mtnt ,UCh smaU amount In war (ore America: the republicans of Wis- (Coatinued Fag Two.) . . savings stamp. - eons.n are on trial before the world.
Asheville Citizen (Asheville, N.C.)
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March 27, 1918, edition 1
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