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Show TEUTONS RETIRING TO USE Of HE . BELIEVED THAT ANY PAUSE WILL BE BUT TEMPORARY, TO READJUST COLUMNS Line Surrendered from Lille Northward to Coast Far Stronger Than That Germans Now Stand Upon In Belgium Washington. Now that the Germans have been cleared out of Belgian Flanders and much 4f northern France, army officials here are watching the battlefront intently, many of them with a distinct feeling that a new storm of attack may be about to break, against the enemy. ' ' Beyond doubt the German retirement In Belgium has slowed down. However, it Is not yet clear whether this Is due to' the fact that the retreating forces are nearlng on the whole northern front the line which frequently has been selected by military cities as the first pausing place oh the way to the Meuse or the border, or to the necessities necessi-ties of extending allied communication lines as the troops advance. It Is prob-able, prob-able, officers said, that there is necessity neces-sity for a breathing spell on both sides. There is little doubt here that the German army is headed for nothing short of the Meuse line, and that any pause will be but temporary to permit readjustment of the-columns and supply sup-ply lines in order that the same orderly order-ly sequence of movements shall characterize char-acterize subsequent retirements. Several Sev-eral halts of this character may be ; expected, it was said, as the withdrawal I project is carried out. The fact that the allied armies are bumpered by extending ex-tending communication lines gives opportunity op-portunity for such halts before Marshal Foch's forces can come up In sufficient force to compel a resumption of the rearward movement. The line surrendered by the enemy rrom June northward to the coast, it was pointed out, was far stronger and no longer than that he now stands upon in Belgium. In addition, by the evacuation evacu-ation of the Flanders coast, he has furnished fur-nished the allies with means of setting up new and more direct communication lines from England via Ostend, Zee-brngge Zee-brngge pr other Flanders ports. Without With-out question, It is said these avenues of supplying the advancing armies already are being opened to free the longer lines back Into France of that burden, and consequently officers can not see any tiivtlcal advantage gained by the enemy unless he Intends to fall back at least to the line of the Meuse. |