| Show U. U TR TROOPS P STAND TAND IN PATH f HUNS HUN Capture of Americans Shows w Army of Gen Pershing Will Be i in n Thick o of f Next Thrust By International News New Service LONDON T ONDON May flay 26 The The outstanding outstanding out- out outE J standing piece of news in today's today official reports all of which show the thc armies in the west as boiling up for the thc big battle i is the tho claim contained in Berlin Ber- Ber 11 lin 1 s 's o orp mini thai Americans Americans- were cre captured west of or Montdidier It shows that Pershing's units which for tor some somo time have havo been known to be on the front are arc squarely face tace to face with the spearhead of ot the German wedge threatening Amiens and that when the next blow is struck b by i burg toward that great allied b base e. e American troops will be In the thick JoC of oC Armageddon's third third perhaps perhaps final round final round It is a square head not head not a pointed one this one this spearhead of ot the German Picard wedge It cannot plunge forward and cut into tho the allies' allies line like a keen thin-edged thin knife It must work itself westward along alons the whole of ot Its nineteen-mile nineteen front which pivots in the south on Montdidier Mont Mont- did didier and in the north of Corbie Corble Tho The allied aUie 1 lines west of ot Montdidier I bar the way to Paris as asI aswell aswell well as to Amiens so that the American AmerIcan American Amer Amer- I ican troops there shoulder er to shoulder shoulder I der with the French are arc holding at once the hinge and the tho axle of the allied aured defense defenso in the Impending battle bat bat- j tle tic RAIDS ARE FEATURE As for or the developments of ot the last twenty four hours they may be summarized summarized summarized sum sum- in tho the term raider warfare war- war faro fare are with the tho showing greater activity lly than the they have displayed displayed displayed dis dis- dis- dis played for tor weeks Also Alo there lies perhaps ominous significance in tonight's announcement announcement announce announce- ment by Hal Hai Haig that the Germans thin this morning carried c. out a heavy gas shell shaH bombardment to tho the west of or Hinges This is' is in the thc se sector tor west westby westby westby by north of ot Festubert near the tip of the southern leg of ot the German Flanders wedge wed c where the rail gate of Bethune is menaced The rho German German German Ger Ger- man shelling also alRo has been heavy y at Villers nine miles due east past of oC Amiens British raiding parties were successful successful successful suc suc- last night and rAnd today in baggins bagging bag bas gins ging prisoners an and 1 machine gU guns 5 I south bouth of oC Bucquoy halfway between I Albert and Arras east cast of ot north of Albert and south o of Neuville Arras sector The Germans on their part carded car car- c car carried r- r ried ded out raids north of oC Sailly le le on the Somme near Bucquoy and north of ot Albert and near Festubert and Merris in FlanI Flan Flan- ders deIs All AU these raids were repulsed I NORTH MAY BE TARGET A paragraph In the Berlin do day re report roI ro- ro I port dealing with operations on the I Belgian Betlan front gives support t to the tho theory theor advanced In these theBo de patches I some days das ago aro that the next German blow lOa may fall aU on that extreme northern north north- northern I ern sector of oC the west front where the I I battle line lino rests upon the sea ea at Nieu- Nieu P port porLA A plausible strategy for tor the Germans Germans Germans Ger Ger- mans it was suggested would be to swing swillS their main shock forces northward northward northward north north- ward by means of or their excellent lat latI lateral lateral lat lat- 4 eral erat railway system in the eleventh I hour and make their chief thrust I there thore with a view to turning the BritIsh British Brit Brit- ish lines at the same sarno time feinting t with major attacks In Picard and Flanders The passage referred to tells of ot the capture of se seventy nt Belgians south of or Nieuport canal and on both sides of nr German raids on the Belgian front have been frequent of or late though their artillery hag haq shown no signs of or Important intentions BRITISH FLIERS BUSY Tho The British aviators lator are arc keeping up 1 their harassing h campaign on the west as the tho British report on aviation a Inthe in the tho west shows They y are arc giving ln 1 splendid did aid to General Diaz fliers s In III Italy 1 I Scrutiny of ot the comments comment by leading leadin g Contin Continued ed on pago 3 I I E IIi J I I I i I U. U S. S TROOPS Continued from page pae 1 French and British military experts on the reasons for the delay In the German German German Ger Ger- man offensive shows four main factors factors factors' speculated upon as the causes for Cor HIndenburg's waiting game g-ame 1 The allied air supremacy 2 Increasing mutinies In the German German German Ger Ger- man army 3 An epidemic of oC influenza among the German forces 4 Discord among the allies ames German Germany waiting impatiently but so far vainly for Austrian cooperation SHIFT IS UNLIKELY Henri BIdeau one of ot the French military commentators does not be believe believe believe be- be lieve German divisions will be shifted to the Italian front to aid In an Austrian Austrian Aus Aus- trian offensive there He asserts his belief beller that the decisive phase of ot the campaign will come between the Olse and the sea with Amiens Bethune and Ypres the thc enemy's principal ob ob- ob- ob BIdeau estimates the Germans have ha altogether ether divisions on the western western west west- ern cnn front of oC these holding the sector between the and the sea sea leaving eighty for massed battle maneuver maneu The French rench critic thinks it unlikely that tie fie Germans would scatter their storm g forces over a sector lar larger er than that on the they launched their great reat attack In March He concludes there will be a simultaneous Austrian I offensive but it will not be as thorough I as the western drive |
