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Show customary gallantry and determination, determina-tion, and the Italians on that front were not behind them m this. If more stress is laid on the bravery of the Americans, it is only because the oth- ' ers have proved themselves, times without number in (lie last four years. All the latest reports of the allies state that the situation is entirely satisfactory sat-isfactory and improving hourly. fsa At first it was thought by many that Ludendorff's offensive in the Marne region was not intended to be his main effort but masked a' plan to attack elsewhere, perhaps in Flanders. At the end of the week there were still some observers who believed this, but It seemed very doubtful. At the same time, it was hard to figure out how he could expect to derive any great benefit bene-fit from success where lie ' attacked. Even if he had attained bis supposed objectives and captured Epernay, Chalons, the Mountain of Iteims and Mont-Mirail, he would be no nearer a decisive victory than before, and was certain to lose an enormous number of men. Instead of turning westward toward to-ward Paris, he was attempting to move to the east and south and the road to the capital would still be closed to him.- If Ludendorff really plans an offensive offen-sive in Flanders, the British there are getting ready to meet it. Several times last week they advanced their lines, taking possession of positions that ma- terially 'strengthened their defenses. The British mrmen were especially ac-1 ac-1 five and there were numerous bomb- ing raids over territory held by the Germans and on German towns. RS The Franco-Italian troops in Albania continued their victorious progress last week and made their way well to the north and east, threatening the flank of the enemy in Macedonia. The political effect of this offensive already Is becoming apparent in Austria-Hungary. Pa The Chinese government has decided decid-ed to send a force to Vladivostok to co-operate with the allies, but it Is probable nothing more will be done now except to protect the frontiers of China. Jpan was much excited last week over! the proposition to send a great expedition into Siberia. The press insisted the United States had submitted to Japan a proposal for such action, though this was. not officially confirmed. The provisional government of Si-beria, Si-beria, located at Harbin, is growing In strength, but may be reorganized soon owing to dissatisfaction with General Horvath, who put himself at Its head. It Is said the Czeetio-Slovaks have agreed to co-operate with Horvath. These troops have driven the bolshe-vlkl bolshe-vlkl entirely out of Irkutsk and n large force of them was reported to be approaching Kransnoyarsk. It was revealed that a considerable number of Americans have been sent to the Murmansk coast to help guard the supplies there. Lerrine Is enraged because those forces are in Russia and has ordered them removed. There is a cnance that he will declare war on the allies, a course which, naturally enough, Is strongly urged by the German Ger-man press. x In this connection it Is to be noted that Prof. Paul Mllukoff, leader of the constitutional democrats, has gone over to the Germans, saying he would prefer a united Russia under un-der German protection to a country broken up into many governments. In Ukraine new revolts of the peasants peas-ants are reported every few days. The people are well armed and have abandoned aban-doned their farms to fight the Germans and the rada which Is controlled by them. . NEWS REVIEW OF THE PAST WEEK ttfth German Offensive, on the Marne, Quickly Checked by French and Yankees. START DRIVE OF THEIR OWN Line North of Chateau Thierry Pushed Eastward Huns Lose Heavily in Fierce' PMhting East anc Woft of Reims. By EDWARD W. PICKAR13. Up to the hour of writing, Germany's "supreme effort" to win a Teutonic victory by smashing through the allies' al-lies' lines has been a dismal and costly failure. The Hans had gained nothing vorth mentionift?, and had lost perhaps 100,000 men. More than that, it appeared ap-peared they had lost their last chance ?o demolish tho defenses of the allies, and had sustained a defeat that would play havoc with the morale of their troops and with the support of the Civilian population of Germany. As soon as the German offensive teemed safely checked, General Foch Look the initiative and put on a drive of his own that sent a thrill through all the allied countries. French anil American troops, secretly and carefully careful-ly concentrated, were launched in a great attack on a twenty-five mile front between Belleau wood and the Aisne river. The enemy was taken completely by surprise, and the allies, following a tremendous rolling bar-, rage, advanced swiftly taking on the first day more than' twenty towns and villages, many cannon and large numbers num-bers of prisoners. They then were close to.Soissons, commanding it with their guns, and were in the outskirts of Neuilly St. Front. CuIchy, the key to the Chateau Thierry sector, was threatened ; many of the railways and roads, of supply for the German armies in the south were cut or under shell fire, and it appeared that Ludendorff would have to act quickly and powerfully power-fully or be driven entirely out of the Chaffau Thierry salient if not back to the Aisne. As this is written the battle in that region is still going on, with the German Ger-man resistance stiffened by the bringing bring-ing up of fresh troops. The Franco-American Franco-American drive at least served to lessen les-sen the Hun pressure on the defensive lines about Reims, though It was premature pre-mature to say that the ancient cathedral cathe-dral city would not have to be. evacuated, evacu-ated, or that the Germans in the Marne district had been beaten to a standstill. Severe as was their check, they still had great forces in reserve. Pa , This latest German drive, directed by Ludendorff, opened early Monday with a tremendous attack at nearly all point along a 05-mile front from Chateau Thierry to Main de Massiges, east of Reims. The Immediate defenses of Reims were not assaulted, but it seemed to. be the intention of the Huns to squeeze the allies out of that city and to eHmlnate the salient sali-ent there, and tw?n to force their way on to Epernay fuid Chalons. The onrush of the fist Say bent back the fillied line in places, but nowhere was It broken ; much of the lost ground was speedily regained, and when the second day came to a close it was Considered that ihe offensive had been definitely stopper;. None of its objectives ob-jectives had, been attained, though the German commanders employed about 750,000 men in their fierce attacks. Von Bernhardt, the famous Prussian strategist, once said an offensive which Is brought to a standstill Is a conquered con-quered offensive, and the allies took that view of the situation. Pa With pride and gratification America Amer-ica learned of the splendid part played by its soldiers In this third battle of the Marne. Some 250,000 -of them were involved, holding especially the sectors just west and east of Chateau Thierry, and they acquitted themselves them-selves in a manner that won the unqualified un-qualified praise of the French commanders. com-manders. In the first place, they sus tained a powerful assault on aux, west of Chateau Thierry, and though . forced out of that village momentarily, ' thev regained possession of it by u br.illiant counter-attack. Then, farther far-ther to the east, at the Jaulgonne bend of the Manie, they were called on to check a tremendous rush of Huns across the river. Their advanced line fell back, the guns all the time slaughtering the Germans who were trying to get over with pontoons and canvas boats. Then the main line of defense came into action, changed Itself into a line of offense, and swept the enemy back across or into the river, killing great numbers and capturing cap-turing about 1.500, including a complete com-plete brigade staff. The fighting in that sector continued with great Intensity, In-tensity, but the Americans commanded command-ed the river frcnt at the bend. Tuesday the Americans, in cooperation co-operation with the French, launched heavy attacks between St. Agnan and La Chapelle-Monthodon, southeast of Jaulgonne, where the Germans had succeeded in getting considerable forces across the river. The enemy was driven back steadily and both these villages, as well as others, were recaptured. From Dormans, northward north-ward toward Reims, in a sector helif by Franco-Italian forces, the Hins at first advanced two or three miles, but occupied no positions of importance impor-tance and were unable to disorganize in the least the defensive line of the allies. By Wednesday the Germans were making their greatest efforts, in this sector, trying to force their way toward Epernay.. But by this time the French were manifestly holding1, the upper hand, and they counter-attacked eagerly and spiritedly, retaking every piece of ground which the Germans occupied by their desperate efforts. Nearly every- attempt of the enemy to advance was repulsed almost before It started. Pa The swiftest and most complete vcheck sustained by the Germans was east of Reims, between Pompelle fort and Main de Massiges. Expecting an easy victory there, they met with a crushing defeat at the hands of the French troops under General Gouraud. This gallant commander, who lost an arm at the Dardanelles, had disposed his men with the utmost cleverness. When the German bombardment began, be-gan, one of the most terrific ever known, the French, except for machine gun crews in blockhouses, retired to shelter. Then the observers announced announ-ced that the advance was starting, and instantly the enemy was swept by a devastating fire from cannon, machine guns and rifles. The blockhouses retarded re-tarded the Huns, large numbers o whom were killed, and the charging troops never entered the French line of resistance, coming to a standstill at the wire entanglements, which wert loaded with dead bodies. The Huns engaged In this attack were fifteen elite divisions, with ten divisions supporting. Less than one-third one-third as many Frenchmen defeated them, and the French casualties were astonishingly few. The attacking German Ger-man divisions had to be relieved, but the. French staid in their positions, happy and cheerful and more confident confi-dent than ever. Pa The morale of . all the allied troops, indeed, was of the highest, In strong contrast to that of the enemy as revealed re-vealed by the words and actions of prisoners. The spirit of the Americans engaged was shown vividly by two Incidents In-cidents worth recording. On the first day, when a certain force of Yankees had been compelled to give ground, their commander was advised by a French general to let -his men rest, as the retirement could have no serious consequences. The American responded respond-ed that he could not accept the counsel coun-sel and was going to counter-attack at once. This he did, regaining the lost terrain and half a mile more to boot. Another commander, in reporting report-ing the recapture of a number of towns, wired to hendqnarters : "Met Roche on his line of defense. Sharp fighting. Boche turned tall and ran like h 1, pursued by our troops. Hope to have more prisoners." There were numerous Instances of valor and nerve in the desperate fighting in which the Americans took part. These are the troops which the German papers assert as-sert are flabby, wlthimt enthusiasm and unfit for serious operations. The French soldiers displayed their Pa-Food Pa-Food Administrator Hoover made public his plan for wheat and flour control through the purchase of wheat by the government grain corporation. The corporation will buy at stated prices wheat graded according to the department of agriculture grade revision, revi-sion, which has just gone into effect. The farmer can protect himself, says Mr. Hoover, by the study of the primary pri-mary prices, deducting Intermediate j charges, or he can ship to the grain i corporation, or he may ship to a com-: com-: mission merchant at a terminal mar-' mar-' ket and through him secure the bene-i bene-i fit of competitive buying. ! ' -Pa- ! Haytl has declared war on Germany, j being the twenty-second nation to take j this action. |