Show HUNS S ON OS THE RUN ON FRONT MONTDIDIER FALLS TO ALLIES AND GERMANS ARE RETREATING RETREAT RETREAT- ING TO THE SOMME Americans Aid in Rolling Roiling Back Line Enemy Being Unable to Stop the Victorious Allies in Latest Drive Toward Berlin Paris The Paris The French have driven the Germans before them for an important gain east eust of Montdidier in lu Picard That city which was the Hie apex of u a aGerman German salient sallent that now has been wiped out fell to the French fourth arm army at midday Saturday Before nightfall the victorious French forces had carried the battle line onward to toan toan toan an a average depth of six miles on a n front of approximately twenty miles In the three da days s 's of engagements that culminated in the thc taking hiking of MontdidIer Montdidier Mont- Mont didier the thc French took prisoners Their capture also Included WO guns and an enormous amount of material Crushed b by the Impact of the Brit ish French Frenchh and American offensive on the battle line from Albert northeast of Amiens to Oise river north of Com- Com German forces are arc streaming back toward the tike Somme river and the No Nesle-No Noyon Nesle-Noyon canal So far as can be determined the enem enemy Is in full retreat retreat retreat re re- re- re treat all along the front against which the thc allies flung Hung themselves the latter part of the week The drive of the past week In Picard Pic Plc- ard ardy was a complete success The real offensive was launched from the direction direction direction tion of Amiens Amicus within three days after the French and Americans had been definitely halted at tIle Vesle river Before the crown prince could send back any divisions to y the British and French swept forwar ir irresistibly irresistibly ir- ir resistibly with tanks s big and little as the piece de resistance of their drive With Villers as a center the thc British struck to tl the north and south Their Theil northern Hank flank of attack reached almost to Albert their southern southern south south- ern cm to Hangard South of that the tile French were ready for attack near neal Morisel and Moreuil where heavy resistance resistance re re- re- re was to be expected The British British British Brit Brit- ish attacked without artillery preparation prepa prepa- ration The French bombar bombarded ed the enem enemy for about 45 minutes before moving forward to the assault Then the they took Morisel and in hi i l' l severe severe severe se se- vere fighting Meanwhile the British Australians and Canadians had been pushing forward south of the Somme with the tike apex of their we wedge edge ge directed toward The Tile first day ay they did not take that town which is about seven or eight miles east of Villers but the they gained positions beyond it to the north On their left flank Hank the British did not make much progress north of the Somme and on the second day of the fighting the they lost Chipilly On that da day however the German resistance to the south was broken en by the British an and French who began to get Montdidier Montdidier dier Into a pocket To ro the north In the cent center r the Brit Brit- ish with Canadians and Australians continued to gain toward Chaulnes after occupying At Chipilly Americans were thrown into the 1 light fight Friday afternoon and with the aid of the British recaptured it On Saturday Saturday Saturday Satur Satur- day the they pushed some distance beyond Chipilly and Morlancourt In the same region B By this time the enem enemy's s lines ha had been so seriously shattered shuttered that a general general gen gen- eral retirement to a wholly new line was imperative Indeed the high cone com command command mand probably had given ghen the order for this retirement on the first or second day of the fight but even this timely provision failed faile to prevent the allies allies' from capturing hundreds of cannon and thousands of prisoners The American drive In the Marne salient was the turning point of the tile war but hut It is doubtful whether it obtained obtained ob ob- the fruits that would seem to tobe tobe tobe be the inevitable sequence of the Franco-British Franco victory in which the Americans are successfully in lag ing Both battles have been entente I successes In a special sense On the Soissons-Rheims Soissons front the French and Americans have been nibbling nibbling nibbling nib nib- bling at the enemy but hut in the thc process they the have established some strong bridgeheads across the tube Vesle river from which to continue their opera opera- Hons If the Germans retreat t to the he HIndenburg line there will wUl be no chance of holding the line of oC the Vesle and the crown prince will withdraw without attempting to tr try conclusions with the tube French and Americans south of the Aisne By means of their air ah supremacy the allies can watch ever every movement of the retreating en enemy m as If the entire battle were being thrown upon a moving mo lug ing picture screen The Tho enemy meantime mean menu time is almost blind Ills machines have been heen downed in such numbers that he lie cannot tell what the opposing forces are ale doln doing or planning |