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Show KAISER'S TROOPS LOSING GROUND 1 By E. ASHMEAD BARTLETT. Dunkirk. France. Oct 'l Along the road from Boulogne it is difficult to tell whether you are in France or Belgium. On leaving England I must admit I had an idea the Belgian army would be out of action for some time to come, but this is far from being the ease. Power!' illy supported by the fire of British warships on their left flank, they are steadily driving tlie Germans back toward Ostend. The Belgian minister of war has temporary headquarters in this town The progress of the allies in Belgium is most marked during the last few Ciyt Everyone is talking victory, and I cannot find a soul coming from I the fighting line who an longer fears the German offensive either against j the northern ports of France or lur-thcr lur-thcr south. The consensus of opinion is that Voii Kluck's arm) is now in full retreat, re-treat, that Is to say. he is not hurrying hurry-ing but is concentrating all efforts safely to withdraw his exhausted arm to the line of the Sambre and the Meuse. The line of the Sambre has been strongly fortified A general who i6 not ghen to boasting, boast-ing, told a friend of mine yesterday he considered the position of the al lied armies better than it has ever been, and that the demoralization of the Germans has been growing greater great-er day by day. He added: "We most certainly will be in Brussels under a nicuth. I myself expect it in a fortnight fort-night " Yesterday there was a general ad v. r.ce along the allied line. The army advanced from Ronliers and drove back the Germans a considerable distance dis-tance Everywhere along this line the Germans are retiring, offering little rs-ptance except with artillery They are covering the retirement of their masses of half-demoralized, ha'f-starved infantry by w ell-sustalneu artillery fire, and have used heavj gms to great advantage. in fact, tie only formidable branch of the I German army at present seems to be ( Ita hea v and field artillery , Yesterday they once abandoned Lille settim; parts of the town on fire, hut up to th,. time of writing the extent of the damage is not known. A great many prisoners have been taken by the allies during the last Tew lavr. Those captured in Belgium declare, de-clare, without exception, that they thought they were flghtinq in France and only twenty kilometers from Paris. This is the story thev were ! toul every day by officers to induce them to make greater efforts to retrieve re-trieve their rapidly declining fortunes. The French believe that directly it be-e..mes be-e..mes known by tbe armv that they nrp hack on Belgian S'dl, a general redaction re-daction will set in. and tliat troops will I become even more demoralized than : they appear to be at present. There is now doubt the allies have not got the whip hand and should succeed suc-ceed In driving the Germans out of France and western Belgium within a few weeks. Ostend will certalnlv be reoccupied within a few days. But for the delayed retirement of the Belgian Bel-gian armv from Antwerp, there was no reason why it should ever have been abandoned. If the enemy's eventual Intention is a stretch of open country with no defensive positions, Antwerp must, therefore, either be abandoned or its garrisons issolated Fnle.as the unexpected happens and the Germans are able to bring great reinforcements from the Russian frontier fron-tier thev must fall hack In France and Belgium, owing to tremendous pressure pres-sure against their right wing |